Tag Archive for 'advertising'

Why TRACKING is KING

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by
NDG
on February 17, 2010
in advertising, e-marketing, new home sales marketing and real estate marketing
. 0 Comments

While Content is Queen, Tracking is King. Here’s why: Advertisers and Marketers today have the most concrete, reliable, and ample data to help analyze and understand the results of your labors.

Now you really can see what is working, and deduce why or why not with your online efforts (including e-mail, advertising, and websites)—giving you the power to refine and adjust over time to maintain and increase positive results. Your content will generate the results, and tracking will ensure that your content is as well crafted and targeted as possible to create the most response over time as situations evolve.

Remember: Advertising is what brings you the first contact with the prospect; marketing is what happens when you respond. Analytics help measure both your advertising and marketing results. Now you can have true ROI metrics that spell out the who, why, where, when, and how.

Of course, it takes time to analyze. And of course it’s not black and white; there will be shades of gray, but this is what gives you the most clarity. There are also industry benchmarks available to help evaluate your performance against other competitors in your selected arena. For example, here are some recent real estate industry e-mail averages, courtesy mailchimp.com:

Open Rate: 22.84%
Click-through Rate: 4.24%
Soft Bounces: 2.02%
Hard Bounces: 4.31%
Unsubscribe Requests: 0.30%

And since almost all online advertising and marketing can be tracked if the proper steps are taken, there’s no reason to blindly assume or guess about what is working and what isn’t anymore. So, never forget that the key to your online success is the formula of CONTENT + TRACKING.

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Why CONTENT is QUEEN

Published
by
NDG
on February 12, 2010
in articles, e-marketing and real estate marketing
. 0 Comments

Continuing our discussion from our previous post, 2010 Online Marketing Fundamentals, we now turn to the importance of content.

For the real estate industry (and practically every other industry), the key to online success is the formula of CONTENT + TRACKING. Today we’ll talk about why CONTENT is the fuel of your online engine.

So, an engine will not run with fuel. As you know, the gas in your car won’t last forever—you’ll use it up and will need to fuel up again to get further down the road. The same is exactly true of your online content. You’ll need to put new content into the system continually to keep your company moving toward your online goals.

Since consumers start their buying process online, your website must be the hub of all your activities. Even with the numerous social media platforms and channels available, your website must be the central core that radiates content outward, and receives, processes, and interacts with inbound communications.

Content is everything. Content is what brings consumers to you. But once they’ve seen it—unless it is complex or incredibly compelling—they won’t be back. Thus, ensuring that your content is changing, fresh, and answers the needs of your potential audiences is absolutely critical to the success of all your online efforts.

But what does “fresh content” really mean? It means that you’re telling your story continually; and not just your story, but also the story of how you can fulfill your clients’ needs. It means that your representation of your product must stay fresh as well, even if the product or service itself has not substantially changed. And it means that you are getting your content in front of as many targeted faces as possible—adapting for each new segment’s unique needs.

So commit to regular fresh fuel-ups of your website and outbound channels with fresh content, tailored to the wants and needs of your audiences. Otherwise, you’ll always be going nowhere.

Next Week: Why Tracking is King

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Being Ready for the Bounce: Four Marketing Fundamentals

Published
by
NDG
on July 30, 2009
in articles and new home sales marketing
. 0 Comments

From the Washington Post:
“The battered housing market appears to be on the mend, with sales climbing nationally and prices leveling off, even rising in some spots….On Tuesday, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller price index, a closely watched gauge, showed that single-family-home prices rose 0.5 percent from April to May, the first monthly increase since 2006. Earlier this week, the Federal government reported an 11 percent rise in new-home sales from May to June, the largest monthly gain in nine years.”

So, according to a key indicator of the housing market, for the first time in nearly three years home prices actually rose month-over-month across the nation. Foreclosures have slowed as well as lenders address new loan-modification programs, and economists think there’s now enough data to show that the housing market is  recovering and even bottoming in some parts of the country. Even the conservative Wall Street Journal reports this indicator data as a possible “change in momentum” for the housing market.

