Special offer

Let's FACE It - You Should Use Your Image To Promote Your Brand!

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist 2003008108

Let's FACE It - You Should Use Your Image To Promote Your Brand!

(Or It Is About You...If You Want To Get The Job!)

Love the recent post by BethAnn Long about pix on signs...I laughed along with hundreds of others, but I think her post IS about me! Seriously though, I use pix in my advertising as much as possible.

I use my picture a lot, online, on biz cards & signs & flyers and everywhere I can! It's not about vanity...it's about branding and awareness.

Here are a few reasons why I'm pro-pix:

1.       Many people can't remember a name but they can remember a face.

2.       It helps me make as many friends as possible, and I work with friends whenever possible!

3.       Strangers become acquaintances before we have even met. (Weirdos are weird even without a picture, don't even start on that topic!)

4.       Face recognition is part of my branding strategy. I bank on my smile and individuality!

5.       I want people to recognize me and have a level of comfort even before they meet me, so they can be at ease.

6.       It's a fact that some people decide they like a person as soon as they see them...this either wins a client or saves everyone time - LOL!!

7.       Online, a face is a key factor for increasing transparency and trust. As a client, would you prefer this avatar Dawn Maloney CDRS Elite Avataror this one Sold House

if you were trying to get to know an agent to help with your most expensive asset?

Just my opinion!

I'll be the first to admit, it does take effort to keep that photo professional and updated, especially as often as hairstyles and fashions change, but it's a valuable tool if handled right.

Is it ALL about you? Of course not, but if you want to be remembered and chosen as their next agent, use your picture. The results can be very positive!

Let's face it - you can overdo the pix thing and it can be obnoxious and tacky if done in poor taste.

Do it right, do it with dignity, and be the agent of trust whose face, name AND number they will remember!

 

 

Posted by

Dawn Maloney, REALTOR®,  Luxury Home Marketing  RE/MAX Haven Realty

Direct:  (330) 990-4236         Email: dawn@dawnsold.com

Helping home buyers and sellers in Summit, Portage, Stark, Medina, Wayne, Lake, Geauga and Cuyahoga Counties since 2003.

All content ©2006-2014 by Dawn Maloney, REALTOR® unless otherwise noted.

 

 

Comments (72)

Mike Yeo
3:16 team REALTY - Frisco, TX

Dawn,

I agree with your last statment about doing it right. Too much of anything is not healthy. The right amount is the key. You hit the nail in the head on this on. Face to a name makes it easier to remember.

Jan 29, 2010 08:07 AM
Gail Szeluga
Weichert Realtors-Marlboro, Manalapan - Manalapan, NJ
Manalapan, Marlboro & Monmouth County

I was just with clients last night and I needed to call a listing agent. When I was done, they said that on her ads, they never know what she is selling. Is she selling herself or the listing? They found all the pictures of her annoying and distracting from the home they were trying to see. Very interesting comment from a consumer.

Jan 29, 2010 08:33 AM
David Monsour
Keller Williams Keystone Realty - Gettysburg, PA
ABR - www.realty-insights.com

I agree, my friends always introduce me to people I don't know as the guy who has his face plastered all over town.  While I don't have it that many places.....the more the merrier.

Jan 29, 2010 09:11 AM
Donna Galinsky
Allen Tate Company - Cornelius, NC
Make Lake Norman Your Home!

I remember when I got my first business cards and saw my picture - I was mortified to give them out. Was just so unlike me.

Over the years I have gotten used to giving them out, seeing my face on the web, fliers, and promotional items.

My broker is putting up a 4x4 custom sign for some new construction listings I just got, they are going to have a photo on it. My first photo sign. He asked what I thought and I agreed since it is a neighborhood I work often and wouldn;t mind being seen.

We have an over/under on how long it takes someone to draw a moustache on me though.

Jan 29, 2010 09:25 AM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Wow, everyone stole my thunder!  You sure got a lot of responses.  Good going!!  Now I forget what the article was about.

Jan 29, 2010 09:42 AM
#59
David Selman
Selman Home Inspections, Inc. - Dallas, TX
Certified Master Home Inspector

Great Post Dawn - Much better than my original response to BethAnn Long. I agree that using your photo as much as possible in your marketing materials including your yard signs is a good thing.

In my original response, I also stated how as a home inspector, it relieves some fear (particularly for women) because they know who I am and what I look like before we ever meet. 

There are lots of arguments and reasons to use your photo. Vanity is not one.

