Articles Tagged "Content"

It's a sure thing that the majority of your future clients will first encounter your brand online.

Even with the personnel and resources of a large brokerage, in-person events can only achieve so much coverage within your community. Experts estimate only about 1% to 10% of people you encounter on a daily basis will be ready to enter the market when they make contact with you for the first time.

Knowing all that, your brokerage website has a number of big jobs to do:

• It must attract the right targeted traffic to your digital doorstep
• It must explain precisely what you do and who you do it for
• It must help maintain a relationship over weeks and months

Your website is the centerpiece of your digital marketing strategy. While it doesn't "do it all," nothing else will get done without a website to serve as the hub of your online brand. Its role goes far beyond being a "digital brochure." Done right, it has the potential to deliver immense strategic value.

Here's how to make it happen:

Post Helpful, Informative Content

Content marketing is the name given to building a relationship of trust by providing a foretaste of the value you can offer clients before they even sign up with you. This content should be both helpful and informative, helping visitors solve problems or overcome challenges in their real estate journey.

• Promote Your Content with SEO
  Search engine optimization (SEO) is a collection of design and technology techniques that signal search engines about your high-quality content. In order for your content to raise your search engine visibility by appearing in relevant searches, you must have an SEO strategy you follow consistently.
  
  
• Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
  A responsive website is one that automatically adjusts in both navigation and appearance to suit the way a smartphone or tablet browses the Web. Without this adjustment, mobile users can get frustrated and click away — and an increasing number of younger buyers use mobile as their main source of connectivity.
  
  
• Capture Lead Details Throughout Your Website
  As someone interacts with your website, you should be learning more and more about that person's needs. One way to capture leads is to develop a "lead magnet," a rich, detailed piece of content website visitors can receive in exchange for agreeing to join your mailing list.
  
  
• Build Your Opt-in Email Marketing List
  Email marketing is one of the most powerful opportunities in real estate, especially for large brokerages with the staff power to handle the increased volume. By segmenting your list for buyers, sellers, new leads, and other use cases, you can ensure each subscriber receives only content that matters to them.
  
  
• Turn Subscribers into Customers
  Email subscribers are somewhere in the middle of your digital marketing funnel. While you can't "make" them take action, you can inspire them with the right opportunities. Be certain they are receiving event invitations such as virtual tours, open houses, and featured listings in their area.
  
  
• Make Your Text Content Stick with Video
  On the internet, people don't read — they scan. They are looking for the information that's most relevant to them and will simply tune out anything else. Video content is much more likely to inspire action than plain text, and it is usually more memorable for your visitors, too.
  
  
• Showcase Your Featured Listings Prominently
  A good real estate website makes it easy for visitors to browse listings of value to them. Your MLS access gives you the tools you need to highlight new listings, enriched content like video and virtual tours, and relevant updates in real-time. Give your most crucial listings prominent billing on your website!
  
  
• Be Smart About Social Media
  Instagram is the overall winner when it comes to social media marketing for real estate, but Facebook and LinkedIn both hold opportunities for the right brokerages. Expand the reach of your best content and listings with social media, staying focused on platforms where your audience is highly active.

It's Not Too Late to Turn Your Website into a Lead Generation Powerhouse

Ready to put your website to work?

Even if your website hasn't reached its full potential just yet, it is not too late to make a positive change. With the right guidance from digital marketing experts, you can revitalize your real estate website so it produces a bottom-line value that moves the needle on your goals.

There are many different aspects to getting the most value from your website. For the best results, they all need to come together effectively. But once the initial work is done, your team can benefit from the power of digital marketing automation, reach more people, and save thousands of hours a year.

Contact us today to find out how your brand can benefit from the best real estate websites.

Think about the most important factors for online marketing success in real estate. You want plenty of traffic for your real estate website, powerful search engine optimization (SEO) to help your audience find you, informative content that builds trust, shareable, clickable content to boost your social media marketing, and easy, natural ways to integrate calls-to-action in order to turn prospects into qualified leads.

