Home Marketing
Seattle Real Estate | Gerhard Ade
Home marketing on all sales channels
Successful home marketing calls for presenting your home with all available tools on all available channels. Presentation is the third of the “3-Ps” to selling your Seattle area home quickly and at the highest possible price.
The first P is Pricing the home and the second P is Preparation (Staging the home). Gerhard’s 3-P system is a proven method of listing and selling your home in any market.
Presentation – the third P
Marketing your home is easier when you have done your homework. We have taken the pulse of the prevailing market conditions, and we’ve kept tabs on our competition. You’ve made repairs and improvements. Your home looks good inside and out. Now we get to show off the place.
Home marketing takes two channels – the agent-broker channel and the public channel. The first is known and narrow; that’s the MLS. The second is vast and varied; that’s the Internet. In practice, everything starts with the listing on the MLS. It triggers the export of the data and description to MLS member Web sites and countless real estate portals. The successful home sale at the highest possible price in the fastest time depends on exposing your home in both channels to the maximum potential.
The six steps of home marketing.
- Create a list of facts and features – complete property resource
- Take pictures and video – MLS, Web, print
- List on MLS – automated syndication to brokerage firms and portals
- Create web media – custom website, portals, social media
- Create print media – flyer, exterior sign, interior displays
- Plan post-listing activities – response to agent visits, open houses, social media
1. Create a list of facts and features.
Home marketing begins with facts. The list starts with the obvious, such as the square footage and the year the home was built. The list includes all the features and the improvements made in the preparation phase. The purpose of the list of facts and features is twofold. One, it serves as the source for every fact stated in all the channels of home marketing. Two, it helps to answer every possible question anyone may ask.
2. Take pictures and videos.
A picture is worth a thousand words. That’s also true for bad pictures. That’s why using a professional photographer is a must. The pictures should also capture the character of the home. The sequence in which they are shown should be like a visual walk-through of the home. Videos that are mere pans across still pictures don’t impress today’s homebuyers. A video like this one does what still photography can’t. In the right location, drone photography can show views of scenery that sell.
3. The source of all home marketing: the MLS listing
Currently, the MLS listing input form consists of hundreds of data fields but the marketing remarks are limited to about 85 words. Once syndicated to thousands of websites, it is these 85 words that will be repeated across the internet. These 85 words and as many as 40 pictures will make the first impression of your home. One more thing: before the listing is published, you should review all the data input, text, pictures, and captions.
4. Home marketing on the Web.
Buyers will find your home on the Web. Gerhard’s comprehensive home marketing plan includes a custom property website and postings across all social media like Facebook and Instagram. You do not want to rely solely on the automatic syndication of the listing. Also, the importing of data to public websites can be delayed and some facts about your home may be lost or misrepresented. Only custom home marketing will set your home apart from the ordinary and attract the buyers’ attention.
5. Create print media.
Even in the age of the internet, printed information has its place. Some people still like to read and keep the flyer or brochure so they can easily compare the homes they’ve seen. To help visitors, signs posted on the walls should point out features, especially those easily missed or hidden. The listing sign traditionally promotes the real estate company and agent. By contrast, Gerhard’s listing signs promote the property supporting his home marketing. Once the home is sold, his signs have become keepsakes for the sellers.
6. Plan post-listing activities.
The moment a home is listed, it’s time to install the lockbox and announce the open house dates. Social media is a great way to promote open houses. Ideally, the listing agent should be present. After all, the listing agent is most knowledgable about the home. The lockbox is more than a security device. It records the visit of every agent and provides the agent’s contact information. Follow-up emails are not only polite but great opportunities to get valuable feedback.
Published originally as the 39th issue of The View from the Street.
In case you missed it, read the first of Gerhard’s 3-Ps to putting your Seattle area home on the market.
Price Your Seattle Home to Sell
Prepare Your Seattle Home to Sell
Here’s a quick summary of Gerhard’s 3-P System for selling your pricing, staging, and marketing your Seattle area home successfully.
