Panel Discussion: The Business of Awesome #bawesomeyyc

Consumers Have Many Choices, How Do You Influence Them?

Thanks to CIR Realty for hosting this great event. I missed the two other guys who were instrumental in putting this day together but if anybody and comment on their names, I’ll name sure to add a link to their business.

I was about 1/2 hour late so I’ll start this post from the point of time that I arrived.

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Kirsten Bartlett ‏
Speakers: Doug Lacombe, Doug Firby, Richard Bartrem

Q. How do you measure ROI?

DougL
- You’re selling ideas so it’s important to track how successful the ideas are implanted. This leads back to trust and so it’ important to prove what you claim. For oil & gas companies, it’s not enough to claim that you’re not harming the environment, you have to prove it.

How can realtors stand out?

DougL
- MLS listings are a commodity so inventory is not a differentiator. Whether or not I can stand 4 hours a car with you is.

If content is King, what is your approach to content strategy?

All

- Create content that builds trust.
- Think about how the content builds or breaks your reputation.
- Try to create content that raises your value (value = Benefit/cost).
- Relevance is King, not content
- Social Media allows Westjet to explain to customers what’s happening behind the scene.
- Create a space for customer generated content “Dear Westjet, please whisk me away to _________”
- Try to stimulate conversations.

What Kinds of things are you scaling back on in your Marketing for 2013?

Richard
- Questioning the value of Newspaper. We need to get a better understanding of how consumers are using digital content and how we can reach them.
- Market is so competitive we are also scaling back on print. Digital is quicker and better able to respond to rapidly changing market conditions. Mobile is a very real platform that we need to figure out.

DougL
- We are all trying to figure out the right media mix but newspaper is definitely decreasing.
- Video and web are becoming core components of this mix.
- Everyone wants to know what gives me the best bang for my buck. Digital gives us the ability to track everything.
- Guesses that 10-15% of marketing budgets are being allocated to Social Media and digital spending. This area is growing mainly in web and video.

DougF
- When he took over at CREB there was no organized activity in new media so he focused on this.
- Experimenting with video and blogging.
- The transition from traditional to social is like shifting sands. If you turn your back on traditional media you are losing lots of opportunity (cool example here).
- Understand who your customers are and what kinds of ways they communicate (great tool here).
- Always think about how you can add value.

What can we do in 2013 to better market our business?

Richard
- Unlock your tribal knowledge.
- Let me know about the things you are passionate about. Why is this community so great? What are 3 things I should know about this house or neighbourhood?
- Social media is an opportunity to share your knowledge

DougL
- Become liked, known and trusted.
- You can create an illusion of being everywhere by cherry picking your spots and consistently being present there.

DougF
- Don’t do it if you’re not going to commit to it.
- Go in to build relationships. Invest the time.
- Limit your platform choices and commit.

Richard
- Find Your Voice
- Don’t think about social media as work. Think about it as talking to people.

What platforms should realtors use?

DougL
- Start with who you want to reach. Then match your strategy and platform selection to best reach that customer.

Are there any DO NOT DOs in Social Media?

All
- Your public profile is both your business and personal profile. The are interconnected and you can’t unsay things so be careful of what you say. It’s like a person who is driving a company car with a logo on it then goes out and drives like an idiot in public.
- Don’t automate your feeds.
- Don’t give your brand to an 18 year old who is going to tweet for you.
- Don’t stray too far off point.
- Don’t wing it. Have some governance model or social media policy.
- Don’t get angry in social media channels.

Up next will be my notes from Scott Stratten’s talk.

Did I miss anything? Are there any points you can add or expand on? Please leave your message in the comments below.