Inbound Marketing, What Is It?
Up until a few years ago, most marketing was Push marketing. The ads during your favorite TV show, the full page spread in between a story in your favorite magazine. Sometimes this is also called interruption marketing. Because they only way they can get you to pay attention is to force you to view / listen / see it while trying to consume some other piece of information. Then alone came the Internet and Tivo. No more commercials – apps that can block ads! Businesses needed a way to still get their information out there so the concept of inbound marketing started to grow quickly.
The idea blossomed with a few marketing / technology companies: Hubspot is one of those examples.
It’s a concept that’s been used in real estate for some time without actually using the term. However, as the business changes, so does the requirements to be successful. You’ll understand shortly why it’s so vital to make your move now to be competitive down the road.
The concept of inbound marketing is simple. Provide something of value, something that builds trust, and give it away for free. Generally this is informative blog posts, eBooks, or newsletters. The information is not salesy. It’s informative and interesting.
Leave Them Wanting More
Then get the prospect to want more. Offer an additional WhitePaper, eBook or other information that they must enter their email address to obtain. Send them the information, but now you have their express consent to market to them. You have a lead that you know is interested in your materials.
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In real estate, this was done years ago with the appearance of listings on Brokerage / Agent websites. Then went the next step when property drip emails were created. This is now a nearly required offering of the standard real estate website. “Get them in with the listings and when they are ready, they’ll call.”
But this is becoming far more sophisticated. Clients can get listings from anywhere now. Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and more all offer them this same ability. So how does a Realtor differentiate themselves in this Inbound Content world?
Show Your Clients What You Know
It’s no longer just the listings (although that’s a mandatory item to have). You should regularly be writing blog posts about the market. How’s the Inventory? Are prices stabilized? But don’t just state the numbers. Provide information about why you believe this is happening. Demonstrate to them the knowledge you pick up everyday.
Outside of just answering questions about how is the market, provide additional home buying resources. I.E. what to be aware of in a home inspection? Explain the transaction process – how there are two agents involved in most cases and how compensation works. Provide information to them that most of your competitors fail to provide. This gives them a reason to WANT to hear from you regularly instead of thinking, “oh no, not another junk mail from him or her again.” Or, “oh no not another property email I’ve gotten 4 today already!”
Little tidbits of information that you bother to send that no one else does is what will make them call you when they are actually ready to buy or sell.
So when someone signs up for your Property Drip, why not have a defaulted checkbox for them to also sign up for your Home Buying Tip of the week or Mortgage Pitfalls to Avoid, etc. It’s a great way to stay in front of them outside just listings that everyone else is sending them too.
