In real estate, your business radiates from your brand; how can you ensure, then, that your brand is a trustworthy one for potential clients?
In real estate, you’re only as good as your brand. You may be a real estate machine, possessing of all the greatest qualities that make agents succeed, but if your brand does not effectively communicate those talents, you’ll have a mighty tough time of attracting new business and generating referrals from old business.
And of course, centering your brand around the one central component of any business transaction – trust – is a perfect starting point for establishing any brand. So with that in mind, we’ve targeted three facets of communication between you and your clients, and the ways that you can establish trust and reinforce your brand.
In-Person Meetings – Technology may be wonderfully dextrous and versatile, but it’ll never replace the power of solid, in-person interaction, which remains the strongest method for delivering your brand and establishing trust. The key with in-person meetings is to be transparent – transparent about your talents, transparent about your commission rate and fees, even transparent about your weaknesses. By being open and honest, you’ll develop immediate connections with your clients, which will eliminate any initial uneasiness and allow you to develop that legendary rapport that agents and their clients share.
Social Media – Let’s face it, chances are that upon meeting you, your prospective clients are going to go home and Google your name, so having a robust social media presence (and one that expands upon your brand) will be essential. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any of the major syndication websites, you’ll want your social media feeds to be filled with content, but not just any content; make absolutely sure that the links you share on Twitter or the blogs your write on Trulia are consistent with what your brand is all about. So if you specialize in REOs, center your social media presence around distressed properties; if you’re a whiz at new construction, center around any new developments in the area; no matter the area, make sure your social media feeds reflect what you are the master of!
Video – Finally, there is video, which comes in at a close second to in-person interactions in establishing brand and creating connection. Like your social media feeds, you’ll want your videos to touch upon the central tenets of your brand, but you’ll also want to diversify your video offerings. With how cheap it is to shoot video and upload it to YouTube, there’s really no excuse for not posting video, such as: tutorials on the homebuying and selling process; explanatory videos on key aspects of the real estate market; and tours of the towns and neighborhoods you primarily sell in.
As you’ve probably picked up on in all these points, the main thing you’ll want to focus on is consistency, and whether your brand is truly consistent in all your various communications.