Over the past 5 years, podcasting has been gaining popularity. It has become widely accepted in the millennial, gen x generations…and pretty much everyone else. Think of a podcast as “on demand education” anywhere, anytime. This easily accessible and portable platform is likely the largest factor contributing to its popularity. The usage trend line has steadily climbed since its inception and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Be advised, this isn’t merely a fad anymore.
In 2013 I was consulting for a brokerage that recently hit Inc. 500. In one of our first sessions the broker owner posed me this question: “How can we provide more value to our agents?” Obviously that’s a very broad question, but I really sat and thought about it. I thought about what was currently providing me value at the time…and all I could think about was listening the next episode of Smart Passive Income, my personal favorite podcast. I knew podcasting provided ME value and I had a strong inkling it would also work in the real estate industry.
So we started a podcast. The results were fast found and ultra clear.
There are many valid reasons to start a podcast. These are my top three reasons why you or your brokerage should consider launching one:
1. Building Podcast Authority
Once you create a podcast you literally are the host of a show distributed on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher. Showcasing your expertise on these three powerhouse networks puts you in a position of authority and thought-leadership. These two aspects are overwhelmingly effective in winning over trust inside of your organization. There are many ways to build authority and position yourself as a thought leader. But creating quality content, consistently is best way to do this.
Becoming a thought leader in your industry doesn’t happen overnight. It takes months of consistency to really start building authority. Just remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
2. Training & Motivation
99% of agents produce a mere one transaction per year, and realtors work on their own time. So, without consistent inspiration to work hard and focus on their business daily they’ll quickly join the ranks of this sorry majority. It’s your job as a broker to motivate your team and keep them hungry. The primary purpose of creating their podcast was to help them train and motivate their agents. Podcasting is the perfect platform for that.
After a few weeks of hosting the new podcast, we started getting feedback on how much the agents loved it. We also heard that even though they loved it they would sometimes forget about it or just not have time to listen to it. That brought me to my next conclusion. The average open rates of sending out an email blast (even to a warm list) can sometimes be around 30%…but text messages have an open rate on average of 98%! So we pivoted their primary agent outreach method to texting.
We would send the agents a text every morning with a podcast episode link to give them their daily dose of inspiration and motivation. To go out there and crush it. This switch from email to text 10x’ed episode downloads because it effectively delivered consistent training and motivation to the entire organization. It even spread to realtors outside of the brokerage, which leads me to the next and final point…
3. Recruiting
Because of the nature of podcasting, anyone can tune in at anytime, and that’s exactly what you want. The goal is to be the #2 brokerage in the minds of your competitors’ agents. Most agents are fairly happy with their current broker, but if you start providing consistent content that helps them grow their own business, your business you will soon become the brokerage they will move to when they DO make a switch. The average agent moves brokerages every 2 years, and being number two is a good thing when this cycle comes.
We also used the podcast as a platform to interview other top agents. Top agents that otherwise would never have sat down with their competition and entertained a pitch on why they should switch over. We were actually able to land a meeting with Joshua Smith from Revisto Real Estate Group.
Joshua is one of the top 1% Agents Worldwide (Rated by the Wall Street Journal) and the host of GSDMode. We used the podcast as means to build a relationship and start a conversation with him. And because of this, within 30 days Joshua made the switch and is now projected to bring in $130 million in revenue for his new brokerage in 2016.
8 out of 10 people who listen to podcasts do so in their car while driving to work.
For agents who are literally driving around all day, they is a particularly susceptible demographic to podcasts. This is a great time to captivate your current and potential agents with inspirational content. On the way to a showing, you may provide an agent with that game-winning insight that lands them their next fat commission check. You may convert this agent sooner that you think, if they aren’t already yours. You’ve also given them the best reason in the world to never leave: You’ve provided unmatched value.