Real Estate and Mortgage Marketing: It’s Not About You

One thing I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about lately is what do your clients really want from you? The reason I’ve been thinking about it so much is because I know that speaking to your clients’ wants and needs is the key to a winning real estate and mortgage marketing strategy that gets you more clients.

Often times, you build your real estate and mortgage marketing campaigns around what you think they want, not what actually interests them. You do this because it’s quicker than actually getting to know their needs, desires, goals, and dreams and because (let’s be honest) it satisfies your own agenda. You write a blog post about why now is a great time to buy a house, or you post articles on Facebook everyday touting that home prices are rising and interest rates are low.

While these articles do have a time and a place, if it’s all you ever talk about, you’re not doing anything to connect with what your clients really want. And with the prevalence of these articles online, you’re not providing them with any real value. You’re running your marketing for you. And your real estate and mortgage marketing should be about the client, not you. If you want to win your clients’ business, there are four main steps that every successful real estate or mortgage professional can take to make their marketing all about their clients.

It starts with learning about their needs, desires, goals, and dreams. Next, you’ll segment them into groups of people who are interested in similar things with similar paths. Third, you’ll create and send content that speaks directly to them. And lastly, you’ll get feedback and keep refining the first three steps.

Step 1: Research

The first step to creating winning real estate and mortgage marketing that gets you more clients is to get to know your clients’ needs, desires, goals, and dreams. This involves getting down and dirty and, *shudder*, actually interacting with people! There are a number of ways to accomplish this. Let’s talk about 3 tactics to start with.

Phone Calls to Past Clients. Being able to ask your clients poignant questions will help you gain a new perspective on what makes them tick and how you might be able to remain valuable to them. The best questions are open-ended and are designed to start a conversation. Don’t be afraid to go deep with your clients. Luckily these are past clients so you already have a good relationship with them (so I hope).

Interview Friends and Family. Some of the most candid responses you’ll likely get will come from your friends and family. They are also great to talk to because you’ll get a good mix of homeowners and renters, young and old, serious and funny, etc. Pay special attention to the responses you get from homeowers versus renters as these two groups generally have vastly different needs in terms of content.

Read Online Conversations. Did you know that people love sharing their opinions for the world to see? Every minute of every day, your clients are giving you deep insights into their needs, desires, goals, and dreams in forums and on interest sites. All you need to do is visit these sites and read some conversations. You’ll not only learn a ton about what people want and need, you’ll also get a bunch of ideas for content.

Find Popular and Trending Topics. If a topic is popular or trending, it means there are lots of people interested in said topic (duh, right). There are sites online that will help you find out what these topics are. Learning popular and trending topics can help you understand what kinds of content your clients are interested in digesting so you can create content that’s similar.

Once you’ve completed your research, go ahead and give yourself a big hug. You just did the scariest part! And you’re better for it. You now have a solid idea of your clients’ needs, desires, goals, and dreams. You know how they speak, the phrases they use, and what they need from you.

Step 2: Segment

The next step to creating winning real estate and mortgage marketing that gets you more clients is segmentation. You probably noticed that homeowners want different things than renters, empty nesters want different things than newlyweds, single professionals want different things than families. If your clients want different things, why would you send them all the exact same content? You want your content to always resonate with your clients, not just sometimes.

Here are a few of the most effective segments for your real estate and mortgage client list:

Ownership Status. It goes without saying that homeowners and renters have different needs and interests. Renters don’t care about making their home more saleable—they don’t have one! Conversely, homeowners don’t need to know about grants for first-time home buyers—they’re not one.

Transaction Intent. I consider transaction intent to be the expressed likelihood from a client that they’ll be buying or selling within the next year. This allows you to send sellers information on getting your home ready for sale and buyers information on increasing your credit score—both topics that require time to complete.

Familial Status. Single professionals, newlyweds, growing families, and empty nesters all have different needs and interests. Being able to recognize and respond to the needs of this segment can open up a plethora of new ideas and opportunties for content.

Loan Type. For past borrowers / buyers, keeping track of their loan type is a great opportunity to send them tailored content. You can remind clients that their 5/1 arm will recast soon, send them information on mortgage insurance, and more.

