Real estate agents begin their careers as soon as they obtain their licenses.
They start by working for brokerages and becoming part of a team, which is a good place to start.
However, if you become too attached to your brokerage, it can hinder your future.
You may find yourself stuck as an employee rather than a business person.
It is important to understand that pursuing entrepreneurship is not a betrayal to your brokerage or team.
In fact, it can benefit them and make you a more valuable member of the team.
You do not have to abandon your brokerage to become an entrepreneur; you can do both things simultaneously.
Real estate is a great career path to pursue in 2024.
There are many options available, and you are not restricted to any income level.
You can even become an entrepreneur and take your career into your own hands.
However, before you do anything, it is important to understand how business works.
Business is all about exchanging value. Supply and demand.
Someone who has something to offer meets the needs of someone who is looking for it.
As a real estate agent, you exchange your expertise, trust, and relationship for their real estate needs and money.
Have you ever wondered why so many real estate agents are overrated and earn higher commissions even though their expertise may not be as great as yours?
It all comes down to the top 1% of agent mindset.
Unlike the majority of agents, who are solely focused on proving their expertise to their clients,
The top 1% know that building a brand is more important than proving their expertise.
They understand that it's not about showing off their knowledge but rather showcasing their results and lifestyle.
By focusing on their brand and the long-term game, rather than individual success and small wins, they build a brand that speaks for itself.
Do you remember what was your value exchange as a real estate agent?
Yes, you exchange your expertise, trust, and relationship for their needs and money.
People attach to brands due to their credibility, which creates a relationship.
Since the brands are known in the market, it organically makes them trustworthy and experts in the field.
Let’s find out what a brand is and how to build a successful local real estate brand.
Local real estate brands are the individual agents or teams who become known in their local market.
A local market could be a city, county, town, village, or even metropolis.
Becoming known in your market as a real estate agent or a real estate business puts you ahead of your competition.
Just like people would rather have an iPhone than some random brand, there are many reasons why people choose one real estate brand over another.
Some people are fans of a brand, and see it as a status symbol. Some others value the brand’s quality and efficiency.
In the real estate industry, it’s all about your brand’s identity.
The values people look for in terms of quality and efficiency; and the visuals people attach and relate to.
To grow big and become known in your local market, you should decide on one of the most important things before you start.
Are you going to be a personal brand or a business brand?
A personal brand is all about you; people know, respect, and trust your credibility.
A business brand is all about your business; people know, respect, and trust the credibility of your business.
That’s simple, but why is it important?
Because you must decide on one of these before launching your marketing efforts.
A personal brand is all about you; people know, respect, and trust your credibility.
Pros:
Cons:
Our Comment: If you are considering becoming a personal brand, check out how to create content for your brand.
>> 'Learn Content Strategy for Real Estate Personal Branding'
A business brand is all about your business; people know, respect, and trust the credibility of your business.
Pros:
Cons:
Our Comment: If you think about building a business brand, check out how to create content for your brand.
>> 'Learn Content Strategy for Real Estate Business Branding'
When deciding on branding for your real estate business, it is important to choose one that is right for you and your individual capabilities.
Let's explore the factors to consider before choosing the right branding in terms of your circumstances.
If you choose branding that isn't related to your lifestyle and individual capabilities, then all the marketing efforts you've built to appeal to your local market go to waste.
Let us help you determine which branding option is good for you and tell you why:
Are you willing to become a local brand? Let our team be your valuable partner in growing your real estate business:
>> 'We're Just One Click Away from Transforming You into a Local Real Estate Brand'
Now, you understand the framework of how real estate brands work.
However, you can't build a real estate brand without clients, as your brand is the sum of your interactions with them.
If you want to build a reputable brand, you need to focus on your marketing efforts to get clients and provide them with excellent results.
But keep this in mind, real estate marketing is different from any other type of marketing.
Check out this blog post to learn more about building your real estate marketing:
>> 'The Ultimate Real Estate Marketing Guide'
Getting clients is the easy part. The difficult part is delivering results that exceed the expectations of your clients.
