We all learned the 5 W’s in school – Who, What, When, Where, Why. But how do they apply to real estate and inbound marketing?
Who:
Whether you’ve been in the real estate game for a while or you’re itching to find your niche and quickly match a level of success with your level of ambition, as a real estate agent you need to be marketing your services. Ideally, you’d have a marketing team in your corner allowing you time to focus on connecting buyers with homes or sellers with the right buyer and close the deal. Regardless of whether you’re running the marketing by yourself or you have a staff to help, when was the last time you discussed your marketing strategy and what conclusions have your drawn from its analysis?
What:
Inbound Marketing is the welcomed alternative to the traditional, interruptive process of cold calling, pop-up ads and other marketer-centric practices. Interrupting and intruding shouldn’t be a sought-after tactic when trying to form a relationship with a new client. Inbound avoids all of this and helps people who need your service find and trust you.
As a real estate agent using inbound, the goal is to educate the home buyer or seller and empower them through free content they will find useful in their buying or selling efforts. You gain trust by offering a way for people to join the conversation, empower critical thinking, and become problem solvers instead of demanding it. Especially in today’s digital world, companies are pressured now more than ever to earn customers’ trust because it’s so easy to go elsewhere.
When:
Yesterday. You should already be implementing an Inbound Marketing strategy for two reasons:
- Because either your competition is already doing it or they haven’t caught on, giving you a leg-up in the marketplace. You can bet that between two companies, a customer will be attracted to the least pushy.
- Today we live in a digital age and technology is constantly changing which means 90 percent of home buyers searched online at some point during their home buying process. Embracing the technology of today not only puts you ahead of the curve helping you become more efficient and ready for the changes of tomorrow, but it allows you to be a pioneer to tap into an online marketplace that is still being defined.
Where:
Woody Allen once said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” The demographic of buyers and sellers entering the real estate market are the generations who grew up with computers. They never had to embrace the idea of being ‘tech savvy’ because it has always been a way of life. Either way, Inbound Marketing for real estate embraces the growing change in the marketplace how people are buying and selling homes in the digital world.
For some industries, the days of brick and mortar businesses are being replaced by an online presence. This presence lowers overhead costs and affords employers and employees more time to engage with potential customers than sitting behind a desk. Not only that, establishing an online presence through inbound marketing will continue to promote and grow your business, long after the initial work is complete.
Why:
The days of cold calling are over. The interruptive process doesn’t work anymore because the way people move through the buying process has changed, even within the past couple of years. Not convinced? Check out the numbers on Inbound Marketing.
In today’s fast-paced world, every business is looking to stand out and it’s not enough to tell people you’re different, you need to convince people and stay on their radar. The best way to do this is by showing how you are the best, not telling people you are the best, through social media, quality content and professionally engaging potential leads. You’ll attract more qualified leads, have a higher quality conversion, all while nurturing relationships to grow into future business and promoters.
Keep updated on the latest in Inbound Marketing through Paveya’s blog! And check back for a later post on the “How of Inbound Marketing.”
