'Real estate is not like wine'
Letter to the Editor
By Inman News, Tuesday, January 13, 2009.Re: ' Three things the real estate industry needs to do in 2009' (Jan. 8)
Dear Editor:
I had the good fortune of being on a panel at the Inman Connect '09 in New York City last week. I saw most of the general sessions but missed the one featuring Gary Vaynerchuk, aka Gary Vee of winelibrary.tv. I heard all sorts of buzz about it, so when I saw the video posted on Facebook today I thought I would invest the time to watch the 30-plus-minute stage show. Being a relative neophyte to all the nooks and crannies of social media marketing, I hadn't heard of Gary Vee before so I watched it with fresh eyes.
Gary makes a lot of good points about personal branding, transparency and connecting to the consumer in new ways, but with all due respect Gary, real estate is not like wine. We know transparency has been lacking in our industry so we'll take that. We also recognize that we need to "reallocate the way we view business" and to become part of the community in new and innovative ways, but to tell us to "stop thinking local" and that "paying for advertising is idiotic in 2009" doesn't work for us.
Why doesn't it work? Because real estate is a service, not a product. Because real estate at its very core is local. You say we need to "take the world." We don't. We need to get more concentration and market share within our own borders and boundaries. I'm not sure I get why a Realtor in Pleasanton, Calif., needs to be "Internet famous" in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.? How many people move from Poughkeepsie to Pleasanton? And of those that do, how many are being referred through some sort of relocation channel?
Don't get me wrong, I think social networking is absolutely a tactic that real estate agents should adopt as part of a bigger strategy. It offers a variety of venues to broaden one's circle, and build a reputation or personal brand. As you say, social media is the new mixer and we need to embrace it. That said, do I think we need to spend 50 percent of our time on it like you suggest? No. The real opportunity for real estate agents is in real life.
The industry is finally embracing online marketing strategies, but to suggest all ad spending (both traditional and nontraditional) stop is unhelpful. In this down market -- a perfect time to grow market share -- one must embrace "inline" media strategies. Not offline, not online, but inline. Inline with consumer's expectations; inline with the brand promise and inline with the capabilities of the company or agent.
Consumers take in information in all sorts of ways. It's up to us to decide how our specific market is consuming that information. There still are effective media outlets other than the Internet ... ya know Gary, like the books you are writing, like the television shows you are on, like the one you are going to produce. Broadcast and print still do exist, and it sounds like you are certainly leveraging good "old fashioned" media to make your millions.
You are fabulous, Gary Vee, and we can all learn something from your cunning entrepreneurship, vibrant personality and abounding energy, but uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Wisdom carries heavy weight and can be dangerous, as many others seek the crown for themselves.
Ginny Cain McMurtrie
Cain Communications
***
What's your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor.
All rights reserved. This content may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this content without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.
Bookmarking Sites
You must login or register to post a comment.
Submitted by Catherine Read on January 13, 2009 - 1:27pm.
Ginny makes very valid points here. We tend to rush toward what appears to be the "silver bullet" solution and in marketing there isn't one. There are so many choices now in how to market that individual agents should focus on finding what works for them - not necessarily mirror what is working for someone else. Part of Gary's success is that what he does is fresh and original. If everyone else mimics this approach, it becomes "what everybody is doing."
I believe the best advice is to find your authentic voice and seek out those tools that allow you to present to the consumer what you can do for them; and why choosing you will benefit them in pursuing their own agenda. That might be blogging, or video, photography, or something else entirely. Maybe it's finding the right combination of tools - which is the whole point of "inline" media strategies (a term I like very much.)
Inman has done an excellent job in presenting many voices, opinions, experts, resources and tools. But as Ginny suggests, it's a good idea to really evaluate what each of these things can and cannot do for your business before leaping in with both feet.
Catherine S. Read
Creative Read, Inc.
Submitted by Robert A. Hulme on January 13, 2009 - 2:21pm.
Google search brings everyone into my neighborhood, I may not find a buyer from Poughkeepsie, N.Y who wants to buy in Pleasanton, Ca, but there might be someone from Rochester that does. All he has to do is Google Pleasanton California Real Estate and all of a sudden Joe Realtor from Pleasanton is the expert if he comes up on the first page.
Well at least it is working for me here in Utah. Google search has brought the whole world into my neighborhood. I can continue to market to my Sphere as I have always done in the past, but now I have a steady flow of buyer leads hitting my inbox daily.
Thank you for telling everyone to stay in "Real Life", the more that stay there, the more online opportunities for me and my fellow techies.
Robert A. Hulme
Realtor, GRI, e-PRO
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Loan Officer
Envision Lending Group, Inc.
www.UtahCountyRealEstate.us
www.UtahHomesForSale.ws
801-885-2586
Submitted by Austin Smith on January 20, 2009 - 1:04pm.
I agree that a turnabout from ad spending is NOT the way to go. For Gary to suggest such a thing is simply naive. Ginny is correct in highlighting the difference between Real Estate and wine, a "service" and a "solution". It would be a foolhardy maneuver for any agent to simply cease advertising and rely only on the internet or word of mouth for leads/business.
But, at the same time, it would be just as foolish to wash your hands of online networking and place all your eggs in the offline advertising basket. Ginny said she neglected to see the value in being "internet famous". This point of view, also, is slightly naive. One cannot deny that America is online. Constantly. And it's also safe to say that not everyone buying a house in Poughkeepsie is from Poughkeepsie. True, alot of buyers stay local, but what about the Midwesterner wanting an East Coast experience? How will he receive information? Your website, that's how. And how do you boost traffic to your website? By providing relevant, valuable content and making sure your face/site is well known throughout the Web's real estate annals.
Don't get me wrong here; I am a frequent viewer of Vaynerchuck's WineTV, and have had nothing bad to say of the guy until now. And Ginny, please do not misinterpret this as a personal attack. I simply hope to reveal to you the value of having a strong online presence. Happy Networking..
Submitted by Dave "Utah Dave" Robison on March 18, 2009 - 7:50pm.
Its a great example though. How many people in real estate are actively engaging people via video media. Just wait...youll see some IM sure really soon. http://www.utahdave.com
THe whole market is changing whos in control of market share. Its either being a personality or its being the specialist in a neighhborhood such as http://www.daybreakliving.com
Your Friend,
Utah Dave