Creating content is a challenge for many entrepreneurs and business leaders. Should you create lifestyle content? Show off your latest car or your weekend plans? Should you highlight community service and local figures? Should you create promotional content? Educational content? Maybe you should just chuck it all and do TikTok dances to bring in new clients.
If you want to raise your profile in your industry, however, thought leadership content is an important tool. Thought leadership plays a pivotal role in establishing credibility, fostering trust, and driving innovation within any industry, including real estate.
By positioning yourself as a thought leader among real estate professionals, you can showcase your expertise, insights, and forward-thinking perspective, ultimately distinguishing yourself from the competition.
Thought leadership not only helps you attract potential clients; it also cultivates lasting relationships with existing ones by providing valuable and relevant information. It serves as a platform for industry networking, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing, contributing to the overall growth and advancement of the real estate sector. Thought leadership in a specific and well-honed niche can be especially valuable, helping you stand out and making you an important voice in a more focused field.
The sixth annual B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report from LinkedIn and Edelman surveyed nearly 3,500 management-level professionals across seven countries for insights into the importance of thought leadership for increasing brand and individual awareness.
According to their findings, there are three main takeaways that you should keep in mind when developing your own thought leadership content:
1. Reference strong research and data
More than half (55 percent) of those surveyed cited a data-based approach as a top characteristic of high-quality thought leadership content. While a big part of your value as a thought leader comes from your point of view and expertise, that content should be based on real, verifiable. facts. Especially in today's world, with so much misinformation permeating online resources, keeping your content grounded in reality is essential.
This doesn't mean that you have to gather all of that data yourself. The ability to curate, synthesize and comment on the latest market data or financial news makes you a valuable resource.
2. Help potential clients and colleagues understand their challenges and opportunities
The way that I've always encapsulated messaging is like this: What keeps your target client or colleague up at night? Now, that can mean what are they worried about and losing sleep over (pain points) OR it can mean what are they dreaming about in a really positive way?
If you are an agent who's trying to woo clients with your content, speak to the things they worry about (interest rates, down payment, home values, inventory) or the things they're hoping for (home features, market improvements, investment potential).
If you are a team leader or broker who's trying to recruit agents, speak to the things they worry about (commission lawsuits, lack of business, market conditions) or the things they're hoping for (establishing themselves, growing their business, developing a niche).
You need to have a deep understanding of what your audience is looking for, then you need to speak to them in a way that's engaging, practical, and open-ended — so that it invites follow-up conversations.
3. Offer concrete guidance and case studies
It's not enough to raise questions and enumerate challenges. Your readers or viewers or listeners want to know what to do about them. Make sure you're offering clear takeaways that are as actionable and understandable as possible.
There's a lot of noise out there on LinkedIn, YouTube, X (nee Twitter), and other platforms. You need to make your point and make it memorable so that it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
Give your content staying power by
including a CTA for more information
providing a graphic download with key takeaways
linking to your newsletter or subscription feed, or
connecting to some other resource that outlasts that individual piece of content.
Integrating follow-up into your content gives you the opportunity to become more than just another good idea in their social media feed — it allows you to capture mindshare that makes you more memorable, grows your audience, and expands your business.