It's no exaggeration to state that your real estate blog can be a dependable tool for helping you accomplish all of those goals and more. Here's why you shouldn't underestimate the power of the real estate blog and how to create a blog that will benefit your business for years to come.

The Power of the Real Estate Blog

Ultimately, your real estate blog is a tool for informing your audience, and all of the other benefits stem from accomplishing that key goal. You have plenty of real estate and market expertise to offer. Your blog is the perfect place to share that expertise with your audience and give your digital marketing a major boost.

• Website Traffic and SEO
  Your real estate website is the hub of your online marketing efforts. You want website traffic, and an informative blog can help deliver it. In addition to attracting traffic through your informative, relevant content, blogging is a reliable way to integrate SEO and local SEO which will improve your position in search engine rankings.
  
  Most people seeking real estate services of any kind start the process with an online search, so your search ranking is critical. In addition to naturally including keywords that your audience may be searching for, your blog allows you to consistently update your website with content that's relevant to your audience, and relevant content causes visitors to spend more time on your website. All of these factors make your website more appealing to search engine algorithms, which ultimately means more leads for your business.
  
  
• Demonstrating Your Expertise
  Attracting traffic to your website is just the start. The content that you create can also play a key role in convincing prospects that you're the right choice for their real estate needs. Blog content is the perfect platform to demonstrate your real estate expertise by creating content that educates your target audience, answers their key questions, and helps them make informed decisions.
  
  Of course, you can also tailor your blog content to the audience you aim to attract. The flexibility of a real estate blog allows you to reach experienced, luxury clients, first-time home buyers, and anyone in between.
  
  
• Showcasing Your Markets
  Prospects aren't just searching for the perfect home. They're also looking for the right neighborhood for them and their family to live in. Your real estate blog presents endless opportunities to showcase the markets where you do business, from neighborhood guides to posts on specific local attractions, businesses, events, and real estate trends. All of this information can help your audience make decisions on where to shop for homes with confidence while positioning you as a neighborhood expert.
  
  
• Shareable Content for Social Media Engagement
  There's no doubt that social media marketing works best when you generate engagement, and your blog content can serve as an excellent conversation starter. Sharing your blog content on social media can get your audience talking, drive traffic to your website, and make it easy for your target audience to share your content with your friends.
  
  It also works in the other direction. You can ask your social connections about the types of content they want to see and the questions they want answered. This is a great way to get content ideas and improve social engagement by providing content that's highly relevant to your audience.
  
  
• Inspiring Action from Prospects
  Of course, online marketing is all about generating high-quality leads, and blogging can help with that, too. The end of an informative, relevant blog post is the ideal place to integrate a call-to-action (CTA) and inspire prospects to take the next step with your real estate brand. Whether that means signing up for your email list so that you can take advantage of email drip campaigns or contacting you directly, a well-placed CTA can be a key step in turning prospects into clients.

New to Real Estate Blogging? Getting Started Is Easier than You Think

Hopefully, we've convinced you of the value of a real estate blog, but that still leaves one key question. How do you get started? While you can build a blog yourself from the ground up, there's an easier, more efficient way. Our custom content creation services make it easy to get all of the benefits of blogging without the time investment. We'll create content that's relevant to your audience, market, and preferences, leaving you with more time to pursue the leads that your blog creates.

What sets your real estate website apart from the competition? While features like MLS search are essential and reliable for getting your foot in the door, you'll need more than the basics to truly set your real estate brand apart online. Adding a personal touch through customization and the content you create is the best way to make your real estate website stand out for all of the right reasons.

Let's start with content. Even if you don't normally fancy yourself a blogger, your knowledge base on real estate topics, neighborhoods, and market trends put you in a unique position to inform your target audience on the topics that matter to them. In addition to being informative, the content that you — or your custom content creator — develop is the perfect platform to give your website that all-important personal touch.

