This blog post was written by and originally featured by PropLogix and is republished here with permission.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or already have marketing in place at your title company, there are major trends to notice in the year ahead, regardless of the industry. At the intersection of the internet and marketing is an ever-changing environment where you can connect with your consumers, but it’s challenging to keep up with those advancements.
There are many aspects of marketing to consider when attempting to market your services in the year 2022, but understanding your audience is the first step in that journey. It’s easy to get overwhelmed along the way as you formulate a plan of action, so don’t get caught in “paralysis by analysis,” as Dean Collura of Title Tap puts it. Start slowly and go from there.
Once you’ve understood your audience clearly, start with simple attempts to make your marketing speak to them effectively. This can be short videos, educational blog posts, or simply focusing on your website to get your message across. The larger your company, the more likely you will have disposable resources available to master marketing, but it is possible for companies of all sizes.
Meet Our Presenters
We spoke with Dean Collura, the CEO of Title Tap, for his marketing expertise. Title Tap is a provider of customized marketing solutions for title companies, including web design, online reviews, video or blog content, social media marketing, and more. He carries 17 years of experience as a real estate agent and ten years in the title industry doing the work of a processor, closer, manager, and marketer.
Our Director of Communications, Lindsey Gordon, also joined him to offer her thoughts based on her experience. She has over 11 years of experience in television and news reporting and almost seven years of experience in marketing the services that PropLogix offers to title companies.
TOP TRENDS IN 2022 FOR MARKETING YOUR TITLE BUSINESS
- Technology use is a big selling point
- Utilizing more video content to connect with people
- Educational content will be the top priority
- Websites are becoming a tool for experimentation
- Using data analytics to understand your users
TALK TECHNOLOGY TO STAY COMPETITIVE
In the world of title, it’s easy to talk about offering the best service among your competitors, but it’s also the same thing every other company is saying. Your marketing needs to highlight the technology you are integrating with your services to stay competitive.
As was the case before, marketing is about highlighting what makes your company stand out among competitors, and technology is the perfect avenue for that right now. The pandemic forced many title companies to adapt to the remote environment quickly. Now is the moment to play catch up and spotlight the technology, so customers know you’re staying ahead of the game.
Technologies to highlight:
- RON capabilities
- Software integrations
- Online payment options
- Chatbot customer service
- Automated communications
Understand Your Audience’s Pain Points
Customers have specific needs when it comes to technology, though. They want title companies to answer questions quickly, integrate with their current processes, and reduce errors through improved communications. Those needs are easily translated from the pain points they experience daily, and your marketing should showcase how your company alleviates them from experiencing that.
“You’re taking operational efficiencies and converting them now into marketing.” – Dean Collura
Another critical element in your marketing efforts is staying more connected with your operations teams. It allows you to consistently gather insight into the customer journey from start to finish. Knowing how your customers interact with your company can highlight areas for improvement and ways in which your company already provides an excellent level of service.
USE VIDEOS TO MAKE INFORMATION DIGESTIBLE
It’s no secret that we’ve become a society that prefers quick-to-digest, visual presentations of information. Video content is simply more engaging and natural for us to connect with because humans on the other side of the camera showcase body language, emotion, and more. Whether it’s an Instagram reel, TikTok, or a simple video on your Facebook feed, it grabs your attention more than an image or text.
“The emotional connection is there versus trying to read it in black and white.” – Dean Collura
It’s effective in ensuring that a message is absorbed, too. In fact, viewers retain 95% of a message when watching a video instead of just 10% of that same message through reading text. However, it can be daunting to tap into our creative sides for video content.
Start Slowly
Despite how challenging it may seem, there is a myriad of ways to approach video creation, and much of them are based on the content you may have already created. And as far as equipment goes, a simple webcam or smartphone camera paired with the right natural lighting can really do the trick, too. These videos can be used as standalone, supplements to your blogs or landing pages, and shared across social media by using a common platform to upload them on (like YouTube).
Tips and tricks for video content:
- Repurpose what you already have instead of trying to start from scratch.
