One of the difficult things in content marketing for real estate professionals is coming up with blog topics.
To help you get started, here are a few tools that will make your blog brainstorming easier. I also throw in some techniques to help generate content ideas.
Mind Mapping with LucidChart
This shows a part of a huge Mind Map created with LucidChart. Brainstorm and create blog ideas for free, and share with collaborators.Lucid Chart is used to create flowcharts. It can be used to brainstorm blog ideas, plan projects, create process flows, and much more.
You can collaborate with team members by sharing your Mind Map. You can also share your ideas by exporting your documents as a slideshow, an image, PDF file, or as a text outline (see the end of this post for a slideshow of my real estate content ideas).
SocialMention
Social Mention is a “social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user-generated content from across the universe.”
Type in keywords, such as “real estate [your area]” or “homes for sale in [city, state]” and see what topics are trending.
Keywords are analyzed by sentiment, strength, passion and reach. The top resulting articles will have a green dot next to them.
Write a blog post or create a video or infographic on the most popular topic customized to your target market/demographic.
BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo displays a visually pleasing chart showing the virality of stories, with the number of shares across different social media platforms.This free tool offers the same content research concept as SocialMention. However, BuzzSumo takes it further, showing how many social media shares a topic has, with links to who shared the content, and other research tools that are available in the paid version.
As with the other tools, write down the most popular topics in a spreadsheet, and then come up with unique angles of your own for the same ideas.
As you see in the accompanying image, under a search for “real estate” “She Sheds: Women’s Answers to the Man Cave” got 2.3 million shares in six months.
In the Mind
However, I might want to revisit that after reading the “She Sheds” story and any comments about it to find out why the post resonated with readers, to come up with another unique angle.
You could also brainstorm about topics that counter a popular idea or belief.
Perhaps: Who Decides When Buying a Home: Why He May Get the Last Word.
Of course, you’ll have to have facts or data to
Google Keyword Tool and KeywordFinder
With these two keyword research tools, you can find out how many searches have taken place for a particular keyword or phrase during a certain period.
In addition, with KeywordFinder, or kwfinder.com, you can see what websites rank for certain keywords.
To use this tool for your blog idea brainstorming, find the most popular combinations of keywords that are not too competitive and put them in a spreadsheet or other document.
Come up with blog ideas based on the keywords or phrases. Asking questions using the keywords is always an easy way to come up with a headline or a subject to write about.
For example: What do “home buyers” need to know when shopping for a new home? Or, How can “home buyers” get the best deal in the current real estate market?
Google Chart for Real Estate Charts
Use Google Charts to make real estate trend charts for your WordPress site.Google Charts is not a content brainstorming tool, but if you decide to publish a weekly real estate report, you can use it to showcase real estate trends with a simple graph.
You can embed the Google Chart in your WordPress site following the directions from the GeekEstateBlog.com.
Real Estate Blog Idea Sources
Now it is time to generate some content ideas using your noggin, with a little help from other people’s content.
Here is a list of ways to come up with blog ideas and other types of content for your content marketing:
- Take a look at your competitors’ blogs. Don’t steal, but come up with different angles on topics they blog about.
- What are Zillow and Trulia publishing?
- Visit the National Association of Realtors blog and news site, and create content based on their reports. NAR also offers downloadable charts, videos, and other content for members to use.
- Visit your local Realtors Association blog or news page to see what they’re talking about.
- Check out your competitors’ social media posts. What’s getting the most shares, likes, and comments? Come up with similar topics for your blog or YouTube channel, or create a chart or infographic instead.
- What have your clients asked you in the past when looking for a home to buy, or selling one?
- If you were buying or selling a home, what questions would you ask?
Real Estate Blog Ideas
Okay, here are my real estate blog ideas that I generated while using Lucid Chart’s Mind Map. Tip: use your arrow key to view slides.
A link to download the Real Estate Blog Ideas Cheat Sheet is below the slideshow.
Click to Download Your 42 Real Estate Blog Ideas Cheat Sheet
In summary
When it comes to brainstorming for blog ideas, first look for what’s out there, and then think about your target market and/or demographic area. Ask yourself how you can add to or create something unique out of existing content to fit your audience.
In addition, sometimes taking a walk and relaxing while thinking about what you do and how you do it will result in a stream of blog ideas.
Over to You
What do you think? Did this post help you? Do you have anything to add?How do you come up with blog ideas? Let me know in the comments section.