Book 1 - Appraisal Institute of Canada

Marketing and CommunicationsBy Glen Power, AACI, P. App, Member, Marketing & Communications CommitteeBringing your marketing onlineMarketing in the twenty-firstcentury means embracing themodern tools that are currentlyavailable to us. While these tools may be muchdifferent than in the past, the fundamentals ofmarketing professional services remain the same.In broad terms, these fundamentals includecreating and managing client and contact relationships,as well as developing and maintainingpositive brand equity.The Internet now offers an array of tools,sometimes referred to as Web 2.0, that allowprofessionals to work on these fundamentals ina virtual environment. These tools include socialnetworking sites such as Facebook and Twitter,as well as weblogs, discussion groups, and web-site portals that allow for brand development.While these tools should not necessarily bethe primary thrust of a marketing plan, ignoringor excluding them from the mix in today’s worldis at your peril. Worse yet than ignoring thesetools is using them incorrectly.Currently, with more than 350 million users– half of whom log in every day, Facebook is themost familiar social networking site out there.“Facebook is a networkingtool unparalleled inmodern times.”Incredibly, 13.2 million Canadians, or 40% of thepopulation, have a Facebook account. While itseems that almost everyone participates withinFacebook these days, there are still those of uswho are somewhat paranoid with respect topersonal privacy issues, and have opted out.Unfortunately, in today’s world, opting out ofFacebook is akin to self-imposed social exile.Like everything in life, benefits usually come atsome cost, and this is also true of Facebook. Whilethere is some tradeoff with respect to maintenanceof personal privacy, many find that the benefits ofsocial connectivity far outweigh the downside.While some only use Facebook for connectingwith family and friends, there is considerablebenefit to including your professional network18Canadian Property Valuation Volume 54 | book 1 | 2010 Évaluation Immobilière au Canadaclick here to return to table of contents