It also means building relationships with your clients and staying in touch with them after the sale.
When you focus on building relationships with your clients, you are not only building your brand, but you are also building a business that will last.
Check out this blog post to learn the best practices for building relationships with your clients:
Your brand identity must be tailored to appeal to your local market.
This includes understanding the demographics, interests, and needs of your target audience.
If you want to learn your target audience in your market, check out this blog post:
>> 'Learn Your Target Audience'
Once you know who your target audience is, you can start developing a real estate brand that resonates with them.
Your brand identity is what people think of when they hear your name or see your business.
It should be unique, memorable, and consistent to portray the same image across all platforms.
Building a brand identity consists of your brand’s personalities, values, and reputation.
Before you start your marketing efforts, you should define your brand personality.
This identity ensures you leave a memorable impression on your market.
After your marketing efforts, you want your audience to remember your brand.
To achieve this, you need to align these elements with your target audience:
Your brand name is either your name as a real estate agent if you opt for personal branding, or the name of your business if you prefer business branding.
Business names could include the name of your local market to rank on Google as well as to foster familiarity with the people and your local area, such as "Living in Roseville", "Roseville Realty", and so on.
Your logo is only applicable if you choose to go with the business branding route.
Although you can use a logo even if you decide to go with personal branding, we don’t recommend this for real estate agents.
This is because, in a local market, your face will make you stand out more than your logo.
Your brand name, face, and logo should all work together to make people remember what your brand is about.
By investing your time and money in marketing, you are essentially investing in your brand name, face, and logo to establish authority and credibility for your business in the long run.
A brand tone of voice is the way real estate brands communicate with their audience.
Including the choice of words, the writing style, and the emotional tone.
Since most buyers and sellers value both relationships and reliable expertise, the best tone of voice for real estate agents is a mix of conversational and authoritative.
Consistently use your brand's tone of voice across various platforms, including your website, emails, social media, videos, and blog posts, in text, graphic, sound, and video formats.
Your brand imagery represents your business visually.
It includes virtual elements like the design of your website and social media images, as well as physical elements like the style of your office and your outfit choices.
Brand imagery should be carefully chosen before starting marketing efforts and must be consistent across all platforms to reflect your business by considering aspects such as your service areas, your target audience, your overall brand personality, and your brand values.
Once you know what your brand is all about, you can start creating visuals that will appeal to your target audience and help you stand out from the competition.
The common online visual elements are color palettes, fonts, shapes, and imagery.
The best practice is to use colors, fonts, shapes, and imagery that reflect the environment of your local area.
For example, if your business is located in a coastal place, consider using blue and yellow colors more often, since blue reminds us of water and yellow reminds us of the sun. Montserrat and Poppins are good font combinations to reflect coastal environments.
If your brand personality is informal, use rounded shapes and include cartoonish graphics and icons in addition to local images of your area.
A brand value for a real estate agent is something they believe in, guiding their decisions and actions.
It represents who you are as a professional and how you want to be perceived by your clients.
Let’s explore the important brand values for real estate agents aiming to create a local brand.
A unique value proposition describes how your offer is different from the competition.
It answers the question, “What makes my offer best?”
Your unique value proposition describes how your offer is unique.
But, brand positioning describes how your brand is different from your competitors.
It answers the question, “What makes my brand best?”
A brand’s core message is the one thing that your brand stands for.
Your brand’s core message should answer the question, “What is my brand all about?”
Your vision statement will include what you're hoping to achieve with your brand.
It should be something that you can realistically achieve within a reasonable timeframe.
Your vision statement answers the question, "What do you want your brand to be known for?"
Your mission statement will include the actions you'll take to realize your vision.
It should be something that you can achieve with the resources that you have available.
Your mission statement answers the question, "What does your brand do?"
Your purpose statement will include your motivations to realize your vision.
It should be something that you're passionate about and that you believe in.
Your purpose statement answers the question, "Why does your brand exist?"
