| Advertising refers to the one-way communication between the marketer and consumer via a controlled message over a given medium (television, radio, print media, billboards, the Internet, etc.) Generally, advertising campaigns are mass marketing campaigns that seek to draw out targeted responders from within the larger marketing audience.
Some more popular forms of advertising (and arguably the most effective) are promotional sales, product placement, publicity, public relations and sponsorship. Also of increasing value today in advertising is the utilization of the Internet for marketing purposes (banner ads, pop-ups, e-mail marketing, forum marketing, etc.)
Arguably the most popular advertising medium (and most profitable) is that of the television commercial. A well-crafted and well-placed commercial can bring about a response from the targeted prospect like no other media format. The only downside to commercial advertising is the cost. Depending on the venue, costs can for the average realtor be prohibitive. One option, however, is to utilize the smaller local community networks and independent cable programs for commercial placement. Here the cost will be limited as will the target audience, though this venue can still be profitable depending on one’s product and/or service.
Similar in effectiveness and popularity to commercial television advertisement is radio commercial advertising. Advertising via the airwaves is a great way to target a specific demographic. As well, it tends to be less cost prohibitive than the television commercial. It is important that the station chosen for the purposes of one’s commercial message have as its base listeners that match the demographic of the marketer’s target audience. Any given radio station can easily provide one with this demographic information and will do so gladly to attract advertisers.
The billboard has also proven profitable to niche realtors within a given community, when they are well placed of course and localized to a particular community. The message should not be an appeal to the masses but rather a call for a response from members of the targeted niche group from within the community. A benefit of billboard advertising is that it is in fact a cost-effective means of advertising.
A fourth option, itself a very profitable advertising strategy is that of print advertising. Selective ad placement in newspapers, magazines, use of fliers, direct marketing, etc., can draw out responsive prospects quite effectively. For the realtor, one is primarily concerned with local and, at best, regional print media so that the mass audience is limited increasing the effectiveness of the campaign. Utilization of such local and regional media is a cost-effective means of advertising, an added benefit.
Finally, the realtor should by no means neglect the power of Internet marketing and Internet advertising to reach targeted market-group members. The advertiser has at his or her disposal the effective strategies of e-mail marketing, banner placement, website sponsorships, forum marketing and pop-up ads (though these are on the decline as they are viewed as browser SPAM and aren’t recommended). The benefits of Internet marketing are that it is cost effective, can be utilized for mass marketing though it is especially conducive to niche marketing, it is trackable and it is immediate in implementation, as well campaigns can be changed frequently and readily in accordance with consumer response (or lack thereof).
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