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Content creation is an essential component of any modern marketing strategy.
But what should you create? How will you create it? When should you post? Who should you target?
This blog will be your introduction to content creation. I’ll break down the basic concepts involved and provide strategies and hacks to help you along the way.
First things first…
- Understand the basics
The trouble with content marketing is that we are all guilty of using a lot of words as if they mean the same thing. Video and social media are NOT identical. Articles and websites are not necessarily the same thing.
- The story you want to tell. This is the angle or idea that you want to share. It’s the information that you want to impart, ie: Three ways to prepare your home for sale. Solve this problem by brainstorming ideas with your team after identifying the most common questions your clients ask you.
- The way you want to tell the story. This is the angle or idea that you want to share. It’s the information that you want to impart, ie: Three ways to prepare your home for sale. Solve this problem by brainstorming ideas with your team after identifying the most common questions your clients ask you.
- The platform you choose to deliver the story to your audience.This is the platform where you choose to place your content so that it will be most effective in reaching and engaging the audience you want to target. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, your website and real estate portals - all have different audiences and can specialise in showcasing different kinds of content to their best advantage.
- Review the content you already create
Now we need to determine how much work is involved to create the content. So let’s take a look at what you’re already doing that you could use or could be adapted easily and where you’ll need to fill some gaps.
Does your agency website feature properties for sale or which have just sold?
Of course it does. This means you can easily create posts that showcase new properties you’ve just listed, or which have recently sold, just by posting a link and brief commentary.
A word of caution. While this can be useful content, don’t go overboard. It’s not the only thing clients want to know, and agents who overshare their listings without any other valuable information will be quickly unfollowed.
Are you able to create suburb reports?
Many agencies create suburb reports that talk about how the market is performing and shows key charts and statistics? If you can produce a PDF version, you can create a ‘give to get’ download link that will allow you to capture the details of those who access it. This can be a great way to grow your leads.
Can you create videos quickly and easily?
How confident are you in front of a camera? Can you talk about how the market is performing and give a monthly update? Or if you don’t feel comfortable, platforms like HomePrezzo allow you to create suburb videos and property listing videos that use the latest data and pull it together into an attractive package.
Are you able to create graphs, charts and infographics?
If you can create a report or market video, you can probably also do a screengrab of any charts within the report/video and save these as separate images which can be used as social media posts. Alternatively, consider programs that will help you quickly build infographics using the latest property data.
Do you have articles or blogs that answer common questions about real estate?
If you’re a bit of a wordsmith, you may have articles or guides that provide advice to buyers and sellers that answer their most common questions. Identifying which ones are most likely to be of interest each week can be a great way to connect with clients or potential clients.
Can you showcase or make your testimonials attractive?
While uncontrolled bragging on social media is a total turn off, sharing a great review or testimonial in moderation can be powerful especially if you can make it attractive and visual. Platforms like Canva allow you to create meme-like posts that can look great.
- Carry out a thorough content audit
List out the content you already create, the content you could repackage and the content you will need to create from scratch.
- Content we already create
- Content type
- How much is created
- How often it's created
- Who creates it
- The place where you'll find the material (Name of the computer folder where it's saved).
- Content we create in a different format that could be repackaged (ie: turning photos of your local suburb into memes)
- Content type
- How much is created
- How often it's created
- Who creates it
- The place where you'll find the material (Name of the computer folder where it's saved).
- What work needs to be done to adapt it and who will do that work.
- Content we will need to create from scratch
- Content type
- Who will create it?
- What resources do they need?
- How long will it take to do the first one?
- How much time will it take?
- How often does it need to be done?
- Budget to create it.
- Content we already create
- Decide on the type of content you should create
Having completed the content audit, you’re now aware of what you have, what you’ll to need to upgrade and what you’ll need to create from scratch. So you’re probably wondering what kind of content you should create? A video? Social media posts? Do people still read blogs? Should you do a podcast? An e-newsletter?
Which one of this extensive multitude of options should you do? Which one is the golden ticket that will guarantee success and untold riches? Here’s my answer.
It depends.
It depends on you.
It depends on the kind of content that you WANT to create. Which type do you feel the most comfortable with? What content you’ve got time to create. The platforms you’re in the most frequently. Or if you can’t, what kind you can outsource the easiest.
In an ideal world, you should be creating a wide variety of content. But this is reality, and you need to sell - or manage - property, not become a defacto journalist.
This stuff takes time to do, so we need to work out what you think will work best for your audience and what you will enjoy the most (or at least, hate the least!).
So if you cannot bear the sight of yourself on camera, give yourself a break. Don’t create selfie videos to start. If you can’t write an email without spelling something wrong, don’t give yourself the punishment of a blog. If you prefer Instagram over Facebook, hang with your peeps. This is about starting, not excelling (yet!).
If you had to commit to creating one piece of content every week for the next six months, what would you choose?
- Enter useful content cheats
Now you have the knowledge in your head about most of those topics above, but turning them into content - eek!
Most real estate agents are talkers, not writers. And many tell me they have great heads for radio and the idea of going on camera to do video is Never. Going. To. Happen. Never fear. Here are some great cheats.
Download the app rev.com
Rev is a transcription platform that turns recordings into text cheaply and quickly - around $US 1 a minute. Even better, their mobile app allows you to record on your phone and send it straight to transcription. You can login and download or receive an email when it’s done.
This is a great tool for agents because if you prefer talking, you can give yourself five to 10 minutes talking about a topic and get it transcribed for $10. Then - and this is an old journalists trick - it’s always easier to edit existing content than it is to write on a blank screen. So you’ll probably find it much easier to knock what you’ve spoken about into shape. Or you can send it to your friendly neighbourhood wordsmith (who sadly knows not much about real estate) and they can tidy it up and put the commas in the right spots.
Create video with HomePrezzo
If you see the value in providing video, but seriously hate the idea of appearing on camera, HomePrezzo could be your thing. HomePrezzo turns property data into videos. They also do a pretty sweet line in reports and social media gifs. You can create videos about how your local suburb property market has performed, or you can create individual property videos. Just type in the address or suburb, make some photo selections and the platform does all the heavy lifting. It’s also super easy to share the finished content on social media or your website.
Try Real Content
If you just want to be able to select articles and use them immediately, check out Real Content*. It’s an Australian site designed especially for property professionals and has over 130 ‘evergreen’ and advice styled articles. You can buy articles individually or subscribe for even better deals. Once you have access to an article you can simply copy and paste it wherever it's needed. (*in the interests of full disclosure, Real Content is my business, so this is kind of a gratuitous plug. Soz).
- Keep organised with a content calendar
It can be a huge amount of fun posting on social media. It’s always great to see the response to posts and to engage with friends and contacts when a post really resonates.
But let’s be honest, social media can also be a major time drainer.
A content calendar will help you manage the time you spend on social media and content creation by planning your coverage in advance.
It will help you be clear about the content you want to post and will keep everything on track. It will also help you maintain posting consistency and to measure and manage the posts that are the most effective.
That’s it…
Once you're comfortable with the basics of content creation, you can then begin to elevate your strategies. You can do this by utilising different types of marketing. To learn about the top 7 in real estate, check out this blog.
