In February, I had the honor of speaking for a Women’s Council of Realtors panel about branding, titled “Your Image, Your Brand, Your Business.” While what I spoke about mainly centered around branding and selling yourself to the media, the other knowledgable panelists, Matt Dollinger of Gearbox Consulting and Jim Miller, managing broker of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty (who appears with Anne Dubray on the cover), had great advice to give.

Among the points Miller said, something that is most important when it comes to marketing is figuring out your target audience. Who are your clients? Who is being referred to you? Once you figure out who your brand is appealing to, it is a simple matter of marketing: deliver your message to your audience in a way that appeals to them. This means figuring out the mediums where they will see your ads, and what messages will resonate with them the most.

While you don’t necessarily need to invest in your own marketing campaign like some agents do (see our article about corporate campaigns vs. individual campaigns on page 19), you have to do a bit of legwork instead of just piggybacking off of your company’s branding. Give consumers a reason to hire you other than your brokerage.

“Leading brands are attractive to the public because they offer legitimacy, quality and service,” Miller said in our cover story on page 15. “While consumers are attracted to a national brand…a consumer is ultimately hiring an individual broker.”

Dubray agreed. “Coldwell Banker provides (agents) with the tools to build our brand, but it is up to the individual agents to…really use those tools for themselves,” she said.

Do you have your own advertising campaign that you promote in addition to your company’s? I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on branding yourself differently than competitors. Leave a comment on our cover story online, or email me directly at stephanie@chicago.staging312.com.