As an industry, why do we “do” social media? What role does it play, specifically, in selling more homes?
Engagement? Reach? Transparency? Targeted audiences? Social proof? Relationship building? Spreading content?
Is it working? How do we know? How do we measure proof of concept?
I have a background working for Wall Street brokerage firms, so any marketing that produces results that cannot be squeezed into a cell on my Excel spreadsheet makes me skittish. In my work I answer to home builders and their investors, and bankers typically aren’t keen on words like “reach” and “transparency.”
I like that. Data driven leadership helps my clients and their investment partners make confident decisions in uncertain markets. Helping my clients feel in control (when they previously thought they were at the mercy of the market) is one of the great joys of my job.
And yet, I have seen my own business grow in indirect and powerful ways from my presence in social media. Some of it fits on a spreadsheet and some of it doesn’t, but I see the end results on my balance sheet, and the bottom line of my clients.
A Turning Point for Home Builder Social Media
I talk with home builders who still are struggling to “get” social media. I talk to a lot of builders who even question whether they need it. We see that more than 300 builders have a Facebook page, but depth, engagement, and interaction remain low across the majority of home builder pages. Some builders rave about social media; many others feel “Meh.”
So we’re going to spend some time with social media here at Builder Target in Q1 2012. Not because it’s trendy, not because it’s a topic du jour, not for reach or engagement. But because we think it’s time to dig a little deeper into why we’re all on social media, what it can really do for us an industry, and how it fits in the sales funnel in real and meaningful ways.
Let’s toss out those Excel spreadsheets, dig in, and get started…
(Wait, that spreadsheet is recoverable, right?!)
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