Real Estate Advertising - 3 Predictions

I've been watching the real estate advertising industry very closely for several years. I also keep a close eye on general advancements in the real estate industry. So I thought I would play Nostradamus and make some predictions about real estate advertising.

1. Print Ads Will Fade Away
Consumers have become all but blind to traditional advertising models, and there is nothing more traditional than the magazine and newspaper ad. Such publications have been the backbone of real estate advertising for decades, but I predict this will continue to fade away as response rates from such placements fall through the floor. Let's face it ... we have all learned how to "read around" print ads, haven't we?

2. Direct Mail Ads Will Plateau
For some real estate agents, real estate direct mail is still a viable option for personal marketing. That's because these agents know how to use direct mail the right way, using creativity and genuine value to generate a response. I've even written a book on real estate direct mail postcards to show this.

But I believe the majority of agents who use direct mail for real estate advertising do it less effectively, relying on outdated tactics and weak offers. There's still plenty of potential in direct mail advertising, but I see it staying where it is as a real estate advertising tool -- neither increasing or decreasing in usage.

3. Selective Online Ads Will Rise
Over the last 3 - 5 years, dozens of real estate search engines and self-help websites have emerged to dominate the media. You know their names -- Zillow, HouseValues, etc. These websites are run by smart individuals, and as a result they generate vast amounts of traffic. Their traffic is also clearly definable (home buyers and sellers).

As the Internet continues to grow, and it gets harder to achieve top search engine ranking, I believe more and more agents will engage in online advertising (and lead acquisition) opportunities with the big real estate sites.

I don't think these will be traditional banner ads though. At least I hope they're not, since banner ads have become invisible. I see this as a "featured agent" kind of tactic wisely based on geographical areas and other demographics.

So there you have them ... my two pennies on the future of real estate advertising. I promise not to edit this blog post down the road, if I happen to be way off base!

Have a great weekend!

~Brandon