Does Your Content Pass the 3-Second Rule?

Google’s report, “The Need for Mobile Speed“, found that 53% of visitors will leave a mobile webpage if it doesn’t load within three seconds. Amazon has calculated that one second of load lag time would cost the company $1.6 billion in sales per year. Facebook’s own data found that its users spend an average of 1.7 seconds on a piece of content on a mobile device, compared to 2.5 seconds on desktop.

Based on this data, we can assume two things:

1. Most people aren’t willing to wait for the information they need.
2. When that content is available, they’re either looking at it very briefly (especially on mobile) or they moved on to the next thing because they couldn’t find what they’re looking for.

So what does that mean for real estate agents looking to establish their personal brand, agents wishing to optimize their marketing materials, or even just anyone who wants to communicate more effectively to an increasingly impatient audience?

We do what the biggest tech companies are so good at doing: we give the users the information they want, fast.

Be honest, can a reader figure who you are and what you offer in three seconds or less? Take a look at your online content, print materials or anything in between and ask yourself the following three questions:

IS IT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR WHAT I DO?

Make your name, title, company or anything that signals “this is me!” obvious. How can clients contact you? Where are you located? Do you focus on upscale properties? Etcetera, etcetera.

Don’t depend on clients to flip through pages, watch until the end of a video or click around your website to figure out who you are and who you do it for. If this information isn’t front, center and crystal clear, they’re not going to keep looking, they’ll just move on.

IS IT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR WHAT I OFFER?

When communicating your unique services and all the ways it can benefit clients, use shorter sentences, reduce industry jargon and stay on topic. Use bullet points or condense your ideas. Interested readers will still want to read up on the details, but the point is to make that information easy to find.

IS IT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR WHY I’M INTERESTING?  

Know your market and know your clients. This isn’t the time to produce content that appeals to everyone (aka generic), this is content that targets what your clients find most compelling. Lean into what makes “you” uniquely you and run with it. Being authentic encourages readers to connect with you and helps make a lasting impression.

This all sounds great, but what if I don’t have the time?

It’s OK, because the products that Anywhere brands offer to support affiliated agents are produced by a team trained and experienced in creating marketing and engagement materials that already ask these three crucial questions.

In fact, many top real estate agents prefer to use The Studio's Design Concierge service. It’s an easy and affordable way to create all types of personal branding materials that help you stand out from the competition. Available in packages or à la carte, Design Concierge offers logos, advertising, business cards, flyers, personal brochures, listing presentations and more.

You can rest assured that your materials will not only look great, they’ll be thoroughly checked to keep you compliant with state rules and industry regulations too.

So whether you use Design Concierge or tackle your content audit yourself, you can win the battle for audience attention. Your chances of holding your readers’ interest go up the sooner you give them the information they want – just make sure they get it within three seconds or less.