Real estate is an industry that has long relied on traditional marketing tactics like print advertising, flyers, and word of mouth to reach potential buyers and sellers. However, as more and more people turn to the internet to find information and make purchasing decisions, it’s become clear that real estate agents must evolve through digital branding in order to stay relevant and successful.

We’ll explore why digital branding is essential for real estate agents and provide tips on how to develop a strong online presence.

Why Real Estate Agents Must Evolve Through Digital Branding

Digital branding is all about creating a consistent online presence that reflects who you are as a professional and what you have to offer. For real estate agents, this is essential because the majority of potential buyers and sellers are now researching properties online before ever contacting an agent.

This means that your online presence is often the first impression that potential clients will have of you. This can make or break your ability to secure new business. A strong digital brand can help you stand out from the competition, establish trust with potential clients, and ultimately drive more sales.

The buyer is heavily online, and you should be as well

The real estate industry is constantly going through changes. The world economy through turbulence, and not all real estate giants navigate successfully. Just look at industry veterans like Zillow, which lost around $1.5 billion in the last few years.

Digitally-agile real estate agents who adapted and leveraged videos, social media and blogs–stayed on top. They understood self-branding is a key ingredient of entrepreneurship–and even the new stage in the employment economy.

In order to compete with big agencies converting clients outside their limited zip codes, you’ll have to digitally brand, and increase your reach. To avoid being left behind, brand yourself digitally by following these steps:

Define your target audience

If it’s your first plunge into this sort of thing — a good method will be finding patterns with those you helped most recently.

Where are they similar?

Did all of them face the same problem?

Are they all within a certain age/income group?

After starting to understand your ICP (ideal customer persona), find more patterns. It will be easier now because when looking for a black car, you’ll find more black cars. That’ll help you cater your content around their pains; adjust your outreach filter — and even your ads.

Define who are you as a Real Estate Agent

After knowing who you talk, help, and sell to–it’s time to look inward. Who are you, really?

Your unique value proposition (UVP) is what sets you apart from other real estate agents in your area. It’s important to clearly define what you bring to the table. Whether that’s specialized expertise in a certain type of property, exceptional customer service skills, or a unique marketing approach.

You can start by asking yourself these questions:

What are my values?

How do I make the buying process easier for my clients?

Who am I, as a person? An introvert, ambivert, or extrovert? What are my hobbies?

Why should these people choose me? (what makes you more suitable to help them)?

The more specific your answers, the more potential for value-aligned content. At the highest levels of real estate – buyers choose agents based on their personality, vision, and values.

Next, it’s time for a mindset shift. The better you position yourself as the guide, helping the hero (your buyer/seller/tenant) reach their goal (sell/buy/lease/rent), the stronger your brand will be. If your website’s landing page, blog, videos and emails don’t communicate it–it’s a messaging problem. If they do, but it doesn’t resonate–it’s a targeting problem.

Consistency, feedback, and delegation

Most importantly, understand that failure, pivoting, and consistency are precursors to success. You’ll show up daily, get feedback from the marketplace, and iterate accordingly. When everything falls into place, and volume picks up, you’ll naturally gravitate towards working on your business, and not in your business–delegate responsibilities and build a team–which’s the ultimate goal. Take these first steps today, and keep growing, digitally, to build your real estate brand.

Still have a few questions about adding video to your marketing strategy?

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