The days of advertising yourself on park benches and shopping carts are fading. You need a new strategy to build your brand as a real estate agent and maximize your efforts to become more profitable. You have to view yourself as a brand and not just a realtor working at a real estate company. You’re not just selling a house, you’re selling a lifestyle that needs to be communicated effectively to resonate and make the right impression. Here are some helpful tips that you can incorporate to build your brand as a real estate agent in a highly competitive industry.
Be yourself and show what makes you stand out
It may sound so simple, but many real estate agents fail to just be themselves and it shows when they try to gain a client. If you’re a busy real estate mom, then be a busy real estate mom. Don’t try and hide it. People respect honesty, and more people will relate to you than be turned off from kids yelling in the background and the occasional little agent at house showings—especially when there are no babysitting options around. Let’s face it, this is the new normal. If someone thinks that being yourself is unprofessional then they don’t fit the culture that you are cultivating; that someone is probably not a good fit. Once you’re OK with knowing that you won’t fit with every client and comfortable with truly being yourself you’ll start to notice that you are taking on better clients; it’s because they fit you.
Share your real estate knowledge with homebuyers and sellers
Chances are that you have learned a lot over the years as a real estate agent. It is important to convey your knowledge and share tips, trends, and experiences with your audience. Creating blog posts, webinars, guides, social media posts, and articles are great ways to show your expertise. Doing so also adds value to your brand and conveys you as an influencer in the industry. You want people to come to know more than your ability to buy and sell houses: you want to have a valued opinion and become an avenue where people come to for advice that is helpful on their home buying and selling journey. Take the time to create content that will create a storytelling approach. Avoid being salesy with content that adds value; this will allow you to inspire others to consider you as their option for buying or selling a home. If you’re consistently creating valuable content then your efforts will eventually pay off and opportunities will start to come to you. If you’re willing to put in the time and be patient, creating content will pay off as a long term strategy. Just be aware that it takes dedication and determination to share your valued knowledge this way.
Leverage a social media presence
Don’t be socially awkward. Ok, we’re kidding, but you seriously could be missing out on a lot of opportunities if you aren’t on social media—don’t play the age card and sell yourself short. There are plenty of people 60+ making six figures with huge social media followings that are generating leads, sales, and exposure. Just put in the work, keep learning, and eventually it can pay off. Chances are that your potential clients will do a social media background check before they give you the opportunity to help them buy or sell a house. So, being on at least two platforms would be ideal. It would be best to start out on Facebook and Instagram and branch out to Twitter and TikTok as you gain success. Don’t go crazy in the beginning and focus on making your initial social media platforms a runaway success before you dedicate time to others. But you’re probably thinking what do I post about? No problem. We have got you covered. Here are some tips of things to share:
- Open house dates and times
- Real estate tips and trends
- Success stories and testimonials
- Real estate quotes and memes
- Pictures and posts about your showings that showcase your day
- Events you’re at
- Ways that you’re learning and improving your skills
- Show your human side—have some fun and, remember, it’s just social media. It’s OK to not be serious
- Don’t be salesy (We know that you buy and sell houses. No need to remind us everyday.)
Check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see how we use our social media efforts for examples and feel free to share our content to help elevate your brand.
Create your own real estate agent website
Don’t just be on your real estate company’s website. Look to create your own website that adds more value to you and your brand. Having a website shows that you are serious and builds trust that you aren’t going anywhere, that it’s more than just a side hustle. It may seem like a big disruption to add a big “to do” to your already busy schedule and create a website, but, it’s not as expensive and time consuming as you think. You can create a 4 page website in less than 4 hours for about $25. To start, purchase a domain name for about $13 on GoDaddy. Then purchase a hosting service such as HostGator for about $12 a year. Finally, you can create a free WordPress site and pick a free template that has a homepage, about me section, services section, and a blog. That’s it. And if you run into trouble there are tons of tutorials on YouTube that give you a step by step on how to customize your WordPress template. The best part is that you don’t need any coding experience or costly outsourcing web designer costs. All you need to do is invest $24 and about 4 hours of time, which will help you convert way better and gain way more sales than before. It’s an investment in yourself and is highly recommended to build your brand.
Build your brand around down payment assistance programs
Want a great way to stand out from the real estate agent crowd, grab attention, and leverage your expertise? Offer first-time homebuyers the opportunity to receive down payment assistance for 3.5% or 5% on their first home purchase; this is a huge branding aspect to build your presence around. Creating exposure about how you can assist first-time homebuyers with the down payment relief that CBC Mortgage Agency’s Chenoa Fund offers will help you maximize your efforts to become more marketable. Offering down payment assistance will help you reach a wider audience that you were not gaining interest from in the past. Visit our website at chenoafund.org to see how you can get the right knowledge and resources needed to take on the opportunities that the Chenoa Fund down payment assistance program has to offer. In addition, we help real estate agents connect with lenders that we have established relationships with, so you will have no need to worry about lost opportunities due to time-consuming delays. Instead of possible months of waiting on an approval, Chenoa Fund provides a decision on your borrower’s application the day it is submitted.
We hope that you enjoyed these tips to help build your brand and presence. By utilizing the right platforms, programs, and content you’ll be well on your way to getting opportunities with buyers and sellers looking for a well-branded and knowledgeable real estate agent.
CBC Mortgage Agency – NMLS 1186381
For licensing information, go to www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
Illinois Residential Mortgage License #MB.6761292. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, 100 West Randolph, 9th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 – 1-888-473-4858
