On Line Future For Property Marketing Says Australian Real Estate Agent Jason O'Halloran

By Phillip Quay

One Australian real estate company senior executive has labelled print media “dead”.

Jason O’Halloran, business development executive for Ray White Group in Adelaide, has released revealing company statistics this week which clearly show that a digital approach to marketing properties is giving a clear edge over traditional media methods.

And yet most real estate companies in New Zealand are still favouring traditional media such as newspapers, radio and television over digital media.

“There is only one valid comment that can be applied to the above information with regards to the Print Medium and it's applicability in modern day 2014 real estate:  PRINT MEDIA IS DEAD,” says O’Halloran.

“Digital works for us because our clients say it does.....and that's the black and white of it,” O’Halloran said.

“Print media is way more costly than digital marketing.

“Further to that the general public have wised up that print media is only conducted to promote the agent,” said O’Halloran.

South Australia has led the way in terms of the move from print media to digital starting the process in 2010.

Ray White South Australia removed its corporate advertising from the local daily state paper from an incredible 10 page presence back in the early 2000's.to a mere 3/4 page in late 2013 and now none in 2014.

The result of this has seen Ray White capture more market share than its competitors and latest figures show it is now number one (see below graphs).

“If the print medium was that influential on people listing and selling homes with agents and brands....why is Ray White still number one ? There is only one valid comment that can be applied to the above information with regards to the Print Medium and it's applicability in modern day 2014 real estate,” said O’Halloran.

O’Halloran has a theory why the Ray White group is so strong in South Australia and Northern Territory andindeed Australia wide.

“Ray White is so popular because the consumers want it to be. If they (the consumers) didn't like what we offered and what we provided they would vote with their feet and go elsewhere. Here in South Australia, we enjoyed a ​1.3% market share increase in one month.......over half the size (there about's) as Toop Real Estate - an South Australian boutique with a large print presence,” O’Halloran said.

“Why would South Australian people favour our brand and increase our market share to the tune of a well promoted, well known, print pro-active boutique like Toop.  Indeed why didn't Toop enjoy a growth as well - instead of a decline as they have?

O’Halloran said the answer is wide and varied but centres on the decisions made by potential vendors come listing time.

He said the the public do perceive the following:

• All real estate agents look similar and wear similar clothes.
• They all drive similar cars.
• They carry similar market results.
• They carry similar listing kits.
• They speak a similar real estate language.
• They promise the same things.
• They quite often over inflate the price a home may sell for.
• They will quickly discount their commission rate to secure a listing.
• They will in some cases have a personal connection to the agent.

 In New Zealand, Ray White is also leading the way with social media and pr experts MediaPA working with its agents to start encouraging them to change their marketing packages.

MediaPA chief executive Phillip Quay says on line marketing requires great content and a full range of social media methods (not only Facebook).

Under MediaPA’s marketing strategy, the company would assist agents in marketing individual properties on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Google + and Pinterest.

The worldwide popularity of those social media platforms means houses advertised on those channels have the potential to be seen by a larger audience both in New Zealand and internationally.

The other benefit is Facebook advertising campaigns can be directed to target specific people in a specific location.

As well as promoting properties through social media, MediaPA also gets its team of highly skilled journalists to do stories on each property. MediaPA already has journalists based in Auckland and Hamilton and is looking to expand this throughout New Zealand. It is also setting up a sales team.

Those articles – which are sent out through MediaPA’s extensive databases, displayed on the company’s website and social media channels and also those of the real estate agent’s – rank highly on Google, which means they have a greater probability of being seen by potential buyers.

“Our media products are now replacing traditional ways of google search engine optimisation through the strength of content marketing,” Mr Quay said.

A number of agents across New Zealand, mainly from Ray White, have utilised MediaPA’s services to promote themselves and their agencies since the company started targeting the real estate sector last year.

One in Orewa used MediaPA’s products to help promote sections he was selling at the new Fairway Bay subdivision at Gulf Harbour on behalf of Chinese owners.

Mr Quay has also spoken at seminars to Ray White real estate agents about the importance of having a presence on social media and how they can use it to market their properties and themselves.

These seminars have resulted in agents signing up with MediaPA, he says.

MediaPA has also established a close rapport with New Zealand’s Young Professionals in Real Estate (YPIRE) after helping the group get media exposure.

Mr Quay, an award-winning PR consultant and ex-Fairfax Media journalist who has worked for a number of New Zealand rich-listers, founded MediaPA in 2011 and the company is looking at global expansion in the next five years.

Since then, the company has helped more than 150 businesses, in Australia and New Zealand, establish and boost their presence online by combining social media strategies with PR.

MediaPA has exclusive partnerships with other social media companies in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia which will allow it to offer its clients the potential for global branding.

It also has ever-growing databases, including one of the larger real estate ones in New Zealand, that now number more than 50,000 people throughout the country.