Feeding the Machine 101. A Simple Content Marketing Strategy for Realtors

Content Marketing Strategy for Realtors

"Feeding the Machine" 101

by MMT Media Florida, David Jamison

Content marketing is more than random Blog Posts, pointless video marketing or social media featuring the Donut of the Week.

So Let Me Set the Stage a Bit for You. Best Done with a Super Short Fictitious Story.

So I have a client that I have been working with for a couple of months and we are getting ready to wrap up their Online Presence build. The client was one of my most common types of clients where they will do the First 8 Steps as well as touching on Step 9, but without actually launching Google Local Service Ads or Facebook Ads or Retargeting. 

Want to better understand what is included in the first 8/9 steps?  Click Here:

So back to the client and the story...

So we are approaching week 8 and getting within days of a complete Online Presence Launch.

The client is getting a little anxious as they want to know what comes next. I say “Be patient, give me a couple of more days… And I will send you the Project Punch List as well as the Project Pass-Off Spreadsheet. I will schedule a training session with you and that will serve as the official launch”.

The client seems relieved but I can tell there is still a bit of anxiety brewing.

Why Anxiety? The client realizes after seeing their Google Business Profile up and working, their Amazing Custom “AgentFire” Website, the Hyperlocal Landing Pages, Farm Area Pages, Neighborhood Guide Pages, their Social, the CRM… It can get a bit overwhelming.

I get it. It’s a lot of tech. Simple and Easy to use, but still a lot.

My Clients are Realtors, not digital marketers or tech geeks. They are spinning a lot of plates on a daily basis.

Especially Agents that work Solo and not part of a team that might have a dedicated Digital Marketer as part of their team.

So let’s Fast Forward, 4, 6 may be 8 weeks. Their Online is growing, their Organic Local Ranking is improving, they are sharing a few social posts, a few property listings, hopefully adding those Property Listing Posts to their Google Business Profile.

They are getting a few new leads, maybe a listing (or two) and might have even had a closing on a new client property that came through their new online presence. 

Success, all it takes is a half of an average transaction commission to pay for their entire online presence.

But That Was Not The Ultimate Goal. That Was Just The Start. 

So we get back to the Happy Client getting anxious again.

Why, Again? Over the course of the building process and the communication I have with clients they hear me talking about “FEEDING THE MACHINE”. You don’t just launch and never touch it again and expect it to magically grow exponentially. Sure, it will grow organically over time.

And the way I approach the process, it often gets off to a rapid push in the Local Google Search space.

But now they want to know what to do NEXT? 

They ask, “What do I have to do on a daily or weekly basis to Feed the Machine?”.

And this is the MOST COMMON Question I get...

“What Is The Bare Bones Minimum I Have To Do In Terms Of Feeding The Machine To Make It Work And Grow?”.

So the things I talk to them about are this:

•  Create Blog Topics for Buyers and Sellers. Maybe 3 to 5 Topics for each category.
• Then Create your Social Posting Templates for promoting the Articles.
• Then once you have the Articles and the Social Post Images (from the Templates) done, you can start posting to your Google Business Profile and Facebook / Instagram.
• Then build Property Listing Pages in AgentFire and create Property Listing Posts for your Google Business Profile. Home Front Image, with Location Data embedded (EXIF), A Basic Teaser Description (Not all of the details), appropriate #Hashtags, the Property Listing Page Link and you are READY to Post a Listing on GBP.
• If you have a Neighborhood / Farm Area Page your Listings should also be featured on those pages. Along with all of the other Resources Buyers or Sellers in your select Farm Area might find valuable. (Learn More about Farm Area or Neighborhood Guides Here, LINK: )
• Then you will take the GBP Post and grab the SHARE Link and post it in the rest of your Social Media Platforms. (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tik Tok etc.)
• Then if you are REALLY Ambitious and have Property Video (Drone or Virtual Tour Video), you can POST a YouTube Property Listing Video as well. Pretty Easy and it is nice because you can add that VIdeo from YouTube to the corresponding Property Listing Post on your Google Business Profile. And you can DROP the Link from the Google Business Profile in the Description in YouTube. (Cross Pollination / beginning steps of Flywheel Marketing, etc. More on this later)

