Real Estate Marketing Strategy 102: Think Before You Act

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Last week I blogged about Real Estate Marketing 101 – the first three steps that should be part of any good marketing plan. As you know, this plan is your “bible,” the document that guides you, keeping your decisions on track with your larger strategic goals.  It’s the document that will make it easy to project a consistent brand in every media.  It will make integrating your strategy online and offline a smooth, effective process.

The fourth step in creating your marketing plan is to choose your marketing media and develop your messages.  “How?” you ask.  Read on. . .

Step 4: Choose your marketing media and develop your messages

Now it’s time to put the rubber to the road, your nose to the grindstone, your money where your mouth is.  You’re going to create your marketing campaign, based on your answers to the questions in steps 1-3.  If your budget allows, think about an integrated campaign that incorporate a number of different media.  Some possibilities are:

• Online
  • Website
  • Search engine optimization
  • Online paid advertising
    • Pay-per-click advertising
    • Affiliate marketing
  • E-mail
  • Blog
• Print
  • Collateral (brochures, flyers, informational booklets, etc.)
  • Direct mail
  • Paid print advertisement
• PR
  • Press release
  • Press kit
  • Trade journal articles
• Events
  • Open houses
  • Participation in social events (sponsoring local events, for example)
  • Trade shows and conferences

Create Your Marketing Message

Next, you’ll need to think about what your marketing messages will be. It should be a direct reflection of your answers to the questions in steps 1-3. And, your messages should be tailored to each specific marketing piece as well as, perhaps, to segmented parts of your customer group.

For each marketing piece, define:

• Your objective
  • Do you want to tell potential customers about your products/services?
  • Do you want to offer your potential customers valuable information?
  • Do you plan to use the copy to reach outside your current network or to communicate with the contacts you already have?
  • Is the purpose primarily to build your brand?

• Your call to action
  • What work are you asking the prospect to do? Is the action you’re requesting easy?
  • How will you entice your customers to act on your call to action?
  • Can you establish a sense of urgency (a need to take action now)?

• Logistics
  • How will you get your message out to your customers? For a direct mail piece, for example, do you already have names and addresses of your prospective customers?

Sun Tzu, the legendary Chinese general and probably mythic author of the The Art Of War, said, “The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in the temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand.”  To win in marketing, and in business, be the well-prepared general.

Onward and upward.

Molly Castelazo

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.