SmartZip has been a hot company in the software world recently.
The company uses big data to help real estate agents to find the best potential clients.
I know where I live that real estate agents are always looking for ways to connect with people that will potentially sell their homes and other real estate. I bet it costs a lot to run those mailers and ads all the time without being able to really know for sure if you’re reaching the right people.
That’s where SmartZip comes in. They look at all kinds of data (big data) and help agents in specific areas to find the people most likely to sell so they can market only to those people.
It sounds great, but as you know we’re going to look at their blogging strategy, which I think is really good. It’s another example of what companies in just about any industry can do to create a great blogging strategy.
1. Frequency: 2 Posts Per Week
From the looks of the last few months it looks like SmartZip has been publishing a new post at a rate of about 2 posts per week or about 8 per month.
I don’t think there is a set schedule, but 8 posts or so per month is a great frequency. Studies have shown and our experience has also shown that the more you blog the more traffic you’ll get and the sooner you’ll get that traffic.
But it’s still a balance. You want to provide information your readers find interesting and helpful for the questions they have. And often for a business that’s about 1-3 posts per week.
So SmartZip is on a great schedule from that standpoint. We usually recommend at least 1 post per week to start, but we have clients that do multiple per week and others that do every other week.
Our biggest key is keeping it consistent so posting every Monday or every Monday and Wednesday.
2. Strategy: Housing Data, Sellers, Future Of The Market
Right at the top of the blog they have an overview of the main content they’ll share in the posts. This is a really good idea. You can always branch out, but most of your blog visitors will be new. They’ll find a post via search or click on a link shared on social media.
If that first article pulls them in they’ll click on the blog page and look for more. They can see this overview and get a good feel for the content and maybe subscribe.
But even more than that is the point of honing in on the type of posts you want to write. And it’s not necessarily types of posts, but themes and topics.
We always look for questions the target readers are asking and we answer those questions. Data and looking at trends and the future are always important for just about every industry so SmartZip is doing it right.
3. Data And Infographics
So SmartZip is a data company and if you’ve read pasts analysis posts you know I say that companies like this have a huge opportunity to compile interesting data for their readers.
SmartZip is doing that with a few of their posts including this one. It’s a post on where people are likely to be starting over in the US. That would be useful for agents. Unfortunately, divorces happen, but that usually means selling assets and homes. Agents can help make a tough process a little easier.
If you have any data even from something like a survey of your clients (keep it anonymous) you can really provide something valuable for your current clients and potential clients.
And turning it into an infographic is smart. Those have been popular and they’re pretty easy for people to share, save, etc.
4. List Of Tools
Here we have a post with a list of apps or tools for agents.
We do these types of posts for clients and get good response. When you list tools like this those tools like to re-share your posts. People like when you include them in lists and mention them.
And SmartZip did a great job with adding screenshots to make the post look appealing. It’s a good post that is both valuable to the readers (who doesn’t love apps?) and it can encourage sharing, which expands the potential audience.
These types of posts are great for growing your blog.
5. Title Tags
One thing I noticed and this just isn’t a blog thing is the title tags on SmartZip. All the title tags are the same at least at the time I’m looking at this.
What you’re looking for with titles tags in terms of the blog is to usually use the title from the post. I’ve toyed around with having one title and then a different title tag, but I’ve had the best success with using the title of the post.
You could add the brand name, which in this case would be SmartZip at the end. I think that’s a good thing. But you wouldn’t need to. You only have about 60 characters anyway.
Final Thoughts
SmartZip is really doing a great job with their blog. They have a great frequency and they obviously started out with a great strategy. And the posts they’re sharing are valuable and I can see why they’re recognized as a fast growing company.
Hopefully looking at their blog can inspire you for your business blog.