So to LUMP the above into 2 Buckets, you have the Following:

1. Evergreen Content: Buyer & Seller Education Articles and Social Posts that run in “Forever Mode” in your Social Media Scheduling Platform. (Buffer, Canva, Hootsuite)
2. Property Listing Posts: for Google Business Profiles and all Social Platforms.
   1. Note: Property Listings should be focused on “Your Focus Farm Area #1”
   2. Borrow Property Listings to use as “Featured Listings” for your Farm Area.
   3. The Borrowed “Featured Listings” should be from “Your Broker / Agency”
   4. You can also work with outside agents that also focus in your Farm Area.
      1. This relationship & process requires approval from the External Broker

Content Marketing Strategy for Realtors

Sounds Easy and Straightforward. And it is, if you have done it all before. 

But for the Newbie just getting started it can seem a little intimidating.

I call this PROCESS of “Feeding the Machine” the Daily Disciplines or the Dirty Work.

And here is where the MOST COMMON Occurrence with POST Launch Clients come into focus.

And this is where the Marketing Anxiety kicks in.

Agents have 2 Options: 

1. D.I.Y. - Buckle Down and Learn to do the “Dirty Work” so that they can “Feed their NEW Hungry Online Machine” or
2. D.F.Y. - Pay a Real Estate Focused Content Marketing / Social Marketing Agency to do it for them. Note: It is NOT Cheap.  
   • And if you go this ROUTE it will NEVER END. It is a FOREVER Commitment.

Even though I provide the D.F.Y. Services for Clients, I recommend the D.I.Y. Route.

   It Is Important To LEARN To Take Care Of Your Own Machine

It is like a LIVING, BREATHING Creature, and if you build it, grow it and feed it… It will FEED You for a Lifetime.

Ok, maybe not breathing... But you get my point.

You have heard the saying:

“Give a Person a Fish, Feed them for a Day.

Teach a Person to Fish and Feed them for a Lifetime”.

So for your sake and the sake of my clients, I am going to lay out everything you have to do to “FEED THE MACHINE”.

The Basics I described above. Not everything you can do, but the most important and basic of all content marketing for Real Estate Agents.

A little bit of “Learn More About Me / Awareness” Content (Buyer/Seller Ed. Posts)

&

The #1 Real Estate Prospect Bait on the Planet: Property Listings.

People care more about Listings than they do Realtors.

Sorry, I hate to be the bearer of truth but it is TRUE. Sellers Search Listings to find out what their Home might be valued at. And Buyers start searching for Properties to find out what is available, what their budget might need to be and even people NOT in the Market (today) like to look at listings for “Dream Homes, Next Homes, Upgrade Homes, Downsize Homes” you name it.

People are searching. And these people can also be long term prospects for you. Don’t expect every prospect to call you, ask for showings and close all in 3 or 4 weeks. It happens, but it is few and far between. And when the Market is NOT in Gravy Train Mode, you have to learn that there is a Buying Cycle. That typical Buying Cycle is 9 Months and Prospects in your Pipeline fall in every timeframe within that buying cycle.

So let’s dig into the MOST Basic Content Marketing Strategy for Real Estate Agents.

Here is the DOWN & DIRTY Process:

Requested from an Agent / Client:

Give me 5 Topics each for Buyers and Seller for Short Informative Articles for your Blog.

10 Total...  Example:

5 Topics For Sellers: 

1.How much is my home worth

2. Is now a good time to sell

3. Getting your house ready/Renovations for sale

4. Finding the right realtor

5. Listing price vs selling price

5 Topics For Buyers:

1. Is now a good time to buy?

2. How easy is it to qualify for a mortgage?

3. How much (%) do I need to buy a home?

4. Can sellers assist/pay for buyers closing costs

5. Rent vs buying

Create 1 Blog Post based on each TOPIC. 

