“Wake up, it’s revolution time! Gone are the days when you could plan out your marketing and public relations programs well in advance and release them on your timetable.” Those are the opening words of David Meerman Scott’s new book Real-Time: How Marketing & PR at Speed Drives Measurable Success. *Sigh.* It’s yet another new way of marketing that homebuilding and remodeling companies need to get to grips with. But wait – there’s more! This can actually be useful to you.

Real-time marketing is the science of relevance, of making the moment count. The perfect examples came during this year’s Super Bowl, when the power went out for 34 minutes. The marketing gurus working for Kraft Foods’ Oreo cookie brand saw the opportunity, had access to decision makers for approval, and within minutes a tweet went out with a darkened photo of a cookie , saying “Power out? No problem.

Google’s Hummingbird algorithm changed the way we use keywords when it put the emphasis on long tail, more conversational search phrases. With search possibilities widened out, all the smaller niches within the homebuilding industry have thousands of keyword possibilities. If you struggled to rank before Hummingbird, targeting long tail keywords that are highly relevant to your personal business and your individual clients should pay dividends. 

Inbound marketing can be an expensive strategy to implement, and some might be tempted to consider simply redesigning their website to attract more customers. While this might be effective in the short term, it is impractical to redesign a website whenever it loses its effectiveness. For home builders, it is important to follow inbound marketing best practices to get the most exposure and reach the most customers. The following is an examination and comparison of the costs of inbound marketing and website redesign.

For many homebuilders, the landing page is the backbone of a marketing strategy. Landing pages are a great way of improving search engine rankings and attracting new customers – when done correctly. Is your landing page performing to its full potential? There is more to a good landing page than crisp, sharp looking graphics with a catchy sales pitch. Many factors contribute to a website’s success, but the landing page's conversion ability is one of the most important. The following are a few tips for improving web page design and conversion rates. 

There's a lot of talk out there about various CRM systems.  And there are a ton of options to choose from when it comes to a CRM for your home building business.  Do you go with a system that is nationally recognized and has great support?  Or do you go with a smaller company that is specific to your industry?  Or maybe you're looking for one that integrates with your project management system.  There are a lot of options and a lot of factors to consider.