Sellsius real estate marketing blog

Thanks Jay, hell of a consice response to difficult ongoing question. As always I appreciate your candor. You almost have me obliged to attend the Phoenix Bar Camp to buy you a beer.

Joe, once again, thanks for helping with this issue on your blog.

Ask and you shall receive.

I find it very difficult to put an exact ROI on blogging / social media. I ask every client where they found us, and invariably the answer I get is "on the Internet".

Well, is that the primary blog, a neighborhood blog, my static site, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MeetUp.com, Yelp, Upcoming, Zillow, Trulia, or any of a number of other places?

Occasionally someone will say, "Hey, heard you on the radio, read your quote in the paper/magazine and will you please come list our house". Those I attribute directly to the primary blog as I'm certain that is how the mainstream media finds me. But I can count those on two hands.

I can derive statistics from the blog.

Home search registrations from April 16, 2008 through yesterday (March 4, 2009) = 741
Blog contact forms completed in same time period - 542 (this is after removing sales pitches)

Total "electronic contacts" 4/16/2008 - 3/4/2009 = 1,283

Unique visitors to blog in that time period: 511,556

So my ratio of contacts to visits is not good (at least I don't think it's good) at almost 400 visitors per contact. But the cost of getting those visitors isn't high (other than in time, which IS a cost). The cost is the same (roughly) whether there are 100 visitors or 1,000,000.

So I get 1283 "contacts" in 11 months. How many sales does that translate to?

Again, this is difficult to answer. Oh, I can tell you the number of transaction sides in that time period (31) and I could calculate the GCI (don't have the numbers in front of me, my CPA is pouring over data trying to keep me from giving a third of it to Uncle Sam).

But so what? Those 31 may not (actually, did not) all come from those 1,283 contacts. Internet contacts are different. We just put a buyer under contract that first signed up for listings just over three years ago. Other times people will search and never register but do eventually become clients.

I've got another blog that is very specific to a neighborhood. It only gets 25 visits a week, but I'll get 3 or 4 calls a month from it. Typically 1 of those turns into a paying client at some point.

Then, how do you count the listing that came from a friend of a friend I met on Twitter? I'd say that listing is a result of being engaged on Twitter -- primarily meeting local Twits face-to-face, even though I've yet to meet this client face-to-face. Some would classify this client as a "referral" or a "sphere of influence" client, but the simple fact is, I never would have been put n touch with them if it weren't for a relationship that originated on Twitter.

The cost of time HAS to be included in any ROI calculation. I don't know how much time I spend reading, researching and writing blog posts, or Twittering, or going to meetups. But time IS money. Would that time be better spent cold calling, or doing direct mailings, or sitting in open houses? (none of which I do)

I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. I despise cold calling and direct mailing and sitting opens. I *like* reading, and researching and writing blog posts and Tweets. Because I like this stuff, I am "good" at it. Or at least I think I am. And because I despise those other types of activities, I suck at them. It's not that they aren't viable prospecting methods. In the right hands, clearly they work. They just aren't for me. Just as blogging and Twittering and going to meetups isn't for everyone.

Does that make any sense?

From our perspective, most of the web 2.0 tools that exist can help generate awareness but seldom produce real leads, nevermind substantial ROI.

Joe, I would add to your list:

- Website: i'm surprised this is not on their, but having an effective website can churn out lots an lots of leads and can always be improved (usability, content, search experience, call-to-actions, etc.) - put your money here

- Online marketing: from our experience AdWords still provides stellar ROI, if the above is working they way it should be

- Face-to-face marketing: nothing is more effective than getting off your ass and meeting people to establish a real, emotional connection - it's amazing to think of the amount of hours professionals put into blogs and twitter and not nearly as much time out in the field handing out business cards...

-Bob (inMotionrealestate.com)

Good point Sam. I did have website in an earlier poll but forgot to add it.

What's the best way to get a Face to Face meeting? Cold call, blog,
twitter, seminar, flyer, postcard....?

My real estate blog and Flickr

Taking liberty on Joe's blog --- I have to chime in to say that while the responses are super and your candor much appreicated I'm seeing smoke similar to answers in San Francisco.

We have nothing without hard numbers ie: a record of verbal confirmation with a person who has a heart beat who you asked something along the lines of "how did you find me" and receive the response "I read your blog".
Next is the confirmation of conversion from that call or calls to a closed deal for which you got paid.
That is where stats come from and form the basis upon which a reliable trend can be established. Sample: 100 agents posted 300 times over a period of 1 year and are able to confirm that they got 75 direct calls as a result of regular posting (we could even ask what was the topic that made them call). Those 75 calls subsequently resulted in 3 conversions that lead to a sale and a pay check.

This kind of information is the meat of our business. It is simply no where to be found. As a result, realtors flounder or simply give up blogging as there is no hard number to be their guide or at a minimum something concrete to give them other than Kool Aid. This of course means that in order to be a meaningful result a little more hard information than that given is required. This one aspect seems to holding this process back for everybody as nobody really wants to, in a manner of speaking, "spill the beans". Anybody up to being a bean spiller so that we can blow this smoke out of our lives?

It used to be sign calls and MLS. Since mid-2007 its been website/blogging. I don't know if its because we started taking SEO and blogging seriously, or if buyers are using internet increasingly more. I suspect both.

My real estate blog, my Active Rain blog and Localism site bring the best ROI for me, especially my real estate blog (over one year old and built by the Real Estate Tomato). I'm very active on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook and work those avenues every day, resulting in great 'friends' and added exposure for my real estate blog/website.

Having just started with this Web 2.0 stuff I have no anecdotal evidence of anything. I have started using videos for keeping in touch with prospects in my sales pipeline and what I notice is that they are looked at more than just regular email and judging by the amount of plays, they are being passed along to others. Time will tell!

Online / Social media is my blog but Twitter and Facebook have started catching up. My best advice - use your online efforts and brand to leverage meeting people face to face, nothing can beat it.

A Commercial Agent must always keep cold calling / networking.... but if you do it with a purpose it can be fun.

Up to this point, having listings and showcasing them on my Featured Homes spots on Realtor.com is what drives leads and open house attendance to me. Buyers and sellers are always on the major RE sites searching. This can also prompt a buyer's conversation/showing to another agent who already has an established relationship with their client - which ultimately still brings in a sale for me. While that is working for me in the background, I have dabbled in Trulia Q & A with some success, and am engaged with FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and posting on Blogs. The ROI is not evident yet from social media, but still brings my brand to light and is establishing my online handshake, personna, and expertise with it - key factors in beginning any relationship. The real wow factor for me there is connecting with so many fabulous minds and personalities - an amazing facet and network for a Realtor working solo or in a small team. Others have raved about great marketing success here, I'm hopeful for the same,, and if nothing more, find value in the connection. Branding and being memorable with positivity is what works and what drives traffic and consumers back to me. I'll report back to you on future findings.

My best ROI for 2007 was my website and blog. Since I have been on facebook and networking sites the end of 2007, they are starting to make a big push. 35% of our business came from facebook and networking sites in Feb.

Hi Chris,

How do you use facebook?

Thanks for sharing Chris.