Search Marketing Blog
New Interactive Technologies Reach-Out to Home Buyers
Posted by Tyson Braun on 12.04.2008Americans send about 75 billion text messages a month, up from around 30 billion a year ago, according to the latest industry surveys. Recently, some marketers in the real estate industry are expanding efforts to take advantage of this flourishing social behavior by sending property information to potential buyers via SMS text messages.
As a full-service Search Engine Marketing company, we at EngineWorks like to stay on top of trends in the Internet marketing landscape. Marketing through text messaging is nothing new. However, we perceive that the current opportunities in the real estate industry could effectively change the way individuals shop for homes, and is a marketing trend that has recently caught our attention.
The scenario is easy to imagine. It’s estimated that 90% of home buyers begin their search online, which is why Search Engine Optimization and Paid Search Marketing are invaluable strategies for capturing this qualified traffic. At the same time, many of these online visitors may want to see prospective homes in person prior to contacting an agent. Here’s where new advancements in text message marketing can improve this research process.
A potential buyer may jot down listings, and then cruise the neighborhood in their car to view each property. There may be several homes in the neighborhood for sale, with some of the signs inviting the prospective buyer to send a text message to a number listed for more information. Within seconds from sending the text, the individual receives listing information pertaining to the home in the form of a return text message, and an invitation to be contacted by an agent. The prospective buyer gains immediate details about the home, and the realtor receives a qualified lead.
In 2005, ClearSky Mobile Media introduced the idea of sending real estate listings over SMS texts. At the time of the introduction, consumers expressed concerns about being spammed, and receiving incomplete or incoherent information. Nearly four years later, businesses today are realizing that to reach customers, communication must be done on their terms. This is part of the reason why there has been a dramatic shift to online advertising, especially Search Engine Marketing, from traditional media channels.
A Pennsylvania-based company that integrates Multiple Listing Service information into text messages, TxT2Sell, points out that the immediacy of text messaging is a powerful marketing tool. Previously, realtors only employed the strategy providing a URL on for-sale signs to catch the online researcher crowd. This strategy, however, involves several steps on the part of the customer.
TxT2Sell, and other innovative companies, may be spearheading a new effective way to reach more qualified home buyers. If they prove to be successful, it will because of the mutually benefit to both the consumer and the real estate agent. Not to mention the fact that those 75 billion texts have to be sent somewhere!