Use ChatGPT and/or WordHero.co to do the Headlines (The Headline is the TOPIC)

Content Marketing Strategy for Realtors

Next... 

Blog Post Topic (Article Format)

   Blog Post Topic Format:   

• Headline (H1 Header)
  • Sub-Headline (H2)

• Repeat Focus Keyword phrase as H2, H3 throughout. Only one per Keyword Phrase

• Blog Post Intro
• Blog Outline (Key Points List Summary) Good for SEO, Like a Table of Contents.
• Or “Listicle”. Similar to Outline. (Good Term to Know)
• Blog Paragraphs (minimum 5 or 6) See Blog Length Info Below >>>
• Blog Summary
• Blog Conclusion
• Links & Resources (External Links) In RESOURCE SECTION + Scatter them throughout 
• Links to more of your POSTS (Internal Links) Scatter them throughout content as well.

Make sure to Optimize On-Page SEO with Yoast or RankMath.

When using AgentFire, Yoast. All other WordPress Builds, I use RankMath. Same types of Plugins.

Blog Length Info: From Jasper.ai (BlockQuote)

One heavily debated question is: how long should a blog post be to rank highly on search engine result pages?

If you’ve wondered this, we’re here to answer your question. We spoke to a little over 100 SEO experts and analyzed several studies to bring you a response that may give your content marketing a new direction.

How long should long-form blog posts be to rank on search engine result pages?

According to Yoast, any posts 300 words and longer could rank on SERPs. Still, ranking highly for competitive topics is harder with short posts that length.

After thorough research and consulting industry experts, we’ve concluded that the ideal blog post length is between 1500-2500 words. Of course, experts agree that the length of a blog post is not one-size-fits-all and will vary across industries, niches, and subject matter.

A study by OrbitMedia shows that on average, blog posts have gotten progressively longer over the years. Currently, the average blog post is 1,416 words long.

As such, readers and search engines are beginning to favor longer posts. In turn, more bloggers and content marketing departments are focusing on long-form content at least 1000 words long.

Katheriin Libert, Head of Marketing at Outfunnel says, “I've been in content marketing and SEO for about 5 years now, and in my experience, length still matters when it comes to blog articles! Shorter blog posts (under 1600 words) just don't start ranking as well. And 3000+ word articles seem to be the "stickiest" on Google search”

On the Topic of Blog Length, worry less about that and worry about the CONTENT.

It is TOO Easy to Feed Key Points into ChatGPT or WordHero and have it spit out expanded content on each point. 

Writing a VERY Healthy Original Article is a Piece of Cake with the advent of AI for Search and Writing. You can even use ChatGPT to create Engaging Headlines, Landing Page Copy and More. Use all of the Tools that are available to you that make “Dirty Work” easier.

the Intro and then Simply ASK ChatGPT (as an example) Prompt: "Write a Short Article about A Potential Home Seller doing Research on their Home Value"

And then REPEAT for each of the other TOPICS.

I expect each Article will take you about 1 Hour.

Maybe 2 for the first one and then the rest are simply RINSE and REPEAT. 

Once you CREATE those 10 (5 Each for Buyers & Sellers) Posts, Create a Social Post (Branded for you - Easy in Canva) for Each of the 10 Posts.

Keep it Simple, unless you are a Branding Guru. Do not overthink the process.

And Canva has TONS of Realtor Templates to use as a Starting Point.

Jigglar for Real Estate Agents: Checkout Jigglar for Real Estate Agents. Jigglar Template PDF

Social Media Template (Samples):

Once you have the Blog Post and the Social Post Image Template, Set Up the Posts in a Social Scheduler (Try Buffer.com FREE or Canva) and Schedule them to GO OUT T, W, T, F, S Buyers in AM / Sellers in PM (Next Week Rotate) That is Your EVERGREEN Social Stuff that ALWAYS GOES.

