They say “content is king,” which might be a bit of hyperbole, but there’s no denying that creative and relevant content is a guaranteed way to drive traffic to your real estate business website, outshine your competition, and generate solid leads.
Content, in this context, can and should include video, photography, and written content, and leaves the door open for other current and emerging elements, like infographics and renderings.
Many agents are good, and getting better, at preparing visual content (think video and images on social media), but where they’re missing loads of opportunity is in written content.
Unfortunately, not every real estate broker is a secret Shakespeare or naturally prolific wordsmith. Coming up with ideas and making them work can be extremely challenging, especially if you’re not especially tech-savvy. Thankfully, there are many tools and techniques that can help any real estate professional make content marketing a vital part of their business development plan.
This industry faced many challenges during the pandemic, and agents had to rapidly figure out new ways to reach potential clients other than the old face-to-face methods.
While open houses and in-person meetings are still effective, consumers still conduct vast amounts of business and research online — and offering high-quality content is the strongest strategy for getting your brand in front of these potential buyers and sellers.
Let’s explore some innovative techniques for developing ideas and crafting a content marketing strategy that truly works.
Your Brand’s Online Presence
Everything starts with an eye-catching and user-friendly website that’s also optimized for mobile. If your site is clunky, hard to navigate, or looks straight out of the early 2000s, potential clients will assume you’re not in tune with an industry that’s constantly evolving.
At Baird & Warner Lincoln Park, we have an amazing toolkit for new agents that includes a free website under our banner. This unique opportunity allows brokers some customization of their site to develop their personal brand and grow their ecosystem with a personalized blog.
Before building a content strategy that brings together your conversion-focused website and your branded social media, it’s crucial to do your research. What kind of content are your most successful competitors putting out? What’s trending in your area? Where are the up-and-coming neighborhoods for getting the hottest deals? What are the top real estate keywords in your market?
Understanding your audience is the key to leveraging your content marketing to generate leads and nurture client relationships.
Gaining insight into what your target customers are looking for ensures you’re answering their questions or solving their problems. These stats will point you toward what ideas and issues you should be focusing on, also known as your content pillars.
Identifying your main topics will make it easier for you to optimize your search engine results. SEO is easy to do, costs nothing, and has a massive impact on your web traffic and ranking. There are tons of online guides, free courses, and YouTube videos that explain everything you need to know. You’ll be an expert in no time.
Once you have a focus, you can start mapping out your content schedule.
Building Your Reputation
Consistency is one of the most important factors of any successful online strategy. Everything you post on your business channels (website, social media, blog, emails, texts) should use the same voice and style. Ensuring your content always meets high standards makes your business more valuable and trustworthy.
How much content you share and when is also a critical element of your success. Data scientists spend countless hours determining exactly when the optimal time to post on various platforms, and the stats vary according to many different factors and are constantly evolving. Be sure your marketing strategy includes continuing education about the most effective social media scheduling.
Perfectly timing your posts has an amazing effect on how much traffic you receive, but it’s also essential to not over-publish. While it’s tempting to share things on the spur of the moment, sticking to a consistent schedule keeps your target audience from getting confused or feeling bombarded.
As the social media scene is ever-shifting, especially these days, be sure to do a quick check regularly to make note of current best practices and update your content strategy accordingly.
Instead of oversharing, take that time to engage with your audience on social media instead. This builds community and lets you determine which posts resonate with the biggest audience. Learning from and interacting with your clients leads to more effective content.
Nuts and Bolts
When it comes down to it, a successful content marketing strategy should tell the story of your brand and drive conversions from looky-loos to client relationships to revenue.
If you get stuck on figuring out what kind of content to publish, here are some ideas that real estate professionals can utilize to build the foundation of a content marketing strategy:
- Always share your new listings
- Audiences love videos, such as walk-throughs and eye-catching drone footage
- Events like networking meet-ups, open houses, and fundraisers
- How-to guides on a variety of subjects
- Happy client testimonials
- Emerging market trends, especially if you work with investors
- Home maintenance hacks
- Interior design and landscaping
- Neighborhood and architectural history
- DIY renovation tips and tricks
- Surveys and polls
- Contests
- Podcasts and webinars
- Spotlighting other local businesses
The possibilities are nearly endless — and listening to your current and potential clients will guide you to the highest-performing kinds of content.
Feeling overwhelmed? Thanks to new advances in technology, customer relationship management software and social media scheduling tools are more affordable and easy to use than ever. There are also firms that specialize in creating content for busy real estate agents, depending on the size of your marketing budget.
The Bottom Line
Reaching your target audience through informative, entertaining, and consistent content is a super affordable method of marketing your business. While it takes time and effort to develop a strategy that makes a difference, this is also an effective way to attract potential clients and generate leads without spending a fortune.
If you’re just starting out on the path as a real estate broker, you may not realize the commitment it takes to build your network and client base. While standing out from the crowd takes dedication and planning, it’s definitely worth it in the long run when you reach your financial goals.
Partnering with the best brokerage in Chicago gives you the training, mentorship, and resources you need to find your niche and establish a flourishing ecosystem where you can truly grow. Reach out today to learn more about Baird & Warner Lincoln Park and our team’s unique advantages.