Content marketing is one of the primary marketing channels available to real estate agents, but it’s often times the most overlooked. Content marketing includes blogs on your IDX website,
At it’s core, content marketing is a two-pronged lead generation attack. One side is focused on bringing value to readers through original research, cohort studies, guides, ebooks, journalism, and even fiction. On the other side, content marketing is the glue and fuel that keeps your other channels together and alive with creativity and, you guessed, fresh content.
Done well, content marketing will help bring your email marketing, paid marketing, organic search and SEO marketing, and social media marketing together. Real estate content marketing will directly drive leads straight into your funnel!
Real estate agents who publish blog content 15+ times see on average five times more traffic than IDX websites without active blogs. And, those agents actively publishing content regularly see monetary results: Agents with blogs have a 13 times greater chance of generating a positive return on investment!
Content marketing is always written from a position of authority. Everything you publish will help establish agency and instill confidence in your leads. Real estate content marketing is comprised of tangible claims: something is, something will be, or something was or something has been. A dogmatic approach is used to compose content marketing information because such language builds a viewer’s faith and trust in the source. Viewers who believe in the validity of marketing content will be inclined to inquire further.
Specific content to include in your lead nurturing efforts includes market data, neighborhood information, more information on properties your buyer leads have expressed interest in, unlisted properties, tips to help seller leads find the right asking price, and even helpful guides for first-time homebuyers. The best way to deploy content marketing into your lead nurturing campaigns is through email drip campaigns straight from your CRM.
Marketing content is a marketing tool, but it is unlike any other kind because it plays a role in the success and development of all other marketing tools. Content marketing is the backbone of your social media marketing campaigns. With strong content, you’ll be able to steal the spotlight and steal leads in the Economy of Attention other agents are fighting in. Content marketing is also the body in which SEO is housed. SEO drives organic traffic straight to your IDX website, and organic leads have the highest ROI because they are free.
Learn how to get started with SEO and getting organic leads to your IDX website!
The most popular keywords which drive traffic to real estate agent websites are “location-specific” keywords. For example, “homes in San Jose” or “condos for sale in Houston” are popular keywords your leads are typing into Google.
To determine exactly what keywords leads are using to search for real estate in your area, you can use tools like Google Insights, Google Trends, and Google AdWords Keyword Tool. These tools are free and do not require any signups. But if you want to take your SEO keyword research to the next level, plenty of high-octane, paid tools like Moz ($149) and SEMRush ($199) will show you exact search volumes, keyword suggestions, track how well your IDX website is performing, and even monitor competitor performance!
The list of marketing content topics is endless, but that does not mean each and every one is of value. In order to produce leads, a blog must pertain to the questions on the minds of the viewers you are targeting. So, naturally, the content you post will depend on the market you are targeting. If your clientele is mostly local, you would do best to cater to their needs with your marketing content. Those who have a national online presence can broaden the substance of their marketing content.
Posting a large number of blogs at the same time has far less of an impact on SEO than publishing on a regular basis and publishing each blog intermittently. As such, it is important to keep a publishing schedule and to maintain a content/editorial calendar. Google recognizes the consistent, valuable updating of a website, especially with respect to blogs.