Press release marketing was once one of the most powerful tools for small real estate businesses. Then it got abused. Like old school junk article marketing, Google stopped rewarding real estate marketers for it. Now, Google has reportedly reevaluated their stance, and is now giving a boost to real estate websites that are publishing quality press releases. So how important is this marketing tool in real estate today? More importantly, how can you use it to your advantage.
The Power of the Press
It’s no secret that media has power – especially in business. Some of the largest media powerhouses have been created specifically to influence markets and investments. In many cases, it appears that being featured in the news alone is the make or break for many startups and products. It creates that tipping point which helps success snowball.
As a real estate investor, you can expect your competition to be leveraging the press for their own benefit. They are doing it every day on different levels. For some, it is taking over the local newspaper. For others, it is high profile online news media sites. If you aren’t pushing back or displacing them, you are at a serious disadvantage.
The Benefits of Online Press Release Marketing for Real Estate
In addition to the staple advantages of branding, visibility, credibility, and positioning that press releases offers; online PR marketing comes with even more perks.
These includes:
- SEO and Google rankings
- Potential for creating hundreds of inbound links
- Viral potential which can reach hundreds of syndications
- Expert status
- Long term lead generation
- Direct response and immediate action
Put simply, press releases can deliver both short and long term leads, search engine marketing benefits, and a great ROI. As with any other type of marketing, however, the results are all about the execution. So what makes a good press release?
Press Release Marketing 101:
In order to be accepted by the press – and to work – a press release needs to be:
- Newsworthy
- Factual
- Not a blatant sales pitch
- Interesting
- Original copy
- Embedded with great keywords
- Linked to your real estate, website, blog
A couple of years ago, press releases were distributed for just about anything. They became nothing more than boring regurgitated content and ads. That’s what really killed their credibility with Google. In order to prevent a repeat and maximize results, it’s worth making sure they are a little more newsworthy today.
Some announcement worthy angles might include:
- A significant hire or change in executives
- Launch of a new real estate business
- New real estate website or design
- Release of a new real estate mobile app
- New product or service
- Winning an award
- Mergers and acquisitions
You Get What You Pay For
It’s possible to get a press release out for free, but you usually get what you pay for. If you are going to invest in creating a good release for your real estate business, it’s worth maximizing its circulation.
This is one piece of content you may definitely want to defer to a professional writer. This isn’t your average blog post or Tweet. There are plenty of freelance PR writers to be found online. Using them can be far more cost effective than hiring a big agency to do the same thing for 100 times the price.
Real estate pros and companies can then take their own press release and distribute it in a variety of ways. Again; be realistic. You are not going to get into a publication which charges $3,000 to $7,000 for a sponsored story or add for $30. However, you can find good value in the middle. For a few hundred dollars, you can get featured on great news sites and have them linking to your real estate website.
Don’t stop here. Don’t just publish a release and forget about it. Make sure to make some noise about it. Include links to your PR from your social media profiles, on your blog, in email newsletters, and include the mentions you receive on future marketing and branding collateral.
Done right, a few press releases could be some of the most powerful real estate marketing you do this year.
