By Beth McGuire
RISMEDIA, June 4, 2008-In tough market conditions, you might be tempted to not invest as much time and money in marketing. But when the market is tight, competition is even more intense. A strong marketing campaign could be the reason you are chosen to list a property over other real estate professionals.
Through its REALTOR Benefits® Program, NAR has partnered with several marketing companies that can help you with the things you need to do every day to stand out from the competition. Companies like AgentCasts, infoUSA, and PsPrint can help you increase exposure for your listings, find leads, keep in touch with current customers, and beef up your promotional campaign-more efficiently and at an affordable price.
Boost Exposure for Listings
A great way to stand out from the crowd and reach more prospects is to showcase your listings with virtual and video tours. A leading provider in real estate video marketing solutions, AgentCasts can help you produce photo-based virtual tours, full-motion video tours, and agent profile marketing videos. They offer a complete one-stop shop, with full video production, editing, hosting, and distribution services.
“Our photo-based virtual tours are a really popular product right now,” says Dan Dashnaw, president, AgentCasts. “They are produced in a video format and distributed online through all the various distribution channels we use, just like our full-motion video tour products. And at $97 per property for the entire package, they’re a great value.”
You can also upload your self-recorded video footage, which AgentCasts will edit to produce a professional “Web-ready” video tour. They also offer complete video-tour filming and production services “on location,” anywhere across the U.S. All video tours include custom narration, video players, hosting, podcasting, MLS links, and full distribution to top Web video and podcasting sites.
“AgentCasts seems to have the whole package,” says Karen Moorhead, of Keller Williams Realty, Ann Arbor, Michigan. “I was thrilled with the production and the exposure has been incredible-excellent products, superb production, and then the ability to totally blast your videos out across the Web.”
Through their partnership in the Realtor Benefits Program, AgentCasts offers NAR members 10% off their full range of video marketing solutions.
Prospecting Made Simple
Generating leads can be time consuming. By using the Internet subscription service Salesgenie.com you can find fresh prospects in minutes. Offered by NAR’s Realtor Benefits Program partner, infoUSA, Salesgenie.com gives you immediate, unlimited access to infoUSA’s databases.
InfoUSA’s consumer databases provide contact information on 210 million consumers and 75 million households-over 95% of the households in the U.S. You can search for homeowners by income or age, or find people who live in older homes. You can get accurate mailing addresses and phone numbers in minutes.
Of course, your new leads are of little use if they are not up to date. To ensure they are fresh and accurate, infoUSA works with 700 full-time professionals who make over 26 million calls per year to continually verify and update data.
Through NAR’s Realtor Benefits Program, InfoUSA offers NAR members no activation fee and special pricing on the monthly subscription fee for Salesgenie.com or Salesgenie.com/Lite, which provides access to a limited use subscription at a lower price.
Design, Print and Mail-Faster
Developing professional-looking, high-impact marketing materials is another important lead generation tool for your business. PsPrint offers high-quality printing, direct mail and design services for real estate professionals. You can create business cards, Just Listed/Just Sold postcards, presentation folders, door hangers, stationery and more.
With PsPrint’s Customer Satisfaction Guarantee, you can rely on quality printed products that reflect well on you and your business. Their intuitive website provides instant pricing, online ordering, and real-time order tracking. PsPrint also offers direct mail services and farming list selection and management tools, so you have everything you need to launch a successful marketing campaign.
And you won’t have to wait long or pay much to do it. PsPrint’s cutting-edge Web technologies and state-of-the-art, full-color production facilities ensure lightening-fast turnaround and competitive prices. In fact, they offer a low price guarantee on some of their most popular products, including business cards, postcards, flyers and more.
As an NAR member, you receive a 20% discount (up to $100) on your initial order, an ongoing 5% off the best pricing shown for all subsequent orders, as well as monthly promotions directed at the unique needs of real estate professionals.
For more information, visit www.realtor.org/realtorbenefits or call 1-800-NAR-5233.
