- August 7, 2014
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10 Ways Real Estate Agents Can Blog Smarter
Real estate marketing has changed profoundly over the past decade. Although printed materials, promotional items, open houses and door-to-door blitzes are still required to bring in home sellers and buyers, technology is an essential part of the mix now, too.
The most successful agents are the ones who are embracing online marketing and creating a personal online brand. Blogging is one platform of choice to show off local market knowledge, share community news, and promote listings and open houses.
“The success of your real estate blog is dependent on your ability to create fresh new content, consistently over time,” said Ricardo Bueno, who specializes in marketing and technology for the real estate industry.
He shares 10 tips to create a smarter blog:
Be consistent
Google rewards frequent bloggers by zooming their fresh content to the top of its search engine. To pump out new blog posts regularly, Bueno recommends writing about topics buyers and sellers want to know, such as upcoming events in the area, best schools in the community and information that only locals would know. Commit to writing every week and create an editorial schedule to keep you on track.
Write what you know
Are you avoiding blogging because you fear you can’t come up with topics? Bueno advises to write about what you know, and you’ll never run out of topics. To kick start your brainstorming, make a list of all the real estate questions that buyers and sellers ask you. Then write a blog addressing those questions every week.
Nurture your email list
To show the importance of maintaining an email distribution list and adding addresses every week, Bueno relays the story of a mortgage broker who almost lost his business when the subprime market collapsed. He needed a different strategy to get him through the downturn, and started a weekly educational webinar series teaching local school teachers about loan programs available specifically to them. He added the email address of every person who registered for the webinar to his opt-in mailing list. He now counts 12,000 subscribers, an enviable asset.
Ask for the sale
Readers will disengage if you only promote yourself and your listings on your blog, but don’t be afraid to confidently ask for their business. One way to accomplish this is by showing your enthusiasm for your profession. Buyers and sellers want to work with agents who love what they do because they believe these agents will work harder for them. Another way to ask for the sale is to demonstrate your intimate knowledge of the community, something only a local could do.
Be responsive
Bueno’s is adamant that agents treat blog readers like their best clients and go out of their way to help, even if it doesn’t generate immediate or high-value business. Remember, you’re building a relationship. He shares another story to illustrate his opinion. A Naperville, Ill. agent received an email from one of his blog subscribers asking for a recommendation on safe neighborhoods to rent an apartment. Although the subscriber lived in San Francisco, he wanted a place in Naperville so he could visit his children and grandchildren. The agent responded quickly and, using his local market knowledge, worked with the apartment-seeker. Certainly not a big transaction, but a golden relationship nonetheless.
Grammar counts
Thoroughly edit the content you post. If you’re not confident of your editing skills, ask a colleague or friend to give your article a read-through to spot errors. Bueno says an error-free blog shows clients and prospects that you place high attention on detail.
Don’t start what you can’t finish
Be honest with yourself. Blogging takes discipline, and you won’t realize results quickly. If you’re not willing or able to invest the time long term, look for other ways to build your personal brand.
Measure your results
Here is where search-engine technology comes into play. Bueno recommends installing Google Analytics or Google Analytics custom dashboards on your website. You’ll want to track bounce rates and pages viewed per visit.
Update old posts with new information
Think of your blog as a living entity. You must nurture each post. When content becomes out of date, revisit that post, update it with current information and republish.
Design matters
Your blog visitors are there to find homes, understand the real estate market better, calculate their home’s value and learn more about communities they may live. Make sure you select a blog design that allows them to find information quickly.
We have a series of integrated marketing articles for real estate agents. To learn more about direct mail, signage, video marketing and more, check out our library here.