 

Jan 29, 2010 10:10 AM
R.E. Renée Hoover, Salesperson
Century 21 Geba Realty, Milford, PA; Licensed in PA & NYS - Milford, PA
Poconos, Pike, Wayne, Monroe Counties, PA; PA/NYS

I like your points on this - and you have a great face with a winning smile.  You should definitely go with it! :)

Jan 29, 2010 10:43 AM
Ellie McIntire
Ellicott City Clarksville Howard County Maryland Real Estate - Ellicott City, MD
Luxury service in Central Maryland

I stick my picture, albeit pre baby, on everything, but I have this killer accent that brands me too!

Jan 29, 2010 11:28 AM
Bill Gillhespy
16 Sunview Blvd - Fort Myers Beach, FL
Fort Myers Beach Realtor, Fort Myers Beach Agent - Homes & Condos

Evening Dawn,  I think some people benefit more than others from including a picture.  Your terrific smile puts you in that category !

Jan 29, 2010 11:44 AM
Damon Gettier
Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS- Roanoke Va Short Sale Expert - Roanoke, VA
Broker/Owner ABRM, GRI, CDPE

I agree in print advertising but I personally don't think it has a place on a sign.  I think the client has a right to have the property advertised.

Jan 29, 2010 01:09 PM
Michael and Cheron Lange
Solutions Real Estate - Chandler, AZ
Associate Broker, GRI

Dawn... I like your opinion!  And I totally agree with you, my husband and I have branded ourselves all throughout Chandler, Arizona - long story short, we have a branded vehicle representing a lifestyle - and when our Armada is not driven as often as it should be, people ask where we have been.  It's nice, they know the car and know us, but when we are out and about in our more "private" car we go unnoticed.  :)

Cheron

Jan 29, 2010 02:15 PM
Michael and Cheron Lange
Solutions Real Estate - Chandler, AZ
Associate Broker, GRI

Dawn... I like your opinion!  And I totally agree with you, my husband and I have branded ourselves all throughout Chandler, Arizona - long story short, we have a branded vehicle representing a lifestyle - and when our Armada is not driven as often as it should be, people ask where we have been.  It's nice, they know the car and know us, but when we are out and about in our more "private" car we go unnoticed.  :)

Cheron

Jan 29, 2010 02:15 PM
Matt Grohe
RE/MAX Concepts - Des Moines, IA
Serving the metro since 2003

Dawn,

Right on. Great post. Using one's photo to promote in real estate falls under the heading of "no brainer" If a person is to modest to promote, that might indicate they are in the wrong industry.

Jan 29, 2010 02:32 PM
Christine Donovan
Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA
Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

For me personally, I don't have my picture on signs or postcards though I use them other places.

 

It's just my preference though I do have a logo separate from my business logo that's my brand.

Jan 29, 2010 03:28 PM
Frank D'Angelo
EXIT REALTY NEXUS Minneapolis & St. Paul MN - Coon Rapids, MN
Helping people is my business in Real Estate

I agree.  For many years I used to think that branding had almost everything to do with that big hot air balloon on my card and all I needed to do is have my name on it.   Wrong... I realized that if the business is to be, it's up to me. 

Jan 29, 2010 04:18 PM
Tony Grego, 317-663-4173 #1 Trade Association for Alternative Inv
REISA - 317-663-4173 - Indianapolis, IN

I don't get the picture thing. Does nothing at all for me. I list my boys on AR not because I don't want my picture I would rather show folks why I will do a great job. I do it to help my boys

Jan 29, 2010 10:58 PM
Marianne Cherico
Interiors by Marianne Cherico - Foxboro, MA
Home Stager -Massachusetts and Rhode Island

I also think that a picture makes it more personal. I think that people like to do business with someone they feel they know and pictures help brand us. It seems to me that it is a personal  choice where to use the pictures. Everyone's marketing style is different.

Jan 30, 2010 06:21 AM
John Cannata
214-728-0449 http://TexasLoanGuy.com - Frisco, TX
Texas Home Mortgage - Purchase or Refinance

I completely agree with you. I think its important to have your picture on cards, websites, etc. I've had this discussion before with agents. Some just don't feel that a picture is necessary.

Feb 01, 2010 04:59 AM
Carol Culkin
Diamond Partners Inc - Overland Park, KS
Overland Park Residential Real Estate

Dawn - This is also why agents need to update their photos from time to time.  There is an agent in my local area who advertises with her face posted everywhere, the only problem is that the sultry picture with her Farah hairstyle has not been changed since the late 70''s. She's no longer Gag me.  She is no longer the vixon she once was either. There is no face recognition in this case. I guess some people just don't know how to grow old graciously. LOL.

Feb 02, 2010 01:04 AM
Dawn Maloney
RE/MAX Trinity Northeast Ohio Real Estate Specialist - Hudson, OH
330-990-4236 Hudson & Northeastern Ohio

Carol, That is a very good point, and this is why I know I won't use my face on signs forever - it's EXPENSIVE to swap out a pix on a sign.

 

Feb 02, 2010 01:32 AM