If you've thought of the WEB as just another advertising gimmick, a way to make a quick buck, you're in for a serious dissapointment. Nobody is making a fortune on the WEB - especially real estate companies.But there are companies that are finding the WEB has increased their business, and given them a new avenue to service clients.

Advertising - the Wrong Model for the WEB Site
If the WEB is to play a vital role in your overall business practice, you need to understand what that role is - and what it is not.Your WEB site is not another form of printed advertising - although text plays a major role.Nor is it the same as radio or TV - although it may contain sound and video clips.

The WEB is unique.It borrows from the others, only to the degree that the others can supplement the basic WEB structure. Most advertising is passive in nature.The viewer has little to no control over when he/she sees the ad, or how many times.

First, let's examine some of the more popular forms of advertising as they existed before the WEB, URLs and e-mail addresses.

• Billboards
  
  • Goal: Long Term
    
  • Designed to create visual recognition for a company or product through frequent exposure
    
  • Simple format -Little or no text - or a short text message wihout other visuals
    
  • No immediate contact is required - and rarely asked for - between the consumer and the advertiser.
    
  • Viewer has no control over the time spent viewing- usually seconds
    
  • Effectiveness is measured by public awareness of product, company or message
    
• Magazine Ads (Major Ads)
  
  • Goal: Long term
  • Designed to generate public awareness of the product or company by creatinga long term visual image or emotional response on the part of the viewer
    
  • Almost always part of an overall ad campaign with saturation through placement in many different magazines.
    
  • Almost always visual
    
  • Text if used, enforces the visual message.
    
  • Effectiveness is measured by public perception of the product or company
    
  • No immediate contact is required - and rarely asked for - between the consumer and the advertiser.
    
  • The viewer stumbles across the ad by accident.
    
  • The viewer may merely only glance at the ad or read the ad depending on interest.
    
  • The viewer may return or seek out the ad if it is of interest.
    
• Newspapers
  
  • Goal: Short Term
    
  • Designed to generate a need or want that will produce a physical response from the reader within a short period of time. (visit the store, place a phone call, or write a letter)
    
  • Visual -Text and pictures
    
  • Time sensitive (today's price might not be here tomorrow)
    
  • Effectiveness measured in sales
    
• Radio
  
  • Goal: Short term
    
  • Strictly audio
    
  • Designed to generate a need or want that will produce a physical response from the listenerwithin a short period of time. (visit the store, place a phone call, or write a letter)
    
  • Time sensitive (today's price might not be here tomorrow)
    
  • Relies on frequent repetition of message to achieve results
    
  • Listener has no control over when or where he will hear message
    
  • Effectiveness measured in sales or name recognition
    
• Television
  
  • Goal: Short term / Long Term
    
  • Combines Visual and Audio
    
  • Designed to generate a need or want in the audience that might produce a physical response at some futrure time. (buy the product)
    OR
    
  • Designed to generate public awareness of the product or company by creatinga long term visual image or emotional response on the part of the viewer
    
  • Can be Time sensitive or not
    
  • Relies on frequent repetition of message to achieve results
    
  • Listener has no control over when or where he will hear message
    
  • No immediate contact is required between the consumer and the advertiser.
    
  • Effectiveness measured in sales or public awareness
    

Each of these methods of advertising have at leastthree things in common - none require that the consumer seek them out,- none are under the direct control of the viewer/listener/audience/consumer - and all rely on repetition to get their message across - none of which can be applied to the WEB.

As you can see, advertising is a passive activity ... repeatedlyparading information before the eyes and ears of an audience that did not ask for the message - or for that matter, generally don't care what the advertiser has to say.On the WEB, sites that rely on such models eventually fail.

Interactive - Defined
You've heard the term interactive used by the media and advertisers to describe the WEB.What they really mean is, the visitor to your WEB site is in control - not you - not the advertiser - but the consumer.The consumer is the one who chooses what to see and hear, when to see and hear it, and how they'll see and hear it.

• The visitor to your WEB site has complete control
  If they don't like what they see - the browser's back button is just a click away.
  
• Every visitor to your site is a potential customer,
  if not today, someday.
  
• You have less than 15 seconds to convince a visitor to spend some time on your site.
  
• You have only one chance to establish a bond of trust with a first-time visitor
  
• You get one chance to convince a visitor to come back
  and you have to convince them each time they come to your site
  

So if Advertising is the wrong model for the WEB site, exactly what is the right model?

Actually, the right model is the model that was used in the early days of television - sponsorship.The successful commercial WEB site is one that provides information to the consumer, with the company acting as a sponsor.The not-so-successful WEB site will be one dedicated to pure advertisment of its services and products.

For the real estate professional, this may mean a major retooling in the way you normally conduct business.