You might think you’re sort of flying under the radar. However, every real estate agent has a personal brand – whether they realize it or not. The only question is, are you the one influencing it? (Or are you letting others dictate it for you?)
Why You Need a Personal Brand
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Accountants, cashiers, athletes, pastors, doctors, truck drivers – everyone has a personal brand. But if you study the people who are most successful, you’ll discover that they’re highly intentional with how they communicate their brands.
In plain English, personal branding is all about how you market yourself in an effort to grow and advance your career or business. As a real estate agent, your personal brand has the ability to make or break your success.
As real estate marketing expert William Harris explains, “The goal with personal branding is to ultimately create a recognizable identity through visuals and voice style that you can use to establish and maintain a positive professional reputation for yourself, connect with more leads, build trust and loyalty, and close more deals.”
In a highly competitive industry where real estate agents are a dime a dozen, it’s ultimately your personal brand that sets you apart (for better or worse). The sooner you take control of your brand, the more strategic your growth will be.
3 Personal Branding Tips for Agents
Your personal brand is completely unique. However, the same basic principles and tips of personal branding are applicable across the board. Here are a few that you may find helpful:
1. Flesh Out Your Value Proposition
Start with your value proposition. This is the specific service and benefit that you provide to a particular target market. Avoid generalities here. Focus on a very specific point of value. Examples of good value propositions include:
- I help first-time homebuyers find affordable options that offer the potential for a high ROI.
- I serve doctors in the Boca Raton market who want turnkey, move-in ready properties.
- I work with empty-nesters who want a hassle-free condo in downtown Boston.
Don’t be afraid to niche down with your value proposition. It’s better to have a large percentage of a smaller market than a tiny fraction of a bigger market. When you focus on a particular niche, it’s easier to concentrate your efforts and maximize your visibility.
2. Get Active on Social Media
Social media is something that every real estate agent should leverage. It’s basically a free method of organic exposure that allows for consistent and trustworthy points of engagement. And depending on how large your following is (and what percentage of the people you already have a relationship with), social media could become one of your top sources of referrals and lead generation.
The key to using social media successfully (as part of a personal branding strategy) is to treat it like the two-way channel it is. If you’re only posting self-serving content and asking people to send you business, you’re missing the point. You have to engage with other people, like and comment on posts, and add value. Think of social media as a tool for building authority, not hooking a client. Ironically, if you pursue it from this angle, you’ll generate more clients than if you’d taken a direct approach.
3. Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn technically falls under the social media category, but it’s so important that it deserves its own section.
If you aren’t currently using LinkedIn as part of your personal branding strategy, now is the time to start. More specifically you should optimize your LinkedIn profile to align with your brand. (Many prospect clients, particularly high net worth clients, will review your profile before hiring you.)
Let your value proposition be your guide. With this in mind, do the following:
- Include a compelling banner that speaks to your target audience
- Take a professional headshot and include it as your profile picture
- Use your value proposition as your job title
- Update your “about” section to reflect the specific benefits you provide your clients
Adding it All Up
Having an intentional personal brand that aligns with your core values, beliefs, and goals is something that will benefit you as a real estate agent. Whether you serve everyone in a particular zip code, or you’ve channeled your focus down to a very specific niche audience, a well-developed brand will serve you well.
Put in the hard work upfront and you’ll experience tangible benefits on the back end!