In today’s world, real estate agents cannot underestimate the power of creating their own personal brand. As a small business owner, building a successful brand can significantly impact your professional journey. A well-defined personal brand helps you connect with your target audience, stand out in the saturated real estate market, and build a strong brand identity. This brand identity helps to cultivate a relationship with your target audience. 

In this post, we will explore the essentials of personal branding and provide all the next steps you can take to help  connect with potential customers and build long-term brand awareness.

What exactly is personal branding and why is it necessary?

Personal branding is the process of defining and promoting what you stand for as an individual and/or business. It involves creating a unique brand image that reflects your values, mission statement, and unique abilities. A successful personal brand not only attracts potential clients but also sets you apart as a leader in your industry. When you are successful in creating your personal brand identity, your followers will see you as an expert in your field and they will trust in your abilities to provide a particular service- navigating the buying and selling of real estate.

I bet you’re asking yourself, “how do I even begin?”  Personal branding takes time so don’t feel like you have to overwhelm yourself and get it all done now. Just start by following these first 3 steps:

1- Identify Your Target Audience

The first step is to ask this question, “Who will most likely be interested in my services? Who am I selling to?” This is your target audience, also called your target market. Identifying the needs of your target market will help you tailor your message to resonate with them on a deeper level. As a real estate agent, you’re helping clients buy and sell properties and providing your expertise and guidance throughout the entire process. You evaluate market conditions, negotiate deals, and handle all necessary paperwork to ensure smooth and successful transactions. These are some of the services you are looking to market to your target audience.  Buying and selling a house is considered one of the most stressful events in life so building that trust, in which they choose you over the myriad of real estate agents available, is your ultimate goal.

2- Craft Your Mission Statement

A mission statement is your brand’s purpose and core values. It serves as your guide and articulates what your brand stands for, outlining your core objectives and guiding your decisions and actions. This statement not only communicates your brand’s goals and ethics to your target audience but also inspires and aligns your team, ensuring everyone works towards a common vision. In essence, a well-crafted mission statement acts as the foundation of your brand, helping to shape its identity and direction. A strong mission statement not only attracts potential customers who share your values but also builds the necessary trust between you and your target audience. 

3- Create a Cohesive Brand Image

Everyone knows the power of a brand image whether you’re aware of it or not. What symbol and colors do you think of when you hear the business name McDonalds, Nike and Ikea? The colors and images instantly make you know who you’re doing business with, why you’re doing business with them and, lastly, spark an emotional connection to that company. Your brand image is the perception that your target audience has of your brand, it’s your reputation. It encompasses your brand name, logo design, color scheme, and other visual elements. Visual consistency is key when building a cohesive brand image. Every aspect of your branding, from your business cards to your social media accounts, should reflect a unified and recognizable identity.

What’s your first step in creating your brand style? I would recommend creating a Brand Board. For my team, I created a pdf that lists the brand logo design and variations we use for marketing, color schemes with hex codes and even the two fonts we use for our business. This makes keeping all our marketing and advertising visuals consistent.

Now that you have the top 3 steps on how to start building your brand, let’s dive deeper into making your brand work for you.

Why building brand awareness in this saturated real estate market is an essential tool

Imagine building trust with potential clients without ever meeting them? Imagine people knowing who you are, what you stand for and know that you are the person to call with one of their most trusted investments? This is the power of brand awareness. Building brand awareness is crucial for attracting new clients and establishing your brand’s presence in the market. 

Social media platforms offer a powerful, and free, tool for building your brand and engaging with your target audience. By sharing relatable content, you are able to showcase your brand’s personality. You can create a strong online presence and attract potential customers. Creating a strong online presence is not just about creating clever content, it’s about understanding who your target market is and focusing on what they would connect with. The most important step in building that connection is for your followers to know you as a person, you as a real estate agent, how you show up for your clients and the daily wins within your niche.

What is my #1 Tip to Create Great Content for a strong online presence?  

Get on camera!

Scary? Yes. Necessary? Also, yes! Being behind the camera is easy and comfortable for many, but it is essential to recognize the transformative power of becoming the face of your own brand. When you step in front of the camera, you create a personal connection with your audience, which is the foundation to building trust. This authenticity can significantly enhance your brand’s credibility, making potential customers more likely to engage with and support your business. Once you realize the impact of this personal touch, you’ll be eager to take a deep breath and turn the camera toward yourself.   

Building a strong personal brand takes time and effort, but the long-term benefits are well worth it. A successful brand can open doors to new opportunities, enhance your reputation, and increase your business growth. By consistently delivering value and maintaining a strong brand image, you can build lasting relationships with your target audience and achieve continued success even when the real estate market is down.

My #2 Tip to Creating Great Content to Express Your Brand Voice Visually

Get lifestyle and branding photos! Lifestyle/brand photography showcases what it’s like to work with you, your interests, core values, hobbies and personality. These highly curated images of you doing daily tasks in your business, position you as a thought leader in your industry. It’s a great way to attract your target market through compelling images that relate to them. These images show your value proposition, expertise, and what it’s like to work with you on a daily basis. You can use these images on social media, your personal website, blog posts, social networks, newsletters and much more! 

Here’s a brief insight into my journey in building my unique brand personality for FOCUSED Media Collective

Building a personal brand is one of the most important things you can do for your business. By far, one of the most effective things I have done for my business has been getting on camera. I started doing Tip Tuesday about 5 years ago. I post a short talking head video of myself, usually in the car between shoots giving a useful tip to my target audience. I add this tip to my stories every Tuesday. I have met multiple clients in person for the first time who have been following me on social media who say, “Rachael, I feel like I know you just from your social media presence.” We skip past the whole awkward getting to know you part and jump right into the good stuff. This broke down so many walls, built trust with my clients and they felt like they already knew me from just a few videos that they had seen of me.The power of video marketing is insane you guys! If you aren’t implementing video marketing into your business, now is the time to start. It doesn’t have to be perfect! The best place to start is in your stories on social media. Stories are where we document, not create. Document your day, take your audience on a tour of what you’re up to. People love to see behind the scenes of the real you and this is exactly what stories do! Start small and when you’re ready to go big, add an agent intro to your next property video. 

I built FOCUSED Media collective with the emphasis of helping real estate agents look like the experts they are and by simplifying their marketing so they can get back to what they do best, serving their clients. We have helped hundreds of clients by offering hassle-free, high-end media and we have over 90 5-star reviews to prove it! We go above and beyond to help our clients showcase each listing in its best light and not only help quickly get homes on the market but give you all the marketing materials needed to win your next listing appointment and get more leads.  

We offer professional photography, aerial photography, property videos, social media reels, Matterport and Zillow 3D tours, floor plans, virtual staging and a comprehensive property website and marketing kit. High-quality marketing materials such as the flyers, social media content which is available in our marketing kits, helps you stand out from other real estate agents in your area making you look like the expert you are. 

It is our mission statement to help real estate agents build their personal brand, simplify their marketing and make them look like the experts in real estate.  All our marketing, communications, customer service and product services need to align with the personal branding that has been created for the business. By doing this, we create the trust our clients expect and the business is built with a strong foundation to grow and continue serving in the same way.