And the question remains…Can Real Estate blogging really attract an audience and more importantly, BUYERS?! The good news is YES!
Blogs can serve as basic and essential tools for online real estate marketing. How you ask? Blogging is essentially a modernized art form: A place where you can express your opinions, views, offer sound advice and more importantly develop relationships with current and prospective clients. Think of it as an extension to your current business relationships with an added opportunity to create new leads, introduce yourself to your community and to become a voice for not only your area of Real Estate expertise, but for potential buyers and sellers in your market.
Now, the next question is… What to write about and how often?! Let’s tackle the latter first: How Often? If you are using your blog as a real estate marketing tool, then you must remember the importance of regular business blogging. If you want to establish yourself as an expert in your area and expand upon business relationships then I would suggest making it a habit! Here are some reasons/rules to live by in the blogging kingdom:
Search Engine Authority: Regular blogging is a good way to get you recognized on the search engines by providing relevant and interesting content on a regular basis.
Build & Maintain Relationships: Just how delivering constant content will help you with the SERPs, it will also build an interested audience and hence help build and maintain important business relationships outside of the office.
Make it a Habit: Routine is crucial. Once you have a base of readers, they are counting on you to deliver clever, knowledgeable and interesting posts! Try to schedule your blogging so you can fit it into your busy life – if you have a routine then it’s easy to make it a habit!
Next question to tackle: What to write about? The answer to this question is easier than you think: topics are swirling around you all day long! Try not to think about blogging as a chore, but more of an insight into your business and how your experiences can provide helpful tips, knowledge or entertainment to your readers. Just carry a notepad with you and jot down ideas and/or experiences that you run across in your daily life as a real estate professional. Below are some ideas that may help give you a jump start:
Upcoming events in your community
Conversations that you have with your clients
Common Questions about your community
Neighborhood Information or History
Housing Stats for your Area
Real Estate Industry News
Home Decorating Ideas
Gardening Tips
Take a photo and write a post
A Featured Property
Your Hobby
Foreclosures
Places to Eat, Shop, Visit
Types of Architecture and Housing in Your Area
Listen to your Buyers and Sellers – they are full of blog worthy ideas!
Those are just a few ideas to think about to get the blog juices flowing! The important thing is to remember that everyday experiences can be woven into an interesting and informative post.