The Top 10 Tips To Dominate Real Estate Content Marketing & Get More Clients

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The real estate industry is constantly evolving and keeping up with the latest trends is essential for any successful agent. Providing valuable insights to clients is crucial, and content marketing is an effective way to do so.

The advantages of content marketing for real estate professionals are extensive. By creating informative and useful content, you can establish yourself as an expert in the field and build trust with your audience. This trust can lead to increased leads and sales.

Getting started with content marketing may seem overwhelming, but there's no need to worry. Our comprehensive 9-step guide to content marketing for real estate agents features interviews with industry experts Christy Murdoch Edgar and Chris Linsell. They offer valuable advice on creating content that resonates with your local community and helps your business thrive.

This comprehensive guide has got you covered on all aspects of content marketing, from understanding your audience to crafting compelling and shareable content. We also examine the power of social media and how you can harness it to amplify your message and expand your reach. Additionally, we highlight the significance of SEO and provide tips on how to optimize your content for search engines.

Upon completing this guide, you will have a firm grasp of how to utilize content marketing to grow your real estate business. Armed with the tools to create top-notch content that resonates with your local market and attracts more leads, you'll be well on your way to achieving more sales. So, let's dive in and start crafting content that will elevate your real estate business to new heights.

What Is Content Marketing in Real Estate?

Establishing strong relationships with your local community is crucial for success as a real estate agent. In the digital age, content marketing has become an indispensable tool for achieving this goal. By crafting valuable and actionable content, you can connect with your audience and position yourself as a reliable expert in your industry.

From videos and guides to podcasts and infographics, there are a variety of content types that can be employed to promote your real estate business. Each form of content has its own unique advantages and can help you achieve specific objectives. For instance, videos can showcase your properties and offer virtual tours, while guides can provide guidance and tips to prospective buyers and sellers.

By utilizing a combination of different content types, you can create a holistic content marketing strategy that serves to establish and enhance your reputation, showcase your work, and attract people to your sales funnel. This strategy can foster trust with your audience and ultimately result in more leads and sales.

Do Real Estate Companies Need Content Marketing?

The real estate market is in a constant state of flux, with changes happening all the time. This means that buyers and sellers are always on the lookout for the latest insights into the best times to buy or sell, the types of properties to invest in, and the top trends in the market. As a real estate agent, this presents a golden opportunity to position yourself as a local thought leader in the industry.

In fact, data from our recent report, The State of Content Marketing Global, which focuses on the real estate industry, reveals that 93% of real estate marketers have enjoyed some degree of success with their content marketing endeavors, with almost a quarter of them reporting a high level of success.

By delivering expert content to your clients that is tailored to the local real estate market, you can differentiate yourself from your competitors and establish yourself as a reliable authority in the field. This can help you forge strong connections with your clients and drive more leads and sales.

A well-executed content marketing strategy can also generate sustained organic traffic to your website. By producing top-notch content that is optimized for search engines, you can attract more visitors to your site and create a robust online presence. This can increase your visibility in the search results and ultimately drive more traffic to your website.

How to Tackle Real Estate Videos in 9 Steps

Content marketing strategies for real estate agents are not one-size-fits-all. While certain topics may overlap, every aspect of your plan should be tailored to the specific questions and needs of your local market, potential buyers and sellers, and corporate affiliates.

The following steps will help you create a personalized content plan that attracts potential clients and generates valuable leads for your real estate business.

1. Leverage Your Everyday Interactions

In the world of real estate, buying, renting, or selling property is one of the most important decisions individuals will ever make. As a result, creating timely and relevant content is essential.

To effectively engage your target audience, your real estate content must be localized, personalized, and tailored to their specific needs. Generic, vague, or superficial content may fail to connect with your audience, so it's important to add a personal touch.

Personalization requires an emotionally intelligent approach where you consider the motivations, concerns, and challenges of your audience. For instance, a first-time 30-something buyer may have different needs and concerns than a retired couple looking to downsize.

Curated content can be specific and localized, making a huge difference in the effectiveness of your content. Providing information that addresses market shifts affecting property value, for example, empowers both agents and individuals to make informed decisions.

