How to Crush It with "Non-Real Estate Related" Real Estate Marketing

One of the most important things to consider when planning a real estate marketing campaign is what different types of content you are going to utilize throughout the campaign. One thing that Realtors often underestimate is the importance of "non-real estate related" marketing content.

When discussing marketing topics with agents, I find that there are a couple common reasons for this. More often than not, they simply aren't sure what type of non-real estate related content would be appropriate. Other times, they just aren't quite sold on the concept of something non-real estate, and can't figure out how that fits into their overall marketing campaign plans.

So with that in mind, today I'll share some reasons you should consider mixing this type of marketing into your campaigns, and some items in particular that will be better received by homeowners in your marketplace, versus others.

Why Non-Real Estate Related Content Is Important

Real Estate Is a Relationship Business

You should never ever lose sight of the fact that a real estate transaction is most likely the most expensive transaction a person will go through in their entire life. Because of this, it is a very personal business transaction. To forge a strong, personal relationship with your sellers and buyers, you have to make sure that you treat them like a friend.

It makes sense that you want to show them what you've sold, how great you are at real estate, and also educate them on the home selling process, but you can't be a friend and be a broken record that talks nothing but business all the time. This is where non-real estate related marketing content comes in.

Non-Real Estate Related Content Has a Longer Shelf Life

Ninety percent or more of the reason you are sending out any of your marketing pieces is to burn your brand into the minds of homeowners. We've found that non-real estate related marketing pieces tend to have the longest shelf life in the hands of homeowners.

Why is this the case? It's simple. Most of these pieces cover timely things that are either local or pertinent to the homeowner and therefore of interest to them. On top of that, generally they have something on them that either spans time and needs to be held onto (e.g., an events guide), or are something they may want to collect and save for later (e.g., an annual checklist of some sort).

What Are Some Examples of Non-Real Estate Related Marketing Pieces?

So this question comes up quite often. I think part of it, again, is that Realtors aren't exactly sure if what they are thinking of sending out would be considered appropriate. I think the other part of it is that they may not exactly know where to get the content from. While I happen to think a Realtor should team with a real estate marketing agency to help them answer both these questions and carry it out for them (let's face it—your time is better spent working on leads and listings than becoming your own marketing agency), at the end of the day, this is stuff you can do yourself if you have the bandwidth.

Local Events Schedules

These are quite possibly the most popular of non-real estate related marketing pieces. The reason for this is because you can time these types of marketing pieces to coincide with holidays and special event times in your marketplace. For instance, in December, you can put together a festively designed events guide that details all the holiday related (not just Christmas, but every winter holiday) activities in your marketplace. Or perhaps in the spring, you could put together a list of the spring and summer outdoor concerts and festivals that are happening around your marketplace.

In both instances, these cards span long-term timeframes, ensuring you are in front of potential clients over the long haul.

Home Related Educational Pieces

Technically, I guess these could maybe be considered "real estate related," but officially, they aren't written as you asking consumers for business, or showing what you've sold. They are useful for homeowners. When done right, they'll even be kept for future use. For instance, consider creating a quarterly series of cards with home preventative maintenance tasks that line up with the seasons and necessities of your marketplace. These are cards the homeowner will not only appreciate, but most likely hang onto, so the next year they won't forget any of the things they need to do.

Contest Related Pieces

Let's face it. Everyone wants the opportunity to win something. Why not turn your marketing pieces into a contest? With a little imagination, it is pretty easy to put together a contest marketing piece that is sure to grab the attention of homeowners and get them engaged with you.

For instance, what if you are marketing yourself in a neighborhood that has lots of families with small children? Many of our clients that utilize our capture marketing postcard system use the capture codes to run a Halloween Coloring Contest for all the children in the neighborhood. They will then go to Target and build cheap prize bags and not only give them to the winner, but to every child that enters the contest. That is some serious goodwill building.

So those are a few ideas for you and a few reasons why you need to think in terms of not always being "business first."

To view the original article, visit the Leading Agent blog.