Why is it critical to use content marketing as a real estate agent or agency?

To understand the importance of content marketing in this industry, let’s have a look at the current real estate market and the changes our industry is facing.

According to a Price Waterhouse Coopers report, 82% of real estate industry jobs are at risk of digital disruption by 2035. That’s a huge statistic, but what does that actually mean?

• 52% of real estate business functions have changed due to technology – some of this is great, some of this means jobs are no longer needed
• CRM innovation, predictive analytics and lead generation tools are swamping the industry, again streamlining many back office jobs
• Technology enabled business models such as Purple Bricks and Upside, are taking market share and driving commission down
• Smart speakers like Google Home and Alexa will become key in product and service selection so how do you ensure you are on their recommendation list?
• Facebook Real Estate has launched globally and will potentially force many agencies to close, consolidate or downsize.
• There is the threat of REA and Domain entering the real estate selling and management space and given they have massive market share this could really disrupt the marketplace
• The power shifting from Agency Brands to Agent Brands, highlights the importance of having a strong individual agent presence in your local community

How are agency’s winning today with all this disruption?

It’s not all doom and gloom, there are many smart agents and agencies who are thriving in todays rapidly changing market. They are thriving because they are:

• Embracing the right technology
• Consolidating their operations
• Improving efficiencies and streamlining systems
• Investing in training and development and
• Implementing strong digital strategies

But how will agencys win tomorrow?

To thrive in the future, they will need to continue to implement the strategies above, but they also need to carefully position themselves as THE local real estate expert.  A team or an individual that is so critical to the sales and management process that a vendor or landlord could not possibly do it without them.

Real estate customers expect the “local content marketing experience”. With 81% of people jumping on line to research real estate agents before they invite them in for an appraisal, ensuring you have a strong and authoritative digital presence is critical.

Your prospects want to be able to research their local agent, find instant market reports and local market commentary, they want to see an agent active on social media, be able to read their blog and see how engaged they are in the local community. And they want this information anywhere, anytime. In a nutshell, they want to feel confident they are choosing the best local agent, even before they have met you.

But how do you do this?

It’s simple – you create and implement a local real estate content marketing plan.

Why I hear you ask? Because it works, it works really well!

Content marketing generates:

• 3 x as many leads
• Costs 62% less
• 6 x higher conversion rate than other out bound marketing tactics*.

Having lived and breathed real estate content marketing for 8 years (really since the beginning of content marketing in our industry), I’ve seen these results first hand.

I’ve seen how it can:

• Set an agent apart from their competitor
• Develop trust and credibility with local communities
• Drive prospects and leads into sales pipeline
• Help convert leads into listings and
• Create evangelists

A couple of stat that might interest you to explain the importance further:

• 81% of people will research online before looking to purchase a product or service
• 5 agents will be invited in to give an appraisal on a property

Your prospects have decided who they are going to use to sell or manage their property, even before you’ve met you or you’ve stepped into their living room. The content you publish, share and send them is how they assess you as their agent of choice. Making sure you have a strong local content strategy is key to your success here.

By delivering relevant and valuable local content you easily build strong relationships with customers before they have even contacted you and long after you have sold their property. Now that’s a program that works well!

*Content Marketing Institute