Setting yourself apart from your competition is becoming increasingly difficult. The emergence of social media into the business world has created platforms where constant, ongoing contact is possible. As a result of this desire to be in constant contact, many agents and brokers have struggled with what constitutes valuable content. What do we post, tweet and send?
If you think about it, the idea that your friends and acquaintances are sincerely interested in an up-to-the-minute play-by-play of your daily activities is somewhat absurd. This confusion in the marketplace creates real opportunities for leaders to emerge. When I say leaders, I mean thought leaders, market leaders, industry leaders and even neighborhood leaders. The communication we have with our most valuable assets should be focused on providing valuable information in real-time that helps people make informed decisions.
I recently took a “deep dive” into RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network® and discovered several tools that help agents provide valuable information that enables them to separate themselves from the masses. RISMedia posts four articles per day in a member’s resource center, plus a monthly video. With this high-quality content, Top 5 agents can repost and email the information and develop meaningful and professional communication that is centered around the consumer, but branded to the agent.
I am friends with many real estate professionals who truly understand the value of compelling consumer content. I have gained a great appreciation for those who do their market research and provide truly valuable information to their clients. Following are a few examples of topics that some of my friends are using to generate comments on their blog or “likes” on their Facebook page:
-“Burst pipe: The most feared home emergency”
-“As mortgage rates dip lower, homeowners should consider refinancing”
-“Should I remodel or sell ‘as is?’”
-“5 tips to save money on your new home”
-“10 tips to improve your chances of getting a mortgage on favorable terms”
Of course, there are many other topics that resonate well with today’s consumer. The key to a great strategy is to write often and balance your communications with general homeowner topics like those above, along with hyper-local market information and stats.
Fortunately, technology has created many new avenues to connect, but without great content, those connections are more like distractions than profit centers. Products like Top Producer’s Market Snapshot are a great example of a simple client opt-in tool that allows you to provide excellent content without doing the heavy lifting.
The keys to building your personal brand as a leader in your market include:
-Subscribe to the best content from providers such as RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network®.
-Post often, but balance consumer content with hyper-local market data.
-Include a call to action in all of your marketing.
Having a marketing strategy that positions you as the information leader in your community is not that difficult, but you shouldn’t try to create everything yourself. Your time, energy and focus should still be on meeting belly to belly with as many of your prospects and clients as possible and leave the information generation to those who do it for a living.
Verl Workman is a speaker, coach and business consultant.
For more information, visit VerlWorkman.com.
