Public relations is a process of developing relationships. These relationships include those with current customers of your brokerage, potential customers, the media, movers and shakers in your real estate community, nonprofit organizations and other influential entities. Here are some suggested public relations strategies.
- Gain top of mind consumer awareness.
- Become known as an innovative, forward-thinking real estate brokerage, a trendsetter,not a trend follower.
- Become known as a brokerage where top producing agents thrive.
- Become known as a source of expertise about real estate and related topics.
- Become known by other leading businesses and business organizations in the community as a leader and good corporate “citizen.”
Reach out to:
- Daily newspapers
- Weekly newspapers
- Weekly business journals
- Magazines
- Broadcast Television
- Cable Television
- Radio
- Internet News Services
Your next steps are:
- Create and update media lists.
- Follow real estate trends in local and national media
- Make a brief introductory call to introduce yourself, then offer yourself as an ongoing source of real estate information.
- Send concise, factual news releases . Get to the point quickly.
- Be patient. It may take weeks or months for a story idea to reach fruition.
- Print and electronic media appreciate receiving periodic reports on housing activity (average prices, days on market, etc.).
Here is an example press release for a new agent.
New Sales Associate
(Name) has joined (name of office). (Name) was formerly with (name of former brokerage, if applicable) and has ____ years experience in real estate. (If you have a specialty or represent certain builders, etc., include here.)
“Connecting with (name of brokerage) will be a significant benefit to my clients, because it has the most powerful and efficient referral system in the business. When I list a property here in (name of town) it is exposed to a huge audience. And our technology tools can help my clients get the best possible price for their home in the least amount of time. All (name of brokerage) listings in the United States are automatically included within listings on the National Association of Realtors site – realtor.com.”
(Name of new agent) said another advantage offered by (name of brokerage), an extranet that allows its agents to share referrals, marketing techniques and the latest information about technology, regulation and similar topics. “Ongoing education is a strong priority at (name of brokerage) ,” said (name of new agent). “No other real estate organization has a higher percentage of affiliates with advanced designations.”
(Name of office) is located at ____________. (Name of new agent) may be reached at (local and toll free numbers).
The listings of (name of agent) and thousands of other (name of brokerage) listings can be found at www.(name of brokerage).com.
