Brand Marketing; With The Real Estate Dude
This right here is probably the most important part of any successful marketing strategy; content. I had an incredibly valuable discussion about marketing in this video interview, with Mike Cuevas. Mike is the CEO and founder of Real Estate Marketing Dude; a company he started in 2015 after moving to San Diego from Chicago. He and his team specialize in, you guessed it, marketing.
ORIGINAL STORY: Link
But specifically, they excel at video content marketing. They conceptualize, script, edit and distribute video content catered to the audience of their clients. They’ve had a lot of fun making some clever videos with the intention of going viral, and teaching companies along the way how to maintain marketing success. We have a very in-depth discussion on the topic of marketing, and how to do it the right way, all the way. We also touch on how and why virtual assistants have been so pivotal to Mike and his team.
All in all, some very valuable lessons are being given away for free here…
STOP CHASING, START ATTRACTING
Marketing is not advertising; in fact, the two are completely different things. Advertising is typically more focused on lead generation, by way of promoting a company often through paid channels.
Marketing is more nuanced and complex, as it’s about identifying customer needs and finding ways to allure them with the promise of meeting those needs. Content creation is an important part of marketing because it itself has multiple movie parts.
MAKE IT
First of all, the content itself needs to fit your target audience in an engaging and effective way. Most people don’t want to feel “sold to”, so sometimes it’s best to put your clever idea before your product. Meaning, if you’re making a commercial, don’t spend the whole time babbling about your product. They already know you want to sell it to them. Instead, stand out by making something clever, original, funny, or thought-provoking.
Humor and heartstrings tend to get the most viral action, so maybe lean into that if you can. Mike makes a good point in the video above when he talks about the metaphor of friends inviting you out for drinks. If they never see or hear from you, are they less likely to remember to invite you the next time they go out? And if you do show up, and spend the whole good time talking about work, are they less likely to invite you next time?
Yes, they are.
You don’t always have to be selling, but you do always have to be demonstrating value. It’s a thin line, but with the right team and the right strategy, you can walk it just fine.
SHIP IT
It’s important to support the content you made, properly. Because it’s not just about making a funny commercial for your product and posting it on Facebook and calling it a day. No matter how good that commercial is, it’ll get lost in a sea of other good commercials if you don’t support it.
Mike and his team prefer to re-post good content repeatedly, on a pre-determined schedule. Mike uses those Bed Bath & Beyond coupons as a great example. I bet you have some in your house as you read this! Now if you decide you need some new towels or a comforter, you’ll probably first think of that store and consider looking there first.
That’s brand saturation, by way of physical mail.
Sure it’s low-tech nowadays, but it’s incredibly effective. The whole purpose of creating content, digital or physical, is to build a brand. And the whole purpose of building a brand is to have a sustainable business. And brand awareness will go a long way towards that sustainability. In fact, Mike breaks down a very clear step-by-step plan for the ideal marketing strategy during the interview. I highly recommend giving it a watch if you want even more juicy tips.
NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR HAIR
One(of many) things that Mike and I agreed on was that chasing perfection is futile. Perfection is the enemy of progress. Meaning it’s a waste of time to stress over perfecting every little detail, like your hair before you get on camera.
What’s more important than perfectly nailing something on the first single try, is just that you tried, repeatedly. You stuck with it. That’s one of the mistakes Mike has seen entrepreneurs make too many times; wasting their time planning instead of just doing.
The second big mistake they often make is not doing enough once they finally start. Too many people think their idea is the next big thing, and they expect it to be overnight. They hit the ground running but when they’re not in the lead as fast as they wanted to be, they stop trying.
The most successful business starters often were very unsuccessful at first. The difference between them and the guy you’ve never heard of is that they kept at it, relentlessly. Believe in your vision and your team will believe in you. Success will follow.
KEY INGREDIENT: VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS
This was probably less a straightforward testimonial and more of a strategy session. But you’re not complaining, right?
Our readers just got some free, top-level marketing advice! Who’s mad at that? Alas, our virtual assistants still played a major role in this story, albeit in the background where real heroes often find themselves.
Mike and his team couldn’t run such a well-oiled marketing machine without the help of several of our virtual assistants. They utilize our proven, remote-working professionals to handle all the nitty-gritty busy work that perpetually needs doing. Thus freeing up Mike and his marketing rockstars to do what they do best; create awesome content and get it out in front of the world for their clients. It’s a winning strategy for not just Mike and his business, but many others we provide marketing VA’s for.
If you believe your company would benefit from one or more virtual assistant professionals, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. This link will let you request a free one-on-one consultation, where we’ll hear you out to better understand your business needs. Then we’ll help come up with a plan for how a virtual professional can help. Because we listen first, then strategize.
Talk to you soon!
