Why Real Estate Agents Must have a Content Marketing Strategy in 2019
Content marketing is a great tactic for attracting new, qualified leads. It is also a broad term used to describe the sharing of online materials such as blogs, social media posts, or emails to keep users interested in a product or service. For real estate agents, content marketing is critical.
Content marketing generates three times more leads than paid search advertising. In addition, content marketing creates trust with buyers and sellers, improves SEO and brings in leads. Many agents have some sort of content marketing strategy. Some post on Facebook, others use email marketing. However, a solid, organized content marketing strategy will better serve agents looking to grow their customer base, and here is why.
Blogging creates trust and increases brand awareness
Publishing blogs positions brands as industry leaders. Real estate agents can share their knowledge of the buying or selling process on blogs that show potential clients that they can trust this agent. It’s no wonder 55% of marketers say blog content creation is their number one priority in inbound marketing.
What is interesting is that only 9% of real estate agents have a blog. Mainly because companies that published more than 16 blog posts per month received roughly 4.5 times more leads than companies that published zero to four monthly posts. Blogging is a content marketing tactic that works. Real estate agents can take the time to write content or outsource that work. Especially since not many agents have blogs, those who do blog will enjoy a competitive advantage.
When writing a blog, real estate agents should focus on customer pain points. For example, write blogs about what customers need to know when shopping in a particular neighborhood. Blogs are also a great way to build SEO.
Content marketing improves the SEO ranking
Content like blogs and social media are great ways to get higher on search engines. This is known as organic SEO and is about 5.66 times better than paid search ads. Fresh, value-oriented content has a high priority in search engines. When prospects search for terms that agents blog about, the agent’s website appears at the top of the results page. Social media also help. Sites like Google also consider social media postings when ranking results for search terms.
Most agents use social media (77%), so this tactic is usually part of the content marketing strategy. Agents should remember to post on the correct platforms (that their prospect is using) and use social media best practices on each network.
Content marketing brings in leads
Perhaps most importantly, content marketing is a lead generation tactic and, if done right, has good ROI. For example, around two-thirds of marketers believe that email delivers an “excellent” or “good” ROI. Email is a content marketing tactic that many agents are already using. Email gives agents the ability to stay in touch with prospects and offer useful touchpoints along the sales funnel.
Other content marketing tactics that are great for promoting sales are eBooks and case studies. Real estate agents can collect blog material and convert it into an eBook to guide buyers or sellers through the process. Alternatively, agents could create a neighborhood guide with family-friendly places to visit and eat. All of these materials are useful to the prospect, which is why they work so well for attracting customers.
Time to develop a content marketing strategy
This year, more agents need to develop a content marketing strategy. Using tactics like blogging, email, and social media are great ways to reach out to potential customers and generate more leads. The statistics show that content marketing is a strategy aimed at building brand trust and awareness, improving SEO, and building leads.
Building a strategy can seem daunting to agents who simply don’t have the time to deal with marketing efforts. Fortunately, there are many tools that can be used to get agents up and running. And as more and more agents are likely to step up their content marketing efforts, it is important to keep up with and expand content strategies in order to stay competitive. e