Inform and Engage

Expertise inspires confidence in your audience, and you're an expert on so many of the topics that are important to real estate clients. Content that informs also tends to convert. In that way, think of the informative content that you create as a preview of the expertise that clients can expect when they choose your brand.

Informative content can be customized to suit your target audience and the places where you do business. If you cater to first-time buyers in budget-friendly markets, then your content can help walk them through the early steps of the purchasing process. If you aim to reach experienced, luxury clientele, then you might choose to focus on more advanced topics. Catering your content to your audience adds a personal touch and keeps them coming back to learn more.

Become a Trusted Source on the Markets That Matter to Your Brand

Your expertise also extends to the communities where you do business, and the neighborhood knowledge that you share through your content is a vital asset for your audience. It's also one of the ways that you can set your brand apart online.

Whether you're discussing local attractions, services, community spaces, small businesses, or events, all of these things matter to people who are considering buying a home in that market. Buyers will be able to visit your website to learn all about the neighborhoods where they're shopping for homes, and sellers will appreciate the way that you showcase the communities where they're selling a home.

Of course, market knowledge also applies when you're discussing the latest real estate trends in your local communities and providing key data that can help your audience make informed decisions. Integration of market data into your content provides another valuable resource while also reinforcing your real estate expertise.

Showcase Your Core Values and Culture

Remember, too, that content doesn't always have to be about providing advice or market data. It's also a great tool for showcasing the personality of your team, and the values of your brand. Share stories about how your team has participated in community events, discuss local non-profits that you support, or simply have some fun with a more personality-driven blog post that peels back the curtain on life in the real estate industry. These may seem like small things, but they ultimately add up to provide a more vibrant impression of your brand.

Customize Your Website to Create a Unique Identity

Customization is one of the core elements of our website design philosophy, and you don't want to post all of that great content on a cookie-cutter website that looks the same as the websites of your competitors. You want a seamless website that is uniquely yours and one that shows off all of the best aspects of your real estate brand.

Our customization options make it easy for you to personalize your website with custom, full-screen background images/video, an editable homepage welcome message, editable page content, and customizable site navigation. You can also easily integrate your latest blog posts, market activity stats, featured listings, and so much more.

When you combine that customization with key features like IDX listing integration, mobile-friendly design, live chat, strong SEO, and robust listings search options, you have a website that offers everything your audience needs in one convenient package.

Give Your Brand a Boost with a Fresh Real Estate Website

Your website is an essential element of all your digital marketing and lead-generation efforts, so getting the design just right is well worth the effort. As we've hopefully shown today, designing your website also presents extensive opportunities for customization, and adding a personal touch. So if your current website isn't quite distinctive enough or lacks some of the features that modern real estate clients want, now is the perfect time to develop a website that truly reflects all of the best things about your real estate brand.

Every year, billions of dollars are invested around the world in developing new tech that improves the real estate experience for agents, clients, and real estate firms. Millennials are quickly growing into the largest real estate demographic, and catering to a young, tech-savvy clientele will only accelerate the desire for new technology. And it's not as if people under 40 are the only ones glued to their favorite devices.

When new technology emerges, everyone involved in the real estate industry can benefit. Here are some potential tech breakthroughs that could emerge in real estate in the coming years, along with a few recent breakthroughs that are likely to stand the test of time.

The Continued Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI has already helped the real estate industry accomplish some great things, whether you want to send timely, personalized reports to clients or develop a more accurate analysis of real estate market trends. But in many ways, we're only scratching the surface. The global investment in AI is immense, just like the future potential of the technology.

Consider the benefits of robust virtual assistants that can help guide clients through the process of buying or selling a home, taking some of the workload off of agents while providing a valuable service to clients. Already, some of the biggest real estate websites are also using AI to help match clients with the perfect loan, or the perfect home. Some of the biggest tech breakthroughs in the near future are very likely to involve AI and machine learning.