Segmenting your client list can take some time, and it’s worth it. It’s this attention to detail that will help you reap the benefits of effective real estate and mortgage marketing. Now that you have your client list segmented, it will be easier to send the right information to the right groups of people at the right time. This will help with open rates, click-thru rates, and sharing.

Step 3: Content

Creating targeted and relevant content is the third step to creating winning real estate and mortgage marketing that gets you more clients. Content that’s directly applicable to your clients is the key to keeping them engaged and interested in you and your business. There are many types of content that can be effective for real estate and mortgage marketing. Some of my favorites include:

Videos. There’s a reason YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Interwebs. People love videos. And not just for entertaining cat videos. Videos are a great way to introduce yourself to your clients and keep them informed. It’s a very personal approach because they can actually see you!

Blog Posts. Blog posts are a great way to share in-depth information about all things real estate and mortgage. They allow you to sort your content by topic, add images and graphs for illustration, can be easily shared, and help your website’s search engine rankings. For a great article on creating the perfect blog post, check out Neil Patel’s article on 5 Ways to Create Content that Google Wants to Rank.

Cheat Sheets. We are all looking for quicker and smarter ways to get things done. Even more so, we want easier ways to get through otherwise complex tasks. Giving your clients a cheat sheet is a great answer to all of these needs. Give first-time home buyers a checklist for getting ready to buy a home. Give sellers a home maintenance checklist to complete before listing their home. Give borrowers a complete list of the paperwork they’ll need to gather during the loan process.

Infographics. Many people are visual learners. They digest information much more easily when they’re given it in the form of a story, graph, chart, or illustration. Infographics are a great way to take otherwise dull and boring information and present it in a new, fun, and engaging way. A bunch of statistics written on a page is boring. An infographic full of charts and graphs using interesting graphics is fun!

Downloadable Guides. There are many topics (especially in real estate and mortgage) that are more complex in nature and can take more than one sitting to fully digest. For those types of topics, I recommend creating a guide that can be downloaded on your website. Downloadable guides are perfect for guiding your clients through large topics at their own pace.

All of these content ideas are not only engaging ways to interact with your clients, they’re also fantastic ways to grow your email list. Have people enter their email address to receive the cheat sheets and guides. Add a blog subscription box to your blog posts and infographic pages. Give website visitors an easy way to keep updated on your new content as it comes out.

Step 4: Feedback

The last step to creating winning real estate and mortgage marketing that gets you more clients is to always be getting feedback on the effectiveness of your strategy. You can get feedback in multiple ways, not just by asking people over the phone or in person. Let’s take a look at a few great ways to get feedback:

Talking to People. Of course, the fastest and most effective way to get feedback on your marketing is to actually ask people (duh again). Call up some of your clients and ask them what they think of the marketing they’re receiving from you. If you want a more anonymous way to solicit feedback from people, consider creating a survey and sending that out to your client list. SurveyMonkey is easy to create and free to send.

Analytics Reporting. The way your clients interact with your content is a very telling of how well your content is doing. Check Google Analytics for the articles that are being read the most on your blog. Check your email newsletter statistics to see which emails get opened the most, which links get clicked on, and which emails get forwarded or shared.

Email List Growth. As you continue to put out great content on your website, on LinkedIn, on Medium, or any other publishing platform, you’ll (hopefully) notice your email list begin to grow in size. The increase in people who find your content interesting is a good indication that you’re doing the right things.

Conclusion

Most people like talking about themselves. Everyone likes to be heard. Creating and sending targeted content to the right people at the right time isn’t just about being smart and getting more clients, it’s about letting your clients know that you get them. You understand what they want to know and when, and you are the person to deliver it to them.

When you call your clients on the phone, they’ll appreciate that you’re asking for their opinion. When you segment your clients and send them information pertinent to them, they’ll begin to trust and acknowledge you as the person who knows stuff they want to hear. And when you ask for feedback and refine accordingly, you’ll keep them happy and impressed with your real estate and mortgage marketing.