The Globe and Mail ran a story on the changing real estate market and it’s effect on newspaper advertising.
“It’s bad enough that a cratering housing market is leading to a slump in real estate advertising at newspapers, as a dreary series of earnings reports showed last week.
What’s worse is that a lot of that advertising may never come back to newspapers even if the real estate sector recovers. That’s because a significant chunk of those advertising dollars are moving — you guessed, online.”
Are you still advertising in print? do you do any web marketing?
Whatever it is that you do… you should be tracking it. You should be able to know how much your online and print marketing is effecting your business. Do you know? This and this might help.
(hat tip – Rob Lewis)
8/1/2007 at 2:33 pm
I can’t believe it took a cratering real estate market for newspapers to see the pull-out of real estate advertisers. The internet has been the rage for several years now. Many newspapers across the country have seen a dramatic decrease in circulation because you can get just about everything online. Many agents I know of in the Austin market advertise in the newspaper only to pacify their clients.
8/2/2007 at 5:56 pm
Current real estate marketing data shows that over 50% of home buyers began their search on the internet. As a previous sales & marketing director for a national magazine, and now a realtor, I do a mix of internet marketing as well as print. Magazines and newspapers are still favored in the paper version, especially the over 45 crowd. People still get and read the local newspaper (they may say after “it has nothing in it”, but they still read it at least every Sunday).
We find that mixing print and internet marketing helps people remember you…especially repeat clients that you helped find or sell a home. Just last week one old client saw me in the Bellingham Herald , our local newspaper and called us because they were thinking of moving. They said they were glad to see I am still in business.
That said, I am increasing our internet marketing this every year, while lessoning some of our ads in print.
I wouldn’t throw out all print…but when you do make a statement! It works for me.