I recently read a very smart blog about the genius marketing methods of the late Walt Disney. The post, “How Would Walt Disney Market in 2009?” gave an outline of lessons to learn from the master.

“As companies try to get their voice ‘out’ in the overcrowded, fragmented, 24×7, blog-filled, multi-dialog, Mad Money Cramer kind of world of 2009, executives need to think carefully about their core stories to customers, employees, and investors – and to use all relevant media to orchestrate the message across the global information network.”

John Sviokla named six key strategies that Disney mastered. I think we can apply these key strategies to the real estate business as well. Here is my take on the six key lessons to learn from Disney:

1. Know the story is king. “Humans like to read about humans” - every message that you send out when marketing either your brokerage, yourself as a realtor or the properties you are representing should at some point tell a story. I find that most Realtors give a great story about themselves on their brokerages’ “About our Agents” page as well on their own websites. When searching for a Realtor that message can really help potential consumers connect with them. For some reason their story will resonate with certain people and hopefully get them to pick up the phone and call that Realtor. In descriptions about properties, I often find simple lines like “great starter home” or “someone’s dreams will come true here” but often these are just tag lines and there is no story. Think about how expanding on these tag lines could involve the customer more. Don’t just focus on the features but tell them about what makes the area great for first time home buyers.
2. Utilizing the newest technology to tell that ancient story in a new way. This is where Active Website comes in. Not only can we provide Realtor bio areas on the brokerage website, but we can set them up with their own blogs, individual websites for themselves and their teams, as well as teach them how to use social media. Long gone are the days where word of mouth is the only form of referral advertising. Today online social sites and blogs can help get the word out about your Brokerage and your Realtor’s too. If your websites can’t be seen on blackberry “then you’re behind.”  Active Website has solutions for mobile media to take your message online and on the go. 
3. Coordinate the message across the media. With so many different medians for delivering your message, it is important to be consistent. Active Website helps to unify your Brokerages message by incorporating your corporate theme and marketing strategies across the board. No longer do agents have individual websites that without the logo in the top left corner would never be recognized as one of yours. Active Website provides templates for individual agent, team, property and new home construction websites that will match the corporate site. So whether your agents are listing their properties on Craigslist, uploading their videos to YouTube, or developing their own websites, Active Website can provide templates and skins to match your corporate branding and therefore expand your Brokerage’s web presence.
4. Have the courage to innovate. The greatest benefit our customers find about using Active Website for their technology solution provider is the Enterprise Network. This nation-wide network of private brokerages boast over 400 years of combined real estate experience. That means when they have ideas and need something to be done better they have a Network of like-minded Real Estate companies to talk to. Chances are if your company needs it and thinks it will be a solution to a problem, the other members will too. For example, one of the current members requested that we provide websites for teams of Realtors, not just individuals. The advantage of the Network is that when one member gets it, you all get it so in Q4 of 2008 we released this feature to all of our members, who have found this to be a great tool. Knowledge sharing allows our non-competitive Network to share best practices in a comfortable environment.
5. Ride your uniqueness. Advertise the qualities and services that make your Brokerage unique and analyze whether you are successfully delivering this message through all of your media outlets. If you claim that your company has the best knowledge about Lakewood, Colorado; are your agents blogging about all the information they know about the city? Does your website reflect your knowledge in its community pages? Make sure that you are providing your agents with the ability to communicate your unique message through all of these outlets. If you don’t provide blogging or individual website solutions and don’t know how to help them start a social network, talk to us about how Active Website can provide solutions to these problems.
6. Stay on the message.“With Disney, you only had to see the Castle to conjure up the entire set of thoughts and dreams.” If someone sees one of your yard signs will they think of your website? Will they recognize your presence in their community as well as online? Will they know what that sign stands for and what it represents in the real estate world? If your goal is to make your consumers’s more aware of your online presence or to convey a specific characteristic of your Brokerage, you need to portray that message in all aspects of your business.

As we move forward into 2009 I think this article brings up some great reflection points. What message are you sending out and what modes of communications are you using to do so? Real Estate Brokerages need to focus – this is a great time to analyze where your company is at now and where you want it to be when 2009 is over. What trends do you see happening? What do you want your Brokerage to accomplish? What message or reputation do you want to instill in your consumer’s minds?

 Don’t just maintain your brand, build on it.

If you would like to read the original post with more insight into Disney’s methods, click here.