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Time and time again, we are reminded that content is king. But this is especially true when it comes to the real estate industry. With how competitive the real estate market is, building a great real estate web design just won’t cut it anymore. You have to push out good content as well in order to get leads. However, not all content that you post for your digital marketing is created equal. You see, there’s a huge distinction between good content and bad content. People, especially your audience, can typically tell when you’re creating value versus just posting when to post. You have to remember that good content provides value to your target audience. And if you haven’t tested this out, I really challenge you to give it a try and really see the results you see.
If you create a thoughtful piece of content and share it on your online platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram, you are more than likely to get engagement. That is, compared to just throwing up some generic picture of a market report, or maybe a home that just listed or just sold. But let me let you in on a very tiny little secret if you really want to move the needle and really create more engagement in your posts you need to tell a story.
For this week’s article, we break down a very simple framework that every single one of you can utilize to tell and create better stories for your social media content. Use this as your guide in order to provide more value for your target audience.
Why tell stories?
You see, storytelling is a lost art. However, if used correctly, you can really move the needle in terms of building your brand and creating more engagement with your audience. This will then eventually turn into more aspects and more leads which will ultimately lead to more clients. The reality is, it’s one thing to provide value through the use of data, charts, and numbers, but most people aren’t really that analytical. Chances are, your audience isn’t either.
Typically you would show the average person, a bunch of data and numbers. When you do this, they’re more likely inclined to be turned off or zone out. And really not care too much about what you’re creating or what you’re posting, or really what you’re talking about. However, if you can synthesize a really great story and turn that into a couple of compelling pieces of content, you will find that you’ll be able to generate a lot more conversations online.
The bestselling author, Donald Miller, who wrote the book, StoryBrand really doubles down on the idea of telling stories. He firmly believes that nothing brings out clarity to our communication than actually telling a story. A great story is really the key to being understood. Quoting Donald Miller, he actually says that a story is the most powerful tool you can use to really connect with another human being. Now, if this is in fact true, then why aren’t we telling more stories on social media accounts? When really, our goal is to try to resonate with more people. In order to tell a great story, there are four main parts.
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Part 1: Start with the Problem
Part one is all about starting with the problem that you solve. What specific problem in the marketplace do you solve or cater to? Which problem of your target audience do you have the solution for? What value can you bring to the table that will encourage people to work with you? How can you make your value to the marketplace unique and stand out? This is essential to your story. With hundreds of thousands of realtors saturating the real estate industry these days, it’s all about being able to identify a specific problem, a specific demand in the marketplace, and bringing value to the table.
For example, you’re a realtor and you want to represent a buyer on a deal. However, you found out that that buyer is already working with another agent. Now, one of the problems that you can potentially solve is how to break up with that other agent who is probably underperforming. When identifying the problem that you can solve for your audience, it’s always best to put yourself in their shoes. Think of their possible issues, obstacles, or even frustrations. From there, identify which specific frustration you have a good solution for. Always keep in mind where the need for your services and what type of clients you actually serve.
Part 2: Agitating the Problem
Once you are able to identify and state the problem, the next part is all about agitating the problem. Now, the process of telling a really great and compelling story really means that you will have to dig pretty deep. This is the part where you have to truly figure out what are the fears and the frustrations or the failure of no action for the hero of the story. This is the part where you have to express and amplify what it will cost your audience should they choose to not work with you.
In the above example, you have identified that the problem is that they are currently working with a realtor and are wanting to switch to a different realtor. In this part, you would want to drill down into what is going to happen to them should they not change what they are currently doing. Show them what happens if they continue to keep going down the path of working with a bad realtor. Start synthesizing the emotions of the last value or frustrations that this client will potentially have if they continue to do the same thing.
Part 3: Positioning Yourself as the Resolution
After identifying the problem and showing them the cost of no action, you alleviate them. This is the part where you remind them that what plays out in Part 2, is not fixed and set in stone. This is where you, the expert, comes into the story. Part 3 is all about positioning yourself as the resolution.
Think of it this way, every story has a hero and a guide. And your job in your story is to position yourself, not as the hero, but as the guide. It is important that you remember this whenever you are telling a story. You are not meant to be the hero of the story. The hero of every story you push out is your clients or your prospects. You are simply there to guide them and help them reach their happy ending. Now, let’s continue with the above example in order to really carry on with this story. This is the part where you show and tell them that you were able to provide that client with a solution to their problem by giving them the proper guidance on how to really and truly break up with a bad realtor.
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Part 4: The Happy Ending
The last and final part of telling your real estate story is all about describing the happy ending. It’s all about describing what your client wants and the feeling of resolution. Describe how despite that problem, frustration, or pain that they alluded to in the very beginning of the story, they were able to pull through.
Now, to really wrap up my quick story example, it could be something as simple as saying “Hey, I helped my client buy a home or get into a home in seven days or less. While this other realtor was really dilly-dallying and wasn’t able to get them into a home after 30 days or 60 days.” Really try to show them what the possibilities are if they take action and choose to work with you. When telling a story, it is important that you are able to show them their happy ending with them still being the hero of the story.
Final Thoughts
This is a very simple four-part framework that you can really use for anything. Let’s say you’re putting together an Instagram carousel, or it may be a video, or maybe you’re putting together an Instagram story or maybe a TikTok. If you copy this very simple framework when creating that content, you’ll see that you can resonate with a lot more people. Now to quickly recap part one is all about starting with a problem that you solve. Part two is all about agitating the problem. Part three is all about positioning yourself as the resolution. And of course, part four is all about describing the happy ending.
If you are feeling stuck or you really need some help in terms of creating content or really a digital marketing strategy, then I highly recommend that you schedule a strategy session with either myself or someone on my team because storytelling, digital marketing strategy, branding, it’s stuff that we’re good at. However, if you’re still not there yet, then join our free Facebook Group for more similar content.
