The Real Estate Marketing Takeaways I Learned "Scooting" around Boston
This post originally aired as a podcast!
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As a professional real estate marketer, I never stop learning. Marketing is constantly changing. Real estate is ever-evolving. And making sure that I'm at the forefront of what's happening is a core part of my personality and business. I want to make sure that I'm always delivering the very best, whether that's here on the podcast or with exclusive content in my membership. So, to stay up to date, I experiment on my side to find out what works and also learn from others to get fresh ideas and the latest trends.
That's why my Marketing Manager and I packed up and headed to Boston for a week to attend a leading marketing conference, Inbound. While I was there, I filled up a notebook with the latest ideas and trends so you don't have to. Because in this episode, I'm sharing my biggest takeaways and a-ha moments for you to leverage in your own real estate marketing.
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I'm a firm believer that one of the best investments you can make in your business is through personal development and learning. The more you focus on bettering yourself, the more everything else falls into place. You're not only empowered by challenging yourself to try new ideas, you're also moving forward when many are barely able to keep up.
So, at the beginning of the year when I saw that my favorite marketing conference, Inbound, was in-person again, I bought the tickets, booked the airline, and paid for the hotel immediately. Because when I go to conferences, I don't just learn new material. It's an opportunity to reset my mind and get re-inspired, which is exactly what happened this year!
The only caveat was that I wasn't sure how I would physically be able to attend a conference. As many of you know, over the past several years, I've been dealing with health issues, and I just had my 5th major hip surgery in July. Both my PT and doctor vetoed me walking through the airport and the giant conference center. I would more than likely hurt myself. So, we settled on a compromise, and I rented an awesome travel scooter to cruise around Boston in.
After the initial excitement of it being like a toy wore off, I was kind of bummed that I was stuck in a scooter. When we got to our nice hotel, the lobby was full of young professionals who looked so cool compared to me! lol
So, my first takeaway from the conference isn't about marketing at all. It's about confidence and mindset. Did I want to be walking and done with my DDH journey? Yes! Did I want to leave my scooter behind and have a drink at the bar standing up? Yes! Did I want feel "normal" again? Yes!
Here's the thing, I know that what I've been through has shaped me into the person I am today, and the scooter didn't limit me, it's why I could be there.
I'll admit, day one, I was feeling uncomfortable in my scooter and crutch. Day two though, I decided to make a change for myself and have fun with it. That little scooter went pretty fast across the polished concrete of the conference center, and I found myself laughing all through out the day. I beeped while I backed up proudly and truly enjoyed our time at the conference.
The only thing that changed between day one and two was my attitude. That's it. I could have continued to be upset and annoyed at my situation. Or I could embrace it. But by embracing the scooter and owning my journey, I had a lot more fun along the way. So, no matter what you're going through, I think it's helpful to recognize what's happening and then to focus on the positive aspects. I won't claim that it's easy, but that's what's helped get me through the past several years full of pain, set-backs, and frustrations. You have to keep "scooting" forward!
During this conference, I also filled up a notebook with the latest data, trends, and ideas in marketing and tech. And while I took a variety of classes, I noticed five key themes appearing time and time again.
So, here are five key takeaways that you can easily apply to your real estate marketing and business.
1) Create and Leverage a Community
The concept of "community" was the marketing idea that overtook the conference. In an age where it's harder than ever to get people to view your social posts, opt-in to your lead magnet, or engage with your marketing in general, building a "community" is a fresh approach.
Instead of focusing on constantly attracting new customers, you take more time to build a community around the right people.
In the past, marketing was directed from the company (or in our case, real estate agent or brokerage) to the potential customer. You worked to attract and keep that customer interested over time. Building a community is no longer that one-way street approach. Everybody is connected in the network. Your role as the head of the community is to build those bridges and create a place where community can thrive.
The benefit is that people are more connected to you, have a more positive experience, and are more likely to engage for longer. And we all know how challenging it can be to stay in touch with your sphere, generate new business, and actively build your brand.
If you create a thriving community, you're creating an authentic place that people want to come back to time and time again. Your community might start with your followers and friends on social. You could focus on engaging more with your database via email. Then, it might migrate into online avenues like virtual events or group pages. Finally, it can come together with in-person events, parties, and more.
In real estate, you're at such an advantage because real estate is local. I encourage you to start thinking about how you can create a sense of community with your marketing as well.
Here at Ideas for Real Estate, we're continuing to focus on building our community, especially in our membership, and have some exciting surprises planned!
2) Amplify Your Real Estate Marketing
Do you feel like you are constantly creating content and marketing, and the pressure never stops?
