Are You Branded on Social Media?
Selling real estate today is much different from the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s. I started selling real estate in 2001. Then we walked, cold called and asked our sphere of influence for referrals. Creating postcards, emails and newsletters was simple. We used tools like publisher and adobe illustrator to design marketing. Today any agent can take over a market simply by building a social personality that shares relevant content, important community information with an authentic persona. In the world of real estate, agents are in charge of managing their brands. The current trend for many companies is to allow agents to co-brand.
Building a brand in real estate is essential for online marketing. Who we are in direct marketing and in person must translate to the digital space. If you are a direct marketer in real estate making the transition in brand awareness on social media, email, blogs and your website is not a difficult task. Today, there are tools like Canva that make it easy for any agent to build creative work that can be redesigned in seconds for any social platform. There is no excuse, every agent can compete in the online arena.
- Do you want to be relevant in a few years? If so, it’s important to become an online personality.
- Do you have a personal brand? If not, get started NOW, not tomorrow.
- Does the consumer know who you are before they schedule an appointment with you? Not sure, google yourself and check your following on your social media accounts. If we can’t learn about you, neither can the consumer.
- Are you posting and receiving engagement from your network? Not sure, Go Check!
- No Engagement? Don’t worry, start responding to posts. Not just your posts, your networks posts.
A personal brand is, “the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. … Personal branding is essentially the ongoing process of establishing a prescribed image or impression in the mind of others about an individual, group, or organization.” (Wikipedia)
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The next generation agent is good at this. They’ve been using technology for as long as they can remember. I remember when my oldest son was three years old. His childcare center offered computer classes. 24 years later he a computer whiz. My most recent college student has her own online brand. The youngest of the group is building his own YouTube channel. They are just good at tech, not because they took classes, it’s because they always had an opportunity to use the technology. If you’re not good at the technology, start playing with it. Trial and error can be the best way to learn.
Building your own personal brand will put you in front of the consumer before they have an opportunity to meet you. I always find it fascinating when I’m approached and someone says, “Carrie, I feel like I already know you.” Our sphere of influence is an important part of helping our businesses thrive. We count on our friends, family and past clients to be our Brand Ambassadors. We want them to tell people how “fabulous” we are as agents. The same applies to online, we need our social pages, email marketing, YouTube channels and traditional marketing to showcase our personal brands and our expertise. Generating new business and repeat business has never been so easy. The internet doesn’t turn off. The idea that the consumer can find us 24 hours a day should excite all of you.
Showcase your brand on all platforms. Are you and your business recognizable on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Snapchat and Instagram. Are you a brand or are you all over the place? Take inventory of your social media today.
