The decision to buy a home is one of the most important anyone will make throughout their lifetime.
It’s also among the most complicated, so people naturally want to make sure they do everything right.
Some may already have a go-to real estate agent to turn to for help, but those who don’t will undoubtedly hop online and search for the information they need.
Now imagine your company website is filled with top-tier content that addresses all of the concerns a prospective homeowner might have.
You’ll likely earn yourself some new customers, not to mention setting yourself up as an absolute authority in your industry.
That’s the magic of world-class content marketing at work.
It’s also a great example of why SEO and content creation are essential concerns for businesses across every industry, including real estate.
Here’s a look at everything you need to know to launch a real estate content marketing campaign that yields results.
What is Real Estate Content Marketing?
Every business has something to sell, something it’s looking to convince consumers they absolutely need if they’re serious about living the life they want.
Yes, the actual properties are a huge part of the equation when you’re in real estate, but any real estate expert knows they’re selling so much more than that.
After all, a house is more than just a place to hang your hat at the end of the day.
It’s tangible proof that a person has officially become an adult and is truly ready for everything that comes next, including a family and ongoing financial security.
That means a successful realtor isn’t just a salesman, nor is he just selling homes. He’s selling people opportunities to make all their most cherished dreams come true.
Real estate content marketing successfully leverages classic digital marketing techniques to sell the dream of homeownership.
It means using classic copywriting, blogging, social media, and content creation techniques to give prospective homeowners the information they need to make a solid decision (as well as choose your company to help them make it happen).
Why Does Real Estate Content Marketing Matter?
Choosing a realtor to help you find the right home for you used to be a lot simpler than it is now.
If you were lucky, you knew a relative or a friend of a friend who could recommend someone. Otherwise, you simply picked someone from the yellow pages, a television commercial, or perhaps a billboard.
Then the internet came along and changed everything.
Although many people still turn to people they trust for recommendations, like friends and family, you’re no longer limited to sources you already know.
Instead, you’re never more than a few keystrokes away from an enormous amount of helpful information. But the more choices someone has, the more confusing coming to an actual decision can become.
That’s where real estate content marketing comes in.
Great content has the power to convince someone with no personal connection to you to trust you with the process of getting them into their dream home.
It accomplishes this by:
- Establishing and nurturing trust.
- Driving organic traffic via SEO.
- Supporting your company’s social media presence.
- Setting you and your company up as industry authorities.
7 Must-Know Tips for Creating a Killer Real Estate Content Marketing Strategy
Excellent content marketing for those in the real estate sector doesn’t stop at peddling perks like low-interest rates, impressive selection, and so forth.
Yes, it’s great to make people aware of those things, but they’re not enough on their own to generate leads.
Here are a few killer pointers for helping your company’s strategy stand out and deliver the results you’re looking for.
1. Add an active blog to your company website
Blogging is the cornerstone of any solid content marketing strategy. So if your real estate website doesn’t already have a blog, start one.
Search engines are all about sites that feature steady streams of fresh, high-quality content, and a consistently updated blog is a great way to deliver that.
Plus, your blog will be the key to attracting potential customers to your company and convincing them to trust you instead of one of your competitors.
Great content for your blog is:
- Meaningful, informative, and valuable.
- Relevant to those in a specific locale, as real estate is a local service.
- Written with different demographics in mind, as not all readers will be the same.
Use your blog to answer questions your potential clients might have, share client success stories, or highlight desirable properties in your area.
Let people know what to expect from the buying process, and explain how you can help make the process easier for them.
Your blog is your chance to win people over and increase your company’s curb appeal, so make the most of it.
2. Prioritize your website’s user experience
Although the quality of your content is vitally important when it comes to real estate content marketing, the way you present that content is essential, too.
A great website design that’s attractive, well-organized, and easy to use makes a visitor want to stay awhile and see what you have to offer.
It also conveys the powerful message that your company is competent, helpful, capable, and trustworthy.
Amazing website designs that deliver results:
- Are clean and straightforward with no distracting or unnecessary elements.
- Are easy to navigate thanks to readable fonts and intuitive labeling.
- Offer easy sharing options, including the ability to share privately instead of publically.
- Include a seamless search function that makes browsing easy.
- Serve up additional content based on what the visitor may want to read next.
3. Leverage the power of visuals
Visuals are important for any type of online content, but they’re critical when you’re in the real estate industry.
Poor-quality photos or badly shot videos can be all it takes to turn a prospective buyer off a particular property, so visuals that really make the grade should be a top priority.
Make your customer’s visual nature work in your favor with lush staging, high-res photography, and professionally shot video that helps them picture themselves living in that space.
Incorporate strong visuals into your online content, as well, with options like infographics, interactive photo carousels, videos, and so forth.
4. Invite visitors to subscribe to your content
Let’s say a particular person visits your website or blog and finds that it’s precisely the resource they were looking for.
You want to make it as easy as possible for them to come back and see what’s new in the future instead of requiring them to physically type your URL into their browser every time.
Offer people attractive options for keeping up with you in the future.
Make it easy for them to sign up for email updates or subscribe to your RSS feed. Display your social media follow buttons where they’re easy to see.
You may want to consider offering a newsletter option for prospective homebuyers, as well.
5. Include success stories in your narrative
Social proof is a powerful motivator for decision-making, especially when someone’s on the fence about a critical choice.
Offline, that social proof often comes in the form of word-of-mouth recommendations from trusted friends and loved ones.
But online, glowing testimonials from satisfied customers can be just as powerful.
Incorporate video testimonials, quotes from happy customers, and compelling success stories into your marketing efforts.
They help convince people with no personal connection to you that you know what you’re talking about and can help make their dreams come true, too.
6. Include app integration
While some prospective homeowners may browse for properties via a realtor’s website, many turn to non-domain platforms like Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, and similar options instead.
Platforms like these are popular and well-known, meaning people trust them.
They also feature perks like advanced filtering and targeted searches to help people focus on picks that meet their needs.
Integrating with apps and platforms like these and keeping your associated listings up to date is a crucial part of staying ahead of the real estate marketing game.
Make sure your contact info is up to date and calls to action are easy to respond to, as well. Once someone’s ready to buy, they should ideally be able to get in touch with you via a single click.
7. Mix evergreen content with timely updates
While posting content that addresses hot industry topics and timely concerns your clients may have is definitely important, amazing evergreen content is crucial, as well.
Some questions and pain points a would-be property owner faces will likely be just as relevant down the line as they are right now, so you’ll want to address those.
Think sales sheets, evergreen in-depth blog articles, and appealing infographics that answer many questions at a glance.
Pieces like these have staying power and will help you build organic authority over time. They also offer near-endless options for future content repurposing.
Wrap Up: Take Your Real Estate Marketing Plans to the Next Level
Now that you know why real estate content marketing is important and how to cultivate a terrific campaign, it’s time to take the next step.
Our content marketing maturity assessment can help you identify areas where you’re excelling, as well as ways you can do even better.
Get started today!