A Good Social Media Marketing Platform will be a great addition to your Online Marketing Suite. You will find that it makes short work out of otherwise tedious tasks.

And many are super inexpensive. I have found, lately, that many Agents are using Canva. Since they added social scheduling in their premium package, it makes it easy since many are already using Canva for graphics and templates.

I use ContentStudio.io (Screenshot below). But unless you are doing more sophisticated content marketing, the basic scheduler is all that you will need.

Remember, Set them up on rotating schedules as I detailed above. That way it gets in front of everybody's eyes sooner or later. The Evergreen Content is Awareness Content.

Buffer: All-you-need social media toolkit for small businesses

Also POST those to Google Business Profile. Make Sure POST Images are SIZED for Google Business Profile. SQUARES Work, but best if they are 800x600ish for GBP Posts. ADD Matching / Associated Hashtags and ADD the BLOG POST Link in the LEARN MORE. Just Like Property Listings. I prefer to post to Google Business Profiles directly, but you can also use the tools above to post to GBP.

That is your EVERGREEN CONTENT

Evergreen meaning that it is Created Once and REUSED / REPURPOSED in a Social Scheduler similar to a Radio or TV Spot is Scheduled (Set it and Forget it… Kind Of)

Content Marketing Strategy for Realtors

The NEXT Phase is bringing all of this into and associated with your “Farm Area” Landing Pages.

This is NEXT LEVEL from the above. But I would consider this a Foundational Online Marketing element. And if you are already using AgentFire, it is a NO BRAINER to add the Neighborhood Pages that are an extension of your Featured Areas.

Ok, next steps. This is Driven by your FARM AREA’S Property Listings. 

YOUR LISTINGS and Your FEATURED Listings (from top of the article).

Build Property Listing Pages for them. Then Create a POST Image with the Home Front Pic with ADDRESS and Your LOGO in the Corner. Post those to Google Business Profile, and ALL Social. (Mainly FB / IG).

Let me show you a Basic Page (Not an In-Depth Build / But it Works and is Optimized Nicely)...

Note: For AgentFire Users:

It is ALL under Site Tools (just like Property Listings) Same Blocks and Widgets

Here is a Basic Sample:

Client Neighborhood Page (Basic) Start of "Farm Area" Landing Page

South Fork - humbertobatistarealtor

Looking at the Neighborhood Page and how it is structured. You Want it to become an INDEXED Resource Page for your FOCUS Neighborhood. The Goal is to have it appear on Page One of a Google Search when someone searches for “Neighborhood X in XYZ City”, add other keywords, i.e. Real Estate, Real Estate Agents, Homes for Sale, Listing Agent, Selling Your Home etc.

Note: For AgentFire Users:

The ONLY 2 Things I added on this sample above. The LifeStyle Header (in AgentFire as a Block) and the Bottom "LOCAL RESOURCES" Section. ALL of the basic stuff someone might search for if they were interested in living in Neighbor “X”. Remember, the Neighborhood Guide pages are easy as long as you already have a “Featured Area” created in AgentFire and ShowcaseIDX. 

Then you go to NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDES...

It is SUPER EASY >>>

Make SURE the YOAST SEO is optimized and on the GREEN LIGHT.

Add Sections in Spark Editor CUSTOM Sections that have LINKS ALL in One Place. 