Now that reliable data shows that the bottom is being reached across the nation, it’s time to prepare for the bounce in your market. But your budgets are still tight, and you’re not even sure how to prepare after such an extended downturn. Here are the four marketing fundamentals every homebuilder or real estate brokerage should be doing to prepare for the bounce, with little cash expense required:

1.    Follow Up: Odds are, you already know the person who’s going to buy that house. They’ve likely already visited the community if not the very same unit. Go back to your prospect list and follow up.

2.    One Person’s Inventory is Another’s Content: Utilize the free and low-price targeted online advertising available to you, including trulia.com, zillow.com, newhomesindex.com, move.com, craigslist.com, realtor.com, google base, and others to give the right online searchers numerous opportunities to encounter your offerings, all at incredibly low cost or, at some sites, for free.

3.    Reach Out: Nationwide, more than 50% of all new home sales in 2008 were through a realtor. In fact, some builders saw this figure rise as high as 90% in the last year. It’s not enough to have just an introductory event and send out an occasional postcard. Your outreach must be coordinated, consistent, and actually connect—create events that encourage realtors to bring their clients to experience what your products or communities have to offer, stay up-to-date, and boost the frequency of your contact with them. Get more solid advice on Realtor Outreach from the NDG Blog.

4.    Start Listening: All those nifty social media tools like facebook and twitter are just the means to an end. We’re not just using them to be using them; we’re using them to have a new kind of conversation. Social media channels aren’t like the old, 1-way, broadcast channels where you just yelled at people, frequently. Online, people are talking back, and you must hold up your end of the conversation by genuinely listening and honestly responding. Listening will give you incredible insights; not listening will become dangerously reckless.

Commit to doing these four marketing fundamentals, and you’ll be cost-effectively connecting with your prospects and opening new channels in preparation for the rebound.

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Celebrating Independence Day

Published
by
NDG
on July 2, 2009
in marketing
. 0 Comments

From all of us at NDG, we wish you a happy and safe 4th of July Holiday. Celebrate our freedom, enjoy time with family and friends, and please remember, if you’re drinking, don’t drive, and if you’re driving, don’t drink.

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Introducing the Newest NDG Team Members

Published
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NDG
on April 2, 2009
in articles
. 0 Comments

NDG Communications is proud to announce that two new team members have come aboard recently: Beverly Kitchens is NDG’s newest Art Director, and Deanna Spence is our latest addition to the NDG Account Services department. We are very excited about the capabilities and experience each one brings to NDG.

Beverly Kitchens, Art Director

Beverly is a graduate of James Madison University, where she earned a BFA in graphic design. Prior to joining NDG Communications as Art Director, Beverly was a graphic designer for Delucchi+ in Washington, D.C., where she served numerous development, real estate, and resort clients. She has also served as a designer for The George Washington University Communications & Creative Services Department, and as a print specialist at Alexandria, VA-based Pixels & Ink. Her expert hand, consistent visual style, and strong conceptual skills have quickly made her an integral part of NDG’s creative team.

Deanna Spence, Account Executive

Deanna has worked in the real estate industry for more than eight years, serving both new home sales companies and builders. She is also a licensed real estate agent and has served in numerous community sales roles. Despite the fact that Deanna is the only Raven’s fan in the midst of some hardcore Redskins supporters here at NDG, we’re still proud to have her aboard. When she’s not taking care of client needs, Deanna enjoys sampling sushi with her bulldog, Fallyn, and spending quality time with her family.

Beverly Kitchens, NDG Communications Art Director

Beverly Kitchens

deanna_lrg_pic

Deanna Spence

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Going Back to Godin

Published
by
NDG
on February 19, 2009
in advertising, articles and marketing
. 0 Comments

Be loved, or at least be less annoying.

In his blog, Seth Godin shares two paths to success:

“The goal is to create a product that people love. If you can’t do that, though, perhaps you can make your service or product less annoying.”

