For home building professionals, the basis of a successful marketing campaign is the ability to adapt your messaging to engage your customers where they are, which is increasingly in the online space. Creating and maintaining a strong online presence filled with relevant and useful industry information is key—whether through blogs, video, advertorials, podcasts, case studies, or on social media platforms.

Among the most valuable tools for reaching your target audience is content marketing, which the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) defines as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” 

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CMI statistics show that a remarkable 91% of B2B marketers use content marketing to reach customers, and home building firms should be no exception. Whichever format or formats you choose to use to reach your customers, though, quality content marketing allows them to respond to and engage with the information you are offering, making it one of the most effective strategies to promote your business.

What sets content marketing apart from other marketing efforts? It’s not about a hard sell, but rather providing great content that resonates with your customer base and that puts you in the position of being seen as a problem solver and industry leader—one they can trust and relate to.

Let’s take a look at eight proven digital content marketing strategies you can employ in today’s technology-based climate to help you not only stay relevant but also to engage with customers and prospects to boost your bottom line.

1. Create goal-focused content. In other words, figure out the “why” of what you’re putting out there. As explained by the Senior Manager of HubSpot Blogs, Karla Cook, it is critical that “every single piece of content you’re creating has a clear, measurable business goal in mind—and simply ‘getting views’ isn’t a complete business goal. Take the time to think about how content can serve your overall marketing strategy, and create pieces that tie back to that.” For example, by strategically publishing informative blogs, articles or case studies related to industry trends, and monitoring user engagement, you can establish your home building business as a subject matter expert and a trustworthy source for ideas and solutions.

2. Diversify platforms and the types of content. The key here is to understand where your customers (and potential customers) are most likely to engage. Experimentation is a good approach. Try out different formats and utilize an analytics tool to see what content garners the best audience response. Whether blog posts, social media posts, e-books, video marketing or webinars (to name a few), by recognizing what satisfies your customers’ needs and providing appropriate solutions, you can deliver diverse content that is truly targeted to your audience. 

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3. Update existing content. Keeping content fresh and up-to-date might be one of the most overlooked practices for home builders trying to market their business. Check your posts frequently to ensure that what you’re publishing is still relevant. What was true five years ago—or even five weeks ago—may no longer ring true or be applicable for your audience. Consider, for example, the nature of the industry pre- and (hopefully) post-COVID. Statistics and best practices changed fast. Make sure what you’re sharing makes sense for the current situation, otherwise you’ll come across as out of touch. Plus, by keeping content updated, your search engine optimization (SEO) rankings can benefit  

4. Repurpose your content. Sustainability isn’t only important for healthy homes…it’s also integral to managing your content marketing resources. There’s no need to constantly reinvent the wheel. If you’ve put the time, energy and money into creating high-quality, engaging content, it is the height of efficiency to recycle it and let it live on in a different format. Perhaps your team has an on-demand webinar about air quality or building envelope design that’s been particularly successful. There’s no reason you can’t create a blog post or even a podcast covering the same basic topic. Different media styles and platforms appeal to different audiences. If the content is useful, it makes sense to repackage it to reach a wider audience.

5. Prioritize user experience. You can have the most compelling content in the home building industry, but if your customers can’t easily access it, navigate it, or find the details they’re looking for, it’s not going to serve you…or them…well. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, “Well-crafted digital copy that is optimized for search engines is a key ingredient to a good user experience. Not only will this help your web page to rank well for pertinent search terms on Google, but SEO-friendly copy will also give the consumer an informative answer to a question or query in an instant.”

6. Keep content consistent across channels. Providing a uniform message that aligns with your business’s “voice” should be a top priority. HubSpot puts it succinctly: “A viewer should watch one of your YouTube videos and then click a link to a blog post and think, ‘Ah, yes — this is definitely the same company.’ “Your audience wants to know that you walk the walk and talk the talk. Consistent messaging lets your customers know that they can trust your company’s authenticity.”

7. Utilize analytics to track performance. To ensure you’re putting your time, energy and money where they can have the best results for your business’s image and ROI, it’s increasingly important to track what’s working and what’s not. The best content is only as good as its performance. While traffic is an important data point to monitor, a focus on conversion rates will give you the critical input you need, such as which platform is producing the real results. Analytics can also help you “refine and improve your strategy for the future,” according to HubSpot, by identifying the topics or platforms that provide the most robust customer engagement.

8. Think locally. Attract the audience that is most likely to use your service. Since the majority of home building businesses are geographically specific, you’ll want to create and share content that reaches the right audience—and has information that is relevant to the people in that area, whether it’s construction requirements, local building codes and standards, or details about a neighborhood where new construction is on the horizon. Not only will this let potential customers know you understand their needs, it will serve to build trust which, hopefully, will turn into a contract.

When it comes down to it, honing in on what your audience wants and expects from your home building business will be the ultimate guide to providing quality content across platforms to set you up for long-lasting success and profitability.