Lead generating for Realtors®

4. Develop a marketing strategy

5. Be clear about what your saying

Business promotional items? How to stimulate word of mouth advertising

If the promotional items you give out end up in the attic or shoved in the back of a desk drawer, they are probably not doing what they are supposed to be doing. However, if items you passed out to clients and customers are being seen again and again, chances are, word-of-mouth advertising is stimulating your business.

With media (radio, televisions and newspaper), messages can come and go. But, the exposure promotional items can give equals longevity. While there is no real scientific way to measure how many impressions an item can receive in its lifetime, we know that it works and ultimately gets well over its money's worth. I used to work at a radio station that passed out license plates. We had a very fun logo- and still after ten years of being on the air, they are a sought out item. We began to limit the number that were handed out at live action broadcasts, and that drew people to event after event. Everywhere you drive in our area, you are sure to see a dozen or so cars with Froggy 101 license plates on the commute. This may draw people to flip on the station to see what's playing. With the amount of impressions they get, these 'mini-billboards' sure generate more word of mouth advertising than a real billboard would, for a fraction of the cost. When concerts came to town, we'd have the country singers autograph them, and then either give them away or auction them off for charity. Those, which were often bought by business owners, are on prominent display in bars and pubs around the area. This is just one small example of how word-of-mouth advertising can explode through a small item.

Bumper stickers and static stickers are something that constantly generate word-of-mouth as well. What college doesn't sell them? Parents and alumni can also have them too! Coffee and travel mugs, and even koozies (can coolers) can all create buzz about their namesake in offices, at people's homes or at the beach. While many people use their 'free t-shirts' to sleep in, many others will wear them to the gym or out jogging. This could create locker room talk about when and how they got the shirt. At a bar, you may help someone open a beer with a keychain from an insurance company- and guess what- they need insurance.

Word-of-mouth can also even help for short-term goals, such as at a seminar. You may be passing out a really cool item, which makes you the talk of the floor. Or, maybe everyone at the county fair wants to stop by the Heavenly Touch Massage Therapy stand for a stress ball.

Plain and simple, if you use the right kind of promotional items, people will use them- and others will see them being used. "Where'd you get that?" could become a common question to the user, making them a walking, talking billboard for your own company. If a t-shirt cost you $13.79, but the person wears it to the gym once a week- think how far that little sum of money actually went!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: http://marketing.mcdar.net/39076.php

Realtor® Advertising Campaign Working,

Says NAR

More consumers than ever prefer working with REALTORS, rather than non-REALTORS, and the public's perception of REALTORS continues to improve as the result of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS' Public Awareness Campaign, according to surveys of housing consumers and REALTORS released today.

The research found that 65 percent of consumers are more likely to select a real estate professional who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS and 61 percent believe there are benefits to working with a REALTOR, as opposed to a real estate salesperson who isn't a REALTOR.

Today's consumers are more likely to believe that using a REALTOR makes selling a home easier than selling a home without one, and also that REALTORS can tailor their services to meet consumers' needs, according to the survey of 900 consumers who bought or sold property in the past year.

The survey of more than 500 REALTORS found that more REALTORS than ever are aware of the campaign and that 95 percent of all REALTORS would like to see even more advertising to support the REALTOR brand. Both surveys were conducted in September by Riter Research.

"There's no question that the Public Awareness Campaign is delivering tremendous value to our members by generating heightened consumer awareness of the benefits of using a REALTOR. The campaign has become one of the most important services NAR is delivering to our members," said NAR President Martin Edwards Jr., a partner in Colliers Wilkinson & Snowden Inc. of Memphis, Tenn.

This year the Public Awareness Campaign introduced six new television spots and six new radio spots as well as an updated theme, "Work with someone who'll work with you. We're REALTORS. Real Estate is our Life." The theme is designed to appeal to the growing desire among consumers to work in partnership with real estate professionals. Three of the six new television spots and three of the radio spots highlighted REALTORS as community builders.

This year's $20 million program is funded primarily by a $20-per-member special dues assessment, up from $15 the previous three years. For the first time, the spots were seen this year on prime time programs such as "The West Wing," "JAG," "Dateline," "20/20," "CSI," "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?," "Law & Order," and "Third Watch."

The television commercials ran on morning and evening news programs, as well as on late night shows, including "Late Night with David Letterman," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and "Nightline." Additionally, the spots aired on cable television channels such as The Learning Channel, Lifetime, A&E, The Discovery Channel, Food Network, and Animal Planet.

For radio coverage, the spots ran on such networks as Westwood One, Premiere, ABC, and National Public Radio. This year's media buy also included time on XM Satellite Radio Network. The new radio spots targeted at the commercial real estate market appeared in business programming such as "CBS MarketWatch," "Lou Dobbs Financial Report," and the "Wall Street Journal Radio Network."

In total, more than 4,200 television and radio spots ran this year, up from 4,100 last year. All were placed to hit the campaign's target audience of 25-54 year olds with household incomes of $50,000 or greater. The radio ads began Feb. 11 and will run through Nov. 9. The television ads aired from March 11 to Sept. 14.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is Copyright © 2006 Realty Times. All Rights Reserved.