In real estate, success heavily depends on your approach to clients, both in everyday interactions and content marketing. As Chris Linsell from The Close suggests, it's a "belly-to-belly" business that values personal relationships. Therefore, being a local expert is essential in providing content that meets the needs of your community.

Different market segments have distinct questions and challenges, and taking note of these can inform your content marketing plan. Adopt a conversational tone that matches your clients, avoid jargon, and use an appropriate level of formality. For example, rural communities may prioritize infrastructure, schools, and local healthcare providers, while urban areas may focus on security, pollution levels, and local entertainment options.

Real estate content marketing example focused on personalization

An excellent illustration of personalized content in the real estate industry is evident in the work of Jade Mills, the proprietor of a luxury realtor in Beverly Hills. Her Instagram channel features a video segment titled "30 seconds with Jade," where she provides her audience with insights and guidance.

This personalized approach is a great way to connect with potential clients, demonstrate expertise, and build trust.

By providing useful information that is specific to the local market, Jade Mills is positioning herself as a thought leader in the luxury real estate industry.

This content marketing strategy helps her connect with her target audience and generate valuable leads for her business.

How to learn more about the local community:

As previously mentioned, successful real estate agents understand that what works in one community may not work in another. To effectively serve each specific community, it's essential to gain a deep understanding of the people and their concerns.

Apart from engaging with your clients directly, there are numerous physical and online places where you can learn about your community's questions, doubts, and concerns. For instance:

• Attend school board meetings and town hall meetings
• Participate in planning committees
• Attend buyer and seller seminars that bring in lenders and other industry professionals to discuss the transaction process. This provides an opportunity for Real Estate Agents to gather feedback and understand people's real questions.
• Leverage your mailing list. Send out emails to your sphere of influence, sharing information and asking for feedback. You can follow up with a phone call, where appropriate—it's a great way to stay top of mind and generate engagement.
• Analyze and participate in Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, or other social media conversation groups.

For example, suppose you're looking to understand people's questions and requests regarding a real estate agent in New York.

In that case, you can head over to Facebook and enter your keyword in the search bar (we used "NYC real estate" as an example). Next, click on "Groups" on the left-hand navigation bar, and you will find various groups and communities where people discuss real estate in New York.

By joining and exploring relevant groups, you can gain insights into your audience and find inspiration for content topics.

2. Become an Expert in Local Topics Related to Real Estate

In real estate, online topic research is just as important as having local knowledge.

Your initial focus should be on building local topical authority, which means creating content around several key topics (and their related subtopics) that are important to your audience.

To help guide your content strategy, we analyzed 100 top-performing real estate blogs and identified 17 popular content topics, such as selling property, neighborhood descriptions, and renting and leasing.

Here's an example workflow for discovering local content ideas using the Semrush Topic Research tool:

1. Select your location, such as the United States, New York State, and New York City.
2. Click "Get content ideas" to see a list of related subtopics that are trending in your area.
3. Choose a specific subtopic, such as "Manhattan Real Estate," to see a set of common questions, headlines, and searches related to it.
4. Use the related questions to structure your blog posts and create content for other platforms, like social media.
5. Repurpose your short videos into blog posts that are optimized for search by using related keywords, which you can find in the Keyword Magic Tool.

By following this process, you can develop a deep understanding of your audience's needs and create content that resonates with them. This will help you establish yourself as a local expert and drive more traffic to your website.

3. Develop a Relevant Brand Voice that Resonates with Your Diverse Audiences

Your real estate brand’s tone of voice is crucial to how you communicate with your audience through various media channels, such as written content, videos, and guides. It includes the words you choose, the style you use, and the emotional tone you convey. A well-defined brand voice can differentiate your company and effectively communicate your values.

But what if your real estate business caters to different audiences? Just as you adapt your communication style to different people, your brand voice can adopt different tones and levels of complexity.

To develop your brand voice, start by defining your mission statement based on your company's goals, target audience, and expertise.

Consider the example of Realtors at Story House, who aim to exceed their clients' expectations and make the real estate process a memorable one.

Next, build a personality for your brand by identifying the most important aspects of your brand character.