A brand’s identity is crafted by you and under your control.
Whereas brand reputation and credibility are beyond your control and determined by the public in your market.
Brand reputation and credibility are collective and dynamic environments, unlike other brand identities.
While your quality services have a positive impact on your reputation, dissatisfied clients can hurt your brand's reputation.
Let’s explore the best practices of how to boost your brand credibility for your real estate business.
Above all else, in business, your words are your reputation. They demonstrate your expertise and authority on the subject.
Although you can earn the trust of individuals directly, that’s not an efficient way to do so.
The most effective way to share your words with the world is through online presence.
That way, your words spread through online channels, giving you a chance to demonstrate your expertise in the real estate subject to a mass target audience.
You begin building an audience and gaining the trust of that audience, rather than earning trust individually.
The best way to demonstrate your expertise is by creating authoritative real estate content across your online presence.
This ensures that people understand you know what you're talking about.
Since you are human, and humans are social creatures, you should also blend your lifestyle content with real estate content to create familiarity with your audience.
And always remember, the quality of your content matters more than the quantity.
Let’s explore how to spread your message across the digital world.
You may automatically trust people with large or verified social media profiles.
It is another way to have credibility and earn a reputation.
But how do they grow so well?
It doesn’t matter if they are personal or business brands…
What matters is that they reflect their brand identity through their content.
You should follow the same strategy.
If you are not aware of how to reflect your brand identity through your content to establish an audience, check out this blog post:
Videos are a long-form of content compared to social media.
They allow you to give your audience an in-depth look at educational content related to your local market and real estate. By doing so, you show your authority and expertise.
You can repurpose those videos into short-form content like clips, shorts, reels, etc. to gain attention and drive attention to your long-form video for a more in-depth look.
If you would like to learn the best practices for creating captivating long-form authoritative real estate videos, check out this blog post:
Blogs and articles are long-form written content that, like video posts, aim to provide your audience with an in-depth look at educational real estate and local market information to demonstrate your authority.
To create a blog, you need a website that supports blogs, or you can use blogging platforms like LinkedIn.
However, the best practice is to have an SEO-optimized blog website to publish your articles on Google and to have a LinkedIn presence with local connections to spread your articles in the digital world.
You can repurpose these blog posts into short-form content like tweets, carousel posts, emails, etc., to gain attention and drive that attention to your long-form blog or article post.
To learn more about the best practices for creating authoritative blog posts, we have a more in-depth article on that subject:
>> 'Learn to Create Local Real Estate Content that Ranks on Google'
Websites need to do more than simply display your identity and have a blog.
They should make it easy for people to find out who you are and what you do when they search for your brand on Google.
But is that all there is to it?
For digital card websites, that’s all they need. People search for your name, look at your website, find it cool, and then leave.
However, we don’t want to waste the traffic that comes to your website and then bounces away.
We want to capture their contact information if they have already visited your website.
That’s why we offer tailored lead magnets for people who visit our websites.
For more detailed information on how to generate leads from people who search for your brand with tailored offers and lead magnets, check out this blog post:
>> 'Learn How to Craft Tailored Offers to Generate Leads from Website Visitors'
Your reputation is based on how others view your services.
This can influence how potential leads perceive your brand.
Examples of things that can impact your reputation include referrals, testimonials, and case studies that highlight your excellent results and client satisfaction.
These elements can help your brand stand out from local competitors.
Here are the best practices for gathering positive feedback from others to enhance your real estate brand's reputation and perceived value:
Referrals are a powerful way to grow your real estate business and build a strong brand.
Your clients refer you to their friends and family, which is the ultimate form of marketing to introduce your brand to your local market.
They are also a great way to show potential clients that you are a reputable and trustworthy real estate business.
Today, referrals are not just face-to-face. Social media is another place where buyers and sellers make referrals, such as using Facebook recommendations and LinkedIn endorsements.
When you make your clients happy, even if it means a short-term loss for you, the long-term gains will be worth it.