- Find the right length – usually under a minute. Attention spans are short.
- Concentrate on good lighting and audio that is clear – no fancy equipment or heavily produced, inauthentic videos needed.
- Try focusing on FAQs so that your staff spends less time answering those questions over the phone or email.
— Read more about the types of videos your company can create here.
BUILD TRUST BY EDUCATING YOUR AUDIENCE
Remember the days of catchy jingles and loud colors or messages that evoked an instant reaction? Those days are over. The way to connect with your audience and build up a customer base is by creating rapport with them. This happens through thoughtful pieces of content that answer their questions, educate them on industry topics, and allow them to learn naturally about your services.
Yes, there are still ways to pay for advertisements on websites, but it’s more economical and long-lasting to create evergreen content that will continue to yield results over time. Additionally, a person is more likely to move forward with your company if they feel a level of trust rather than being bombarded with unwanted messages and urgency to “act now for this offer.”
Customers Ask Questions, You Answer Them
As mentioned earlier with videos, a good starting point for creating any content is to answer customers’ questions. Search engines have directed this shift in marketing because they put articles and information at the top of search results when it’s answering the user’s search query. The more specific your content is, the more likely it’ll show up too.
Another good way to approach this strategy is to focus on a particular market, a subset of the industry, or a popular topic that has come to light. Breaking away from general messaging will help your content stand out. You can utilize your website to showcase this information or platforms like LinkedIn, where more people are coming for the latest news related to their industry.
EXPERIMENT THROUGH YOUR WEBSITE
Websites are nothing new, but they will be a perfect place to experiment with content and make it more effective in the coming year. When designing a website, there are several things to consider. The most important one is that every page should have a defined purpose. This should be your focus from the start, and the content should then be added to support this purpose.
Think of what the call-to-action or CTA will be on each page? Are you trying to have them place an order, contact a company representative, or read more about your services? Are they going to be confused in this journey? These are some of the questions to consider when designing your landing pages and supporting them with videos and images.
Three trends in website creation:
- Minimalist design, large buttons, and less spam
- Personalized content based on users’ past interactions
- Huan-like chatbots to answer questions
Chatbots and virtual assistants are something that every company should consider when designing a website. They’re there to help answer questions, update customers on their file status, and more. It’s essential to understand the technology and if it’s the right fit for your business, though. Customers may not always engage with a chatbot, but it presents another option for them when visiting your website.
LEVERAGE DATA ANALYTICS TO SUCCEED
It’s not enough to simply create a website in today’s marketing world – you have to collect data from it, too. Data analytics have become much easier to view and manage through tools like Google Analytics, HotJar, and more. As third-party cookies are slowly going away, it’s ever the more important to collect real-time data on your customers when they’re visiting your website. These data analytics tools help you understand one thing: your user’s journey.
Aspects to understanding a user’s journey:
- Where they’re going on your website
- What they’re spending time dwelling on
- What makes them click a link or button
Hotjar even offers heat mapping so you can watch anonymous users as they visit your website. The data can be leveraged to make intelligent decisions about the copy you present on your website, if your website is clear and concise, and whether or not your content is engaging people in the way you anticipate. Again, if your landing page has a call to action on it, but the user has a hard time finding it, then it’s something you should recalibrate.
CUSTOMER-CENTRIC MARKETING IN 2022
Whether you’re working on a video, tuning your website, or writing an article on an industry topic, a common thread weaves through all your content – your customer. This doesn’t simply mean grabbing their attention, but rather understanding their pain points, answering their questions, and knowing what makes them tick.
The more you can alleviate their pain points, educate them, build trust, and create content that speaks to their unique needs, the more likely you will succeed in having them as a customer.
In the upcoming year, an opportunity is present for title companies to hone in on their use of the latest technology within marketing. It’s a more effective strategy to create relationships in the remote or semi-remote world we’re living in today.
Are you a Title Company or Law Firm that needs help with your digital marketing? Request a free demo to learn if TitleTap can help you.