Use the image provided in this guide to choose your tone of voice dimensions, and list your top three to five traits. Extrapolate how these attributes affect your communications by using a table, like the one in the example.

Once you have identified a brand voice and tone that reflects your real estate brand and business, you can create content briefs and produce consistent content. Remember, your brand voice should be adaptable to different situations, but consistent across all media channels.

4. Work with Local Data to Power Up Your Content

Having several trusted information sources and combining them with your own understanding of real estate in your area is a powerful combination. 

Remember that many themes covered by Real Estate companies can be attributed to the YMYL (Your money or your life) content, which Google takes very seriously.

So, ensure that your content only provides highly accurate information.

If you're employing writers to create content, it's important that they either have knowledge of the real estate market themselves or can work with a subject matter expert. 

This experience will shine through in your content. 

Christy Murdoch Edgar says:

All realtors belong to the National Association of Realtors and their local association—and the local one is your best resource. They provide those stats and market snapshots, and everything you need to know. Just being able to pull and analyze the numbers at the local level and then communicate that is a major service that you can provide.

Christy Murdoch Edgar, Founder and Owner of Writing Real Estate

In the example below, the National Association of REALTORS® shares interesting stats on the economic impact of a home sale:

Useful sources of US-based real estate data:

• Inman is a great source of real estate news for Realtors
• The National Association of REALTORS gives you all the up-to-date information you need on the market.
• The National Association of Homebuilders offers Housing Data.
• Data.gov provides statistics and user demographics to support your research.
• City-Data.com offers data, particularly demographics,at the city level.
• The National Multi Housing Council provides market trends and reports.

A leading example of expert-level content in real estate

Remax does an incredible job catering to the needs and interests of various audiences. 

Their educational hub covers multiple themes that are relevant to their diverse readers.

To make sure their content is expertise-driven, Remax uses insights provided by the agents working for the company.

They also publish unique research, which helps it strengthen its thought leadership in the industry.

For example, you can check out their 2021 Future of Real Estate report.

5. Become an Advocate for Your Community

To make a meaningful impact on your local community through content, consider becoming an advocate for them. By addressing issues that are important to people, such as affordable housing, local amenities, infrastructure, and transportation, or community education programs, you can make a big difference in your area.

Although researching online is a part of the process, the most effective approach is to engage with people on the ground actively.

According to Chris Linsell, Senior Staff Writer and Real Estate Coach at The Close, real estate agents and brokers have a unique perspective on the market and should be present at planning meetings, town and county meetings, and any other housing-related discussions.

They should also write blogs and speak about these issues to become a thoughtful advocate for housing in their community. By doing so, they are likely to attract more business.

To develop your advocacy action plan, start by identifying gaps in the market that buyers are struggling to find in the current market.

Prioritize these gaps according to their importance. For instance, you might notice a lack of affordable housing in your city or local area. Next, identify opportunities to engage with the community on these issues. If, for example, the local town hall is discussing plans for new homes, apply to attend and bring up the topic of affordable housing for young people, citing your own experience and expertise.

Then, write about your findings on your blog, including the action points you suggested or discussed in the meeting. Share your content with the community through your social media channels and speak up in local newspapers and radio stations to raise awareness.

Although it may seem challenging at first, as people recognize you as an advocate, they will approach you with their questions and doubts, making the process easier over time.

6. Forge Partnerships in Your Local Community

Quality partnerships drive businesses forward. 

Not only are they mutually beneficial, helping you reach other target audiences—but they create a FOMO effect (fear of missing out), encouraging other local businesses to reach out to you too, so they can also get involved.

Chris Linsell says:

Partner with people who do stuff really well in your community and create multi-purpose media and marketing with the best restaurateurs, best teachers, schools, landscapers, etc. Both parties can use this content to promote their businesses—it truly buffs up your referrals and expands reach and funnel.

Chris Linsell, Senior Staff Writer and Real Estate Coach at The Close

What a good content partnership involves

The three pillars of a solid content partnership agreement are:

• Relevance

It's important to find content and a message that resonates with both audiences and has a significant impact on each business. Seek partnerships with other providers that serve similar demographics or interests. 

