Ten Tips to Create Community Buzz & Free Publicity
Here you are – you’ve received a ton of great information about the newly expanded and extendedfederal homebuyers tax credit, and you want to share it with Realtors and consumers.
Now you have the info, and the will to get it out to members and the public.BUT – what you don’t have is a lot of money to spend on a publicity campaign or media advertising.So, what do you do now?
Believe me – there are a lot of things you can do to let everyone know about these resources. Best of all, they won’t cost a dime.
Try these 10 tips for generating community buzz and free publicity:
1. Phone calls – It never hurts to pick up the phone and call your local newspaper, radio stations and other media outlets. If you already know someone, like the local real estate reporter, great – give them a ring and say you’ve got some information that local residents (their readers, listeners and advertisers) want to know. If you don’t know who to talk to, just ask. They’ll steer you to the right person covering real estate or government or even community news. You should follow up your call by sending them some of the materials you have on the federal tax credit and foreclosure prevention. Your phone’s voice mail message also offers an opportunity for promotion and publicity. Mention the tax credit (briefly!), and every time someone leaves you a message, they hear about it.
2. Email – Email is a great way to connect with people, even media types. Send a short, to-the-point email to your sphere of influence, letting family, friends, clients and local media know about these programs. Give out the website address to floridarealtors.org, letting them know where they can find out more. You can also provide a link to the radio spots produced by your Florida Realtors®, encouraging people to listen to them and get excited about these opportunities. Add a line to your email signature to serve as a reminder. It could be as simple as “Ask me about the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit.”
3. Social media – Take advantage of Facebook, MySpace, ActiveRain, Twitter and other social media networking sites. These sites offer a great way to quickly spread the word about events and activities. The tax credit is a perfect topic for your real estate blog; if you don’t have one but know someone who does maintain a blog, enlist them to help you share the information.
4. Websites – Add some information about the first-time homebuyer tax credit and foreclosure prevention to your website, and add links to the info on Florida Realtors’ floridarealtors.org site (nonpassword-protected areas.) You’ll be offering content of real value to potential clients.
5. Newsletters, media releases, letters to the editor and radio announcements – Spread the word through your newsletters. Customize the sample media releases (or write your own) and send them to local media outlets. Make a call and find out who should receive the release, whether it’s a reporter or the news editor. Many reporters may not be fully aware of the extended and expanded tax credit or the Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program. Write a personal letter to the editor – your passion about these opportunities and resources will come through, and if they’re published, that’s valuable media coverage in a well-read section of the paper. Send Florida Realtors’ radio spots (the audio clips or the scripts) to local radio stations and suggest using them as public service announcements.
6. Community calendars –Any time you have a special event, be sure to provide information about it to local community organizations (and media) that keep community event calendars, including your cable TV provider/local community channel’s event calendar and online community event calendars offered by local neighborhood groups.
7. Put up posters and flyers – Take event posters and flyers to prominent locations around your city, such as libraries, college campuses, churches, downtown restaurants or businesses, and ask permission to post them.
8. Speak at community events– Ask if you can take a few minutes to mention these programs and resources at the next Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, PTA or any meeting of your professional associations, community groups and activities. Think of it as a public service announcement: Briefly talk about the tax credit, foreclosure prevention resources or any other special event sponsored by your local board/association. Refer to your local board/association and Florida Realtors® for more information.
9. Sponsor a table at community events – At the next arts festival, health fair or other community event in your area, ask if you can bring some materials to share or sponsor a booth to promote the tax credit, foreclosure prevention resources and/or your special event.
10.Word of mouth – Talk about these programs and opportunities. Tell your friend, tell your neighbor, tell the parents around you the next time you’re waiting to pick up your child from band practice. Getting your hair trimmed? Discuss it with your barber or stylist. Word of mouth is the best kind of free and credible advertising. You tell a friend, they tell two friends and pretty soon, you’ve got the whole town talking!