Digital Marketing
Noun The practice of using digital tools to access online audiences to drive traffic to your business website; the main goal is to convert online visitors into business revenue.
What Is Marketing?
- A process of continuously discovering what works and what doesn't in terms of business growth and reaching customers
- A consistent act of learning about your consumers and customers through effective marketing techniques, practices, and education tools
- Marketing practices can be delegated to others but should never be ignored or forgotten
There are plenty of differences between traditional and online (digital) methods of marketing. Research shows that digital means of advertising are becoming much more effective than traditional forms. Refer to the chart below to see the comparisons.
While traditional marketing methods where you need to find your clients (radio advertisements, billboards, newspaper ads, etc.) still have their place and are shown to work to a degree, it's important to shift your budget to where the home buyers can already be found: online. Prioritizing a comprehensive and effective online marketing strategy will help you become more successful.
If you have a strong advertising budget, you should place your main focus on online marketing first and once your systems are in place, tested, and are shown to generate leads, that's when traditional marketing should be introduced into your strategy.
Coming up with a strong and effective online marketing strategy is crucial for your progress as a 2% Realty agent. Don't just "try it and see how it goes"; make a commitment to yourself and your success by figuring out how to make it work and stick with it.
An Essential Marketing Formula
The Right Person + The Right Message + The Right Time = Success
Digital Terminology To Learn Right Now
1. Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Where a company places an advertisement on a website and pays money to the website host every time someone clicks on the ad.
2. Conversion
When a visitor does what you want them to do while on your website or social platform. A conversion can be a subscription to your newsletter, a purchase, a download, or a signup.
3. Impressions
The number of times your ad or post is seen to your audience or how many times a webpage was visited. For example, three page views by one visitor would create three impressions.
4. Keyword
A phrase or word that your audience will type into a search engine in order to find a product or service. For example, a popular one for Kelowna would be "Kelowna Real Estate Listings MLS".
5. Organic Traffic
Traffic that is generated to a website from a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo.
6. Paid Traffic
When a company bids on keywords and makes search engine advertisements based around them to appear on the top, bottom, or right side of a results page.
7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
How a company optimizes their site to rank higher in a search engine results page which can increase the chances of conversion.
8. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
How a company gets a higher search engine placement through keyword bidding.
9. Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
A SERP report lets a company know where they rank on a search engine after a specific keyword search query is made.
10. Domain Authority
The way a search engine determines how authoritative and trustworthy a website is on a scale from 1-100, 1 being the lowest rank, 100 being the highest.
11. Keyword Stuffing
A dated SEO method, keyword stuffing was once used to gain a higher rank in search engines. With modern forms of SEO, keyword stuffing can now get a website penalized and in some cases, result in disappearing from a search engine entirely until the problem gets rectified.
12. Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
RSS is how visitors can become subscribers and receive alerts if updates are made on a website. RSS Readers are required which is how they receive updates.
13. Subscriber
When someone signs up for email alerts, they become a subscriber. Embracing email marketing by building a subscriber list is a great way to understand your customers while keeping track of how well your online strategy is doing.
14. Social Networking
Social networking is the act of building an online community to connect with your consumers and customers directly through inbounding marketing; where your customers come to you, rather than the other way around. Popular platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Google Plus.
15. Landing Page
An entry page to a site; where visitors are redirected to a specific page on your site from an external link.
16. Call To Action (CTA)
A CTA is telling your visitors what you want them to do after visiting your site, reading your article, watching your video, reading your newsletter, etc. Having a strong call to action is how you'll convert visitors into customers.
Determining Your Target Audience
When Is The Right Time To Start A Digital Marketing Strategy?
- When your audience can see or receive your message
- When your audience is searching for something you can give to them
- When your audience can take action
Understand Who Your Audience Is By Creating A Customer Profile
Getting to know your audience will help you reach and connect with them which will then help turn them into customers.
Use the home buyer profile below as a guide. Then, create your own with the blank one underneath.
SAMPLE HOME BUYER PROFILE
Who are they?
Lives In Kelowna. 30-45 years old, newlywed with one kid. Graduated College. Makes 60-100K year.
What problems do they have?
Renting is no longer an ideal solution. Need more space to grow family. Has debt on new SUV with a bit left on student loans.
Have they made a recent purchase?
Bought a vehicle recently along with toys for his child.
What did they like and dislike about their purchase?
They love the extra space the SUV provides to his family but struggles with the added expense the necessary purchase has added to budget.
Do they have concerns, fears, and desires?
Concerns that the real estate market will be tough to break into considering Kelowna market is so hot. Fears he won't be able to find an ideal home to fit needs. Hopes that they can buy a decent home, spruce it up enough to make value on it later.
Developing Your Brand
BUILDING YOUR BRAND
Ask yourself these questions:
- Who do you want to attract?
- What is their customer profile?
- What does your customer care about?
- What might other agents or brokers be telling them?
- What will you offer them that's unique from other agents?
- What parts of your brand will you bring with you or eliminate?
Create Your Own Unique Brand Message
What will you offer home buyers and how will you do it better than other real estate agents?
{flow chart}-
{title -> Creating A Powerful Brand}
{middle bubble -> "A Winning Client Experience"}
{Bubbles surrounding the middle word -> referrals or memorable experiences, visits your website, initial contact, first conversation, first appointment, the actual home buyer/selling process, the home transaction, final closing, follow-up & staying in touch}