One thing to keep in mind about marketing in the real estate world is that you want IMMEDIATE ACTION from your ad (or maybe that would be an immediate REACTION to your ad). You want people to see your marketing effort and automatically pick up the phone or boot up their e-mail to contact you. Immediate action is something you rarely get from billboards. They’re just too static and passive and people commuting back and forth don’t typically have real estate on their mind during their morning drive.

If you do decide to use billboard advertising, DO NOT just put a big picture of your face and contact information up there. Sure people will see it and MAY even remember your name or face, but there is nothing in it that makes them want to contact you right away. And with all marketing, if it’s not going to generate calls, you’re better off not wasting your time or money.

You could advertise your listings on a billboard and offer free services, but again, it may not be the most effective use of your marketing dollars. People are often speeding by most billboards and wouldn’t have time to peruse your listings, read about your great free service or even take down your number.

Recommendation: Use a billboard if you’re in a new sub-division and you’re the agent for the entire division (the builder would have to select you as the agent for the development). Market that new development on a billboard, along with a list of Open House times and contact information. A situation like that is more likely to get a buzz from billboards than plastering your face or pictures of your current listing across the board.

If you decide to take out a billboard, keep in mind that location is EXTREMELY important, and so is designing the billboard in a way that makes it call for immediate action and get a response out of viewers. Billboards just aren’t very cost-effective, especially if you’re a newer agent just starting out. Once you’ve made a ton of money from more effective marketing tactics, go ahead and try out a billboard, see what it does for you. Just because we’re not all that enthusiastic about billboard marketing for agents doesn’t mean it’s a waste for everyone. We have simply found through personal experience that advertising dollars are better spent in other avenues of marketing.