The Greater Chattanooga Area of Realtors has launched a campaign to increase public awareness of the Open House feature of its Web site. The effort includes marketing endeavors timed to coincide with National Open House Weekend in June, online ads, the launch of a mobile compliant Web site, and free videos for Realtors.
The goal, says Mark Hite, agent with Keller Williams and president elect of GCAR, is to boost sales for member agents by driving homebuyers to GCAR.net.
The National Association of Realtors is hoping National Open House Weekend, taking place June 4 and 5, will jumpstart the spring buying season and breathe new life into the housing market. It’s promoting the event with television ads designed to encourage buyers to hit the streets in their search for a home.
“The NAR says 15 percent of homebuyers found the home they purchased by driving around neighborhoods they liked and looking for yard signs. So open houses are a great way to encourage people to get out and look, and maybe buy,” Hite says.
GCAR is taking advantage of greater public awareness of open houses by launching a marketing campaign called “More Open Houses Than Any Other Source.” The venture
includes ads on a popular talk radio station as well as a top 40 music station.
GCAR has also purchased a specific number of Google AdWords ads to direct traffic to GCAR.net. When a homebuyer searches for “open houses Chattanooga” or another similar group of words, a link to the Web site will appear near the top of the search.
“According to The National Association of Realtors, 32 percent of homebuyers last year found the home they purchased on the Internet, and 87 percent of homebuyers last year used the Internet as part of their search for a home. Since that’s where people are looking, that’s where we want to be,” Hite says.
To take full advantage of online trends, GCAR has also added mobile support to GCAR.net and its MLS Web site, www.MLSarealistings.com.
Now, when a smart phone user visits the GCAR homepage, he or she will see a large link titled “Open Houses.” When the user taps that link, the Open House portion of the MLS Web site will load, allowing homebuyers to search for showings in a particular area that meet their specific criteria.
“Studies tell us that by the end of this year, one in two phones will be a smart phone. So the power in the palm of your hand is a real game changer,” Hite says.
Finally, GCAR has produced a training video for Realtors that explains how to enter an open house on the MLS. It’s available on the Members portion of GCAR.net. The association has also developed a 30-second video explaining the open house features of its Web sites that Realtors can share with their clients.
To make good on its claim that it offers “more open houses than any other source,” GCAR browses local media sources for open houses, and then checks to make sure those showings are also listed in the Open House portion of www.MLSarealistings.com. When an event is missing, GCAR contacts the agent selling the house and encourages him or her to add it.
“It’s a free service Realtors haven’t fully embraced. But when a listing is already in the MLS, it takes 15 seconds to enter an open house. It’s literally six clicks,” Hite says.
Hite says the goal of the “More Open Houses Than Any Other Source” campaign is to improve sales by moving Realtors to the forefront of technology. “The decline in print advertising has forced us to think about what we can do to help our members be more successful. Using the Internet to search for open houses is the next logical step.”
Hite encourages Realtors to complete the following steps in order to take full advantage of the Open House feature of GCAR.net: Go to the home page of the MLS Web site, click on “Maintenance,” and enter your open house.
Join forces with other Realtors who have listings near yours so you can have more open houses within a consolidated area. Hite says people no longer drive to see one open house, but will drive to see multiple houses.
Share the 30-second video with your clients to make them aware of the Open House feature of GCAR.net.
Hite says he expects a few hundred showings to be held during National Open House Weekend, and encourages Real-tors to jump on the bandwagon immediately in order to take advantage of heightened public interest in open houses and the surge in home buying that comes with spring.