It’s finally over. In early December I wrote a blog about the crisis that the Rocky Mountain News was facing – looking for a buyer or looking to shut their doors. Without much surprise, there was no buyer and they are officially shutting down. The final issue of the 100 year old paper will be distributed today, Friday, February 27.

And as expected, there are many people very upset about the situation. The Rocky Mountain News has been a great asset to Colorado for a long time and with good reason, we’re all sad to see it go. Newspapers hold a certain memory for many of us – Dads reading the paper over breakfast every morning, flipping through the sports highlights or as a child, finding the Saturday comics. For older generations, the newspaper holds meaning. For many new generations, the newspaper is outdated. While some of us may be sad to see it go, most knew it was inevitable. This is just another strong indication of the shift from print to web.

In the real estate world, this shift has been obvious for some time. According to the National Association of Realtors 2008 study on home buyers and sellers, 87% of home buyers used the Internet to search for homes in 2008. Of those, 69% reported using it frequently. Compare that to 42% only 5 years ago and it’s clear that this trend is growing rapidly.

Here lies the big question: What is your company doing to address this paradigm?

The Enterprise Platform has many solutions and proven results for print to web. We will help you create a corporate blog to increase your website SEO, teach your agents and staff members to join social networks and expand the digital footprint of your brand. At the very least we can help you provide a consumer centric website that provides all of your offerings at the finger tips of your customers. The web offers a better medium for interaction with consumers, more specific statistics and more opportunities for ROI.

While a newspaper can tell you their distribution numbers and the demographics of their readers, the web can tell you the exact number of viewers, the time they spent looking at your page, and whether or not they decided to look at more pages of your website. These statistics give you solid feedback as to what is working on your website and what is not, what campaigns are successful and which are not.

What the newspapers struggle with is that a newspaper ad is a static billboard for your company, that hopefully results in further interaction with your potential customer. A website, social networking, blogging and live chat are all features that will immediately engage your potential customer and keep them coming back and interacting with you. 

It’s an inevitable trend that more and more newspapers will continue to fall flat as the years go by but in the real estate industry, it’s very important to recognize this trend ahead of your competition. What are you doing now to put your brokerage in the right situation 5 years from now? Are you building your brand online, building your digital identity? Chances are good that even if you’re not, your competition is.

So…in case you haven’t heard…moving your print to web is the future of real estate.

Read the Rocky Mountain News Article. What is your company doing to address this paradigm?