First Impressions -
We’ve all heard the saying – “you only have one opportunity to make a first impression”. While it may be a bit cliché, it is very true.
A positive first impression is an important start in building a solid relationship with your customer. This is true whether the interaction is over the phone, in-person or online.
It is important, especially in today’s economic climate, that you create a welcome and pleasant experience for your prospects and one that builds rapport with your current clients. Your marketing collateral, including your community’s online presence, must be appealing, compelling and current in order to stand out from the competition. Professionally-produced websites can have outdated news feeds, outdated images and preconstruction VR leaving viewers confused as to the state of the development. Blogs and microblogs often go ignored and aren’t consistently updated leaving the impression that new media is an after-thought or unimportant to its owners. It is crucial that your community’s presence be up to date; the viewing public is interested in the present and future, not the past.
Online media is often your first impression. Your social media presence deserves the same level of professional attention found on all of your marketing collateral. Too often we see Twitter feeds and Facebook fan pages with underdeveloped or irrelevant content. Often these posts look like an afterthought. The whole purpose of social media is to create an ongoing, up-to-date narrative that evolves into a dialogue of relevant and valued content for the end-user. If your property is not managed with consistent, relevant content updates that add value to the end user - your first impression will not be a favorable one. Bottom line – if you are going to use this media, be prepared to spend the time to use it correctly or hire someone who will.
Steps to Take for a Positive First Impression:
- Create a strategy and plan ahead – plan a campaign with objectives
- Post regularly - be consistent, avoid i-phone updates and randomly timed posts
- Make it count – provide content that is relevant to each point of contact
- Create value-added content – avoid speaking only about you – offer value to your audience
- Be flexible – primary prospects, events and important news changes, adjust content accordingly
- Be knowledgable – know your point of contacts and why they would find value in your content
- Manage the campaign – immerse yourself and understand SMM strengths, purpose and guidelines
A fully-managed social media effort creates a dialogue and keeps your community in front of the major influencers – key to any successfully managed social media campaign. These key influencers include:
- Broker/Agents
- Prospects
- Neighborhood Businesses
- Press (New Media and Traditional)
- Current Residents
Branding your community in today’s market is more important than ever. Consumers are looking to be informed in their decisions and are collecting information via online searches and opinions. More than 300 million people have Facebook profiles and over 50% of social media participants are now endorsing their favorite brands online. Twitter is becoming mainstream. Small businesses are cutting a larger market share by supporting one-another and finding new promotionl opportunities through local co-promotion events. Unlike static online advertising, properly managed social media marketing sites give your target audience a reason to return. Acknowledging that fact and commiting to the process by embracing new technologies and branding methods is essential to whether your first impression will be a lasting one.
6 Degrees Group New Media for New Home Real Estate Developments, Leasing Communities, Resort Properties & Hospitality
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