Let’s be honest: coming up with great ideas for content marketing can be a challenge. But as a real estate agent, you are a step ahead already with a treasure-trove of topics at your fingertips: everyday questions from clients.
As a real estate agent, you know the importance of social marketing and building an online digital profile, but it is often easier said than done.
Let’s face it: being confronted with a blank screen in the midst of a busy schedule can be daunting, even for the most talented of writers.
Yet there is no escaping it, for the trick to successful content marketing is consistency. It doesn’t matter whether you choose to blog or post on social media every day, once a week or once a month, as long as you stick to a regular schedule.
Real estate marketing: walking the talk
Teresa Boardman knows this better than anyone. The American real estate agent and photographer is a columnist for Inman.com, the leading real estate marketing website in the USA. Boardman’s passion for architecture and her hometown of St Paul Minesota, where she specialises in residential real estate, is also palpable in her own blog: stpaulrealestateblog.com.
Although Boardman makes it seem all too easy, she says: “Most real estate blogs fail because the owners don’t put fresh, relevant content on the sites on a regular basis. Then they give up too quickly when they don’t get instant results. It is much like old-school farming, which only works with prolonged effort and consistency.”
Consistency key to content marketing
It is consistency that will help boost your audience and allow you to capture traffic and leads in an organic way.
This is called inbound marketing, which is increasingly replacing more traditional, and some would argue, intrusive, methods of marketing such as advertising and emails. Rather than imposing services and products, inbound marketing uses blogging and social media posts to engage with potential clients.
Tap into your expertise, as a real estate agent, and not only will you be blogging more often, but you will also become a valuable resource for those doing online research.
When these potential clients eventually decide to sell, you will be their first port of call. And what easier way to find content marketing ideas, than by listening to your clients’ concerns, making notes and creating content to answer them?
FAQs: The best content marketing topics
Though you may not realise it, your clients’ everyday questions, or FAQs, can provide you with an endless source of content marketing ideas.
As an agent, you are face to face with your clients and potential vendors daily, so it should be relatively easy for you to unearth the most common questions and concerns home sellers have.
You can then use content marketing, through blog articles or social media posts, to answer these common burning questions.
And by making sure your content includes lots of search terms relating to the topic of interest to the potential vendor you’ll have a higher chance of showing up in Google search engine results, so you’ll be ticking the search engine marketing box too.
Great content strategy tips
Grab a pen and paper and brainstorm the questions that you are commonly asked in listing appraisals. For instance, think about what people want to know when they are deciding to sell their house and look for an agent.
Your expertise is your most valuable social marketing asset
Don’t take for granted all the information that you know. This expertise, currently stored away in your head, is something that someone selling would not have a clue about, even an experienced seller. Buying and selling are complicated processes, so help “uncomplicate” it for them and showcase your knowledge and talents in the process!
Boardman suggests:
- “Go through your email; is there a question or comment from one of your clients that can be made into a post?
- Listen to your current clients; their comments and ideas make great blog posts.
- Listen to your potential sellers; answers to their questions when deciding to engage your services are blog posts.”
The beauty of evergreen content
Client FAQs are also perfect for creating evergreen content: the topics discussed will have a longer lifespan than newsworthy content, which is here today, gone tomorrow.
New client questions are most likely to be the same, month in month out, so use evergreen content to keep your online content marketing working for you this year, next year, and the year after…
Content marketing suggestions
If you need extra inspiration for your brainstorming, search social media sites or the web to see what questions are commonly asked. Homely.com.au is a great resource, check out their “Questions” section in particular.
Below are some examples of questions typically asked that you can turn into a blog or social media post:
- How much is my property worth?
- How much will it cost me to market my home?
- How much is an agent’s commission?
- What does the real estate agent do for his/her commission?
- What’s the difference between a private treaty and auction campaign?
- How long will it take to sell my home? How long are properties in my area typically on the market for?
- What can I do to ensure a smooth sale or top price for my property?
- What type of people are buying in my area?
- How does my street compare to others in the area?
- What happens if my property passes in at auction?
- What happens during the exchange of contracts, and settlement?
- What sort of documents do I need to sell my house/buy a property?
- When should I organise a building inspection? Or a bank loan?
- How do I negotiate?
- How do I increase the value of my home?
- What conditions can I attach to an offer?
But if you are still hesitant and want to make sure that you are creating the best digital utopia possible, where clients are attracted to you without even meeting you, contact the Hoole.co team. Our team is made up of professional content marketers and writers who can produce original articles on your behalf, as you, in your voice, for vendor lead generation purposes.
When Sydney real estate agency Simeon Manners decided to team up with Hoole.co, the result was a stylishly crafted advice section on their website full of compelling resources for potential buyers and vendors.
You can take a look at their seller advice pages at advice.simeonmanners.com.au.
And, if you are interested in a similar partnership with Hoole.co just get in touch!
Written by Melanie Hoole
My team and I specialise in helping real estate and property professionals perfect their personal brand, build a first-class digital profile and implement inbound marketing activities to attract leads. If you are unsure which direction to take with your digital marketing contact me for help.
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