What Is Content Marketing?

Joel Conner • July 24, 2019

If you are curious about how relevant, helpful, original media makes a difference for business' marketing efforts, you are in the right place. Read on my friends...

Content marketing is one of the oldest marketing methods, going back to at least the 18th century. Businesses used to release pamphlets containing beneficial information about their products.
The words in pamphlets were very similar to what you see on blogs and landing pages.
While the medium may have changed, the concept remains the same. You use content to build trust and develop a stronger relationship with potential customers.

Deliver Relevant & Useful

Marketers define content marketing as a value-based approach focused on the creation of helpful and relevant media to help connect with and form a relationship with a specific demographic.
With content marketing, you are providing helpful information to your website visitors in the hopes that they will come back to discover additional useful information. You nurture your sales leads through the delivery of content. This relevant information is also logged by search engines. If it is original enough, then your domain gets credit for it.

Why Should You Use Content for Marketing?

Content marketing provides one of the most effective ways to target your audience, promote a brand, or reach new markets.
Most people searching for things on the Internet are not ready to make a purchase. They want to find information or compare their options. Generating original content helps you provide the information that they seek.

The typical buying process does not occur instantly. Visitors arrive on your site, view your information, and then leave without making a purchase. Without helpful content, these visitors have no reason to come back to your site.
Creating content also boosts online visibility. When you add content to your domain, you provide search engines with more pages to crawl and index. As these pages start to appear in organic search results, you attract more visitors to your site.

Over time, adding content boosts your search engine optimization (SEO), bringing you more traffic and more potential visitors. But in order for this to happen, you have to understand how search engines use keywords as a part of its algorithm for determining the placement of your page in the search results. We have a handy article that explains this foundational part of your digital marketing efforts here: How To Pick The Right Keywords For Your Content Marketing.
Your content also provides visitors with something to share with their friends, family, and coworkers. When people start sharing links to your content on social media and other platforms, you increase your online exposure.
Content drives SEO, website traffic, and customer acquisition, making it an essential component of any marketing strategy.

Understanding the Formula for Quality Content

Content marketing is not the same as advertising. You are not writing sales copy that focuses on trying to make an immediate sale of a product or service, however, that could happen with an appropriately placed call to action button. The content that you create needs to provide real value to your visitors.
Many marketing experts stick to a time-tested formula for generating effective content:
● Introduce a pain point that your product or service addresses.
● Let the readers know that you understand their pain.
● Present a solution to the problem without an overt sales pitch.

Most content starts out by addressing a common problem that a specific target audience faces. For example, if you sell vacuum cleaners, you may address the issue of vacuums losing suction power.

What is Content Marketing Info-graphic Thumbnail

After introducing the problem, you then discuss it. Break down the pain points into several issues, helping to agitate the reader while also letting the reader know that you understand the problem.

You then present your solution, which typically involves the features provided by your product or service.

Throughout the content, it is important to focus on valuable information. Instead of hyping a product or service, you are giving readers a real solution to their problem.

Most Common Content Delivery Methods

Besides creating quality information, you need to choose the right platform to deliver it. The most common option is to post your amazing media on your own website.

Adding blog posts to your site helps create a catalog of helpful content for visitors to discover. As mentioned, these articles also boost SEO and organic search traffic.

Solutions for delivering your content include:
● Blogging
● YouTube
● Podcasts
● Social media posts
● Downloadable PDFs
● White papers
● Email newsletters

It helps to choose a method that appeals to your target audience.  For example, white papers help you reach corporate clients that may require detailed information about a product or service. When targeting young shoppers, you may rely on social media posts or YouTube.

Using Content Mapping for Sales Funnels
Content marketing helps bring people to your website but it may not always bring them back.
Fewer than 2% of the people that visit your site are ready to complete an action such as making a purchase or contacting your business. The other 98% of your visitors leave without performing any action. Sales funnels provide a way to retain these potential customers.

The top of the funnel includes your general website visitors. You attract these visitors with no-risk or low-risk offers.
No-risk offers require no registration. Examples include blog articles or YouTube videos. Low-risk offers require visitors to register with their emails, giving you a way to continue delivering content.

