Put Your Marketing Dollars Online

An Interesting Article from RISMedia

Commentary by Marlin Cone

RISMEDIA, April 17, 2007-Last month, we addressed the fact that despite all of the new entrants into the real estate industry, NAR still reports that the average age of a Realtor is 57, and whether or not agents are in touch with the largest group of home buyers the last few years-Generations X and Y. Now, we will examine how in touch Realtors really are and where their ad dollars should be going.

First thing-analyze your budget. How are you spending your marketing money? Are you still spending the majority of your marketing budget on print media?
Or, are you now spending the majority of your money on your online marketing presentations (which cost less in total, cost fractions on a "per-impression" basis, have a much longer shelf life and provide the viewer with much more information and flexibility to access information than print media)?

Are you amongst the majority within residential real estate who do not have a virtual tour on your listings or do you have a virtual tour on every listing? And, are your virtual tours dated with old concepts and technology like the spinning 360-degree tours or the distorted views that make walls seem bowed-or are you cutting-edge by incorporating virtual tours that deliver to the viewers the information they need to make their decision to select your listing as one of their final choices?

One cutting-edge virtual tour platform now coming about is the Floor Plan Online program.

"I can't express how excited we are about what the program has done for our business and marketing plan," says Ron Rudolph, an associate broker with Century 21 Advantage Gold in Philadelphia. "It has added a whole new dimension to selling real estate. It has cut our marketing costs, given us more double-ended buyers and has resulted in our getting more listings.

"For years now, I have been upset at what we've had to pay for print media ads when I knew that more and more buyers were going to the Internet to find homes," he continues. "Who reads the papers anymore? Now Floor Plan Online gives me a much more effective alternative that has a far greater reach, a far greater shelf life and costs much less.



If they are excited about regular 2D Floor Plans, we are excited to see how the industry is going to react to our 3D Floor Plans and 3D Walkthroughs.