Real estate professionals are popular people. No matter where you are or who you’re speaking with, the subject always comes back to housing. Name another sales business where potential customers can’t wait to talk to you and get your advice. Your ability to respond and deliver positive consumer messages can be pivotal to your success.
One of the most clearly evident changes in communication is that messaging has become much shorter. Those of us who have been around long enough to remember communication theorist Marshall McLuhan will remember his ground-breaking quote, “The medium is the message”. His prophetic words have come to pass. With news being shared in a tweet of just a few characters, the headline is king. Consumers are forming assumptions about the market solely from reading provocative news headlines and moving on without even clicking through to get the full story. It has never been more important for you as real estate professionals to offer a sense of perspective and balance.
A report by NADbank (Newspaper Audience Databank), an organization that measures newspaper readership in Canada, found that “readership of digital content continues to offset declines to printed editions”. Interestingly, while printed papers are losing readers, weekly audiences are larger now than they were in 2008. So the good news is more Canadians than ever are accessing news, but they’re getting it through different vehicles.
Nearly eight out of every 20 Canadians still read their daily newspapers – that’s 15.9 million adults according to NADbank – but as more portable and increasingly affordable devices become available, a third of Canadians now access online news every week. As a growing number of Canadians grab their news on the go, I believe there will be an increasing reliance by consumers on headlines and short clips versus in-depth insights. Once again, readers will be basing their conclusions about the real estate market on what may only be a brief glimpse of a story. Never has the potential for provocative or inflammatory headlines to negatively impact the market been as great as it is today.
Another relatively new trend in news reporting is the blog format, which allows online readers to comment on various stories in the media. This trend is something of a double-edged sword when it comes to communication. While it offers readers a voice, it can also create situations where uninformed individuals can cloud an issue with comments that are not relevant or even accurate. The good news here is it also offers an opportunity for you as well.
So, if we recognize that news reporting practices are changing the way consumers perceive the real estate market, the next question has to be: What can we, as real estate professionals, do to counter this growing trend? Here are a few suggestions any individual Realtor can employ to offer perspective:
1. Put your own positive focus on real estate news. Don’t email or re-tweet news headlines without first looking for the “nugget” of information you most want to share. Recognizing the headline is king when it comes to consumer perception, find the positive news in a story and use that as your lead-in, rather than just copying the media’s existing headline. For example, instead of sending out a board release using their headline of “Sales down 3 per cent over last year”, you can still send the same release with a new title, such as, “Sales continue climb for 4th consecutive month” or “Prices holding steady at near record levels”. Same story, different focus. And the reader’s takeaway will be completely different, simply because you took the time to change the headline in your link.
2. Wade in with a balanced perspective. When you see an online news story that creates a negative perception with a one-sided or limited point of view, contribute to the comments section. In a respectful way, offer additional information that might help to create a more positive point of view. For example, if the story is comparing periods after new Canadian mortgage regulations kicked in, but sales have been steadily improving since the change, the consumer deserves to hear that.
3. Tell your own story with positive anecdotes. Readers and the media both love to hear “real world” examples of buyer and seller successes that add credibility to your story and help make a more personal connection. Remember, you cannot use customer names without written consent, so it’s usually best to just describe them in general terms, such as “a newly married Oakville couple I recently worked with are so glad they decided to buy a house now because…”.
Just remember that thinking before you write or post on social media channels or online news sites is even more important than it is in personal conversations, because news travels quickly over the Internet and cannot be retracted. Know your facts and let your voice be heard. It could result in a more balanced perspective for consumers and translate into leads for your individual business.
Andy Puthon is president of Coldwell Banker Canada, and can be reached at [email protected]