Streamlined Technology

With so much new tech emerging in recent years, one big breakthrough that we're already beginning to experience is the streamlining of real estate technology. With a real estate all-in-one solution like DeltaNET®6, you have the technology for managing leads, marketing properties, connecting with clients, and analyzing data in one convenient package. Expect the streamlining of real estate tech to continue as new tools are introduced, allowing agents to save time, increase productivity, and focus on what matters most.

Digital Documentation

Clients and agents alike dread the pile of paperwork that comes with closing on a home. Wouldn't it be nice if documents could be securely, reliably read and signed anywhere, from any device? The technology to do so is already emerging and should play a major role in real estate transactions in the coming years.

Taking Advantage of the Latest Tech

Focusing on the future is fun, but not at the expense of the present. Some of the tech that has risen in popularity during the pandemic is likely to remain important and be improved upon for years to come.

• Virtual Tours, Open Houses, and Showings
  Partly driven by the pandemic and partly driven by the young, tech-savvy generation of new homebuyers, touring homes from afar has become more popular than ever. With virtual open houses and showings, you can help connect clients with homes no matter where they're located.
  
  
• Marketing Automation
  Some of the latest advances in marketing automation make it easier to keep your pipeline stocked and save a ton of time in the process. From smart drip email campaigns to AI-driven, automatically generated newsletters, you have more tools than ever for automating key marketing tasks.
  
  
• New Forms of Real Estate Content
  Advances in technology outside the real estate industry can also have a major impact. With smartphones able to capture higher quality video than ever and tons of great apps available for editing your content, now is the perfect time to see if you can become the next real estate video star.
  
  
• Data Tracking and Analytics
  Whether you're tracking IDX search activity to learn more about the needs of your clients or tracking your marketing analytics to discover what works best for your brand, the easy availability of big data is key to thriving in the modern real estate industry. New technology can also make it easier to parse, analyze, and put that data to work.
  
  
• Integration and Streamlining of Tech
  The best real estate CRM platforms already include integrations that make it easier to use all of your favorite tech in one convenient package. With so much focus on streamlining tech, this is one area to expect continued growth.

Where Will Real Estate Tech Take Us Next?

Just 5 or 10 years ago, it would have been hard to predict all of the game-changing tech that has shaped the real estate industry today. And that's part of the fun! While we can make educated guesses about AI and other new tech, there's always the possibility of a breakthrough that almost nobody saw coming. With such a substantial investment of brainpower and funds in creating breakthroughs, it will be exciting to see where real estate tech takes us next.

How much value does your real estate website add to your practice?

Everyone knows "you have to have a website." And for real estate agents and brokerages, that's even more true. Some of the most successful real estate professionals, in the United States and throughout the world, generate a substantial portion of their leads through their own site — as much as 50%.

These days, future customers are far more likely to hear of you online than through an in-person event or non-digital advertising. That's because Millennials and the fast-emerging Gen Z homebuyers almost universally start their search for a new home online.

Understandably, most real estate experts aren't masters of real estate website design.

They tend to launch a basic website and then hope for the best. There are lots of DIY website builders out there and cut-rate services that promise something "good enough." Unfortunately, this can undermine your efforts to develop a branded, high-impact website that makes a difference.

How Your Website Can Serve as a Resource for Current and Future Customers

Your website acts as your digital "first impression."

When someone is thinking about entering the housing market, they will usually spend a lot of time looking at properties before they ever consider reaching out to a real estate agent. They might start seeking inspiration on sites like Pinterest or Instagram before they begin looking at live listings.

Once their interest is piqued, only then do they look for a local real estate professional to help them. But in the process, they usually check out a half-dozen local agents and brokerages — or even more. So, your website needs to achieve two things right off the bat:

• It must be visually compelling, inviting, and easy to navigate
• It must provide meaningful value before they schedule a call

That value comes in the form of custom content. "Content" is anything helpful and informative you post on your site to help visitors make an informed decision. In other words, it answers a question or solves a problem they have. Blogs are the backbone of most content, but video is increasingly popular.

