ASHI’s Public Relations Program: First Quarter Highlights
With highlights for the second quarter only weeks away, let’s recap what an aggressive, proactive media relations program accomplished during the first quarter of this year.
Summary
- Aggressive, proactive media relations has resulted in various interviews with key ASHI members and notable coverage across media.
- New York Media Tour appointments were impressive, with ASHI receiving face-to-face meetings with national publications with high readership.
- ASHI social media presence remains strong, seeing continual growth and influence. A smooth transition of responsibilities from G&S to ASHI staff was facilitated with a workshop. The remaining program budget has been reallocated to bolster media relations efforts, among other tactics.
Survey
Harris Interactive fielded a survey using a questionnaire developed by G&S and ASHI to determine consumer perceptions of home inspections and the real estate market. The survey was finalized and conducted in February, with results provided in March.
• Key Findings
– 84% of U.S. adults surveyed say home inspections are a necessity, not a luxury.
– Nearly 9 in 10 adults (88%) surveyed say that a home inspection increases their confidence in a decision about any property.
– 84% of adults surveyed say they would be more likely to purchase a foreclosure or short sale if a home inspection found it to be in good condition.
Media Coverage
ASHI was represented in several publications to date, resulting in more than 50 million viewers exposed to the ASHI brand and mission.
• Creators.com (Syndicated)
–”Real Estate Special Section,” featuring Marv Goldstein
• CTW Features (Syndicated)
– “A market with properties both vacant and in varying states of disrepair puts further focus on the need for home inspections,” featuring Kurt Salomon
Pickup included:
– Go San Angelo (Unique visitors/month: 105,463)
– Las Vegas Review Journal (Circulation: 213,078)
– NWI.com (Unique visitors/month: 320,598)
– Philly.com (Unique visitors/month: 1,766,830)
• “The New Focus on Inspections,” featuring Marv Goldstein
– Used as part of “First-Time Homebuyer’s Guide”
• “You Call That an Inspection?” featuring Marv Goldstein
Pickup included:
– Columbus Telegram (Circulation: 8,246)
– Evening Sun (Circulation: 5,100)
– Las Vegas Review Journal (Circulation: 213,078)
– Midland Reporter-Telegram (Circulation: 18,946)
– Monterey County Herald (Circulation: 24,750)
– Niagara Gazette (Circulation: 14,135)
– North County Times (Circulation: 64,849)
– Pocono Record (Circulation: 13,448)
– Press-Enterprise (Circulation: 121,825)
– Press & Sun Bulletin (Circulation: 40,813)
– Richmond Times-Dispatch(Circulation: 115,431)
– San Jose Mercury News (Circulation: 207,539)
– Santa Barbara News-Press(Circulation: 24,575)
– Sunday News Journal (Circulation: 111,967)
– Sunday Register Star (Circulation: 56,406)
– The Citizen (Circulation: 10,406)
– The Courier (Circulation: 16,024)
– The Dispatch (Circulation: 43,764)
– The Eagle (Circulation: 25,524)
– The Ithaca Journal (Circulation: 13,000)
– The Journal-Register (Circulation: 1,832)
– The Morning Call (Circulation: 106,021)
– The News Tribune (Circulation: 127,413)
– Tonawanda News (Circulation: 5,059)
– Union-Sun & Journal (Circulation: 8,289)
– eHow.com (Unique visitors/month: 4,150,300)
• “Welcome Spring: Longer Days, Cleaner Home,” featuring Blaine Illingworth
• “Home Maintenance: 2 Repair Jobs That Make a Big Difference,” featuring Marv Goldstein
– FoxBusiness.com (Unique visitors/month: 1,524,980)
• “Tips on Buying Foreclosed Properties,” featuring Marv Goldstein
– Hospodáské noviny (Czech Republic newspaper)
• Featuring information provided by ASHI
– Liberty Lines
• Featuring quotes from Marv Goldstein and Blaine Illingworth
– Networx.com
• “Four Ways a Contractor Could Rip You Off,” featuring Blaine Illingworth
– Portland Press Herald (Circulation: 52,323)
• “Time for work, homeowners,” featuring Marv Goldstein
– The House P. I.
