Read Me!

According Internet World Stats, an international website that provides up-to-date information on Internet usage (among other things), 83 per cent of Canadians use the Internet and approximately 53 per cent are on Facebook (as at June 20, 2012). The sheer amount of information being dispensed and consumed is simply mind-boggling.

As REALTORS®, you must remain on the communication radar. Many of you do so through social media, websites, e-newsletters, etc. How do you know you are reaching your intended audience? In fact, are they even reading what you are communicating?

Melynn Sight, of nSight Marketing, may have some answers. Melynn presented a one-hour workshop entitled “Eight Ways to Get More Members to Read,” at last week’s OREA 2013 Leadership Conference.  The information that follows is Melynn’s presentation, coupled with notes taken by yours truly. Note: In addition, substitute ‘members’ with ‘clients’ in the title below; the same rules would apply.

8 Ways to Get More Members to Read

1.  Study It

• study the practice of communications; pick a publication that talks about communications and review it

• review communication materials (websites, newsletters, etc.) of other REALTORS® or brokerages

2.  Segment It

• segment your audience into communities (i.e., like-minded people who have similar interests or characteristics)

• examples of communities: psycho-graphic (lifestyle, interests, age/gender), firm-ographic (organizations), and ethno-graphic (cultural segments)

• target your message to that specific audience (because you can’t be all things to all people)

• your message becomes diluted when it’s geared toward too broad an audience

3.  Analyze It

• conduct an audit of your current communication materials

• review your message(s) – How forceful is it? Is there a call to action?

• focus more on the client/customer and less on yourself (e.g., more about how clients will benefit from your services)

• do not report the news; rather, report on the possible effect of a particular news item on your clients

4.  Find It

• identify your audience’s value proposition (i.e., the rationale for choosing you, someone else, or no one at all)

• a compelling value proposition should resonate with your target audience; it must demonstrate how you do something better or differently than your competition

• lead with three topics you think will be most important to your clients; use a graphic to get their attention

5.  Plan It: include the following 10 components:

1)  communication goals

2)  benchmarks and measures (i.e., how will you evaluate the plan)

3)  situational analysis (i.e., ‘what’s going on out there’)

4)  target audiences

5)  strategies (i.e., ‘what are you trying to accomplish’)

6)  tactics (i.e., ‘how are you going to accomplish it’)

7)  call(s) to action

8)  key messages (see value proposition)

9)  work plan across platforms

10)  resources

6.  Verify It

• determine the goal of sharing the information

• determine how this information will affect your audience

• determine what you want the audience to do

7.  Simplify It

• eliminate the R (redundant), O (outdated), T (trivial)

• writing tips:

• use short sentences (approximately 14 words per sentences)

• use short paragraphs (two or three sentences per paragraph)

• in sentences, use the active voice (i.e., the subject performs the action of the verb)

8.  Operationalize It

• put your plan into action

Parting words of wisdom from Melynn:

Sometimes, we have to update our style to be relevant to our audience. Sometimes, our writing needs a little bit of a makeover.

References:

Internet World Stats – http://www.internetworldstats.com/

nSight Marketing – http://www.nsightmarketing.com/