Top performing real estate agents know how essential real estate branding ideas are in building a successful business. In this day and age, any prospective client will probably look you up online before hiring you.
Knowing how to best articulate and publicize your personal brand, and why someone should hire you, is key to keeping current clients happy and winning the business of new ones.
Whether you are aware of it or not, everything you do is contributing to your real estate brand in the eyes of your clients, prospective clients and colleagues. It’s much better to be proactive in defining one’s brand, rather than having it unconsciously develop without any thought or planning. Here are seven real estate branding ideas.
1. Establish Your Brand
What sets you apart from the crowd?
Real estate is one of the most competitive industries around. It’s incredibly important to be able to differentiate yourself from rest of the crowd. One approach some real estate agents use is to highlight their personal achievements. An example is touting the number of transactions completed in a specific neighborhood. Others reference additional credentials including law degrees, MBAs and relevant certifications.
If you grew-up in the same city where you are selling real estate, be sure to let people know. Clients appreciate local insight, particularly if they are moving from somewhere else.
Developing phrases that best represent your experience is a good place to start. Luxury family home authority, high-rise living expert, vacation home specialist, “green” real estate agent and condo specialist are a few examples.
2. Know Your Target Market
Understanding who you are selling to, or want to be selling to, is another one of the important real estate branding ideas. Are most of your clients single, families with young children or empty-nesters? Each group has different requirements and preferred methods of communications. Millennials may only want to “speak” with you via text. Clients over 60 may prefer to discuss details live on the phone.
3. Understand the Competition
Low interest rates and hot real estate markets in many cities are producing record numbers of buyers and sellers, and lots of competition. The most successful real estate agents spend time thoroughly analyzing the competition. They want to figure out how to best differentiate themselves and offer superior service. Looking for niches that others haven’t found and capitalizing on them is another real estate branding ideas.
4. Get Personal
Getting personal and emotional can be an important component in building your brand. Taking the time to understand your client’s individual situation can provide valuable insight into what motivates their decision-making process. It may also help you better identify what types of properties will most appeal to them. Sharing your own house hunting and selling experiences can also be a way to better bond with clients.
5. Be An Expert
Clients appreciate, expect and reward expertise. It can take awhile to completely understand all the steps in a real estate transaction, what can go wrong and the best way to navigate sticky situations. If you are just starting out, put in the extra time and do your research. Talking to experienced agents is a great way to pick-up helpful tips. Learning as much as you can about the neighborhood(s) on which you are focusing will pay off in the long run.
6. Develop a Marketing Plan and Stick to It
The right marketing plan is essential and a critical component of real estate branding ideas. Sticking to it is equally important. Social media, email marketing and direct mail are three important ingredients in creating your marketing plan.
Social media – less can be more It is not necessary to be on every single social medium platform. It is better to pick a few and consistently post quality content. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are some top options, but also know your target market. If you want to pursue a group of potential clients who spend a lot of time on Instagram, adjust your marketing plan accordingly.
Email marketing can be a particularly effective way to communicate and stay in touch with old clients. However, you don’t want to overload people with too many emails and be irritating. Well-written emails that provide helpful information, such as quarterly market updates can be useful tools in keeping the attention of former clients and drawing in new ones.
Direct mail can be another differentiator among realtors. It not free like social media and email, so be conscious of the cost. Marketing pieces with information about homes recently sold in the area can be very compelling. Who doesn’t want to know what the new neighbors paid for their home?
A bonus marketing tip is to consider investing in a website. There are many options that are affordable and a website can be an efficient way to consolidate your marketing efforts.
7. Regularly Interact With Your Audience
Regular interaction with clients and prospective clients goes hand and hand with sticking to your marketing plan. It is another important real estate branding idea. People need to consistently hear from you in the form of valuable content so when they have real estate needs, you are top of mind. Silly tweets and facebook posts do not count. You want people to look forward to hearing from you not be irritated when they see your email in their inbox.
8. Focus on Relationships for Real Estate Branding Ideas
Every real estate agent knows how valuable relationships are to their business. Most buyers and sellers hire people they like and trust regardless of the firm with which the agent is associated. Being honest, ethical and transparent is critical at all times. If you receive a negative review or feedback, address it quickly and professionally. Don’t forget to ask people who are pleased with your service to write a positive a review and thank them for it.
These real estate branding ideas provide a foundation for building a business that can set you apart from the competition and help you increase your home sales.
9. Choose a Thriving Real Estate Market
While not every agent can pick-up and move, making the choice to relocate to a city with a thriving market can factor into the advancement of your real estate brand. Where you live is no guarantee for success, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to work some place where lots of houses are being bought and sold. Only those committed to a long career in real estate should consider relocation. However, it may make sense for some agents, particularly if you are young and flexible.
10. Cultivate Your Colleagues
All the great real estate branding ideas don’t have to exclusively focus on getting noticed by clients. Being viewed as a thought leader among your peers in the real estate community can yield huge dividends. One great example is Mobile Agent TV. Hosts Michael Thorne and David Fauquier, both real estate agents, interview the stars of the real estate industry. They publish their content in videos and podcasts. It has also given them much notoriety in their respective local markets.
2 Comments
Alexandria Martinez
I really liked that you mentioned that good real estate agents will be looked up to in the agent community. This is a great attribute for a realtor to have since this means they are capable of getting the job done. As my mom looks for professional help selling her home, I will be sure she keeps this in mind.
Jim Turner
Alexandria,
Thanks so much for visiting and sharing your opinion. Your mom would do well to know and leverage the top agents in the area when selling her home. Some sellers feel like agents are interchangeable, but the reality is that a seasoned professional can definitely make the process smoother and command higher prices.