RealTown's RealTalk

Michael Richman, MUP MBA writes: 

Mark Jay keeps referring to Craigslist as "a freak show". It seems that his sensibilities are offended by sexually explicit content, yet he makes a point of showing us that he has gone out of his way to view this content. Mark, are you aware that there is also sexually explicit content on cable television? Does that make Realtors who host or appear on a show on a local cable channel part of a freak show?

Kyle C. Rogers writes in part: 

I am not sure what site you are referring to because the site I use is Craigslist.org.  Maybe that is why you are haveing such issues with it. 

I know many people that use this site for various reasons and one of them is to find real estate.  I think you owe it to your clients to get their listing out to EVERY potential buyer in the market place.  If that same buyer is on Craigslist looking for things other than real estate that is their choice.  I don't feel that I am subjecting my clients to the web browsing habits of anyone else that visits the site.  Come on down off your high horse and start working for your Seller.

The trend is moving away from the traditional print advertising and clients expect their REALTOR to find inovative ways to market listings. 

Mark Jay comments: 

I’m not offended by sexually explicit content.  But personal preferences are not the point-- either way.  The positioning of your business brand is the issue.  My point is that if you’re marketing real estate brokerage services or real estate itself—both mainstream consumer products—under your business brand you should stay away from marketing channels that tarnish that brand.  That’s also Mathew’s point or a tangent to his point as I understand it.  Craig’s List is a marketing channel and a brand that contains content that isn’t appropriate for a mainstream consumer product brand like you as a real estate brand—you as a business.  There’s just too much that is low quality and criminal.  And let’s make no mistake here.  There’s a difference between sexually explicit content and prostitution and pimping. 

And of course I’m aware that there is sexually explicit content on cable television.  Cable transmission is the medium.  That medium contains a number of channels—in some markets hundreds of channels.  Advertising your listings or your real estate brokerage services on the “Real Estate Channel” is different than advertising your listings on the “XXX Channel”.  Advertising your listings or your real estate brokerage services on the internet—the medium—on Realtor.com or Homes.com or Trulia or even Zillow or JustListed.com or other high quality carefully monitored real estate channels is different than advertising you listings in or on channels that contain inappropriate, inconsistent or poor quality content like Craig’s List.

I can certainly understand using a marketing channel and associating with a brand like Craig’s List if your marketing plan is to sort of “cut against the grain” and be “off-beat”.  Certainly pimps, prostitutes, thieves, fences, counterfeit brand retailers and others with different “life-style preferences” as Fred Pickard might phrase it, need real estate and real estate services.   But if you’re going to do that make sure you are doing that consciously.  Of course not everyone who uses Craig’s List is engaged in criminal activity but enough do to make Craig’s List a problematic venue for marketing a main stream consumer brand.  Where do you draw the line?  And before you can make that judgment you should be aware of all that’s involved, I think. 

Speaking of being aware of all that’s involved….  Poor Kyle!  Completely clueless….  CraigsList.com IS CraigsList.org and CraigsList.org is also CraigsList.net and .biz and in Canada .ca and in Japan .jp… and Craig’s List also operates in another couple of dozen countries around the world and that means that Craig’s List operates under another couple of dozen primary level domains.  Craig’s List is a worldwide brand and marketing channel.  And if you need to pay a naked girl for a naked rubdown with a happy ending in Japan just enter CraigsList.jp into your browser and click on “Erotic”—it’s right next to one of the “Real Estate” categories. 

Here’s another clue—free of charge.  You don’t owe to your clients to get their listing out to EVERY potential buyer in the market place.  That’s an impossible task.  Do you tack up a listing flier on EVERY Grocery Store bulletin board in your market area?  In EVERY branch of EVERY Bank or Credit Union in your Market Area?  How about EVERY VFW post in your area?   Do you have a municipal bus system in your area?  Do you have an advertising panel with your listings on EVERY bus in your area?  Are your listings displayed on EVERY real estate site?  There are dozens maybe hundreds… are you on EVERY one?  Do you advertise your listings in ALL the major newspapers in your expanded market area?  How about all the Community Newspapers?  How about the “shoppers”—those free newspaper like publications that get stuffed in your mailbox? 

The fact is that you CHOOSE where your seller’s listings and your marketing messages will appear.  And if you’re going to make that CHOICE be sure you’re making a considered choice.  Someone in this thread posted that they got 7 hits from a Craig’s List ad.  In February I got over 1,000 hits on my Realtor.com site.  R.com will cost the average REALTOR from maybe $35 to $70 and Craig’s list is free.  So Craig’s list has an infinite ROI.  So I guess we should all move to Craig’s because the ROI is infinite?  Some in this thread posted that sellers “insist” on Crag’s List ads for their “7 figure” listings.  How is it that sellers are telling real estate licensees who hold themselves out as professional marketers of real estate how to market real estate?  Just exactly why do your sellers need you when they’ve got Craig?  If your sellers are “insisting” on how you do your job then you may have the wrong sellers? 

Kyle’s right that the trend is moving away from the traditional print advertising and that clients expect their REALTOR to find innovative ways to market listings—positioning yourself and your brand on Craig’s List isn’t “innovative”  it’s downgrading.  Sorry, Craig’s list is STILL a freak parade—worldwide. 

Take a close look at the entire Crag’s List channel then take your sellers for a close look and see if that’s a place you really want to be…. 

Mark Jay, e-Pro

REALTOR and Mortgage Consultant

414-771-7713  Voice

262-853-6001 Voice

Southeast Wisconsin MLS Region

Mark@MarkJayRealty.com

We now post our rental properties daily on craigslist.  Yes, we get the scams, all the time.  But more importantly, we are getting more leads on our rental properties via craigslist then we are using paid rental posting services.  Properties are renting faster as a result.