So it’s taken me 43 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in print advertising, direct marketing, brand awareness campaigns and now social media to finally realize that I have seemingly had it wrong all these years. For those ‘Type A’ personalities out there like me, you know how hard it is to admit you’re wrong! My staff, employees and agents will snicker while reading this, but I am ready to admit that recently, I’ve “had it all wrong”. However, since learning the real meaning behind this magic little word and how it applies to your business (and personal life!), I have never felt more invigorated or inspired about everything we do as a company and I’m sure the same is now true of my staff.

So what is it that I have been doing wrong for so long? What has got me so inspired that I need to spread the good word to everyone and anyone who will listen? It’s “WHY”. Yes you heard right. It’s the Why. Only three letters but a profound word when it comes to business and more importantly, becoming inspiring in your business.

Some of you know that I am the CEO of both a real estate and software company and despite a successful career as a selling agent, I see now that in my final years of being an active seller, my marketing message was “off”. There was a day when I had no preconceived ideas about what the real estate industry had to offer. I was what most would call a “keener”; an agent with a belief, desire and passion and those feelings allowed me to prosper. However somewhere along the way, that belief in our industry and within myself seemed to slowly fade. As years went on, I would sometimes get lost in doing what was right for me, as opposed to how I was when I first got into the industry where I focused all of my attention on making sure I did the right thing for everyone involved. At the same time, I also developed a misconception of how the consumer viewed me and our profession.  How could a great, hard working agent “lose his touch”?

I see now that it was simple: my mentality and therefore my message became too much about what I do and how I do it and had nothing to do about why I did it. Why did I choose to sell real estate? Why did I choose such a risky business where the risk vs. reward could be enough to scare away the most talented entrepreneur? Why did I have an abundance of passion for this business? The same thing holds true today for my software company as we have embarked in a marketing campaign to promote RealtySites PLUS.

The “why” is the reason we do what we do. “What” we do and “how” we do it should not be in the forefront of our marketing; rather why we do what we do. This may sound overrated or profound but we all need to take a closer look at our messages that we are communicating to our clients, customers or contacts and determine if we are stressing the wrong points.

It’s interesting how we as consumers have been preconditioned to follow the status quo. We tend to market our products and services like everyone else does, and those who don’t are seen as the risk takers. Let me share with you what I feel many of us could improve upon in our businesses and what I did in order to turn the tables around and revitalize that passion that I have for our industry.

The consumer connects with people and (purchase) products that communicate a clear belief of why they do what they do, and if the consumer shares those same beliefs, it’s more likely that there will be an instant connection. Simply put…people do not buy what you do; they buy why you do it. Does a consumer choose a Real Estate professional because he/she sold 100 homes last year? Because he/she owns a Smartphone, IPAD, and uses state of the art technology? Or does a consumer mainly hire you due to a feeling of trust, or “word of mouth” input that you are a very friendly, admirable professional who you can completely rely on?

Here is a common marketing message an agent (ahem, me) might have used to promote his or her service.

“I am a top producing agent who is in the top 5% nationally. I represent buyers who are looking for upscale homes in Toronto (What you do). I carefully examine your needs and wants, and arrange all viewings. I am very detail oriented, so I will provide detailed information, and provide an array of comparables for the properties you want to see” (How you will do it).

In the next example, I incorporated my “Why”:

“I believe in doing the right thing by people. I believe in putting others needs before my own- in my personal life, and in business. I thrive off of others happiness. My satisfaction comes from helping people organize their lives. The real estate industry allows me to experience these joys every single day. I help people find their dream home, and I live my dream while doing it. Together, we will succeed”.

Do you think this message is different? More effective? You can decide but I hope that you feel the second message is a more compelling proposition, and one that even provokes some emotion.

Despite the high’s and low’s, I believe that our industry is one of the most exciting industries to be in today and if we all as professionals can delve deep and discover our “why” and communicate that message to the consumer, we will have a lot more “believers”.

TLC

In a recent study conducted by Intellimon and the University of Bradford, it was revealed that Facebook and Twitter seemed “ineffective” in generating website traffic. That may surprise some of you, but for those of you who have been sceptical over the “social media phenomenon”, you may be saying “I knew it!”

