Much is written about BRANDING in real estate? What does mean? Do you really have to buy a fancy logo made out of your photo or name? Is that what this is about? Not really.
Here's a POWERFUL question??? How many people in your COMMUNITY think of your name automatically when they think of real estate? In this question, the word "COMMUNITY" can mean family, subdivision, neighborhood, suburb, small town, medium sized city, or major metropolis - depending on where you sell, and how high you have set your sights...
If I were to visit your COMMUNITY and mention your name to 10 strangers on the street would they instantly say REAL ESTATE AGENT? Or would they say: "Never heard of him/her."
You know the expression "Fame and Fortune." These two words go together like "Apple Pie and Ice Cream." The truth is, Fame always comes before fortune. Said another way, there is no fortune without fame.
Branding then, is the process of becoming famous, and of shaping the reason for that fame. Said another way, branding means attaching associations and values or emotions to a word or name.
What branding does is unlock the door to fortune.
Imagine that I have a friend who can sing. (We'll call her "Sue" - not her real name)
She's a beautiful blonde gal with a shapely figure and a singing voice that is fabulous beyond words. She has more talent than anybody who ever sang on American Idol. In fact, Celine Dion can't even come close to competing with "Sue" when it comes to singing, but nobody has ever heard of "Sue."
While Celine packs them in at posh Las Vegas night clubs, "Sue" couldn't attract 100 people to a concert.
It's not that Sue doesn't have unbelievable talent..... It's because no one has ever heard of her.
So here is the million dollar secret: The world is filled with talented people..... and you may well be one of them - but without fame there is NO FORTUNE.
You may be the best real estate agent in your city......but if your name is not a household word linked to the real estate industry you're dead in the water. People gravitate to brand names.
If you want business to come to you......not your competition.....you have to be a real estate brand name locally. You have to be famous for what you do.
It's not a difficult concept to understand.....and it's something you don't want to put on hold until tomorrow. Your future begins now. If not, tomorrow will be much like today and yesterday.
The best way to build a brand is to attract attention and then share a simple but powerful message about how your are different than your competition. Then you get them to remember your name and the industry you work in.
Rich media, meaning online video with professional audio narration, is one of the best ways to brand yourself. Put a real estate oriented video of yourself or your listings on your web site, facebook page, active rain blog, and EVERYWHERE YOU CAN in your COMMUNITY. Television is great for building a brand as long as there are affordable ways to be on TV in your COMMUNITY.
Here in Toledo Ohio, I can put professionally produced real estate video on television, and give you a free web video with every order - for only $50 a month. Is anything like this available in your community?
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Inspired by a blog post that came via email from a third party. I don't know who to give credit to or I would.
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