After delivering good results, you can collect testimonials from your clients.
You can ask them to provide a formal written statement or a video testimonial in which they discuss the benefits they've experienced from your real estate services.
Testimonials are helpful for your audience because they encourage people to work with your brand when they see that your work is successful and your clients are happy.
People are more likely to work with a real estate brand that has positive results, and testimonials can build a positive perception of your brand.
Ask for a testimonial in a video or voice format by asking these questions:
After collecting testimonials, edit and format them into short-form social media posts, emails, and on your website so that they are easy for people to see.
A case study is an in-depth analysis that explores how your services solved problems, achieved success, and helped your clients overcome challenges.
Also known as buyer and seller stories, case studies allow you to demonstrate the real and significant impact your real estate services have had on your clients.
These stories can also help your prospects see what your brand can do for them.
Unlike an advertisement or press release, a case study should focus on the client’s journey, not on your brand.
The case study should take the reader through the challenges the buyer or seller faced, what they tried, and how they ultimately used your real estate service to solve the problem.
A good case study is an engaging story that is relatable to your target audience, which makes it so effective.
Unlike testimonials, case studies are long-form content that require platforms supporting long-form content.
After creating the perfect tailored case study in long-form video or written formats, the final step is to use storytelling to craft a journey and share it with your YouTube subscribers, email newsletter, and blog posts.
Sharing your clients' journeys with your services allows you to gain the attention of a wider audience to showcase your brand’s problem-solving abilities.
Online reviews are a valuable digital source of feedback from past clients.
Your prospects will check your existing online reviews on Google, Facebook, and other online sources before deciding whether to work with you.
Although some real estate agents find review sites frustrating because they cannot control the content, reviews are ultimately a reflection of the quality of your work and service.
Therefore, you must deliver excellent results so that you do not receive negative reviews that could damage your brand's credibility and reputation.
Let’s explore the best online review platforms for generating positive reviews.
Google My Business is the most important online review platform when compared to other platforms for ranking on both Google search results and Google Maps.
Since Google is where people search for businesses, poor reviews on Google can significantly damage your brand.
You must prioritize Google My Business reviews over any other review platforms to generate positive reviews.
Make sure to utilize "Write a Review" buttons on your website so that your clients can quickly leave a Google review for your services with a click of a button.
Here is an example of a "Write a Review" button you could add to your website:
You can also send your clients personalized "Thank-You Letters" after ensuring that they are satisfied with their services. This will encourage them to leave reviews.
Here is an example of a personalized thank-you letter you could send:
Google Local Services ads appear at the top of search results when people search for local real estate agents.
These ads for real estate agents operate on a cost-per-contact model, meaning you pay only when someone contacts you directly through the ad.
To achieve better results from Google local services ads, certain upfront requirements must be fulfilled.
Your local service ads page showcases an overview of your business, including services, service areas, license information, and Google reviews at the bottom.
To start Google Local Services Ads (LSA) and generate high-quality real estate leads effectively, you need to have a high number of 5-star Google My Business reviews.
This helps prevent wasting leads that could potentially not convert due to credibility concerns.
In the meantime, you can combine Lead Nurturing Strategies with Google PPC Ads until you accumulate 5-star reviews.
Regarding Facebook business page and LinkedIn company page reviews, they are vital to your online presence and how your audience perceives your real estate services.
First, ensure that your reviews are consistent across platforms, as some people search for your businesses on Facebook or LinkedIn in addition to Google.
Second, focus your efforts on one platform, whether Facebook Business Page or LinkedIn Company Page, to get additional reviews besides Google reviews.
Although not a necessity, maintaining your online reputation on real estate listing websites is always nice.
Consider updating your reviews on sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin. These are popular platforms where people search for real estate agents in their area.
Additionally, it's also a nice touch to claim and update your listing on local business directories like Yelp, Yellowpages, and Bing Places.
There is a reason why multi-millionaires do not work as hard as white-collar workers.
It is because they have management capabilities. They have their own team, and they manage people.
