If you haven’t heard the buzz about online content and the dividends it can pay in real estate, you need to take note. Real estate agents who know what it takes to succeed in online content are seeing awesome results. On the flip side, some agents believe publishing online content is a complete waste of time. The reason is most likely because they close their computer and walk away after posting it. This is not enough when it comes to creating a successful online content strategy!
Here, I share some information about what epic real estate content is and why only pressing “publish” is not enough to succeed in today’s competitive online content landscape.
What Is Epic Real Estate Content?
There’s tons of real estate content being published on a daily basis. If you’re looking to succeed with online content, you not only need to publish it, but you need to make sure it is epic. What do I mean by “epic”? Anytime I write new content I always ask myself, “Is this topic one that people will want to learn about?” If the answer is no, the content is not epic.
Once I decide on a topic, the next step is deciding how to lay out the article. The best way to lay out an article is to break up the text by utilizing subheads. For example, I wrote an article on why people love moving to Rochester N.Y. I broke the article up by providing the 11 reasons as subheadings and elaborated on each reason individually. This allows a reader to skim the article and gather the major points quickly, should they not have time to read the entire thing.
The next step in creating epic real estate content is to make sure the information is helpful. I always aim for at least 1,500 words of quality, helpful information, not “fluff.” Fluff is when an article is filled with a bunch of words solely written for the purpose of making an article longer and targeting a keyword. You can definitely tell when an article is filled with fluff!
Last but certainly not least, you need to include memorable graphics. Articles that have memorable graphics have a much better chance of succeeding. I always aim to create at least 3 graphics that would help readers determine what my article is about. Graphics should be intriguing enough to entice readers to want to learn more.
What to Do after Clicking ‘Publish’
The goal with online content is to get your content seen by as many people as possible, and possibly, make it go viral! Here’s what you should be doing after posting:
Utilize Social Media
One of the best ways to get your content seen is through social media. It’s important to understand that blasting your content all over Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest will do nothing if you don’t have a following! Creating a following on social media takes time. Connecting and interacting with people who have similar interests is a great way to build a following. For example, if you connect with a group of top real estate agents on Twitter and continually share and retweet their content to your followers, the chances they will share and retweet yours increases significantly. Correctly utilizing social media is a must!
Promote on Other Websites
Another great way to succeed with online content is by promoting your epic content on other websites. There are lots of websites out there that you can promote your content on that can help you reach a larger audience. Some of my favorite websites to promote on include Tumblr, Storify, and LinkedIn Pulse.
It’s important when utilizing these sites that you do not copy and paste your content. Instead, when you write an article you should write a 300-500 word recap discussing the major points with a link back to your original story. For example, if I write an article on my site talking about buying a vacation home, I will write a brief recap over on Tumblr or one of my other favorite content curation platforms that touches upon the major points of the article with a link back to my site. This recap can reach additional people and provides them the opportunity to learn more by clicking through to my site.
Final Thoughts
If you want to succeed with online content in real estate, you must not only write epic content, but also know how to get it noticed by as many people as possible. Once people know you write epic content, your following will be excited to read your next article. If you succeed, your following is going to grow to include potential buyers and sellers. This ultimately means that when the time comes to buy or sell, they know who the expert is and who to contact!
Kyle Hiscock is a top Rochester real estate agent with Nothnagle REALTORS.
This article originally appeared on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. Check the blog daily for winning real estate tips and trends.