After the initial discovery phase, you provide visitors with helpful content. Using email newsletters, testimonials, and free trials or demos, you build trust and keep people coming back to your site.
Each time that potential customers read your content, you move them further along your sales funnel. The bottom of the funnel includes visitors that are ready to make a purchase.

Sales funnels become more effective when you use content mapping to tailor the content to their journey. Focus on three basic stages of the funnel:
● Awareness stage
● Consideration stage
● Decision stage
Initial visitors may not want detailed information about your products or services. They often simply want basic info to start exploring their options. This is the awareness stage. You target these visitors with blog posts and other types of web content.

During the consideration stage, you increase the depth of the content. You may use email newsletters, downloadable guides, or webinars to help with the consideration stage. However, you also require email registration to capture their contact info.

For the decision stage, you rely on phone consultations, contact form inquiries, or emails to help complete the process and acquire a new customer.

Conclusion: Content Marketing Grows Your Domain Authority & Helps You Attract Customers

Consumers are smarter than most businesses give them credit for. People want to research products or services before making a purchase. However, the main purpose, in my humble opinion, is that content marketing builds up one of the only online assets that a business owns: their domain. You don’t own your Facebook page or even your YouTube channel, but you do own your domain. 

For more about building your domain authority, check out this handy article from moz.com: How Do I Improve My Domain Authority?

With content marketing, you help the visitors on your website to make informed decisions. You can also utilize effective techniques such as sales funnels to nurture your leads and keep people coming back to your site.
If you struggle to convert website visitors through other marketing or advertising techniques, focus on the creation of informative content.
Here are some other great resources on understanding this subject:
What is Content Marketing? by the Content Marketing Institute.
What is Content Marketing? by Josh Steimle of Forbes.com

