One thing that irks me about my industry is how often I hear colleagues blaming the media for market woes. Like, everybody who's a journalist works for some sleezy tabloid, and they all got together one day at some secret meeting and decided that the boom was over and that it was time to pop the bubble and ruin the real estate market for everyone, everywhere. Puh-leese!
While at NAR, I spoke at a concurrent gathering of the Newspaper Association of America about real estate blogging, how it affects my business and theirs. I wasn't in front of the editorial people. I was in front of the business development people who sell brokers, agents and affiliates so many zillions of dollars each year in print and online advertising. I believe I was asked to speak as an example of the atypical Realtor, their fading customer, and yet, perhaps the future of real estate.
It was an interesting exchange. I expressed my disinterest in wasting any more money on print ads, given that 83% of people seriously interested in buying or selling are doing their research online, while at the same time expressing disinterest in overpriced banner ads that yield little in the way of trackable results. I implored them all to move to a Google Ad Words model that serves affordable, contextual text advertising that can be easily changed to improve clickthrough rates, charged on a per click basis.
But I also learned that in most major metropolitan markets, the most highly trafficked websites are those belonging to the dominate local newspaper. Why is that? Because they are a trusted source. Why are they trusted? Because journalists have their own set of standards and ethics to which they must subscribe to maintain credibility. For each published article, they are required to conduct diligent research, talk to multiple sources, check their facts and submit their work for editorial review. It's not a perfect system, but it works most of the time.
The media didn't conjure up this market downturn. And it's not their fault that it continues. Sure, maybe they get excited about what they discover and sensationalize it some, just like we all did when the market was hot, prices were going up and everyone was making money hand-over-fist. No, the market evolved on its own based on many factors that we've all discussed ad nauseum on this blog. It is what it is. The media only harps on it further because it's not over yet. As long as there is news they will report on it. It's what they do. When there's no more news in this arena, they'll turn to something else.
I can't tell you how many times I heard this in the halls at NAR... "The media is so negative. They're scaring all the buyers out of the market." I've even heard this occasionally in my own brokerage. Some may even say this blog contributes to the so-called problem, as I freely link to negative media reports if they seem relevant to what I see in our local market, thanks to the input from our many readers.
Yes, there's always more than one side to every story. And you know me... I will point out the bright side at the risk of being skewered, because it's there. It's a possible alternative. But to simply blame the other side, to brush aside the opposing opinion without really considering where it's coming from, that's just pure weakness.
Marc Davidson over at Inman News published an outstanding column on this recently. Hopefully they won't mind the reprint:
"Media, media bo bedia, Come on everybody, let's play the blame game The media's effect on real estate was the conversation that rose
most audibly from the panel sessions, lobby meetups, parties and hoopla
in Las Vegas during last week's National Association of Realtors show. I couldn't escape it. It popped up in nearly every discussion as an
element of accepted wisdom about the past, present and future of our
industry. CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and the like are in devious congress, a cabal that's intent on destroying the real estate industry as we know it. I watch the news, read the articles and bear witness to my own real
estate investment woes. I too have participated in the blame game. But
as I sat at Gate B20 waiting for my flight home I started to think
about how ridiculous this proposition truly is. Maybe it was the shear exhaustion of the conference that lulled me
in an open cast of mind. Maybe it was the two agents who sat beside me
discussing the dead real estate market to which they were returning --
the one the local press had "all but written the obituary for." Maybe
it was the fact that the security gauntlet I just passed through -- and
the "Orange Alert" status in which we all live -- did little to
dissuade me and 26,000 other real estate folks from traveling, living,
partying, working and embracing life this week. Sitting there, inside the terminal, about to board a United Airlines jet, I began to think outside my own box. Deflection John Burroughs once wrote that a man can fail many times, but he
isn't a failure until he begins to blame someone else. By that measure,
we are involved in a community failure. By assigning such power to the
media we've assigned an equal amount of weakness to ourselves. There is no conspiracy in the media. No cabal. No calculated
destruction. I know of no summit that has taken place where editors
gathered to declare a jihad on real estate. The victimization we are
experiencing is self-induced, a product of our own failure to offer a
countervailing force of opportunity. If the media can be blamed for anything it's their penchant
for sensationalizing. But the only reason real estate is victimized by
this is because, unlike other industries that are scrutinized by the
press, real estate does little about it. Yes, you will say, "NAR has
spent millions on ad campaigns to get buyers off the fence and
highlight the opportunities that abound." Put yourselves in the
consumers' shoes for a minute. Are ads like that really doing it for
you? Fast Food. Tobacco. Domestic auto making. Music. The press covers
these industries with the same zeal and greater skepticism than real
estate attracts. I read tons of stories about the dangers of trans fat,
the backwardness of the major music labels and the evils of foreign oil
dependency, yet Americans still pound their Big Macs while driving
their gas-guzzlers. What these other industries have and what real estate doesn't are
well-oiled marketing machines. They have a consistent message that
deflects the heart attack in a box with a two-all-beef-patty jingle.
Carmakers goose us with an idea of style that makes us figure that,
hey, as long as the earth is melting, at least we'll go out looking
sporty. Local governments have mastered the art of beckoning residents
to hurricane-prone, flood-worn and tornado-infested communities because
they can -- for better or worse -- reach a place in the mind that
triggers desire. So if the American consumer is spooked by the media, what is real estate going to do about it? Hey, let's throw a party! If you woke up the day after the NAR conference and read this headline, "30,000 Realtors whoop it up in Vegas while millions of Americans face housing ruin," what would you think? Or, if the writer spun the story of last week as "a massive gala in
Sin City hosted by the National Association of Realtors where tens of
thousands of real estate agents, blinking like Christmas trees,
congregated in sybaritic suites and carelessly gambled away the profits
from the recently ended real estate boom." Given the condition of the market, that's exactly what last week
could look like to the media. If such a story is written, we'd have
only ourselves to blame for believing that what we say, write, put
online, and do as representatives of this business goes unnoticed by
the public. Beating the media at its own game I have a vivid recollection of post 9/11. The airline industry was
decimated. Hotel rooms were collecting dust. Joke writers for Leno were
glued to news. The country was handcuffed and afraid to go outside
until first-term George Bush stepped up and told a frightened nation to
get on with their lives, to fly planes, book hotels and get back to
enjoying our American opportunities. That is what a leader does. A leader gives marching orders that
stimulate positive action. This is precisely what is not happening in
real estate and why the media coverage of the market is getting so much
unwarranted attention. Honestly, anyone can be a leader. Real estate is so local, that while it would
be great if NAR stepped up to the plate with a more convincing message,
people would be unlikely to heed it. But they do know who their local
Realtors and brokers are, and they are looking to them for reassurance. Want to beat the media at its own game? Be a leader in your market.
There are a few out there. They are holding town hall meetings with
their customers, as one broker friend of mine has, where honesty about
the market is the order of the day. They are the agents who have
decided to turn off their lapel lights and turn on their imaginations.
They are the veterans partnering with younger agents to connect more
authentically with a new generation of customers. They are telling a story of opportunity that makes griping about the media seem silly. You can too. Marc Davison is a founding partner of 1000watt Consulting."
Bonana fanna fo fedia,
Fee fi mo media -- media!