Content is especially helpful because it can inspire your guests to join your email marketing list and get future updates they may find useful. It raises your visibility in online search and improves results you get from search engine optimization. However, it's not the only way to make your website work harder.

When you focus on turning your website into a resource, you are putting what you have to offer on the table from the very beginning. People will see the difference between you and other real estate agents, and begin to regard you as a trusted expert — so you're far more likely to be chosen in the end.

Let's look at some of the other ways you can build your website into a resource for customers:

• Integrate Your Listings within Your Website
  The MLS does an incredible job keeping listings organized and searchable. However, you can also use this marvel of modern technology right within your own website, helping visitors zero in on the best local properties that might meet their needs while maintaining your own branding throughout.
  
  
• Provide Neighborhood-Level Local Insight
  Your local savvy is one of the most important things setting you apart from your peers. Make it count by showing people not only the homes they might buy, but the community they'll be joining. Highlight the best amenities and small businesses – other business owners may even send you referrals.
  
  
• Answer Common Questions Clearly
  Many first-time buyers and sellers will have very little existing knowledge about the process. Look for the best ways to answer their common questions simply. That may mean a library of blogs or videos, a centralized Frequently Asked Questions page or a chatbot that they can pose questions to.
  
  
• Make It Easy to Contact You
  After you start working with a client, it's crucial to set appropriate boundaries — no answering the phone at two in the morning. On a first call, however, seconds count. Be sure your website is set up to send you a text alert if someone sends you an email or message so you can respond right away.
  
  
• Introduce Yourself
  One of the most vital things you can do on your website is start building a relationship. The best way to begin is with a video introduction to yourself. What do you do and for whom? What attracted you to real estate and what makes you different? Video is the next best thing to being there.

The best real estate websites operate as a "one-stop-shop" for everything potential customers might need — before they even reach out for the first time. Contact Delta Media Group to learn more or get started with your own.

Prior to the last year, video content was a powerful but (somewhat) optional tool for promoting your real estate business. These days, video content has become a necessity for reaching your target audience no matter the demographic. Real estate clients of all ages are shopping from the comfort and safety of home, whether they're searching for the right real estate agent, the ideal neighborhood, or the home of their dreams. No matter your experience level with creating video content, now is the time to think about making your videos more engaging, with a few key tips from our team.

1. The Right Equipment Makes a Big Difference
   While you don't need the latest, greatest tech to get started with learning the basics of video content creation, it won't be long before you want to boost your production quality and give your finished product a professional shine. If you already have a smartphone with a high-quality camera, you're off to a good start. You'll also want a tripod for camera stability, some portable lighting, and a reliable microphone that makes your voice come through clearly on video.

2. Planning a Virtual Tour? Start with a Great Script
   Virtual tours have quickly become a must for marketing homes, and an engaging virtual tour starts with great preparation. Even if you've done tons of in-person home tours and have a good idea of the key points you'll highlight during a virtual tour, a script will help you make the video more engaging for your audience. Start by walking through the home, noting all of the features that you'll want to touch on, and writing down some key talking points. You don't need to script every word, but a little planning goes a long way.

3. When Possible, Keep It Short and Sweet
   The ideal length for your content depends on the type of video you're creating, but less is often more when it comes to driving engagement – especially for social media sharing. Clients are more likely to stay until the end with a shorter video and will be more likely to click in the first place. Scripting will help you focus on the talking points that matter most, and you can also trim out unnecessary footage during the editing process.

4. Create Video Content That Answers Audience Questions
   If you really want your audience to engage with your videos, start by creating content that answers the questions that matter most to them. You can even put out the call for questions on your social pages, then share videos with answers! Even if you don't ask for questions directly, use your experience as a real estate agent to anticipate the questions that matter to your audience.