It is estimated that one in every fourteen people in the world actively use Facebook, with just over 500 Million users to date. So considering the popularity and contagiousness of Facebook, how does it really weigh in when it comes to generating traffic to your actual company website? Over 4000 online companies were surveyed in the study. The results may be a little discouraging:

• Although 67% of businesses make use of Facebook to promote their websites, only 29% found the social media platform useful in any way for directing traffic to it.

• Similarity, only 27.7% of Twitter users found that this social media platform had any impact on bouncing potential customers to their company websites.

To be honest, the results (in my opinion) aren’t shocking. There seems to be a great deal of dependence on Facebook and Twitter, as well as other methods of online marketing, to produce customers and generate traffic to your website. With that being said, many of us may be losing sight of what Facebook and Twitter are actually for when it comes to online marketing. The more we gear away from anticipating loads of customers from our implementation of Facebook or Twitter, the less disappointed we will be when we realize that it isn’t that easy.

We have all heard of SEO by now; another phenomenon and world of its own regarding the visibility of your company (or for Realtors, your brand) in search results. But when it comes to Facebook and Twitter, think of it as a unique type of SEO: Social Engagement Optimization. The more we engage our audience, the better the chance that a few might even browse over to our websites! Most importantly, if we shift our focus from what social media can do for us, and consider what our social media platforms can do for our customers, we can begin to produce an environment that our potential customers even want to be in.

Consider the following benefits that Facebook instantly offers (all statistical leads to customers aside):

• If you actively use your Facebook page to provide blogs, news articles, and most importantly, engaging conversation, you start to become a resource for others. For example, I visit a particular Facebook page (and have been for the last year) when I want entertainment news because this person constantly provides new and exciting content. If this person created an actual entertainment news website, would I visit it? Absolutely! She became a trusted source of information, but wasn’t trying to sell me anything.

• The social aspects of your Facebook page create emotional connectivity between you and your audience.

• Referrals and recommendations of your services and/or products are easier (you can reach vast audiences across the world!) and this method of referral is more natural.

• It provides instant branding and awareness of your company.

• Potential customers get to meet “you” and even your employees before meeting the “company”.

Simon Sinek, an inspirational thought leader and author said it best: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. If your audience sees that they share the same common interests as you, the same beliefs as you, or they just genuinely seem to “like” you, what you do isn’t as important anymore. People are more likely to buy your products or services if they trust you, and get a good vibe from you. “What” you do can actually be less engaging; if someone is scoping out your website or product page, chances are they are already looking to buy that particular service and don’t need to be “sold” on it. Facebook is a great platform to show people the real you, what you’re all about, and exactly why you are doing what you are doing.  Having said that, we can appreciate how important it is for us to connect with our audiences on a more personal level and not just sell “what” we do, and how we do it.

Facebook undoubtedly helps you better understand and get to know your audience.  With Facebook, you now have the opportunity to engage your audience in interesting conversation. Ask questions, get advice, and even create polls!  People love talking about themselves and providing input to questions you provide, and it’s refreshing for your audience to see that you are interested in what they think as well. You’ll find your audience will take part in their own conversations based off of one post you provide. Read through your audiences’ responses and their responses to other posts about that topic. Common interests and beliefs begin to emerge the more you engage and connect with your audience. Want to know the best added perk to engaging conversation that creates buzz and receives an abundance of feedback? Facebook has their own algorithm that determines what shows up in its “news feed” . The more responses your posts get, the more likely it is that your status update will be posted in others news feeds. The conversations you create can easily become viral.

Although the results of the Intellimon/University of Bradford study indicated that a multitude of companies aren’t necessarily seeing profound results from their Facebook and Twitter efforts, no one can deny that in this world of social media and online technology, it is essential to implement these to stay ahead of the game. If anything, Facebook connects you to your audience, including prospective customers, and who doesn’t want the opportunity to engage this vital group of people anyway? If Facebook is used and used properly, you can become a trusted, appealing resource, which is worth the extra time spent perfecting your fan page. Time to amp up our Social Media efforts because it definitely isn’t going away!

Jenny Heffernan
Director of Social Marketing
RealtySites Plus