RISMEDIA, July 16, 2010—“Real estate has shifted.”
“Today’s buyer is more educated than ever before.”
These statements echo throughout the real estate sector as agents attempt to adapt their marketing strategies to an ever-evolving consumer.
It’s fitting then, that REBAC debuted a new course this spring, designed to help agents market themselves where consumers are already interacting: online and through social media.
Real Estate Marketing Reboot is a one-day course that expands on marketing fundamentals, teaching students everything from branding and relationship marketing to social media technologies and practical business-building tips.
To illustrate the concepts behind the development of Real Estate Marketing Reboot, I talked with Dominic Cardone, ABR®, CRS, GREEN, a broker with Keller Williams Realty in Media, Pennsylvania, in this month’s column. Cardone worked as a subject matter expert to help REBAC build a course that accommodates the new generation of buyers and incorporates the methods they use to find information and buy real estate.
“The way consumers obtain real estate information is changing,” says Cardone. “It used to be enough to advertise in the daily newspaper as a REALTOR®. Now you need to be in the places where consumers are communicating, seeking entertainment or obtaining news and information.”
And like today’s consumer, the course is ever-evolving and it is best when it produces an open forum for students to share ideas and best practices.
“It focuses on marketing through new technologies and reaching buyers on the Internet and through social media,” says Cardone. “It’s important to understand though, that low-tech marketing can be just as effective for agents. There is value in a mix of online and face-to-face networking.”
The increasing number of agents interacting with consumers and peers online every day means an adjustment for brokers as well. While these marketing methods can mean more business for agents and an opportunity for their brokers, they come with a new level of legal and liability issues.
“It can be intimidating for a broker if he or she has a lot of successful agents to keep track of,” says Cardone. “Brokers have a responsibility to encourage their agents to obtain the education and training necessary to not only increase their business, but to stay on the right side of the Code of Ethics and license laws in the process.”
Covering a range of topics from best practices to personal branding, the course counts as elective credit towards earning the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation and was designed with buyer’s agents in mind. Many of the techniques, however, are not unique to buyers and can be utilized on the selling side as well.
Students interested in signing up for the new Real Estate Marketing Reboot course can visit www.coursecalendar.com to find a course in their area or log onto rebac.net to learn more.
Marc Gould is the executive director of The Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC). A wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), REBAC is the world’s largest association of real estate professionals focusing specifically on representing the real estate buyer. With more than 40,000 active members, REBAC awards the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation to REALTORS® who work directly with buyer-clients.
For more information, visit REBAC.net.