For example: a home improvement provider may work well with a realtor. 

• Objectives

Before rushing into content production, ensure that you and your partner have established a set of business goals. These will help guide the content you produce and ensure you are working towards the same objectives.

• Agreement

Balance and reciprocity and a clear understanding of what each partner brings to the table are key to any successful partnership. Be sure to put in writing what is expected of both parties and when. 

Partnership scenarios

• For example, a home decoration service could collaborate with a realtor in a series of before and after videos, showing how they have transformed a family's new home. 

• A local landscaping company could create content with a realtor by demonstrating different options for developing the yard or gardens of exciting new listings.

• A realtor with a large audience of young families could do a tour of the local school. Not only might this encourage a family to consider moving to the area, but it would show the school in a positive light. 

7. Experiment with Various Content Formats and Plan Them Ahead

The delivery format of your content should be based on your customers' needs and their preferred platform for consuming information.

For example, sharing high-quality photos and videos of a new property on Instagram might be an effective way to attract potential buyers, while a blog post can provide more detailed information about a specific topic.

Luxury real estate firm The Wealthy Lion is an example of how Instagram can be used to showcase a new listing, complete with high-quality photos and a clear description of the property.

Conversely, Barratt Homes, a UK-based estate agent, created a comprehensive guide on how first-time buyers can secure a mortgage with a smaller deposit, which is best hosted on a blog.

In terms of social media and blog post formats, our research shows that "Top+Number," "Question," and "How-to" are the top-performing blog formats in the real estate industry.

Furthermore, according to Semrush's State of Content Marketing 2022 report, video content is the most effective type of content in real estate, with 61% of respondents choosing it as their top format.

Real estate expert Chris Linsell emphasizes that video content is an essential tool for showcasing your properties transparently and engaging your audience.

When creating video content, it should demonstrate your knowledge, expertise, or activity, which could include showing potential buyers a house with a great view.

By using video content, you can effectively communicate your personality and expertise, ultimately driving success in the real estate industry.

8. Find Effective Distribution Channels for Your Real Estate Business

In order to succeed with your content marketing efforts, it's important to have a well-planned content distribution strategy. Before you even begin the content creation process, you need to determine which channels you'll use to distribute your content.

There are three main types of channels: owned, earned/shared, and paid. Owned channels are ones that belong to your business, such as a blog or social media accounts. Earned/shared channels are third-party channels, such as news websites or forums, where you can post your content, but it's then out of your control.

Paid channels involve promoting your content for a fee.

When selecting channels for your content, there are several factors to consider. Firstly, you need to think about your audience and which platforms they tend to use. You should also evaluate your historical performance to see which channels have worked best in the past.

Lastly, consider your resources and how easy it will be for you to consistently create content for each channel you've chosen.

It's important to note that many real estate agents fail to optimize their content for each channel. According to Christy Murdoch Edgar, founder and owner of Writing Real Estate, it's better to find a medium you love working in and then communicate that way. Instead of trying to use all the channels, focus on one and do it well.

However, if you can optimize your content for each channel, it's a good idea to mix content distribution methods. For example, in real estate, traditional direct mail works well alongside video content, and a localized social media paid campaign can be effective alongside local events.

Taking an omnichannel approach on a local level can be a powerful way to generate qualified leads. For example, a future client might search for a guide to getting a mortgage on Google and click on your content.

You could then use ads to retarget them on social media, asking them to sign up for a first-time buyer's newsletter. As they regularly visit your blog for updates on local listings and events, they give you their address to receive localized information.

Finally, you send out a leaflet with information about an upcoming event, which they attend and then visit an open house and make their first bid.

Success in Real Estate Content Marketing 

To effectively use content marketing in real estate, it's essential to shift your attention to your local audience and tailor your approach to the specific niche market you serve.

This can present certain difficulties, such as familiarizing yourself with the local community and differentiating yourself from competitors.

To overcome these obstacles, it's important to be physically present in the area and conduct thorough research to ensure your content addresses the unique needs of your target audience.

Grow your real estate business with Brainstorm Media Denver

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