05/07/2023
Hey agents and brokers, ever consider what's the real deal behind a successful content strategy?
SPOKES DON'T MAKE A WHEEL
Think of it like this: a wheel needs a hub, right? Your strategy is the same way; you need a cornerstone of content that's strong, that you can distribute effectively. You're running spokes without a wheel otherwise.
YOUR WEBSITE - THE CORNERSTONE OF ALL CONTENT
Now here's the deal. Social media, YouTube, all these channels, they're fantastic for short, catchy content. But when your audience wants to dig deeper, to really understand your message - that's where your cornerstone content comes in. It's the comprehensive guide, the nitty-gritty, the one-stop-shop for all the info they need. And let's be honest, you can't explain the complex steps to prepare for a home sale in a catchy TikTok video, can you?
IT'S A LONG GAME
Sure, creating this kind of content isn't an overnight job. It's like the dove in my backyard, patiently sitting on her nest day after day, enduring the heat, keeping the eggs warm. At first, it seems like nothing's happening. But with time, patience, and a bit of faith, the magic happens.
QUALITY AND TRUST TAKE SOME TIME THEN IT BLOWS UP
When your content breaks that Google threshold, when it becomes valuable, authoritative, and trustful - then it goes evergreen. It starts showing up in searches as the perfect answer to someone's question, the beacon in their online journey. And that's because you've built up Google's four pillars - experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust. All of them take time.
THE GRIND - DOING IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN
We all know the usual methods - social media, cold calling, door knocking. But the returns are diminishing, you always have to do it again and again, more and more and the annoyance is growing for you and those who get caught in your fishing expetitions. Isn't it time for a change?
CASE STUDY - ONE WHO DID IT RIGHT
Case in point: Raleigh Realty Homes. They weren't my client- they were my client’s competitor, but heck, they did it right. Throughout the pandemic, they created content like there was no tomorrow - over 300 pages. And what happened? They shot up to page one, usually ranking third or fourth, right after the big names like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor. They played the long game, and it paid off. You can read about their strategy in the owner's own words (Ryan Fitzgerald) on their blog post about First Year Real Estate Advice.
IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE BECAUSE IT TAKES A LOT
Content strategy, a real content strategy isn’t for everybody. You have to be better than everyone on page 1 and sometimes on page 2 of Google- not just for one post but your entire website. A mix of lousy and good content is going to tank you. You have to do it all.
BUT THE REWARD IS GREAT.
Why?
Because unlike cold calling, advertising, door knocking and even Zillow leads, a significant portion of your content turns “evergreen.” It works long-term and remains the best answer that Google chooses over and over again. It works for you 24/7. The leads are warm and ready to work with you. When you create content, it stays yours, continuing to work for you day in and day out. The agency I mentioned earlier saves $90,000 every month by ranking with organic content. They don’t buy ads (at least not on Google). The leads roll in and they capture 2.5% of a $30 billion market. This is a market with 238 brokerages and 13,000 agents. I know my former client never came close to that and they were a lot bigger. Instead, their sales declined while they refused to get in the game with content creation. To this day, they are creating mostly irrelevant, 500 word blog posts about nothing- just like the Seinfeld show and Google isn’t having it.
So, are you ready to build your content nest? Let's talk strategies.
Dave Keys Media