It’s believed that in 1996, Bill Gates was credited with saying that “content is king,” and he couldn’t have been more on the nose. Content marketing is one of the most powerful marketing methods in any industry. In real estate, it produces about three times as many leads per dollar as paid marketing. It’s also unparalleled in helping businesses build relationships and demonstrate your brand’s value. In fact, approximately 70 percent of customers say that they prefer to get to know a company through their content marketing efforts.
But it doesn’t stop there! Employing content marketing has a host of benefits, including broadening your brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, and connecting you with qualified buyers. But most importantly, it generates more qualified wholesale real estate leads.
Below, we detail different forms of content marketing media that can be used to build relationships with your leads and move them to the ready-to-buy stage.
First: Define Your Target Audience
Before you jump the gun and create a content marketing strategy, you need first to define your target audience. Your audience shouldn’t consist of everyone; instead, it should consist of the customers you currently have, and the potential leads you want to have. From there, dig a little deeper to narrow down your audience. For example, do you want to target first-time homebuyers looking for a starter home? Or empty nesters looking to retire in a nice neighborhood? Ask yourself what your target audience is looking for and what kind of content can you provide them. The more you know about your customers, the better the quality of content you can offer them, and the greater their trust will be in you.
Have a Strong Website
First impressions are everything. And if you’re looking to generate qualified wholesale real estate leads through your content marketing, then you’ve got to give it a good home. Your site is the first exposure a potential lead has to your company, and you want to impress. To put your best foot forward, ensure that your website looks professional and is clean, uncluttered, and up to date. Nothing turns away a potential lead faster than a website that’s not up to date. Another best practice is to make it easy for your leads to navigate your site. Ensure your search bar is visible and that all crucial information is easily accessible with a dedicated menu link.
Blogs/Articles
Blogs are often considered one of the first steps in the content marketing process. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. It’s a great way to boost your credibility and attract qualified wholesale real estate leads. The trick is to ensure that your content features a healthy balance of being informative and engaging. Your blogs should also provide an actionable solution to their problem or answer a question. When you create quality content, your leads will spread the word by sharing it on social media, forwarding marketing emails, or simply telling someone about your blog.
To further reach your audience of home buyers and property sellers, you need to be human. Your leads need to trust you. They need to feel that by reading your blogs, they’re learning about you and understanding who you are as a person. Express to your reader through your own words why you got into real estate and are passionate about helping them find their perfect home. A surefire way to achieve this is through the incorporation of storytelling. If you combine the advice you share in your blogs with a storytelling element, it creates a memorable experience that will convert your qualified leads into closed deals.
Infographics
Sometimes you can show better than you can ever tell, and infographics are an excellent demonstration of this. Infographics are informative, brightly colorful, and easy to share with others. With infographics, you can easily break down hard to understand topics and even detail processes like your reader’s wholesale real estate journey. You can even share property photos in a slideshow alongside your infographics —anything to paint a clear picture and engage your client. The great thing about visual media is that leads can quickly digest your content, and you can further establish yourself as an authority in the wholesale real estate industry.
Videos
Video streaming platforms like YouTube and Vimeo are known for being popular entertainment sources, but did you know that they can be used to drive qualified leads, too? Despite many real estate agents overlooking this content marketing gem, it’s an excellent and easy way to promote your listings. Plus, your leads prefer it, too. Seventy-three percent of homeowners say that they’re more likely to list with a realtor who uses videos for marketing their properties.
There are several reasons for this: they feel they can get to know the agent better before working with them. Listings also tend to be more updated, and depending on how innovative the video is it, will stick in their minds far longer than a website listing would. In your videos, you can do walkthroughs of the property while reinforcing yourself as an industry authority. Lastly, it’s easier to share with their partner, their family members, etc., spreading the word about your services with the help of your quality content. So, don’t be afraid to get creative with your content!
Customer Feedback
Like all other entries on our list, customer feedback can be considered content if you think about it. We’re a society that loves to use reviews to influence our purchase decisions, and using customer feedback and testimonials is an excellent way to boost your reputation. Letting your results speak for themselves can also drive qualified wholesale real estate leads. We recommend hosting a review page on your website that shares testimonies from your clients to attract new leads. You can even embed testimonies posted on real estate platforms like Zillow, Realtors.com, and Trulia.
Referral programs are also an option, as word of mouth is perhaps one of the most powerful marketing tools of all. Your existing clients can serve as ambassadors, spreading the word about your real estate prowess and exceptional customer experience.
Social Media
Social media is a significant part of our everyday life. More than 3.6 billion Americans use social media to stay up to date on news, entertainment, and other personal interests. When it comes to realtors, a whopping 91 percent use social media in some capacity, but only nine percent use it as a way to market their listings. Social media is an innovative way to engage your potential leads and build a relationship with them. It’d be foolish not to take advantage of its influence. You can establish or solidify your online presence and appear as an authority in the wholesale real estate industry by sharing videos of virtual tours, the blogs you create, tips and tricks, and keeping followers up to date on new and expiring listings.
E-Books
Because we live in a digital age, our preferred format for digesting content is online media. Gone are the days where you pick up pamphlets and newsletters. Nowadays, sharing your expertise and your most valuable content through online media is the quickest way to build trust and drive leads. E-books present a unique method for engaging readers. Because they’re accessible on tablets and cellphones, it’s portable, meaning your audience can enjoy your words on the go. Because most of the population uses their phones to do research, giving away an e-book gives your readers more opportunities to reach out to you throughout their day. They can request more information when the mood strikes and they’re excited, rather than risking the chance of them cooling off on the way home.
If you don’t feel like you have enough content to warrant creating an e-book, you can opt to send out a weekly or monthly email newsletter instead. Newsletters are the most common form of engaging your audience. The best part is with a few hundred words you can reach clients and share your expertise with other investors, real estate agents, and mortgage brokers.
Call Motivated Sellers
Content marketing is an essential qualified lead generating tool that every agency needs to find success in the real estate industry. However, once the leads come in, it can be overwhelming to vet them further and figure out which funnel to enroll them in. Well, you’re in luck! Call Motivated Sellers can help. Our team of cold calling experts can not only vet your list of qualified leads, but we can also provide advice and evaluate your process.
Are you interested in learning more about our services and how we can help streamline your process? Contact our team today!