Country clubs are steeped in tradition, and as such are often slow to adapt to online marketing with social media. This is especially true when it comes to embracing new marketing strategies and technologies. Social media marketing can be an effective way to promote your club's real estate offerings.

Out of the 16,000 golf properties that are currently operating in the US, analysts estimate that about 20% will need to close their doors. The majority of these clubs are not excessively charging for use but are considered ‘affordable’ to most of the population. However, their reliance on traditional marketing is hurting their exposure to the modern-day golfing community. Without some change, a significant proportion of golf clubs risks going the way of the dodo.

One of the methods in which golf clubs can increase their chances of survival is switched the focus of their marketing campaign and embrace the more efficient inbound marketing strategies.

Inbound Marketing

There is several methods that are part of inbound marketing that make it useful in selling golf real estate. The important thing to realize is that inbound marketing is more about attracting the potential consumer to the marketing message rather than taking the message to the audience. This generates a higher conversion rate from the audience making the marketing activities more effective.

Website Design

The website of the golf real estate business is the central hub and the main converter of the reader to lead. By using effective landing pages with a clear and concise call to action that takes the audience member to a data capture form that will generate higher numbers of leads.

Most golf clubs and those selling real estate utilize static websites that vary little in content and do not provide information that the target audience want to read. In this day and age of inbound marketing, providing the content for the reader is the main aim. This is all part of the new surge in relationship marketing that is becoming central to the inbound marketing lifecycle.

One of the best ways to provide fresh content on a regular basis that will attract an audience is by building a successful business blog – one which provides help and support to the core audience. Creating the content needn’t be difficult, and the topics that could be covered are endless. By providing content that the reader will feel benefits, their lives will build the relationship. Once the relationship is established it is easier to convert the leads into sales.

Promoting Your Content Online

Something that is often not realized by marketers, especially of Golf courses and those who sell golf real estate, is that the majority of the games played on a course are represented by a small majority. According to the Canadian Golf Consumer Behaviour Survey,

"The game today is both vulnerable and on the cusp of greatness.

• Vulnerable because too large a portion of the playing population is not engaged with the game.
• On the cusp of greatness because you have a vast population of players who play the game even though they’re not engaged.

The opportunity to move some portion of those currently unengaged golfers to engaged status could be a significant breakthrough in the golf industry." 

Therefore, it is just as important to build deeper relationships with the core golfing community as it is to seek a new audience continuously. 

This is where social media can play to your advantage. Social media is one of the key players in inbound marketing and golf real estate sellers should be using it to promote their businesses. This is where the real relationships between seller and buyer can be made and although this strategy can take some time – the conversion rates are higher, the costs are lower, and the long term rewards are much better.

Social Media can perform several roles within the sales cycle - from the attraction of the audience by providing content that will enrich their lives to when the audience share your marketing messages with their peers. By building an actual relationship with the audience the golf real estate owner can truly push their business forward and survive.

It is true that the digital age is changing the world in which we live in and just like anything in nature when faced with environmental changes – businesses need to to survive. If a golf real estate seller does not start to evolve and embrace inbound marketing, then they face extinction – just like the dodos did in the 17th century.

About Michael Conway

I'm the owner and strategist at Means-of-Production. My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one marketing tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition.