REALTOR® Magazine Online: Tips for Broadcast Advertising

YOUR INTERACTIVE MAGAZINE

REALTOR.ORG/realtormag
.


	Developing a Property Marketing Plan Listing and Marketing Checklist Marketing Media To Consider Advanced tip Property Advertising Techniques Advanced tip Advanced: Getting the Most from Your Advertising Dollars Online Property Marketing Advanced tip Conducting Open Houses Advanced tip Advanced tip Alternative Selling Options Advanced tip Complying with Fair Housing Broker tip Property Disclosure Broker tip Common Property Hazards Broker tip Advanced tip Property Marketing Quiz Bright Ideas: Property Marketing More Resources: Property Marketing Code of Ethics: Property Marketing		GET THE MOST FROM YOUR ADVERTISING DOLLAR Tips for Broadcast Advertising Scott Hillman, president of Fannie Hillman & Associates, a Winter Park, Fla.-based residential brokerage with 25 sales associates, has been running radio and public access television advertising spots for several years. Here are his tips: Pick a broadcasting outlet with an audience that matches the demographics you want to target. Hillman’s radio spots run on a jazz station that’s popular with the 30-and-up crowd. “If it’s not a good fit, don’t do it,” he says. Ask buyers and sellers which radio stations they listen to and which television channels they watch. Those may be good outlets for your ads. Repetition works. Hillman’s radio spots run throughout the day every Saturday, early Sunday mornings, and during the station’s four-hour “Sunday Morning Jazz Brunch” program. Combine image building with property marketing. “The company’s name is mentioned multiple times, but we also advertise properties and open houses on the radio show. It serves a dual purpose,” Hillman says. Save money with a package deal. Hillman paid $10,000 upfront for a year’s worth of daily prime-time television spots, a savings of $1,000 to $1,500 over what the spots would have cost if bought individually. Expect the station to pick up the production costs. The station produced Hillman’s television spot and the radio copy is prerecorded by the jazz station’s on-air personalities. “My marketing person puts together blurbs about our open houses and ‘homes of the week.’ They [record] it on Thursday, we hear it on Friday, and it airs on Saturday and Sunday. There’s no extra cost for that,” he says. Don’t assume your campaign is a dud if you can’t measure the results. “We get calls from signs, newspaper ads, and referrals, so figuring out what effect the radio ads had on [making the telephone ring] would be difficult. I feel it’s effective,” Hillman says. Consider becoming a regular program sponsor, instead of just an occasional advertiser. Don’t substitute broadcast spots for print or online advertising efforts. Different media achieve different advertising goals. “Newspaper advertising prompts people to react to a particular ad and make a phone call, while radio and TV are great supplements to the basic program,” says Hillman. Tie your advertising together. “Our theme is ‘The Sign of Service.’ We show our sign in the television production, that tagline is mentioned on the radio and is in all our print advertising,” Hillman says. —Excerpted and adapted from “Bringing in Business with Sound Bytes,” Florida REALTOR^®, January 1997. 7 More Tips for Great Radio and Television Ads 1. Look for exclusive opportunities where you’ll be the only real estate associate on that radio station, cable television channel, or a specific program on the station or channel. 2. Spend a lot of time listening to the station or watching the channel yourself before you make an ad buy. 3. Stick to your message. The content, look, and feel of your radio and television advertising should match your print and online advertising campaign. The goal is one repeated message, not a separate image for each type of media. 4. Make an emotional connection between yourself and the listeners or viewers. Mention or show specific homes for sale, but also focus on yourself and your services. 5. On television, use live action—a live spokesperson standing in front of a house—rather than still shots or static photographs. 6. On the radio, add sound effects. For example, if you’re promoting open houses, incorporate a home’s doorbell ringing or the sounds of someone entering a home. 7. Practice before you perform. If you plan to be on the air yourself, hire a professional coach or writer and memorize a prepared script, so you’ll feel confident in front of the microphone or camera. TIP: If you aren’t comfortable doing the ad yourself, hire a pro. Often the station will be able to contract with its own personnel free or at a reasonable price. Online Property Marketing, next page >

Copyright THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® | Headquarters: 430 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611 |
DC Office: 500 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001 | 1 800 874 6500