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HOW TO INCORPORATE
How to Incorporate Current Events to Your Email Blasts and Stay Relevant
Email marketing is a cost effective and straightforward method of getting your name and services in front of clients with just a few keystrokes. This tried-and-true approach to digital marketing is a favorite of many, and there are countless ways to customize (and maximize) your email blasts to reap superior results. Despite this, many real estate professionals are content to standardize their email advertising and take a broad, one-size-fits-all approach to capturing interest and leads. While an up-front sales pitch certainly has its uses and benefits, it doesn’t hurt to shake up your routine and refresh your email marketing approach by adding specifics that draw renewed interest from your audience.
One way to accomplish this is by tying in current events and local happenings to your email blasts. After all, your sphere of influence likely receives countless marketing emails per day. To cut through the noise, sharpen your message with a few specifics that separate your communications from the pack. Not every email should be focused on closing a sale, or else your audience will learn to stop listening. How do you build your brand, stay top of mind, and keep the lines of communication open with your clientele? Here are a few ideas to get you started. Sports news makes a splash People love to rally behind the home team. Is a regional, local university, or professional sports team in your area headed to the playoffs or the championship? Are they facing off against an old rival? Do they host themed fan days honoring veterans or catering to families? Tailoring your communications to a local sports franchise’s big news or next event can draw intrigue and provide added value for your clients. Remember, not every communication you send should be focused on pitching and closing a sale, otherwise your audience will tune out your emails altogether. Instead, incorporate fun, community-oriented content that lets readers know you’re a resource for much
more than real estate. Become a one-stop-shop for holiday fun and seasonal ideas.
From Mother’s Day to Thanksgiving, anyone can send an email wishing clients a happy holiday. While the sentiment is a good one, you’ll be one of dozens flooding inboxes with
your well-wishes. Instead, go beyond the traditional greetings and good tidings and become a hyper-specific resource for clients. Create a gift guide for Mother’s Day, outline family-friendly local events occurring in your area around the holidays, or engage in a promotional partnership with a local business who’s offering a holiday special of their own. In other words, don’t settle for just saying hello during certain times of the year. Instead, up the value of your email blast by offering clients curated information that relates to their interests and area. Doing so makes your emails a must-read, while demonstrating your ability to go the extra mile.
Pop culture serves as a fun and timely tie-in.
Is a new gaming app sweeping the nation? Have your social media feeds been flooded with the same viral video? Is everyone gossiping about the same TV show premiere? Pop culture tie-ins in your email marketing campaigns can be extremely effective, but in order to for them to work, you’ll need to move quickly and keep your focus on the phenomenon, rather than your service pitch. The goal behind pop culture marketing tie-ins is communicating the progressiveness and hip factor of your brand, while capturing timely, topical interest that’s at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be in on a running joke or trend, and if you leverage trending pop culture moments in your email marketing, you’ll be able to draw views and clicks from a wide audience.
Plenty of services offer standardized email marketing templates and content for today’s real estate professionals, and while the motivation behind marketing is transactional, your communications don’t have to be. The surest way to make an impact in your clients’ inboxes is to add original value and break apart from the pack. Consider updating some of your routines with these current events oriented techniques and your email audience is sure to take a second look.
Are You Doing Business As YOU On Facebook?
Are you ‘Doing Business As YOU’ on your personal Facebook page? In other words, are you posting your business content from your personal page?
Yesterday a REALTOR® asked us, “Why should I bother with a company Facebook page? Can’t I just post everything from my profile page?”
The answer lies in what we call division of content. As you may be aware, social media began as just that… social. It was never truly intended for business use. Over time, as businesses began to see the potential in reaching the masses in a new way, they began to intrude on this communication. Today, it is widely accepted that business will be conducted on all social platforms, but the manner in which we do so (and in which we are received) is still a touchy subject at times.
