Daily Ideas

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You’re NOT for Everyone 

One of the most annoying trends that have started popping up on my social media timelines over the past few months is being tagged along with everyone else in a group. 

This @all approach doesn’t make anyone feel special. 

It creates (in me, anyway) a sense of the opposite.  

That I don’t matter enough to whoever posted the message for them to bother contacting me personally. 

So, they blast out a message that’s definitely in their interests but probably not mine. 

I’d warn agents against this approach. 

The niches are where it’s at. 

• Such as the agency that’s built its reputation (and success) around selling bungalows. 

• Or the agent who specialises in helping people sell for the first time (she’s part of a bigger team). 

• The lettings agency, which specialises in serving landlords with five to ten properties. 

• And the agency that very cleverly identified 50 streets in its town that, when it dominated the sales there, would create a sustainable business. 

You can’t be for everyone – it’s that simple.

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

Get an Accountability Partner 

Scientific tests have shown that if we let others know what we aim to do, we’re more likely to follow through and do something we’ve been putting off. 

For example, I’ve been putting off going for an early morning run for a while now until I messaged my good mate and top estate agent Tom McGee on Sunday night, saying what I would do the next day. 

I woke up at 6:15 a.m., dragged my a$$ out of bed, put on my trainers, and went for a run.  

After completing it, I messaged him to let him know, and I felt immeasurably better. 

I know I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have Tom holding me accountable. 

In fairness, it’s not a one-off. We have regular chats where we aim to keep each other on track.  

It’s so helpful, and I’d encourage anyone to seek out someone they get along with, with whom they share similar values, and with whom they can hold each other accountable.  

It could be an industry colleague, a friend or a family member. 

In my experience, it’s been one of the most beneficial ideas I’ve implemented in ages. 

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

School Catchments 

Creating a guide to school catchment areas in your patch is a good idea. 

This one will take some work, but I think it would be worth it for four reasons. 

1. It highlights your agency is a real, local expert.
2. It shows respect for buyers, which is often missing from agency marketing.
3. It can form part of your pitch to prospective sellers.
4. It is a GREAT piece of content that can be used in multiple ways.

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

Is Your Agency Digitally Dirty? 

111 is the NHS number you can call for non-emergency matters – or when you can’t get through to your GP, which nowadays seems the norm. 

So, if you have a sore ear, call 111, but if you have chest pains, call 999. 

From a content marketing perspective, not regularly updating your news/blog section falls into the 111 category.  

It’s not an emergency, but deffo needs some thought and action. 

I recently saw an agency’s website, with its most recent news article dated October 2022.  

That’s not news. That’s old news. 

Anyone looking at that, including prospective clients, could reasonably think the agency is sloppy and slow. 

 It plants a seed of doubt at a time (and place) when you need to be growing trust. 

It is the digital equivalent of a dirty office window. 

There’s only one thing worse than no blog on your site: having one that’s outdated and way behind the times. 

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

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Make Moving Memorable 

Moving home is a big deal – making it memorable will make it more shareable and remarkable.  

Two handy things when it comes to marketing your agency.   

The first time I saw this bow-wow approach was from the Location Location team a few years ago.  

It still catches my eye when I see the LL guys posting this kind of shareable, social-proof-creating content. 

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

Listen to Social Media 

Facebook can be used for much more than sharing and reacting to posts. 

It’s a great listening tool, especially for community pages and groups. 

It’s a free and easy way to learn what people in your community are thinking.  

What are their frustrations, problems, and pleasures? 

Which creates an opportunity for proactive agents and businesses. 

One of the most successful agents we’ve ever worked with said, ‘ The best agents always know what’s happening locally. Not just in the market but also the neighbourhood.’ 

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

The Complacency Killer  

I spoke with one of the UK’s top agents a while back. 

He always leaves me with some of his wisdom to mull over. 

He said complacency was more of a threat to an agency than its rivals. 

Think about that for a moment. 

He explained that after winning one of the highest-profile industry awards, he felt his team’s intensity had dropped slightly, and a sense of complacency had started to edge in. 

So, he banned ALL talk of that award in his office. 

Since then, they’ve improved continuously, won more awards, and increased their market share. 

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

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Meet the Team Magic 

Props to the PVS Posse for this Meet the Team layout. It uses visuals to show a team member’s interests and personality. 

They are great professionals, but more importantly, they are nice people who are delightful to work with and be around.  

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

Protect Yourself 

Is Your Agency’s Intellectual Property Properly Protected? 

If you ever fall foul of another agency swiping your property photos, blogs or other intellectual property, it’s worth seeing if your business insurance covers legal costs.  

Our policy does, along with other liabilities and access to a legal hotline. 

We’ve only had to go legal once, but having the policy cover our costs meant we could pursue the claim strongly and protect our hard work. 

It’s also useful to check with the brilliantly helpful Intellectual Property Office to learn how to protect your agency’s ideas, intellectual assets and work. 

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

Meet the Team Dream 

One of the most common marketing opportunities we see agencies miss is sharing their meet-the-teams (MTMs) only on their websites. 

Here are four ideas for getting the most from these great little bits of content for the price of one. 

1. Share on social media—more than once. There’s nothing wrong with sharing them once every month; in fact, it’s good practice.
2. Build a link into the person’s email signature, which takes people to the sender’s Meet the Team profile.
3. Consider creating video versions of them (we’ve just introduced email signatures that you click on to be taken to a video version of that member’s meet the team.)
4. Remember, the most effective MTMs are based around the person, their likes and interests, rather than their profession and/or what they do.

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

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Simple Sharing is Caring 

A straightforward but effective way to create easy-win content is to look for things to share that your community will care about.  

Our office mantra is, “If they care, they’ll share.” 

I’m seeing more signs popping up in shop windows advertising vacancies.  

Sharing these on your agency’s platforms shows that you are local and care about and support other local businesses and your community. 

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.

Be More Human 

Will AI replace estate agents? 

Or will estate agents who know how to use AI well replace those who don’t? 

Who knows, if you ask Chat GPT, you get some very vague replies : ) 

As useful as AI is, we think it’s worth remembering that, at its core, an estate agency is a people business. 

Here are five ideas we like: 

1) Ask yourself and your team, ‘What can we do that AI can’t?’. 

2) Use the telephone more than ever – have chats, catch up with people and wean yourself off the digital addiction many of us (us included) are living with. Why email when you can call? Use video messaging services like Loom and BombBomb. 

3) Get up from behind your desk and go out and meet people. This is a BIG one. When I used to work in public relations, it was called ‘pressing the flesh’—shaking hands, making eye contact, and listening to others. We always advised, and still do, to ensure your agency attends any local events you support. Donating money is valuable; donating time is priceless.  

4) Seek out wow moments during your clients’ experiences with your agency. These can be as simple as a thoughtful handwritten card to thank a client for using your service. 

5) Use AI. That may sound counterintuitive, but it can and will automate many monotonous tasks. The time saved by not having to do these tasks can be invested in the above ideas, providing more personal expertise, individual time, and client care.  

This week’s ideas are brought to you by https://estateagentcontent.co.uk/
The UK’s #1 reviewed estate agent content providers.