identifying & targeting buyers in a digital world kevin oldham vice president united marketing...
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Identifying & Targeting Buyers in a Digital World
Kevin Oldham
Vice President
United Marketing Services
Today’s Discussion
1. Today’s buyers2. Where do buyers congregate online?3. Best practices for online marketing4. Social media do’s and don'ts5. Measurement – ROMI6. 2012 Observations
TODAY’S BUYERS
The Home Search Process
of buyers used the Internet in their home search
Source: National Association of REALTORS® | Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011
88%
…..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.
Today’s Buyers
98% 10%35%of home buyers who used an agent while searching for a home
viewed real estate agents as a useful
information.
percentage of home buyers who first looked online for information
about the home buying process
Source: National Association of REALTORS® | Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011
percentage of home buyers whose first step in the
home buying process was looking online for
properties
Today’s Buyers
37% 45$89,900of home buyers were
first time buyers, a drop from 50 percent
in 2010
typical buyer age, up from 39 in 2010
Source: National Association of REALTORS® | Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011
median household income
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
WHERE DO BUYERS CONGREGATE ONLINE?
Snapshot of Major Digital Media
• Search engines• Forums• Mobile devices• Social networks• E-mail• Blogs• Video• Webcasts• Podcasts• Online classifieds• RSS feeds• SMS
• Search for likely terms and have a presence on page one sites
Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
• Facebook Ad Campaigns (or other PPC models)
Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
• ‘Like’ Facebook Groups that align with target
Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
• ‘Like’ Facebook Groups that align with target
• Topic discussion forums – position yourself as SME
Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
• Video– Tag with relevant
keywords– Provide your YouTube
channel link in your e-mail signature
– Link listings to your videos – buyers love this
• Push to all major sites
Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
• Online PR– For SEO– Link building– Keywords
• Google alerts
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
Ideas for Targeting Buyers Online
DIGITAL MARKETING BEST PRACTICES
Best Practices
• Assess Current Market Practices– 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
Best Practices• Listen, Research, Refine
– 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
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.
Best Practices
• Integrate Media– 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.
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
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
MEASUREMENT – RETURN ON MARKETING INVESTMENT
ROMI Tools
• Analytics software– Google Analytics
– HootSuite
• Track incoming phone calls - extensions
• QR codes
2012 OBSERVATIONS
Emergence of Social Search
1 Google organic listings carry a +1 to indicate a “like”
3Consumer gets this message confirming the +1 (andadding to that page’s popularity count)
4 Now that consumer’s preference show up in their friend’s searches endorsing that page
2 Consumer sees organic listing and gives it a +1
Mobile Explosion
Identifying & Targeting Buyers in a Digital World
Kevin Oldham
Vice President
United Marketing Services