5. Tell Your Story and Show Some Personality
   For clients, sometimes looking for a real estate agent online can feel like flipping through pages in a catalog. Video content is a great way to show the human side of the business, tell your story, build trust, and show clients why you're the right choice for their needs. Don't be afraid to show some personality, whether that means using humor, telling stories, or subtly integrating your own hobbies into your videos.

6. Testimonials to Involve Your Audience and Create Social Proof
   What could be more engaging than involving your clients directly in your videos? Testimonials from satisfied clients can make for great content and will show potential clients why you're the right choice for their needs. When you reach out to past clients to ask them to review your business online, be sure to include a note to see if they would be interested in filming a quick testimonial.

7. Cater Your Videos to the Platform Where They'll Be Posted
   The right length, format, and subject matter for your video will depend on where you plan to post it. A quick-hitting how-to or Q&A video can be a great fit for social, while a longer video might be necessary for a full home tour. Make sure that you understand the needs of your audience and the nature of the platform where you'll be posting videos.

It can feel a little bit intimidating to get involved with video content, especially if you're brand new to the process. That's why our final tip is a tried and true classic — practice makes perfect! It won't always go flawlessly at first, but that's okay. It won't take long before you feel comfortable behind the camera and can start putting our engagement tips into action. At Delta Media Group, our real estate CRM makes it easy for you to post videos on your websites, listing pages, and within your email marketing. Contact us to learn more.

No matter where you live in the United States, most people will find your real estate business online. One of the best ways to take control of your real estate brand is by blogging.

A blog is a gold standard for generating traffic, leads, and building relationships. Blogging keeps you top-of-mind with your readers while positions you as an expert through helpful, informative content. Also, when you blog regularly, you benefit from an SEO standpoint. Google favors websites with relevant, unique, and engaging content added.

These sites are often indexed more frequently, and visibility in the search engines tends to improve.

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Are you tired of getting the same old results from the same old real estate marketing tactics? It's said that Einstein once declared, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results." We could spend all day trying to find out if Einstein really said that, but that would be... a little insane. The point is that whoever said it was 100 percent correct, and the lesson applies directly to the real estate industry.

Real Estate Marketing That Gets You Results

No matter how great your service and team are, it's hard to achieve your goals if your marketing isn't reaching the right people. If you want to attain the results that you dream of achieving, then now is the perfect time to take a fresh, honest look at marketing your real estate business differently.

• Develop a User-Friendly Website That Fits Every Screen
  Think of your website as a storefront. If your store is looking a little dated, located in a hard-to-find place, and lacking in information on what you have to offer, then you can't expect many people to come to visit. Develop a user-friendly website that makes it easy for visitors to find the information they want when they want it.
  
  Your website should be a place where they can learn about local communities, search listings, and pick up valuable real estate advice through relevant content. Since so many real estate shoppers browse on their phones whenever they get a free moment, responsive mobile design is also crucial to ensure that your website scales to fit any screen that they are using.
  
  
  
  

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There's no doubt about it: you don't just want Google to like your real estate website, you want Google to LOVE it. Why? When Google loves your website, you get a higher ranking in search results for real estate businesses and topics in your area. Most prospects don't look beyond the first few links on the first page of results, so a higher search ranking ultimately means more leads and more business. Fortunately, this love story doesn't have to be complicated.

Delta Media Group is known for having the #1 search engine optimization (SEO) platform in the real estate industry by a significant margin. Our team helps real estate businesses with search engine optimization (SEO) every day. Let's take a look at ten ways to make Google fall in love with your website.

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Just like Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Lois Lane and Clark Kent, or spaghetti and meatballs, some couples are a natural fit. 

The same holds true for search engine optimization (SEO) and content. 

For people who are new to online marketing strategies, they might assume SEO and content exclude one another. That could not be farther from the truth.

Great content is a key pillar of SEO success, and SEO helps prospects find all of the content that you work hard to create. When you harness the power of their complementary personalities, the perfect match is created, and unbelievable results occur.

Let's take a closer look at why SEO and content are the "IT" couple when it comes to online success for your real estate business.

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