Issue #26 | 1.17.2014 | 262,996 members

New Content Strategies to Try in 2014

You've probably heard by now that social content marketing is what you want to be doing in 2014.

This is especially true for real estate agents. Not only does great social content build your brand and grow your audience, it drives traffic to your blogs and websites. Once first-rate content is published, it goes to work for you.

Today we look at some new content strategies to try in 2014.

Determine a content curation strategy to maximize your efforts.

Decide who's going to be doing the posting. Are you, a service, or an assistant going to post? Who is going to gather the content and where is it going to come from? Pinpoint sites where you can gather great material for your page and visit them regularly. Great results come from great planning. Services like Page Engage can assist with your curation efforts by selecting and posting to your Facebook pages for you.

Use metrics to see which content strategies work best.

There are numerous theories about what times of day and how many posts per day are effective. For some, less is more. For others, more is more. It all depends on factors including your audience size and when they like to engage. Metrics help you figure out the solution to your social equation!

Instead of guessing what works, try posting on different days of the week and varying your number of posts. Use metrics (ex: Facebook Insights) to view when you're getting the most likes, fans and engagement; then stick with it.

Reduce your text-only posts; increase your image and article posts. It's all about show and tell.

Humans are visual beings. We respond to images, including links to articles with images, much more than text only. If you're posting about something that happened during your day on-the-job as a real estate agent, it's 1,000 times more powerful to include a picture of your smiling buyers after closing (along with a narrative), than it is to simply state what happened. Make sure your content stands out with strong imagery!

Follow up with posters who have engaged with your content. They are very possibly your next lead.

At the end of the day, new likes, comments and shares can be sure signs that someone is interested in your business. It may not seem worthwhile to respond to someone who has simply 'liked' a kitchen photo of yours (for example), but saying something like "Isn't this kitchen great?" encourages more dialogue, which could result in a lead. Friends who see their friends engaging with you, may even discover you as an agent. Suddenly you're on their radar.

Social engagement is a solid pipeline for leads in 2014. Try out new content strategies this year and set yourself up for success!