I feel that way, so don't feel bad if you do as well! The pressure to create news Reels constantly or show up all the time with new ideas, is overwhelming. So, the concept of "amplifying your marketing" stood out to me as not a new idea, but a much-welcomed strategy.
Amplifying your marketing basically means that instead of churning out marketing one after the other, you put more effort into promoting the one piece of marketing or content that you create. You get the absolute most out of it as possible by repurposing it as many times as you can.
The instructor of the class I took, said to "wring out your marketing." I think that's such a great visual and reminder to maximize all that you do!
Here's a real-life example of how it works: In July, I taught a very specific video strategy in The Marketing Suite about how to attract your ideal customer with a targeted video. After you learned the concept and used the script builder to craft your messaging, we had a full plan for the video once it was complete.
If you put a lot of time and work into your marketing, you don't want to take a one-and-done approach! In this example, you work your way down the checklist to easily amplify this marketing strategy. And I encourage you to do the same!
Don't just create an ad, spend time on a print piece, or even post on social and walk away. Amplify your marketing and treat it as an asset so you're saving time and energy while getting the most out of all you do.
Looking to take your real estate marketing to the next level?
{Checkout The Marketing Suite, the exclusive membership for Realtors}
3) Re-Focus On What Makes You Unique & Different
With real estate marketing, it's so easy to want to do it ALL! You want to be on all the social platforms, tap into everything that's trending, and push yourself to be everywhere!
This mentality and pressure quickly leads to burnout and actually limits your success.
I was sitting in a class, my mind swirling with everything I wanted to do, when I got a good reminder as well.
"Do fewer things better." "What are you better at?"
You see, my Marketing Manager and I were just brainstorming all the different interviews I could do on this podcast now that I'm feeling better and can plan further in advance. But here's the thing...
The Ideas for Real Estate podcast is the only real estate marketing podcast out there where the style is very much step-by-step and packed full of actionable advice. While I love interviews as they bring new perspectives and can be motivating, it doesn't make sense to change up what people are constantly telling me they like - my style of podcasting.
So, yes, you'll get more interviews from me now, but I'm not changing the podcast away from mostly solo-shows because that's what I do better.
The question is, what do you do better? Think about that and lean into your 'better' more. You'll thrive in your zone of genius, be more likely to be consistent, and ultimately get better results!
4) Create Content for Your "Audience Over Algorithms"
If you thought some of the greatest minds in marketing were going to reveal the secrets to the algorithms, you'd be wrong!
People recognized that marketing has changed, but they didn't spend any time or energy on the updates and changes that have impacted us all across digital marketing.
The message I took away is to always consider your audience over algorithms. And as somebody who also teaches relationship, value-based marketing, this is music to my ears!
We can't waste time complaining about how social used to be or that it's hard to get XYZ result. What you should be doing is continuing to think about marketing and content that will help your next customer.
Want strategic, done-for-you social content & plans?
{Check out the exclusive real estate marketing membership for Realtors: The Marketing Suite}
Don't spend your energy trying to predict Instagram. Spend your energy trying to predict what will help your next customer most. Create content that guides them on their buying or selling journey or content that continues to bridge your relationship with your sphere. Need help creating content like that? Become a member of The Marketing Suite for ready-to-share and customizable content that works!
5) Try a Longer Lasting Video
With the popularity of short-form videos, creating one thoughtful video to serve one purpose has been pushed aside.
I took an entire workshop on video marketing, and it struck me how much I miss certain videos. I shared one type of video earlier in this episode, but applying video across your real estate marketing can have major benefits!
So, while I love a good Instagram Reel or TikTok, could one strategic video on your website or social empower you to connect with more customers?
We're going to be doing more videos to increase conversions that I'll be sharing with you in a future episode. In the meantime, could you take the time to create one video that you can get more use out of, like a video about you or your team, a video about the process of working with you, or a video that answers a FAQ? These types of videos can be shortened for social but have a longer marketing life you can tap into.
Recapping My Big Real Estate Marketing Takeaways
So, while my notebook has lots of underlines and stars next to new ideas, I'm walking away from the experience inspired to lean into creating marketing that fuels my business and equally fuels my customers, real estate pros like you.
To recap, the key takeaways were:
1) Create and Leverage a Community
2) Amplify Your Real Estate Marketing
3) Re-Focus On What Makes You Unique & Different
4) Create Content for Your "Audience Over Algorithms"
5) Try a Longer Lasting Video
If you pick any of these and do the work, then I know you'll see the success you're looking for!
Looking to take your real estate marketing to the next level?
{Checkout The Marketing Suite, the exclusive membership for Realtors}
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