For real estate agents, building credibility and staying top of mind are keys to attracting and retaining more clients. However, you can’t simply toot your own horn and scream “look at me!” all the time — which will turn prospects and clients away.
Instead, build trust and long-term relationships with your audience by sharing relevant, useful, and timely information regularly.
Here’s what you need to know about using content marketing in your real estate business:
What’s Content Marketing?
Content marketing focuses on creating and distributing valuable content consistently to attract and retain a clearly defined audience while driving profitable actions. Instead of pitching a product or service, you offer relevant content to help prospects and customers solve their problems.
The Benefits of Content Marketing For Real Estate Agents
Content marketing is highly effective for local service businesses, such as real estate agents, because it allows you to:
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Position yourself as a trusted ally and expert.
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Build brand awareness and stay top of mind.
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Foster a personal connection with your audience.
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Improve your SEO and drive organic traffic to your website.
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Attract high-quality leads and progress them down the funnel.
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Amplify the benefits of email and social media marketing with original content.
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Get started with minimal resources and scale up when you have gained traction.
Content Marketing Best Practices For Real Estate Agents
Ready to get started? Here’s how to get the most from content marketing:
Know Your Audience
Understand your audiences’ pain points and desired outcomes so you can address them in your content. Listen to how your clients talk about their challenges, then use their own words and phrases in your posts. This will ensure that the content not only resonates with your readers but also gets ranked in relevant search engine results pages.
Revamp Your Website
Your website is your digital storefront that makes the critical first impression when you drive traffic from search results pages, social media, etc. Make sure it’s professionally designed and uncluttered. It should have clear navigation and a lead capture mechanism to collect prospects’ information so you can continue building relationships.
Set a Publishing Schedule
An editorial calendar helps you manage a regular production schedule to maintain a consistent online presence. It also gives you a bird’s eye view to see how the different pieces can work together to create more value. You can also plan seasonal content ahead of time so you can have them published in a timely manner.
Create Local Content
You can boost your local SEO and get found in local searches (e.g., “real estate agent near me”) by publishing content that mentions local places and events. For example, you can share highlights of a local event that your business sponsored or insider tips for homebuyers who are looking for properties in your area.
Build an Email List
Email is one of the best channels for distributing your content to people who have opted in to hear from you. Meanwhile, publishing valuable content is a great way to grow your list. Include a call-to-action (CTA) in your posts to get visitors to sign up to your email list so you can continue sharing new content with them to stay top of mind and build credibility.
Share on Social Media
Sharing valuable content on social media allows you to connect with your audience and provide value without being overly self-promotional (which will turn people off.) Write posts that pique interest and use hashtags to increase exposure. Don’t forget to reply to comments and join in other conversations when appropriate.
Use Visual Content
Visual content (e.g., photos, graphics, and videos) in emails and social media helps capture attention and engage your audience so they’re more likely to click through to your website and read the posts. Such content is particularly useful when you’re promoting your content on image-centric platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram.
Keep in mind that the most successful content marketers spend 20% of their time creating content and 80% of their time promoting content. It’s important to support your content strategy with promotional tactics to ensure that you’re reaching your target audience at the right place, at the right time, and with the right content to maximize your results.