Do you like to be sold to?
I bet you said No.
Nobody likes to be sold to .. so why do estate and letting
agents do just that? Try and sell themselves ... all of you do it. All your
advertising material, your Free Valuation leaflets, Landlords Wanted flyers,
half price fees deals, We are ‘effin
brilliant leaflets, We are ace agents -
the others suck A5 flyers .. you get the
drift ... all of it is trying to sell something .. you.
The problem though is this ... nowadays, we all skip the ads
on Sky+, we all ignore t’internet ad banners, in fact most people have become so proficient
at online “surfing” that they can take in online information without a care for
banners or buttons (making the ads neither here nor there), we ignore bill
boards, we ignore ads in the newspaper and magazines, we ignore pizza and kebab
leaflets ... so what makes your agency leaflet or newspaper ad so different?
If it mentions anything about you, your company, your
services ... you are wasting your time and money .. sorry to be so blunt... but
nobody cares about you or agency (apart from your Mum .. good old Mum!). It
might have worked 10 years ago mentioning those things .. but you know.. in
your heart of hearts, it doesn’t work anymore.( and if you don’t believe me, when was the last time you read an advert
for a solicitor or accountants and cared ........................... exactly!)
Smart estate
agents
Smart estate and letting agents understand that traditional
marketing is becoming less and less effective by the hour, and that
there has to be a better way
... and that way is content marketing.
But what exactly is content marketing?
Content marketing is a planned marketing approach focused on
creating and distributing important, relevant, and steady content to attract
and retain a clearly distinct set of people (ie local home owners and landlords)— and, eventually, to drive
profitable customer action. (ie use your
agency)
Basically, content
marketing is the art of communicating with your existing
landlords/vendors and prospective landlords and property sellers without
selling.
Unlike other forms of advertising which are designed to
interrupt you (ie stop what you are doing
and watch this ad), content marketing doesn’t interrupt.
Content marketing doesn’t try and sell your agency services,
content marketing doesn’t talk about your firm, your fees, your network, how
wonderful your agency is... instead, it delivers interesting, relevant ,
entertaining or educational information that makes your potential landlord or
vendor more informed.
The quintessential idea of this content marketing strategy is
the principle that if we, as estate and letting agency businesses, deliver
consistent, ongoing valuable information to potential clients,
they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.
Here is the best bit
.. it’s been proved to work for over 110 years.
Content marketing is being utilised by some of the biggest
companies on the globe, including RedBull, Proctor and Gamble (the people
behind Persil) IBM, Microsoft and Dell. But here is the best bit, a one
man band agent on his kitchen table can do it as well.
Want to know why? Really want to know?
If you are genuinely intersted in why your normal advertising doesnt work and why content marketing works ... this is simple the best video of YouTube. Yes, its 44 minutes long - but watch it all, and it will tell you, inform you and show you why most of your advertising spend is going down the drain. Watch right here ...
So why haven’t agents adopted this 110 year old type of
marketing?
It could be because content marketing doesn't work (but it
does)
...... or that it's hard to write this content (but it isn't)
...... or that it's cheap to do (which may be true).
...... or that it's hard to write this content (but it isn't)
...... or that it's cheap to do (which may be true).
The real reason is
obvious: letting agents and estate agents hate to change. (come to think
about it ... so do people, but that my blog reading friends ..is a different
story).
Think about it, if you are faced with a situation where your
competition is afraid to change but you can see what is happening in the real
world, you have a huge opportunity. This is the biggest growth and market share
opportunity in estate and letting agency since the internet met estate and
letting agencies.
Short version: Estate
and Letting Agents who overinvest in content marketing will see the same stunning
upward bounce that companies saw from television advertising in the 1950’s and
1960’s.
Want to know what good content marketing looks like? These
agents have seen significant uplift in their lettings (more market appraisals,
more properties under management, more turnover, more profit and those who do
sales on top, have seen that part of their business grow) and if you are really interested in whether it works, why don’t you call them
yourselves?
Or are you afraid of change? .. because if you are, there
might be just another agent in your town who isn’t?
Chelmsford http://chelmsfordproperty.blogspot.co.uk/
South Ockendon
(Essex) http://southockendonproperty.blogspot.co.uk/
Sunderland http://www.sunderlandpropertyblog.co.uk/
Hampstead http://nw3property.blogspot.co.uk/
Canterbury http://canterburyproperty.blogspot.co.uk/