6 Reasons to create content for your independent estate agency
The first blogpost in this series was on Cornerstone 1: Direct Mail. Now let’s turn our attention to the topic of Content.
Content can do so much for your business – it can act as rocket fuel, and propel you to another level of success. Here’s why:
1. Content creates brand awareness
With the right kind of content, you can get your brand in front of a new audience, in new places. There are plenty of channels to choose from – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram – so you can choose the channels that are most in alignment with your brand. Seeing your content images in their newsfeed keeps you top of mind before people are even considering selling their house, so they think of you straight away when they do make the decision to move. Creating consistent content, just showing up, month after month, with helpful expert articles on the biggest problems and challenges your clients are facing, means that you’re building deep trust before you even have that first conversation.
2. Content boosts SEO
SEO means ‘Search Engine Optimisation’. In a nutshell, this just means making sure that Google ranks you for the key questions your audience is asking. If someone in your area types into Google “should I sell or extend?” would you want an article on this topic to appear on the first page of the Google search results? We certainly would. They are Googling their property selling questions anyway, so better it’s your article that shows up, rather than one of your competitors’.
3. Content builds your audience
At any one time, there are between 2% and 4% of properties in your area on the market. If your market is particularly slow at the moment, you may find that your percentage is 4% or more. If on the other hand, your market has a quick turnover – and this is typically true of urban areas – you could see 2% of properties or less being marketed at once.
Let’s take the middle lane, and assume that on average, 3% of properties are currently for sale. This means that if you live in an area with 50,000 households, around 1,500 properties will be on the market. This is your ‘on the market’ opportunity.
However, for every homeowner trying to sell, there are at least four more thinking about moving house. These are people who are currently discussing moving with their family and friends, browsing Rightmove or driving past for sale boards. These are people who are not yet on your radar, but they could be – if you create the right kind of content that will attract engage them. This brings your opportunity to around 15% of homeowners in your area, which, using the typical area size of 50,000 chimney pots, means that your opportunity is a sizeable 7,500 properties. These homeowners are very likely to be searching online for their most pressing questions about moving, and you can be present in their search results, if you create content that perfectly aligns with their home moving journey.
In summary, if you’re looking to connect with as many homeowners in your area as possible, all you need to do is build a bigger audience. It’s that simple.
4. Content builds trust
Building trust is hugely important in our industry, but often a process that is neglected. Estate agency is an industry built on trust. After all, we are selling the invisible – a future move. With a less-than-desirable reputation, independent estate agents have a real opportunity now to change the perception people have of our industry, to be more transparent and authentic. The higher degree of trust you can create with your audience,at, the more likeable you will be perceived as, and ultimately, the right choice of agent to help them with their moving plans.
Content builds trust by allowing you to be transparent, and so increase the familiarity they feel with you. When someone feels they know you, your first handshake with them on the doorstep is not between two strangers, but instead carries the warm feeling of recognition. Which brings us onto number 5….
5. Content increases conversion
When you talk to someone who feels they know you, about how you will help them sell and move home, they are much more likely to believe you. And because so much of conversion success is built on belief, your conversion rate will go up. A lot. Going into a valuation visit completely cold, you’re statistically likely to only convert at 33%. If you’re good, that might be 50%. But when the vendor has read all your blogs, watched all your videos, and ‘gets’ you, you’re almost certain to be their agent of choice. That’s how we convert at 90% and higher, and you can too, with the right content.
6. Content positions you as a thought leader
I’m guessing that you’re reading this because you are an independent agent who wants your brand to be seen as progressive and innovative. You want to make sure you’re always moving ahead of the curve, not waiting for everybody else to make their move, then trying to catch up with them. In your content you can be not just educative and helpful, but also opinionated and outspoken, so long as you are respectful and your thoughts are well expressed. By doing so, you can position yourself as a thought leader in your area.
People are drawn to thought leaders; it’s a natural human trait. We’re drawn to people who we feel are influencers, who have the latest ideas, and who want to share their ideas in a non-dictatorial way that can also be engaging and entertaining. And that’s exactly what you can do with your content.
Content is the new advertising” – Seth Godin
I’m not going to lie and tell you creating content is easy.
Having just written my millionth word online (could be this one, in fact), I can tell you with some authority that it takes hard work and practice to create content that actually works. In other words, to create content that attracts the right type of audience, generates a click, and then converts those clicks to quality instructions. You won’t do it overnight. But with help from me, and buckets of hard work and perseverance, you will get there.
I’ve lost count of the number of agents I knew who went broke because they did not have a replicable and cost-effective marketing system. Or those agency owners who are spending (wasting) thousands of pounds a year on generating rubbish leads, because they are using a broken content strategy.
Content marketing is simpler than you think (but probably much harder)
Here’s the simple bit: all you need to do is…
- Answer their Googled questions
- So you become top of mind BEFORE they sell
- And then be their choice of agent WHEN they sell.
