Ever since hitting the HGTV scene in 2011, the Property Brothers have been the channel’s top commodity. It’s no wonder because twins Drew and Jonathan Scott deliver that sibling-based witty banter everyone can relate to while doling out how-to intel on home renovation and real-estate issues. So, it only makes sense that today’s marketers can take many a note from the Property Brothers’ key to success when looking for ways to up their content game.
Have Fun
It doesn’t take long watching the HGTV wonder twins doing their real-estate-and-home-renovation thing to see they know how to keep it fun. In all of their shows, which include Property Brothers, Property Brothers: Buying and Selling, and Brother VS Brother, these two bring a healthy dose of levity to the table with good-natured jabs at each other and humor that eases trepidations and lessens stress homeowners appearing on the show may have. It also makes for great TV, as evidenced by the Property Brothers’ position as HGTV’s top talent.
As a marketer, you can learn from this by incorporating fun and humor into your own content. However, be very judicious and let it come organically. No one wants to see that awkward guy walk in who thinks he’s the hit of the party and mistakes cringes, grimaces, nervous giggles, and finger pointing for approval of his forced jokes.
As I mentioned, the Property Brothers’ humor come naturally. Their dynamic as siblings and their natural desire to ease client stress are universally relatable and just plain fun. As a marketer, you would do well to find some natural niche that enables humor to come into your content organically.
Provide Helpful Content
No matter which show the Property Brothers are working on, the premise revolves around providing help. They help beleaguered families solve problems with their home that revolve around renovation or navigating the real estate market. Audiences who tune into these shows also benefit from these lessons by gaining knowledge they can use themselves.
You, dear marketer, should take note of this premise when scrutinizing your own content. If the majority of your existing content is missing that helpful factor, it doesn’t have to be scrapped. Just take the basics and rework it to provide answers to audience questions. From there, begin producing new content that is less sales-pitchy and more, “Here’s some info you can use or solutions to problems you may have.”
Stick to One Voice
I’ve already touched on the fact that the Property Brothers have a handful of shows on HGTV. But these busy guys do a whole lot more, too. They also have Scott Living, a coordinated collection of interior furniture, home decor, and accessories that are available at stores across the nation. Plus, they make ample use of social media by providing more of that previously mentioned helpful content with a nod to Scott Living and their HGTV shows on a variety of platforms. That diversity is expertly tied together with the Property Brothers’ branding and consistent, informative, yet fun voice.
This is something you should strive for with your marketing content. Of course, diversifying is going to mean something different for each organization. It might include anything from incorporating videos that focus on Q&A’s or tutorials to blogs that showcase the company’s good works, just to name a few. But varying your content is a great way to keep things fresh in order to retain and grow your audience.
Connect with Your Audience
One thing the Property Brothers know how to do is connect with their audience. These Scott siblings are active on social media and engage with fans regularly, exchanging jokes and comments, and even asking for audience participation for planned posts. But they also do periodic meet-and-greets in a variety of locations and occasionally host a Sailing with the Scotts cruise for loyal fans.
This should be nothing but pure inspiration for your content strategy. These days, an organization’s ability to endear and connect with its audience is a big key to its success. Using content and social media as tools to cultivate those connections great ways to do just that.
Share the Love
Not only are the Property Brothers generous with their audience, they also share the love with other organizations. They use their platform to tout their support of Habitat for Humanity. Plus, in a periodic web video series in which Jonathan Scott surprises homeowners with his solution to a problem, he incorporates a little product placement collab, which gives attention to a company that otherwise may not get a lot of attention.
Both of these ideas are great inspiration for your content strategy. Spotlighting your organization’s work with a non-profit both showcases their cause and boosts your company’s brand. Then collaborating with complementary businesses gives you both fresh attention.
By combining fun and helpful know-how about the home renovation and real-estate game with a consistent voice across diverse platforms, as well as connecting with their fans and showcasing nonprofits and other organizations, the Property Brothers have cemented their place as HGTV’s top talent. Their efforts should inspire your own efforts to overhaul your content strategies.
Cathy H has years of well-rounded experience in the writing field. Since transitioning from the newspaper industry, she has written countless pieces for clients that include content for blogs/articles, website landing pages, apps, press releases, and email newsletters. While her versatility enables Cathy to adapt her tone to the need, her favorite projects are those that add a dash of fun.