Add some Descriptive TEXT for SEO Purposes. Using Keywords that someone that is interested in the AREA Might search for:

Examples:

• Neighborhood “X” Utility Providers
• Neighborhood “X” CDD Website (if applicable)
• Neighborhood “X” HOA Site

Then use HomeTownLocator.com for added Links (always at BOTTOM of Page) the Goal is NOT to drive people AWAY from your PAGE. But once they have been on your PAGE, if you choose to LAUNCH a Retargeting Campaign in FB or Google, you already have them in your Retargeting Audience. (Since they VISITED the PAGE)

State Gazetteer: Boundary Maps, Demographic Data, for 343,132 Communities

Now TIE IT ALL Together by having the FARM AREA "Neighborhood Guide Page", Your Listings and FEATURED Listing PROPERTY Pages all integrated. Ready to Rock and Roll... 

Content Marketing Strategy for Realtors

The Listings SHOULD SHOW on the Neighborhood Page Automatically if they are in that Featured Area.

(ShowcaseIDX setup properly)

Or you can do CUSTOM listings with Showcase IDX Hot Sheets. (Short Codes) Drop in as Needed

So your "FEED THE MACHINE" Process is 10 Evergreen Posts, Your Property Listings (with AgentFire Page), other Peoples "FEATURED LISTINGS" and the POSTS Associated. 

Promoting your Farm Area "Neighborhood Guide" Pages on GBP and ALL of your Social.

LAST but NOT LEAST: Make SURE your On-Page YOAST Optimizations are TIGHT on ALL Assets / Pages used.

Note: For AgentFire Users:

Add INSTAFEED Social to AgentFire. See Instructions in Dashboard or Marketplace (FREE).

You have to go through the process and then AGENTFIRE Support will do the last parts.

(EXTRA "Must Dos")  

• Create a YELP Local Page and Profile.
• Make sure ALL of your ZILLOW / REALTOR Profiles are DONE 100%.
• Integrate ZILLOW to AgentFire

Also SUBMIT Website for Directory Citations: 

• https://sirlinksalot.co/local-citation-building-service/
• https://localcitationservices.com/ 

Resources: 

• https://support.agentfire.com/en/articles/1505005-how-to-add-your-zillow-reviews-to-the-reviews-page
• How to add your Zillow Reviews to the Reviews Page

Also: 

Zillow 2 Way with Follow Up Boss:

https://help.followupboss.com/hc/en-us/articles/8895957403927-Zillow-Two-Way-Sync

Zillow Two Way Sync 

That is EXTRA Too... But needs to be DONE 

Lastly...

I would consider launching a LOW BUDGET "Google Local Service Ads" Campaign

  https://ads.google.com/intl/en_us/local-services-ads/how-it-works/#!/

Local Services Ads - Lead Generation for Local Customers  

WHY? 

1. It gives you a CONDUIT to ALL Search for Specific Areas and Keyword Searches. You CONTROL the BUDGET. Less than 1 Mailer

2. AND (BIG AND)

2. When your BUDGET is EXPENDED (Based on Clicks, let's say 2 weeks) And you are NOT Getting Clicks from the 3 Pack Local Service Ads at TOP,  \Google still gives you a LITTLE Extra Search Juice for your Terms as they WANT you to Generate enough Revenue to continue to Advertise.

Plus Google has Dedicated Local Service Ads Specialists to help you SET IT ALL Up FREE. No Agency No Nothing. 

(Maybe start with $300)

 For those out of the West Central / Central Florida Area, Do a Search: "Real Estate Agents Ocala Florida"

(not a realistic search... But)

Pay CLOSE Attention to Ocala Realty World and a handful of others in the LOCAL SERVICE ADS space in Ocala.

They WILL Always SHOW the VERIFIED Realtors First even if NOT Showing in ADS (Budget not active or expended)

Plus Google will help you with your KEYWORD Planner

Then THOSE Keywords need to be REWORKED into your Landing Pages. 

*** Not Stuffed - Carefully Placed as valuable, searchable, relevant CONTENT relating to the SAME Keywords you are USING to Drive your LOCAL SERVICE Ads. ***

The concept is BIDIRECTIONALLY Connected. And PUTS you in a BETTER SEARCH Position in the EYES of Google.

They CONSIDER you COMMITTED vs. BEING A DABBLER