Leverage Content Marketing to Grow Your Business

By Tiana Baur

Time to take the “pitch” out of your marketing strategy. Content is the here and now, and the future of marketing as we know it. Growing your business is all about leads, and attracting said leads comes much easier when leveraging content marketing.

Chances are you’ve heard of content marketing, but maybe you aren’t exactly sure what it entails. According to the Content Marketing Institute, a resource for – you guessed it – all things content marketing, describes it like this:

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

The general concept behind it, is getting rid of the “pitch” aspect many marketers in the past have come to love. With this style, instead of pitching your real estate services as an agent, you are providing truly relevant and useful content for your prospects and current clients, helping them problem solve and get their wanted information. In doing so, they will keep coming back for the valuable content you’re providing them on your agent website or blog, making their decision to choose you for their next transaction an easy one.

Unfortunately, content marketing takes some work. It takes quality planning and regular distribution of content that builds your brand and your awareness in the market. There are three things you must do in order to have the content marketing foundation that will pay dividends:

1. Start with a content calendar

A content calendar is the engine that keeps your car running. It also keeps you focused, with your eyes on the road, knowing which turns to take and which roads to drive on. A little content here and there isn’t going to give you the leads and return you are looking for. Consistency is key. Building a proper content calendar that fits your schedule and style is essential. If you’re looking for a template, we suggest taking some notes from this one.

2. Create unique, highly shareable content

A content calendar means nothing if the content you’re putting out is total crap, so play to your strengths and your specializations. You can’t know everything about every topic; pick three or four main umbrella topics and build out your content from there. Maybe it’s DIY projects, fixer-uppers, or interior design. Maybe it’s deep market analytics and investment properties. You know you best and you want to be able to talk intelligently about the topics when you meet these potential clients in person.

3. Provide value

This can mean different things depending on your unique audience. Think about who you want to target. Is it the neighborhood you do the most business in? Or first-time home buyers? Whatever your ideal client looks like, focus on them.

At the end of the day, you get out of marketing what you put into it. Content marketing can take more planning, creating, and time in general. However, it is a prime example of quality over quantity and your audience will thank you for it. This is what gives prospects that little extra motivation to do the one thing you want them to: pick up the phone and dial your number.

If you want more info on content marketing, see Content Marketing Institute’s getting started guide.