• “All About The American Society of Home Inspectors,” featuring Marv Goldstein, Pete Jung and Reggie Marston
– TheStreet.com (Unique visitors/month: 2,507,020)
• “5 Disasters to Catch With a Home Inspection,” featuring Kurt Salomon
– This Old House, May issue (coverage pending), featuring Marv Goldstein (Circulation: 966,525)
Note: Readership/unique viewers is an estimate based on publications’ stated readership totals.
Additional Interviews
• All Property Management (Book) – Interview with Bill Jacques
• CNNMoney.com – Interviews with Mark Cramer, Marv Goldstein, Jim Katen and Jack McGraw
• MakeItRight.ca – Interview with Kurt Salomon
• Ohio Community Magazines – Interview with Blaine Illingworth
• Real Estate Today – Interview with Jack McGraw
• WFTV Orlando – Interview with Marv Goldstein and Blaine Illingworth
New York Media Tour
ASHI President Marv Goldstein conducted desk-side meetings with journalists from prominent publications during a one-day media tour in Manhattan. Accompanied by a G&S representative, Marv discussed several key industry topics, including foreclosures, the value of a home inspection, the benefits of energy efficiency and more with journalists from the following publications:
• CNNMoney.com (Unique Visitors/Month: 5,963,830)
• Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal (Circulation: 2,096,169)
• SmartMoney (Circulation: 812,305; Unique visitors/month: 759,632)
• This Old House (Circulation: 966,525; Unique Visitors/Month: 880,645)
News Releases
Three news releases have been developed on behalf of ASHI during the 2011-2012 program, including:
• American Society of Home Inspectors Elects New Leadership
– Boston Globe (Visits/month: 12,269,021)
– MarketWatch (Visits/Month: 14,203,792)
– Morningstar (Visits/Month: 4,398,076)
– SFGate.com (Visits/Month: 9,445,980)
• Home Inspections Boost Homebuyer Confidence In 88 Percent of U.S. Adults
– Boston Globe (Visits/month: 12,269,021)
– MarketWatch (Visits/month: 14,203,792)
– SFGate.com (Visits/month: 9,445,980)
– Yahoo! Finance (Visits/month: 152,168,163)
• The ASHI School Announces Educational Partnership With Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
– Distribution pending
Paid Placement (Mat) Release
G&S preferred partner Brandpoint will develop an article for ASHI, tying together survey results and the current state of distressed properties to be used as part of its summer real estate package. This article will be syndicated nationwide in late May, resulting in vast coverage, which we will report on an ongoing basis.
Audio News Release
G&S partnered with MediaTracks to create an audio news release for ASHI. The release was heard by nearly 47.8 million listeners and is available for download on iTunes. The audio file is accessible via the ASHI website and members can link to it on their own websites for additional promotion.
Social Media Update
Check daily for ASHI good news via its social media. The public and members are finding valuable content to share or re-tweet.
Facebook
www.facebook.com/ASHIinspection
The fan count keeps climbing on ASHI’s Facebook page … soon to hit 1,000.
Here are two examples of what visitors like:
• “Buying a flipped house? A home inspector tells what issues to look for” received 16 likes and 24 shares
• ASHI’s press release on the survey about home inspections boosting homebuyer confidence was picked up by marketwatch.com. ASHI shared it on Facebook.
LinkedIn
ASHI Membership Group (Official)
If you haven’t already, join the 750+ ASHI inspectors discussing a wide variety of inspection-related topics on LinkedIn. Click on the LinkedIn icon on ashi.org, request to join the group and you will be approved within 48 hours.
Here’s a sample of the discussions:
• Last month’s ASHI Reporter cover story on the green building movement had comments on low-e windows, wood foundations and more.
• “Are your inspections taking more time to complete?” had 27 comments.
• “Using ladders in inspections” had 22 comments.
• “What are the three most common defects that you see when you are inspecting outside a house?” had 15 comments.
Twitter
www.twitter.com/ashi_inspection
In April, ASHI tweeted 12 times and the tweets were re-tweeted 26 times.
Here are a few tweets from April:
• “Home inspections save buyers money.” (Linked to a realestate.com piece.)
• “Home inspections boost buyer confidence.” (Linked to the ASHI press release on marketwatch.com.)
• “Attached garages can be the source of indoor air-quality problems.” (Linked to an article in the Reporter by Jeff May.)
• “Check your deck! Even if it’s newer, it needs to be inspected.” (Linked to an article about deck inspections.)
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