Humanize Your Digital Marketing

It’s just one of the realities of living in the 21st century — there’s a ton of competition for attention. Fact is, in 2016, Americans spent an average of nearly 11 hours a day consuming media, according to Nielsen Company. That’s a lot of time in front of a smartphone, tablet, computer or television (and often, more than one at a time). And that means plenty of competition for your brand and your message.

While more eyeballs on more screens can be a potential boon for your business, you have to be smart about it. People have a natural tendency to reject the unnatural — that is, if your marketing feels like it’s being run by a robot, it won’t be very engaging. Maintaining the human touch in your online communications — particularly in mobile — is key to building strong relationships with your customers.

So, why the disconnect?

Digital marketing can be hard! Setting it on auto-pilot may be one approach, but your engagement can suffer if you come across as insincere or absent. A 2017 report from the National Association of REALTORS® says 90% of agents use email, computer and smart phones daily; 93% of firms have their own website; and 70% of agents are active on social media. That’s a solid majority of real estate agents who have adopted some form of digital marketing. However, according to that same report, 48% of brokerages said that keeping up with technology is a big challenge they face in the next two years.

So, what’s the answer? Effective digital marketing clearly takes effort to “keep it real,” but that effort can run up quite a bill in time, energy, and — yes — dollars.

The rush to keep up with the latest electronic tools can lead us to focus too much on the technology and forget about the human on the other end of the device. Keeping focused on people, and really trying to experience your communications from their perspective, is critical.

For details on how you can actually achieve a more human approach, download our new eBook, Go Behind the Device, which Chime co-wrote with experts at EXIT Realty Corp. International. EXIT CEO Tami Bonnell and EXIT Director of Innovation and Technology John Lim offer some excellent secrets to making sure the screen is a tool, rather than a barrier, in your digital marketing efforts.