You should do the same by hiring employees to distribute the workload, fostering the infinite growth of your brand.
It is not something complicated, but most agents avoid dealing with employees. And that is why they miss opportunities.
Hire an assistant or you become your own assistant.
If you make $300,000 a year, divide that by 2,080. That’s $144 per hour that you are worth.
You should hire somebody at $20 an hour to do all the operational work for you.
When you are not hiring somebody at that level, you might think you are saving money, but quite the opposite, you are losing money by using your time that is worth $144 per hour in our scenario.
Calculate how much money you earn every hour, and then think about if you should hire an agent who will work for you.
You cannot get rich by saving money; you get rich by making money. Then focus on money-making activities.
So when you have internal systems, operations, and processes that people do without you, and the business runs without you, you will have much more free time, and you will be able to make money during this time.
Now, let’s learn how to hire staff for your real estate business according to your real estate brand.
In both branding modules, you can hire employees such as marketers, assistants, and technical staff including technical experts like video editors, ads specialists, SEO experts, copywriters, and graphic designers.
The main difference is the business branding hiring route is the most flexible business model for hiring employees.
In the personal branding route, you need to record your own videos and create content with your own spoken tone.
You can't hire content creators in personal branding, because people know and trust you, they don’t know your content creator.
In the business branding route, you can hire content creators to do that. Since you are not the brand yourself, unlike personal branding. Content creators are there to represent your brand, they are part of your business.
Additionally, in terms of hiring additional agents, in personal branding, your local people know and trust you. They want to buy & sell their homes with you not with your agents.
But in the meantime, if you go with the business route, your business is the brand that makes people love and like your brand. And your agents are part of your brand.
If you want to win in a short amount of time and aim for short-term success, but do not want to grow your business big and would like to record your own content, then personal branding is a good option for you.
However, if you want to build a sustainable business with long-term growth and success, then business branding is the healthier choice.
Keep in mind that, it might be too early to hire employees for your business right now.
Your budget is limited, so do not make a swift decision to hire and outsource.
You need to increase your income to reach that level, and you already know that you need to close more deals every month to achieve it.
But to achieve that, you need strong marketing and lead generation systems that work without your effort.
Today, the free market is crowded with marketing agencies and their unique offers.
However, if you are not in the marketing industry, you cannot determine whether an offer is good or not. That’s why they use bold statements to capture your attention.
Then, you end up losing investment money on outsourcing so many operations just to get a few leads.
You need to find an all-in-one solution that builds all aspects of your marketing without additional outsourcing.
And that must be an investment blueprint with guaranteed results to make you rich in the most efficient way possible.
When I say efficiency, it should be achievable through a single marketing solution that reaches your entire market and enables you to connect with your target audience frequently without outsourcing many marketing operations.
If you work with us, you will have access to our all-in-one marketing service, ensuring you are overloaded with clients. You may even need to hire additional agents to increase your capacity, eventually transforming your operation into a full-fledged business.
Unlike "the gurus" you might encounter on social media channels, we deliver tangible results with our blueprint rather than testing your patience.
You will receive all the digital marketing services at a fixed price without additional advertisement costs or extra fees.
>> Consult us for pricing and learn more about our all-in-one marketing services.
When you reach the necessary income level thanks to your marketing efforts, you can hire additional agents and assistants to save up your time, which ultimately makes your time more money.
This a reminder that our all-in-one real estate service has limited availability due to our current capacity, with only 5 seats left.
Once filled, we will not accept any more agents. If you are interested, fill out the form to secure your spot.
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Mert Serttas
Greetings, my fellow agents!
I am the founder of Realest Marketer.
We not only help real estate agents generate leads but also assist them in earning satisfied clients, establishing their brand presence, and achieving growth through our advanced and fully automated real estate lead generation and lead nurturing methods.
Realest Marketer is an online digital marketing agency that exclusively assists real estate agents, teams, and brokerages in establishing & enhancing their brands and achieving growth through our advanced and fully automated lead generation and nurturing methods.
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