Using The Web to Market Tucson Real Estate
November 25, 2008
Post Tags: effective marketing , marketing on the web , Tucson Real Estate
Marketing Tucson Real Estate on the Web
Surfing the Web has gone from a past time to a part of our daily lives. Finding knowledge and information quickly has been expedited by the Web. I don’t use a phone book anymore. I do still read a newspaper because it is the Fred Flintstone in me that likes that cultural throwback to my mentors reading the newspaper.
I’ve spent the better part of the past five years of my life dedicated to Web marketing and providing information about Tucson Real Estate.
I read a comment on the Arizona Daily Star article I mentioned yesterday about YouTube Your New Real Estate Agent. The person leaving the comment said marketing isn’t what sells homes, PRICE is what sells homes. I have to smile and agree, ultimately it is price. I can even say “PRICE is what keeps homes from selling”. But price alone doesn’t sell homes. If no one knows the home can be purchased for whatever price it won’t sell.
I have a table saw in my garage that is price right. I know it is priced to sell. It is well under market value. Why hasn’t it sold? No one knows it is for sale.
If I create a video of a home and put it on YouTube is it “Marketed on the internet”. Yes, it is. Is that enough? I don’t think it is.
Marketing Tucson Real Estate On The Web
Start with Great Photos. Great Photos are the second reason behind Price. Great photos catch the eye when people are surfing the net. Taking those great photos and creating a sense of the home is also important. Disjointed photos that don’t provide a sense of the layout of the home are confusing. Making sure the photos tell a story and tie together so it is like walking through the home is important. It isn’t just about the rooms of a home, it is conveying the character and personality of a home that should be the goal of any set of photos or video.
I would rather have a good photo montage of a property than a warped wall 360 virtual tour. That goes for poorly shot video compared to well lite and photographed stills. Yes the flip video camera has invaded real estate listings. The quality is not something I’m comfortable displaying. Those little cameras might be fine for personal interviews or the kids birthday party, but I wouldn’t use video from them for trying to sell property.
Having said that, I know there are agent that are doing just that. I also know there are agents hoping in their cars, driving around a sub division with a flip video camera on the dash and posting those videos on their blog or website. And they are getting listings and making sales with those videos.
More than Personality and Character
Effective marketing of a home goes beyond the personality and character of the home. The home does not exist in a void. It is part of a neighborhood, sub division and community. When marketing Tucson Real Estate the property should be set in a context of what surrounds this home. This can be done by including images of the neighborhood and community in a video. However, it can be done even better by the creation of a website specifically dedicated to marketing a property providing photos, video and community information.
Disclosure and Transparency
Putting the Seller Property Disclosure Statement on a property website creates an attitude for buyers that show pride of ownership. It says we don’t have anything to hide. It also screens buyers for the seller. How does it do this? Buyers won’t be making offers on homes where they might be a “deal breaker” lurking in the details. The last thing a seller needs is to miss a buyer who would purchase the home but the seller has an accepted offer which won’t get beyond the inspection period because something wasn’t openly disclosed prior to the offer.
Offers are good, but offers that don’t end in closing only prolong the time a property is on the market.
Putting all these things together, creating a website specific for the property is what is needed to tighten the focus.
It also is a very good way for potential buyers to preview and share with relatives and friends a home they are thinking about buying.
I know when it is time to sell my home I want it marketed on the Web.
December 19th, 2008 at 8:58 am
[...] important. Just so happens I also build websites and blogs for all our listings. I wrote “Using the Web to Market Tucson Real Estate” back in November. The stars shine the brightest the darker the [...]