Working in real estate requires a strong understanding of your target audience and market. And while traditional marketing is a valuable aspect of real estate, creating content and digital marketing can help you succeed while sharing value and generating leads.
As a real estate professional, you have a lot on your plate. From listing appointments to showings to closings, you’re constantly on the move and adding content creation to your routine likely seems overwhelming. However, as the real estate market evolves, it’s essential to utilize digital marketing and content creation to ensure you stand out.
In this article, we’ll give you five tips on successfully creating content as a real estate professional without burning out, as discussed by Virtuance’s own Rachel Gombosch and marketing expert Anna Furmanov, from Furmanov Marketing Consulting, in our podcast Curb Appeal. Keep reading to learn more.
1. Have a foundation
Anyone can post TikToks, Instagram Reels, or be active on LinkedIn, but you won’t be successful if you don’t know who you’re marketing to. Anna Furmanov, the founder of Furmanov Marketing Consulting, explains, “Have a good strategy. Go back to…, ‘Why are you doing this? Who are you doing this for? Do you understand that the work you’re sharing is actually going to be valuable?’ because it’s not going to work if you don’t start from that foundation level.”
If you try too many things at once, you aren’t likely to be successful in anything. Adapting a large-scale digital marketing strategy when you have no experience won’t help you succeed. As Anna says, “…for real estate agents that are just starting out, I would start with one idea: you have to go simple. Think about your point of view. How is it different? Just try to simplify because I think a lot of people overcomplicate marketing too soon.” Create a marketing plan and expand from there.
2. Content creation creates value
With over three million licensed real estate agents in the United States, standing out in an oversaturated market is key. While traditional marketing methods like direct mailers and referrals generate business, digital marketing and content creation can help create significant value.
By generating content your target audience wants to consume, you’re positioning yourself as a leader and expert in your market. If someone sees your material online, you may be the first person they contact when buying or selling, as they find value in what you’re offering.
3. Tools don’t matter
Creating content can be overwhelming based on the sheer amount of tools and options in the digital world, but you don’t actually need them to create valuable content.
As Anna points out, “You don’t need any tools. Just because we have tools at hand doesn’t mean we need to use them in order to make our marketing successful. So start with the plan first; start with your foundation. Figure out the channels, figure out the content you want to put out, and only from there decide what you need to make it happen. You might not need anything; you might just need your iPhone.”
As long as you have a plan or a foundation to reach your target audience and market, you don’t need high-tech equipment or the latest video editing software; you may just need your phone. Again, don’t overcomplicate your strategy until you discover what works best for you and attracts potential clients.
4. Stay consistent
How often a real estate agent should blog, post videos, or update social media depends on how much time you can devote to consistency. If you can only commit to posting twice a week, do that. You’ll see more success consistently generating content than if you inconsistently post four times one week and only once the next.
By remaining consistent, you can measure your success through how your audience responds to and receives your content. If you find you get lots of comments and views when you post on Saturday morning but less when you post on Thursday night, consistently post on Saturdays.
From there, you can plan and strategize what works and what your audience wants without spreading yourself thin.
5. It doesn’t matter what people think
A huge part of content marketing and content creation is reception. As Anna points out when discussing aversion to content creation, “…I think people think it’s too hard…people are scared to show their true selves. Because with content creation, you have to put yourself out there. You’re scared because you’re thinking, ‘What are others gonna think?'”
Constantly worrying about what people think won’t improve your marketing efforts; it’ll hinder them.
Similarly, when discussing long-term marketing, Anna says, “…when you’re creating demand for whatever you’re trying to help people with, when you’re creating demand for your offering, it does take time. It takes months. It takes years….”
Do you want to spend months or years worrying about what people think? No! That would be exhausting and lead to burnout. You have to find the balance between staying authentic and reaching your audience. If you create demand, it becomes how you can help your clients, not about what the internet thinks of you.
Creating content with Virtuance
If you’re looking for an easy way to get into digital marketing, consider using Virtuance. Virtuance can help take your listings to the next level with professional real estate photography.
We also can assist with marketing efforts through our Marketing Suite, giving you easy access to digital marketing for your target audience. The Marketing Suite provides you with social integrations to make your brand heard, as well as a metrics dashboard for tracking your success.
And if you’re interested in hearing more from industry-leading professionals, check out other episodes of our podcast, Curb Appeal.
