OUT WITH THE OLD…

To date the real estate industry has been all about traditional marketing. Whether that’s a real estate agent plastering their face on a bus stop bench, interior designers opening a brick and mortar location, mortgage lenders sponsoring happy hours or investors littering the town with bandit signs.

So its no wonder why real estate pros are getting on social media and becoming walking, talking billboards for their business. Their focus is obviously on making money and building a business, when it should be on building a brand.

Before you check out on me…let me tell you a story (one I am sure you can relate to in someway).

A few years ago, I received an invite from a new friend that I had recently met just a couple weeks prior. I was really excited about getting to learn more about this person and hopefully becoming closer friends. So I get all jazz’d up, drink a quick espresso before I leave the house (so I wouldn’t crash before 10pm) and head over to the party. I ring the doorbell and the hostess greets me with a quick hug and a brochure. I quickly realized I was at a business pitch disguised as a social event!

Well that’s what constantly selling on social media is exactly like.

SOCIAL PLATFORMS ARE BUILT FOR  CONNECTION

People are coming to your page to learn more about you, not what you sell. If your ideal client lands on your page and your feed is only business and marketing messages, they are more likely to exit off of your page without so much as a like and almost certainly without following. A real estate business is just an organization that is marketing a service. But your real estate brand is the compelling story, visual imagery, and engaging personality of your business.

This article is going to explain how your brand builds trust, creates connection and ultimately leads to conversion… all without selling! And just in case you are considering not reading this article, remember “Everyone has a personal brand, whether you want one or not” Peter Gasca, Founder of GascaCo,LLC.

Let’s go!

3 REASONS YOU NEED TO BUILD A BRAND

1 | BRANDS BUILD TRUST

With social media, you are able to interact with your real estate target audience and control your image and voice – providing you with an unique opportunity to build trust. When you focus on building a brand and not a business, you begin to focus on posting genuine, authentic and personal content.

Allowing your audience to see you as a real person with real interests, struggles, and aspirations. When someone follows you they are giving you permission to show up in their social life. They are showing you that they trust you enough not to spam the heck out of them with marketing posts. 92% of people on social media trust individuals over businesses; this is due heavily to the human interaction component. People want to be in relationship with other people, and building trust is the first step in establishing a relationship. Given that real estate is a relational business, it is a step that we cannot afford to skip.

2 | BRANDS CREATE CONNECTION

One of the key components of real estate branding is establishing your brand story. A brand story is what people know and believe about your brand, based on the message your brand sends. It is the complete picture drawn by the feelings, facts and interpretations people make about your brand. A brand story is not just some content on your website or an open house flyer. It’s reflected in the photos you post, the captions you write, and even the clients you work with.

If you want to build a brand that creates a connection with your followers, start with your story. Your brand story could simply be five things that make you and your business uniquely different (or just uniquely YOU). The little stories that you find yourself sharing with people over and over again at networking events and dinner parties. “People want to believe that a really awesome person who is similar to them (or someone they aspire to be) is behind these brands” Madeline Popelka, Digital Marketing Expert and Founder of Digi.

3 | BRANDS LEAD TO CONVERSION

When a brand is focused on genuinely sharing their story with their target audience and consistently serving their followers with valuable information, something magical happens. Your followers actually become open to you marketing to them. In a way they even welcome it, because they have come to know you, connect with you, and would love an opportunity to work with you personally.

And even if they aren’t ready for your real estate service when you go to sell, you will remain top of mind whenever they are ready because they are connecting with you on a personal level on a regular basis. You have become more than just a business to them, you are someone they know, like, and trust…if only on social media. And once you have successfully established this rapport, you have also significantly increased your chances of one day converting that fan to a client.

DRUM ROLL

So are you picking up what I am putting down?

I can’t tell you enough how much taking the time to work through these steps has not only transformed my feed but has also saved my sanity. Planning your Instagram feed can go a long way in helping you design that perfect instagram feed that totally wows your ideal client!

So to recap, the 4 steps to designing your perfect real estateInstagram feed:

• Step 1: Determine who you are talking to
• Step 2: Choose a visual theme
• Step 3: Create a photo vault
• Step 4: Plan your feed in advance

>> HEY, I HAVE QUESTION FOR YOU!

Do you have a website? If so, how did you come up with your website name? Leave your response in the comment section below.