We believe it’s important to be transparent on social media. Draw the line between communicating as the Person and the Professional. Not only does this help you keep your content separate and appropriate, it also gives the control to your network of family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances and customers. They get to decide whether to ‘like’ or ‘follow’ your company page. They get to decide whether they want to see your business related posts. User control is the #1 reason you need a business page if you’re conducting business on Facebook. Wouldn’t you rather have a willing and engaged audience over a forced, potentially reluctant one? We have personally eliminated many of the ‘DBA’ offenders from our news feeds and you have likely done the same. As in all controversial social media topics, there is some gray area. And that gray area is often subjective, so consider this post food for thought and decide for yourself. We try our best to keep professional content on our business pages, with a couple of exceptions:
1.
2. Philanthropic Promotion:
We’re in favor of posting anything that will help an organization in need on both your personal and business pages. Nonprofits often have little to no marketing budget and rely on all of us to promote their good works, so we believe that’s a good line to cross (as long as it’s about the organization, and not you).
Recognition Tagging:
Facebook does not allow you to tag an individual on your business page. Yes, there are some tricky work-arounds, but they are inconsistent at best. So when it’s truly important for us to recognize and tag an individual, especially someone who has done something nice for us (inviting us as guests on their radio show or podcast, for instance), we will generally post that on the business page first, then share it from our personal pages, along with a comment recognizing and tagging the individual(s) or business who helped us.
Either way (personal or business), remember to be true to the social aspect. Our participation on social media should be about giving, helping, recognizing and connecting…especially when it comes to your business.
Tonya Eberhart is the Branding Agent to Business Stars and founder of BrandFace®, LLC. Michael Carr is America’s Top Selling Real Estate Auctioneer & BrandFace® partner. Together, they focus on personal branding and marketing designed to help real estate professionals become the face of their business & a star in their market. BrandFace® for Real Estate Professionals is a book, professional speaking series and an exclusive workshop for agents, and is currently active in 18 U.S. states, Canada and New Zealand. For more information, visit www.BrandFaceRealEstate.com.
DEREK KIRK
DEREK KIRK
Derek Kirk’s catch phrase is: Driven by Honesty, Integrity and Results. He began his professional career in the banking industry before turning to real estate. “Short sales were very big at that time, so I figured with that kind of experience, it was a natural transition,” he says. He’s been in the business for 26 years and has never looked back.
Derek is with Century 21 Select Real Estate, serving buyers and sellers in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, and El Dorado Counties. With an annual sales volume of $8M to 12M per year, Derek reports that his business is 75% repeat and referral clientele. “I believe people keep coming back because of my integrity,” he notes. “I’m honest, and I genuinely care about my clients. I’m there for them long after escrow closes and that pays off in dividends.”
It’s not surprising that Derek receives stellar reviews for his esteemed work ethic. Client Dan Richardson
“Derek Kirk was awesome to work with. He made my wife and I feel very comfortable and confident throughout the process. His attention to detail and professional experience put us at ease. We can’t say enough about how happy we are with Derek’s work.”
Derek believes the most important characteristics to look for in a reputable agent are his/her values and ethics. “My parents taught me a long time ago to ‘treat others the way you expect to be treated yourself,’ and that is the way I run my life,” he expresses. I bring to the table top-notch personal service and attention to every detail.” He also prides himself on his ability to work well with other agents. “They know I’ll make their jobs much easier in the end,” he says.
To market his listings, Derek relies primarily on social media. “It has had a huge impact on the real estate business over the last five years,” he explains. “As the market and the world around us changes, so, too, must our methods of promotion. It’s very important to keep up with the times, and social media has really paid off for me.”
In addition to helping his clients realize their real estate dreams, Derek loves the daily challenges his job presents. “No two transactions are ever the same,” he notes. “Every client, every transaction provides a new learning experience, which then translates to making me a better agent.”
Derek has two daughters and is actively involved in his community. “My girls are my pride and joy, and I have volunteered at their school every Thursday during the school year as well as participate in their sporting events (softball, volleyball, basketball) after school,” he says. He also volunteers at his church, Destiny Christian Church, where he reaches out to those in need. When not working, Derek enjoys spending quality time with his family. He also loves playing softball, hiking, and participating in outdoor activities.
Looking forward, Derek wants to grow his business. “It’s my goal to continue to work smarter, not harder, to better serve my clients and my community,” he says.
To learn more about Derek Kirk email realestate@derekshomes.com or call (916) 213-5715.
