I’m happy and excited to introduce Ubertor’s newest Platinum Approved Vendor – Gravytrain. I had the opportunity to sit down with Gravytrain’s founder Erik MacKinnon to discuss the focus of their company, and where they see Real Estate and technology headed in 2014.
The details of our conversation are below…
1. Who is Gravytrain and what does your team do?
Gravytrain is a content development and marketing company based in Vancouver, BC. The company was initially founded as a lead generation shop in 2009, but we quickly discovered that our core competency was in producing the written content – webpages, blog posts, media releases, eBooks, and more – that helps our clients generate inbound visitor traffic and thus, new leads.
For the past two years we’ve been solely focused on one thing: building out our clients’ web properties by producing top-quality content at an affordable price.
2. What is “Content Marketing” and why is it important for Real Estate agents?
Content marketing is somewhat of a new term for a practice that has been in use for a very long time. Basically it just means creating and sharing some form of media with the goal of attracting new prospects and converting them into clients. For most Real Estate agents, their web properties are their most important piece of marketing collateral – yet many agents just put their website up and pray that visitors will find it. That mentality doesn’t work, and is akin to praying that bus bench ads will deliver that next great client.
At Gravytrain we believe that content marketing is the best way to target specific visitor demographics which will then land on your website where they can be converted into a lead and a future buyer or seller. All great agents know that it can take a handful or even dozens of “touch points” before a lead is ready to make a purchase or sell their house. Content marketing allows us to capture those individuals and get them onto an email list so they can be kept ‘warm’ and regularly reminded that when it’s time, they already have a top agent ready to serve them.
3. What is the Gravytrain team excited about in 2014?
Aside from working with Ubertor and your family of happy Real Estate clients? We have a ton on the go, including a full rebrand, a massive new website with a lot more in-depth information about content marketing, a recurring webinar series regarding Real Estate marketing, and more. 2014 is going to be one heck of a year.
4. Where do you see Real Estate and technology heading in the future?
We’re of the belief that things will continue to “go mobile”, and we’re always working to build on that trait to increase our value to our Real Estate clients. For example – why not develop an iPad magazine that profiles your new listings on a regular basis along with high-quality imagery and video walkthroughs? What about creating a local Instagram feed that highlights all of the great new homes that have come on the market in your area – even ones that are being worked on by other agents? Every day a new app or new method of spreading information pops up, and it’s great to tinker with these and to see how they can be used to build an agent’s personal / company brand.
5. Are there any accomplishments your team is proud of and want to share with our readers?
Thanks for asking. I’m not much for tooting our own horn but myself and Gravytrain were lucky enough to be awarded the 2013 British Columbia Student Entrepreneur of the Year. We’ve been profiled here and there in various media outlets but to be recognized for your work in that regard was very special.
If you’re looking for world class content for your Ubertor Real Estate website, do check out Erik and his team. You can find their details here.
As always, if you need a hand with anything, reach out to our talented Approved Vendors, or connect with our team.