Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Real estate marketing has moved online, and that’s not changing anytime soon. So many house hunters use the internet to begin their property searches that ignoring online marketing is impossible today. This means that any real estate professional worth their salt needs to be fully invested in their real estate blogs.
While there are dozens of different approaches you can take to online marketing, one of the most effective is assuredly creating blog content for a personal real estate website. Choosing the content to populate that blog, however, is another matter entirely. Here are some excellent choices for real estate blog content that you can use for your own needs.
Real estate is highly positional. Local markets differ, sometimes drastically, but there are some overarching universal trends in the overall housing market that bear discussing. Things like rising or falling mortgage rates and the impact that has on borrowers looking to purchase homes, for example, is one such universal aspect of the housing market that begs a discussion.
With housing markets being so local, it’s always a good idea to showcase the aspects of the community in which your market resides. Is there a local festival that’s coming up? What about an annual parade, concert, or community clean-up project? Publicizing such events helps underline the kind of community you’re offering properties in.
Similar to writing up neighborhood events, creating content that offers readers a glimpse into local businesses also helps build a sense of the community you serve. This content is less time sensitive as well, as a local eatery or coffee shop is likely to be around a lot longer than an annual event. Be sure to focus on locally owned places; anyone can find a big box store anywhere, but a local joint is something special.
People love hearing about the types of recreational opportunities a community offers. Bike paths, hiking trails, local gyms, dog parks, and local beaches – all adds value to your neighborhood, and that attracts more potential buyers.
Speaking of dog parks, there’s a real demand for communities that have pet-friendly features. If there’s a great doggy daycare in your area, a fantastic independent pet store that stocks hard-to-find food, or a veterinary care center that has a great reputation because of its staff, all of these are crucial things to talk about.
Not everyone moving to your area might have kids. However, a community that is kid-friendly and offers plenty of ways to keep young ones safe, happy, and healthy is a valuable one. Kid-themed content such as write-ups on the local schools, playgrounds, mini-golf courses, or anything else that appeals to kids and adults alike is great for content building.
This one is tricky. You don’t want to blatantly self-promote – that just doesn’t work. But if you have a very happy client that just closed on their dream home, creating some content on that home buyer’s journey can be an oblique way of promoting your own services. Keep the focus on the client for the best results, as everyone loves a feel-good story.
Everybody wants to feel like they know what they’re doing when it comes to home maintenance. Sharing content that provides information on home improvements, from as simple as changing a light switch to constructing a new addition, are all great content ideas. Don’t forget gardening and landscaping, too – curb appeal is a major draw for homeowners, after all!
One great market demographic to target is anyone relocating to the area. Sharing tips about how to pack up, move, and settle into a new home is useful content. This also provides great opportunities to link previous blog posts that you’ve created about the benefits of living in the community, as people looking to relocate do plenty of research on the neighborhoods they’re eyeing.
Showcasing local properties is your bread and butter but, be sure to put a spin on it by sharing a few at the same time that all have the same thematic elements. A list of the most affordable fixer-upper properties attracts the DIY and house-flipper crowds; a blog post about local properties with big backyards is great for families or dog owners. Do this often to help establish yourself as an authority on the community’s real estate market.
A great idea for blog content will always be to focus on home décor and decorating. You can even create an entire series, with each post handling a separate room in the house or a distinct style. This is especially helpful if you’ve got interior designers as professional contacts, as you can promote their services at the same time.
Another winner of a real estate blog content idea is to do an in-depth analysis of whether it makes better sense to rent a home or to purchase one. The renting versus buying debate isn’t going away any time soon, but providing useful information and industry insider context can be invaluable to readers. At the same time, this builds your authority as a real estate professional even more.
There is no limit to the number of different types of blog content that you can include. Choosing the right combination of posts, however, isn’t as easy. Be sure to focus on blog content that adds value to the reader, offers insight and information on the real estate home buying process, and showcases the positive aspects of the neighborhood in which you specialize for the best results.
For me, the best content is market comparison. In this way, you can let the readers choose what's best for them.