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By Joel Conner February 2, 2026
If you’re a real estate agent or broker, you’ve probably heard of Go High Level. You may even know it’s “powerful” and “can run your whole business” — but when you log in, it feels like a cockpit. Dozens of features, endless menus, and no clear roadmap for what you actually need to use. The good news: as a real estate professional, you don’t need everything. You just need a few core pieces set up correctly: A simple pipeline that matches how you work Automated follow-up so no lead slips through the cracks Smart tagging and routing so leads go to the right place Appointment reminders that reduce no‑shows Easy open house and offer follow-ups Basic dashboards so you can see what’s working In this guide, we’ll walk through how to set up Go High Level for a real estate business step by step — and how to use it without getting buried in complexity. Why Go High Level Is a Good Fit for Real Estate Go High Level (often written as GoHighLevel or GHL) is an all‑in‑one platform that can: Capture leads from forms, funnels, and ads Store and organize contacts like a CRM Automate follow‑ups via email, SMS, and even ringless voicemail Track deals in pipelines Book and manage appointments Build simple landing pages and funnels For real estate agents and brokers, that means you can: Respond instantly to new leads Keep track of buyers and sellers by stage and property Follow up after open houses Send appointment reminders automatically Stay on top of which leads came from where You don’t have to use every feature. If you focus on a handful of essentials, you’ll get real value quickly — and you can grow from there. Step 1: Start With a Real Estate Sub‑Account and Snapshot Go High Level lets you create sub accounts — essentially separate spaces for each business. If you’re just getting started: Go to your Agency account. Click Sub accounts in the left menu. Click Create sub account . Search for Real Estate snapshots. You’ll see options like: Real Estate Agent Real Estate Broker Pick the one that matches you best. These snapshots come preloaded with: Real estate pipelines Basic automations Landing page templates Then: Add your business information (address, name, etc.). Click Add sub account . Switch into it with Switch to sub account . This gives you a solid starting point tailored to real estate rather than a blank, generic setup. Step 2: Build a Pipeline That Matches Your Real Estate Workflow Your pipeline is where you visually track deals from “new lead” to “closed.” The real estate snapshot usually includes a default pipeline with stages like: New lead Hot lead New booking Visit attended Deal Left a review You can keep this, or you can create your own so it reflects how you actually work. How to Create a Custom Pipeline Go to Opportunities . Click Pipelines . Click Create pipeline . For a buyer pipeline , for example, you might set stages like: New lead Contacted Appointment set Showing Offer made Closed For a seller pipeline , you could have: New listing Photos taken On market Offer received Sold Name the pipeline and click Create . Then, in the top left, switch to your new pipeline to start using it. Tip: If you work with both buyers and sellers, create separate pipelines. It keeps your view clean and makes follow‑up easier. Step 3: Automate Lead Follow‑Up So You Respond Instantly This is where Go High Level really shines. Most agents lose business not because they don’t get leads — but because they don’t follow up quickly or consistently. With Go High Level, you can create workflows that: Trigger when a new lead comes in Send an immediate SMS and/or email Add the lead to a pipeline Assign it to an agent Continue nurturing over days or weeks Start with a Simple New Lead Workflow Go to Automations → Workflows . Click Create workflow → Start from scratch (or use “New Lead Nurture – Fast 5” as a base). Add a trigger , such as: Form submitted (for website or funnel forms) Facebook lead form submitted TikTok form submitted LinkedIn lead form submitted New contact created Appointment booked If you’re using a standard Go High Level form, choose: Trigger: Form submitted Filter: Form is [Your Buyer/Seller Form] Once you’ve set your trigger, add actions like: Create/Update Contact – to ensure the lead is saved properly Add to Pipeline – put them into the “New lead” stage of your buyer or seller pipeline Send SMS – something friendly and immediate, like: “Hi {{contact.first_name}}, thanks for reaching out about homes in {{location}}. Would you like to schedule a quick call to talk about what you’re looking for?” Send Email – a slightly more detailed introduction and next steps Wait steps and If/Else conditions – for follow‑ups based on whether they reply You can also use the prebuilt New Lead Nurture (Fast 5) workflow in Go High Level. It typically: Triggers when someone submits an offer form or Facebook lead form Creates a new opportunity in the New lead stage Sends a conversational email and SMS Waits for replies Moves leads to Hot lead if they reply Triggers call connect actions This is a great starting point if you don’t want to build from scratch. Step 4: Auto‑Tag and Route Your Leads for Better Organization Once leads are flowing in, you want them automatically: Tagged (e.g., buyer, seller, rental, luxury, open house) Routed to the right pipeline and agent This keeps your database clean and makes it easy to run targeted follow‑ups. Tagging Leads Based on Forms and Sources Say you have different forms: Buyer form Seller form Open house form Free home valuation form You can: Use a trigger like Form submitted or Facebook lead form submitted . Filter by specific form. Add an action: Add contact tag . Useful tags might include: Buyer / Seller Rental Luxury listing Came from Facebook Came from Google Open house – 123 Main St Free home valuation With these tags in place, you can quickly filter contacts, build targeted campaigns, or trigger routing automations. Routing Leads to the Right Agent You can also route leads based on tags. Example: all Buyer leads go to your buyer’s agent. Create a new workflow with trigger Contact tag . Filter: Tag added is Buyer. Add action: Assign to user . Choose the agent responsible for buyer leads. You can set up similar workflows for sellers, rentals, or specific property types or locations. This way: Facebook buyer leads go straight into your buyer pipeline Seller leads go to your listing pipeline Agents see only the leads they’re responsible for No manual sorting. Less confusion. Faster response times. Step 5: Set Up Appointment Reminders to Reduce No‑Shows Once you’re booking showings and consultation calls, appointment reminders can dramatically reduce no‑shows. Create a Calendar in Go High Level Go to Calendars → Calendar settings . Click New calendar . Choose the calendar type: Personal booking – for one agent Round robin – for multiple team members Class booking – useful if you want a “group” appointment (e.g., open house time slots) Name the calendar (e.g., “Buyer Consultation,” “Listing Appointment,” “Property Showing”). Add team members if using round robin. Set: Meeting duration Bookable times Buffer times between appointments Then, connect it to your personal calendar: Go to Connections Click Add new Connect Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud, or Calendly Now, when someone books through this calendar, it automatically shows up in your personal calendar. Use Automated Confirmation and Reminder Workflows Go High Level usually includes a workflow like “Appointment Confirmation and Reminders.” This can: Trigger when an appointment is confirmed Update the opportunity stage to something like Appointment set Send a confirmation email: “Hi {{contact.first_name}}, your appointment has been confirmed for {{appointment.start_date}} at {{appointment.start_time}} {{appointment.time_zone}}.” Send reminder emails: 24 hours before 1 hour before Send SMS reminders (e.g., 1 hour before) If someone doesn’t show, another workflow can trigger on Appointment status: No show and: Send a link to reschedule Follow up again after a day This combination keeps your calendar fuller and minimizes missed opportunities. Step 6: Automate Open House Follow‑Ups Open houses are great for collecting warm leads — but those leads often go cold if you don’t follow up quickly and consistently. Go High Level makes it easy to: Capture visitor info Tag them based on the specific open house Send personalized follow-ups with similar listings or next steps Create a Simple Open House Form Go to Sites → Forms → Form builder . Build a form that collects: Name Email Phone What they’re looking for (beds, baths, budget, area) You can use this: On a tablet at the open house As a QR code link (visitors scan and fill it out on their phone) Embedded on your website As part of your Facebook lead ad form that’s integrated into Go High Level Automate the Follow-Up Use a Form submitted trigger for your open house form. Add an action to Add contact tag , e.g.: Open house – 123 Main St. Add actions to: Send an immediate “Thanks for stopping by” email or SMS Include links to similar listings or next steps Add them to a Warm leads pipeline Set reminders for follow‑up calls or texts Example SMS: “Hi {{contact.first_name}}, thanks for visiting the open house at 123 Main St today. I’ve got a few similar properties you might like — want me to send them over?” This simple automation helps you stay top‑of‑mind and turn casual open house visitors into real opportunities. Step 7: Use Dashboards to See What’s Working (and Fix What Isn’t) Once everything is up and running, you don’t want to guess how it’s performing. Check your Dashboard or Reports in Go High Level regularly (weekly works well). You can see: How many leads are coming in Which sources (Facebook, Google, website, open houses) are performing best How many leads are moving from stage to stage in your pipeline Where deals tend to get stuck From there, make small tweaks like: Adjusting the delay between follow‑up messages Refining your SMS and email templates Changing which tags trigger which workflows Fine‑tuning your pipelines or reminders Often, small improvements in timing or messaging can significantly boost your response rates and conversions. Bonus: Simple Funnels and Offers for Real Estate You don’t need complex funnels to generate leads. Go High Level snapshots for real estate often come with ready‑made pages like: Free home valuation offer Home buying consultation Seller consultation For example, you could: Run Facebook ads to a free home valuation landing page Collect details through a form Tag those leads as Free home valuation Trigger an automation that: Reminds you to prepare the valuation Sends a follow‑up message to schedule a consultation Adds them to a seller pipeline This turns a simple offer into a structured system that consistently feeds your business. Keep It Simple, Then Grow Go High Level has dozens of features — social planners, reputation management, and more — but you don’t need all of them on day one. If you’re a real estate agent or broker, start with: A buyer and/or seller pipeline New lead follow‑up workflows (email + SMS) Tagging and routing rules Appointment calendars and reminders Open house follow‑up Basic dashboard checks Once those are in place and working, you can gradually add: Social media scheduling Review generation (reputation management) More advanced campaigns and funnels The goal isn’t to use every feature — it’s to build a system that quietly saves you hours each week and helps you close more deals.  Need Help Setting This Up? If you’d like to use Go High Level (or any CRM/automation system) but don’t have the time or desire to configure it yourself, Blue Swing Media can help. We work with small businesses and local service providers — including real estate professionals — to: Set up practical, easy‑to‑use pipelines Build automated follow‑ups that feel personal, not spammy Connect your website, ads, and forms so every lead is tracked Create landing pages and offers that actually convert If you want a real estate system that runs smoothly in the background while you focus on serving clients, reach out to Blue Swing Media. We’ll help you implement the strategies in this guide and tailor them to your business, your market, and your goals.
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