Not all real estate content is created equal. Some content just doesn't generate leads. Here are some ways to avoid making useless content and keep your marketing on point.
More than 4 million blog posts are published on more than 600 million blogs every day. I get writer’s cramp just thinking about all that writing.
You are blogging, right? Even if you localize the blog posts you get from Easy Agent Pro, you’re a step ahead of many other agents.
Then, there are the agents who do blog, but their real estate content is useless. Let’s see if we can change that.
Don’t you wish you had a dollar for every one of these generic, value-less real estate blog posts you’ve seen online? You know the ones:
Why is it that when it comes to real estate content, agents seem to forget the most basic premise of our industry: all real estate is local?
Aside from adding value to your real estate content, local keywords help with your site’s organic search ranking and lead to a better likelihood that your posts, when shared on social media, will be more engaging.
Sure, go ahead and do a post on home projects that have an awesome ROI, but customize the content to your market. That’s what makes it valuable to the reader.
Consider the topic “Does a Pool Add Value to My Home?”
It depends on where the home is located. For instance, adding a pool to a Las Vegas home in a neighborhood where everyone else has a pool is a smart idea. Adding a pool to an Edina, Minnesota home? Not so smart, regardless of whether or not the neighbors have pools.
If you write about DIY projects to increase value, always, always, always mention where the products can be purchased in your market and where the reader can get advice, locally.
Highlighting Mom and Pop local businesses, and sharing your work with those businesses, earns you bonus points.
Local images in your content make it not only more likely to grab a reader’s attention, but those readers are more likely to share the content to social media.
Sure, you need a main image, but sprinkle additional images throughout your content. Hire a photographer if you have to. That’s how important local photos are.
Get tips on creating visual masterpieces at QuickSprout.com.
The “grabbing” (no, not the presidential type) doesn’t stop with images. Your text has to pull them in, fulfilling the promise of your headline and the main image.
Speaking of headline, I rarely see agent posts with localized blog post headlines. I looked, trust me. Here’s an example of what is typically found:
“Important Considerations for Condo Buyers in Their 20’s and 30’s”
Meh.
I don’t know about you, but the word “considerations” isn’t one I often use. It’s bland. It’s boring.
And, how hard would it have been for the author to include the name of the market he serves in that headline?
He is obviously addressing first-time buyers with this real estate content and, as we’ve been told repeatedly, these are cash-strapped, FICO challenged consumers.
To get them to actually read the post, which attempts to talk them into lowering their expectations and opting for a condo instead of a SFR, he’ll need something a bit more intriguing to lure them in.
How about “The broke Sunny Knolls homebuyer’s secret weapon?”
But, a snappy headline is only the beginning. What comes next will make or break whether your content is read. Here’s how our blogger started his post:
“Condos are very popular home choices for first time homebuyers, and for good reasons!”
First, dump exclamation points that aren’t preceded by the word “Congratulations,” “Oh” or “Wow.” When used randomly, they make a writer seem overly excitable, frivolous and hysterical. The Chicago Manual of Style suggests that “An exclamation point … should be used sparingly to be effective.”
And don’t get them started on multiple exclamation points:
“Multiple exclamation points is the hallmark of poor writing combined with poor editing.”
The title overall means nothing to the people in his market. It’s akin to sharing national housing market statistics. It’s irrelevant and, therefore, of no value.
What in this lead (the first sentence) that compels anyone to read on? If you found something, bless your heart. Let’s rework it:
“After months of touring houses for sale in Sunny Knolls, Jack and Diane were on the verge of giving up.”
From here, discuss how they figured out that they can afford to at least get their foot in the door of home ownership through the purchase of a condo. Expound on the benefits of buying a condo (the “secret weapon”) in a market where young buyers are priced out of the single-family home market. Work in the names of the most popular condo communities in your market for extra SEO juice.
Next, notice that my sentence includes the long tail keyword “homes for sale in Sunny Knolls,” right there in the first paragraph. The original contains zero SEO.
“The secret to content marketing boils down to three things: creating great content, making sure it gets found in search engines, and promoting it to your followers,” says my hero, Neil Patel.
Your content generation efforts don’t end by pushing the “publish” button. Promoting your blog posts to your Facebook and other social media followers is one of the best ways to ensure that it’s seen and, hopefully, shared.
“Where there’s traffic there’s hope,” suggests Andy Crestodina at OrbitMedia.com (do read his post about content promotion for tips on how to get more mileage out of a real estate blog post).
“A visitor is an opportunity for conversion, which could mean a lead, a customer or a subscriber,” he concludes.
Smart man.
Blog like a pro with these 2 tips for creating more engaging content:
Let’s boost your lead gen.