1. Identifying & Targeting Buyers in a Digital World
Kevin Oldham
Vice President
United Marketing Services

2. Today’s Discussion Today’s buyers Where do buyers congregate online?
Best practices for online marketing
Social media do’s and don'ts
Measurement – ROMI
2012 Observations

3. Today’s buyers

4. The Home Search Process
88%
of buyers used the Internet in their home search
…..dipped slightly from a high of 90% in 2009 as the demographics of home buyers shifted to slightly older repeat buyers from younger first-time buyers.
Source: National Association of REALTORS® | Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011

5. Today’s Buyers
98%
35%
10%
percentage of home buyers who first looked online for information about the home buying process
of home buyers who used an agent while searching for a home viewed real estate agents as a useful information.
percentage of home buyers whose first step in the home buying process was looking online for properties
Source: National Association of REALTORS® | Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011

6. 37% $89,900 45 Today’s Buyers typical buyer age, up from 39 in 2010
of home buyers were first time buyers, a drop from 50 percent in 2010
median household income
Source: National Association of REALTORS® | Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011

7. Today’s Buyers
Today’s buyer is intelligent: a world of perfect information due to the Internet
Today’s buyer is empowered: Information and knowledge are actionable
Today’s buyer is skeptical: Word of mouth is more powerful than ad messages
Today’s buyer is connected: Internet always on and engaged with social media
Today’s buyer is time-pressed: Time is the new currency
Today’s buyer is demanding: They feel they are owed something of value
Today’s buyer is ahead of the curve

8. Where Do buyers congregate online?

9. Snapshot of Major Digital Media
Search engines
Forums
Mobile devices
Social networks
Blogs
Video
Webcasts
Podcasts
Online classifieds
RSS feeds
SMS

10. Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
Search for likely terms and have a presence on page one sites

11. Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
Facebook Ad Campaigns (or other PPC models)

12. Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
‘Like’ Facebook Groups that align with target

13. Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
‘Like’ Facebook Groups that align with target

14. Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
Topic discussion forums – position yourself as SME

15. Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
Video
Tag with relevant keywords
Provide your YouTube channel link in your signature
Link listings to your videos – buyers love this
Push to all major sites

16. Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
Online PR
For SEO
Link building
Keywords
Google alerts

17. Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
Place messages in unusual places
Lifestyle websites
Financial websites
Retirement websites
Home improvement websites
Go where your competitors are not present

18. Digital marketing best practices

19. Best Practices Assess Current Market Practices Dedicate Resources
Determine the gaps and opportunities to position your organization
Dedicate Resources
Commit staff, provide training; allocate budget.
Strategize… Strategize
Design a Digital Marketing Strategy that incorporates your assessment
Build on What You Do Best
Incorporate digital media to augment successful marketing efforts.
Source: Entwine Digital

20. Best Practices Listen, Research, Refine Give Value Be Consistent
Monitor social buzz, real-time customer feedback; refine
Give Value
Focus on giving before expecting anything in return (downloadable resources, free advice, and links)
Be Consistent
increase your digital presence through regular conversations, but don’t push, overexpose or irritate.
Develop Sustainable Relationships
Engage in conversations, take the time to interact

21. Best Practices Provide Social Sharing
Include easy to access to social amplification tools (social sharing buttons) to spread the message.
Cultivate Satisfied, Loyal Customers
Encourage your “customers do your marketing” via sharing with their networks.
Leverage Social Communities
Access related social communities that have a potential interest/benefit from your offering.
Develop Online Environment as your Hub
Drive traffic to office website, Facebook site, landing pages, and blog.

22. Best Practices Integrate Media Monitor your Digital Presence
Augment your traditional advertising (TV, radio, outdoor, direct mail, print) and PR with social media, mobile, and online efforts.
Monitor your Digital Presence
Be ready to adapt if things are not working
Keep Current…Generate Competitive Edge
Maintain your “fingers on the pulse” of your changing business ecosystem and the digital environment.

23. Social media do’s and don’ts

24. Social Media Do’s Provide quality and original content / ideas
Provide value to your audience
Maintain the conversation
Use it as a tactic to gain credibility and reinforce your brand – subtly
Remember there is a right and a wrong place for advertising on many platforms

25. Social Media Don’ts
Use your postings as advertisements – it’s a value exchange
Spam your audience
Commit partially. Go “all in” or don’t play ball

26. Measurement – return on marketing investment

27. ROMI Tools Analytics software Track incoming phone calls - extensions
Google Analytics
HootSuite
Track incoming phone calls - extensions
QR codes

28. 2012 OBSERVATIONS

29. Emergence of Social Search1
Google organic listings carry a +1 to indicate a “like” 2
Consumer sees organic listing and gives it a +1 3
Consumer gets this message confirming the +1 (and
adding to that page’s popularity count) 4
Now that consumer’s preference show up in their friend’s searches endorsing that page

30. Mobile Explosion

31. Identifying & Targeting Buyers in a Digital World
Kevin Oldham
Vice President
United Marketing Services