“I think smart marketers at Apple work to make products that people love. Smart marketers at American Airlines ought to work at making an airline that isn’t annoying.”

We think Godin’s on to something here, as usual. While we can’t all be darling brands or goods or services, we can at least be ones that don’t frustrate people and deliver reasonably consistent quality.

Read the whole article here.

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Direct Mail Fundamentals

Published
by
NDG
on February 5, 2009
in advertising, articles, marketing, new home marketing and real estate marketing
. 0 Comments

E-mail marketing is very effective and has a reasonably low cost compared to regular direct mail, but regular direct mail is not going away, and it can be part of an effective marketing mix to reach particular segments of the population who may not be in your e-mail lists. So let’s talk about getting the most from our “land mail” direct campaigns.

The most important thing to understand with regular direct mail is that you must determine your audience first, and then tailor your message to that audience. By getting more specific about your list, about who it is that you should be selling to, you can get better returns from more qualified leads. Conduct better research to isolate your ideal buyer characteristics in your mailing lists to get more on-target.

But direct mail now has a new helper to make your campaigns even more effective. Remember in my last post about e-mail marketing where we talked about a “website landing page” linked in the e-mail where the recipient could go to register for an event, to receive more information, or to receive a gift or a chance to win some incentive? You can do the exact same thing with direct mail by providing the website address for your campaign landing page.

Of course, it’s easier with e-mail marketing because the recipient only has to click a link in the e-mail to go to the landing page, but with a properly targeted list, a strategically crafted message, and an appropriate incentive, you can still push many direct mail recipients to the same landing page where they can provide you with solid contact information for an actionable, and most likely very qualified, lead.

And, variable printing has created the ability to further personalize mailers to each recipient’s name, interests, and correct product categories and thus make your communications more relevant to individual recipients.

If you make sure to follow these essential rules, your direct mail campaigns will yield more results and produce far more qualified leads.

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Super Bowl Shamefest

Published
by
NDG
on February 2, 2009
in Fun at NDG, advertising and marketing
. 0 Comments

Another year of low expectations and even lower delivery for the ad industry at this year’s Super Bowl. Rather than howl on like every other advertising-related blog about the dire collection of hyper-inflated nonsense that was trotted out last night (Danica Patrick in the Shower? And give the Clydesdales a rest, already), we’d just like to share what was very likely the best Super Bowl ad of the entire lot:


It’s probably worth pointing out that nobody at NDG feels this way. Except for Steve, and only when the coffee runs out.

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Print Reanimated

Published
by
NDG
on February 2, 2009
in advertising, articles and marketing
. 0 Comments

Coy little campaign from (we think) a Brazilian sound production company called “Saxsofunny”:

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Noise to Signal

Published
by
NDG
on January 21, 2009
in Fun at NDG, advertising, articles, marketing and real estate marketing
. 0 Comments

So we changed our blog name. The reason? As we’ve been writing the blog, we’ve been finding our collective voice. Now that our blog has been up and on its feet for a little while, the character, topics, and tone of the material have become more consistent and our focus more defined.

“Noise to Signal” means cutting through the clutter to create real meaning, and real connections. If you’re not doing that, you’re wasting time and money. We believe in the power of new media to make connections. And while we don’t believe Twitter, Facebook, or Youtube are the ultimate killer channels, we must all acknowledge their power to reshape our communications, and the way we share information.

We’ll continue to relate our news and accomplishments, but we’re also now committed to providing real and meaningful content that can help you connect with the people who live your brand every day. And of course, the occasional industry goodies will be sprinkled here and there to keep you up to speed on e-marketing and advertising in general. Or if we see the work or ideas of others worthy enough to share, we’re even happy to share our spotlight—at least for a minute.

So, go ahead and bookmark us. We promise to continue to deliver. And, if you’re really ready to get real about your marketing and advertising in the 21st century, we’re ready to help you.

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