As the real estate industry shifts, it’s time for marketers to shift with it. These four types of content are keys to marketing real estate in the digital age.

The real estate world has seen seismic shifts over the past few decades. Yet, it has been slower to change than other industries, which have been transformed nearly beyond recognition as the Internet continues to radically alter the way business is done.

The real estate industry is primed for innovation, particularly when it comes to marketing. As technology and digital media keep growing at unprecedented rates, real estate marketers have an opportunity to start putting different types of content to use to engage potential buyers and renters.

However, many are still slow to adopt content marketing. According to real estate investor Zamir Kazi, “Far too many in the real estate space simply still don’t get it when it comes to content marketing. I see so many still relying on old school methods vs. things such as social media, blogging and so on.”

For those willing to take advantage newer modes of marketing, the opportunities are vast.

If you’re a real estate marketer, consider making these four types of content part of your strategy:

1. Educational Content

You’ve probably heard the phrase “educational content” tossed around in discussions of content marketing, particularly in other sectors. Content that educates is highly preferred by buyers across the board and supports a fundamental principal of content marketing: your most valuable commodity is not your properties, but your expertise and thought leadership.

Creating content that educates your audience — for example, a piece about finding investment opportunities for your target client-base — establishes you as a trusted source of useful information. And it means your readers are far more likely to become your clients.

2. Branded Content

Creating effective branded types of content is all about ensuring that your audience is “consistently seeing your name, style, and thoughts,” while avoiding “being too promotional and one of those spammy real estate-types,” writes Forbes contributor Steve Olenski.

James Becker, CEO and founder of Fusion Growth Partners, suggests that the “story” of a brand should be at the root of all content and marketing efforts. “An agent’s story, if expressed well, conveys in an immensely impactful way, insight into that individual’s character, passion and commitment to their clients,” he says. “The story can create an almost tangible expectation for the reader to the level of service and authentic connection they will receive as a client.”

3. Email Content

Getting email content marketing right can be tricky. Of course, step one is gathering an email list. Olenski suggests that “When you think about your email marketing strategy, your first thought should be: ‘What content or experience can I create that will make someone give me their email?’”

Once you’ve established a list of emails, you can experiment with different types of content, and refine your list, segmenting it into different buyer types. Email marketing is a great place to experiment with automation.

4. Entrepreneurial Content

“Real estate is similar to entrepreneurship in that it requires sourcing projects and adding value through the process,” writes Olenski.

For example, according to Joe Pierson, CEO of BigKeyRealestate, “Agents should try to tap into the huge income potential of people who work in tech by framing real estate as an entrepreneurial endeavor suitable for their backgrounds. This is definitely difficult for the average real estate agent to do, but could open up a wealth of new buyers to work with.”

The bottom line is that content marketing is about generating value for customers and finding the types of content that cement your reputation as a trusted knowledge-source.

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