This is exactly what we’ve done, in AshdownJones. We now have a super-engaged, hot audience of over 6,000 local relevant people, all because of the quality and consistency of our content. Using my 3% and 12% figures from earlier, that means we’re talking to at least 180 people currently on the market, and another 720 thinking of moving house = a total opportunity of 900 people.
Imagine….
- Having new, fresh content every single month – expertly written and beautifully designed
- Being able to compete with the blogs the corporates produce
- Having a highly-visual content strategy that gets your brand noticed for all the right reasons
“If you don’t have a repeatable, consistent and efficient marketing system,
your independent agency simply will not survive.”Sam Ashdown
Let’s face it, most content suppliers to our industry don’t have a clue what vendors need.
What vendors don’t want:
- Statistics
- Market reports
- Buyer-focused content
- Your news
- Dry information
The WRONG content will:
- Decrease your reputational value
- Damage trust
- Give your competitors the edge
- Lose attention
- Waste countless opportunities.
Instead, here’s what vendors DO want:
- Their questions, answered
- Relevant information
- Your opinions given respectfully
- Advice and mentorship
- Step-by-step guides
- Content that aligns with their journey.
The RIGHT content will:
- Let you focus your time, energy and marketing on attracting your TRUE CLIENTS.
- Those who recognise the value of your service, and who are HAPPY TO PAY
- For the experience. because they will be of a higher value, you don’t need as many of them
- they will be easy to deal with and pleasant during negotiations, and profitable when the sale goes through
Simple: with the RIGHT content: content that deters the wrong clients, but acts as a magnet for the right ones.
Not got time for that?
I know. I understand, and I sympathise.
That’s why…
We’ve created it for you.
Introducing…. [drum roll please]
FireWave Spark – expert specialist content designed, written and created, specifically for independent estate agents (get the info here)
Because a blogpost is not enough.
So here’s the deal – you get a complete ‘Content Campaign’ every month:
1. 1000-WORD BLOG POST– expertly written, and designed to convert the reader to a conversation with you
2. BLOG TITLE IMAGE– a correctly sized, beautifully designed image with the title text so you can use it to successfully promote your post online
3. POST GRAPHIC– your blog title image as a square to use on Instagram and anywhere else you like
4. FACEBOOK COVER IMAGE– to make your Facebook page look awesome, and motivate your followers to click and read your post – we give you full instructions too on how to do this
5. TWITTER COVER IMAGE – correctly sized so you can just upload, letting your Twitter followers know your latest blog post
6. SOCIAL POST TEXT FOR FACEBOOK, TWITTER & INSTAGRAM – you don’t even need to write these yourself, we’ve done it for you! Just copy and paste wherever you want to promote your blogpost link
7. LINKEDIN ARTICLE IMAGE & INSTRUCTIONS– did you know that LinkedIn is also a free blogging platform? That’s why you also get full instructions on how to publish your article on this exploding platform, and a perfectly-sized header image to make it look fantastic
8. TIPS GRAPHICS – every month, we take the best bits from your blog post and turn them into a graphic so you can use them to promote your post everywhere online.
All the above, beautifully created for you, every single month. All you need to do is to upload it to your chosen platform.
No blog facility on your website?
No problem. Just use LinkedIn. Or even Facebook. (But seriously, get a blog.)
Want to know more about what FireWave Spark has to offer you? Just click here to check out all the information and see if your area is still available. If it is, we’ll arrange a chat to see if FireWave Spark is a good fit and get you started. You’ll be posting beautiful content and graphics before your competitors know what happened. Because we only offer FireWave Spark to non-competing agents, so you can lock out your competitors now, and forever.
This is specific vendor-focused content designed to attract the click and convert to instruction. This means you can just set it and forget it, knowing we have you covered, and looking awesome, online.
Why not just do it yourself, now I’ve given you the low-down?
Everything you get in your Content Campaign represents at least thirty hours of mine and my team’s time. Do you have the time to do this yourself every month? Does your team?
And that’s not all. FireWave Spark comes with its own unique distribution platform, so you can simply drag and drop your content pieces into a calendar, and relax, knowing your entire month’s content is taken care of, in just minutes.
Is FireWave right for you?
Can you answer YES to all four of these questions?
1. Do you want your brand to be in front of more vendors, more of the time?
2. Do you want a content marketing system that is efficient, effective, and doesn’t rely on you?
3. Do you want to make sure your competitors don’t get access to this opportunity?
4. Do you want to attract more clicks, and convert those clicks to clients, without being ‘salesy’?
If you have four YESES, then don’t delay a second longer – don’t even read the rest of this article – because right now, your biggest competitor might have already clicked to the info page and be typing in his details….
“Content Marketing is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s now a MUST-HAVE”
Get started here >> http://www.samashdown.co.uk/firewave-signup
Sam
Questions before you register your area? Talk to us now on 015394 40892
