Top 5 Posts on Inbound Marketing for Real Estate

The real estate industry has historically been dominated by “outbound” marketing activities, such as calling prospects on the phone and putting ads in local newspapers and other publications. And while sending your unique message out into the public sphere can certainly yield results, a successful marketing strategy should also incorporate “inbound” activities. Unlike outbound marketing, inbound marketing isn’t about pushing your message out, it’s about pulling prospective customers in. To help you get a better handle on inbound marketing for real estate, we’ve compiled five of our favorite posts on the topic.

1) 5 Tips for Creating a Successful Inbound Marketing Program

by AG Staff / Jake Athey (via AGBeat)

Looking for a quick read that offers some solid takeaways for getting your inbound marketing strategy off the ground? This post from AGBeat (with insight from marketing technologist Jake Athey) has got you covered. Their five tips for success: 1) Identify your advocates, 2) Keyword research, 3) Be social, 4) Create content, and 5) Just do it.  Quote: “Together, the efforts add up and that’s where you start to build your empire. Suddenly you are everywhere and the people you want to attract are reaching out to you, instead of you cold calling them”

2) The Next Generation of Real Estate Marketing

by Bernice Ross (via RealEstateCoach.com)

An oldie but a goodie, “The Next Generation of Real Estate Marketing” is the perfect primer for folks who have little to no knowledge of inbound marketing. Ross begins her post with an overview of outbound marketing (what she calls the “hunt ’em, tell ’em, sell ’em” approach) before going over the many benefits that inbound marketing has to offer. Quote: “Rather than using marketing messages to reach as many people as possible, inbound marketing is about having the right consumers find you.”

3) Inbound Marketing: 4 Steps for Creating More Real Estate Leads

by Monica Romeri (via Innovative Marketing Resources)

This post focuses on a specific benefit of inbound marketing for real estate: lead generation. Author Monica Romeri offers these four steps for developing an inbound strategy that can pull potential customers in: 1) Create Useful, Engaging Content, 2) Utilize Social Media Networks, 3) Host Webinars and Virtual Events, and 4) SEO and PPC. Quote: “Some realtors include Facebook and Twitter in their marketing efforts. However, without developing an integrated, inbound marketing plan, they are not reaping the full rewards of these efforts.“

4) Fast Food vs Mom’s Home Cooking (or SEO vs Inbound Marketing)

by Rivers Pearce (via BoomTown Blog)

Easily the winner of the best title contest, Pearce’s two-part post equates old school SEO tactics to fast food and modern inbound marketing practices to Mom’s home cooking. He notes that while the former provides quick results, the latter offers long-term value. Quote: “Inbound Marketing doesn’t rely on formulaic link building and content spinning, nor SEO tricks. It relies on original content creation, earned links and social interaction. In other words, it uses real stuff.”

5) An Introduction to Inbound Marketing for Real Estate

by Seth Price (via Real Estate Marketing Academy)

This incredibly thorough introduction to the world of inbound marketing highlights five key components to creating a successful inbound real estate marketing strategy. These keys are 1) foundation content, 2) created content, 3) blogging, 4) social media, and 5) SEO. Quote: “Outbound marketing can feel like pushing a boulder up a hill, but at least you control which direction you’re taking it. With inbound marketing, you can create the path, but the consumer ultimately decides which direction to go.”