The big question is, what is personal branding? It is not your logo. It’s not your company colors. It’s not even your business name. A lot of people confuse personal branding with company branding, and they’re very different things. Personal branding, in fact, is YOU.
When it comes to real estate, as you’ve probably heard a million times, real estate is a relationship business. People like to do business with people. That’s why I’m always urging you to come out from behind your logo to show your faces on social media.
It’s important that you show your human side, not just your company logo. People can’t trust a company logo; they trust a person. Personal branding helps you to show up as a human and brand yourself as the expert in your community.
Your brand goes beyond words by showing people who you are and letting them know what they can expect from you when they follow you, when they do business with you and when they befriend you. It’s how you show up in the world, and it will determine who you attract to your business and how successful you will be at influencing people to trust you and do business with you.
The Power of Emotion
People make decisions based on emotions, and then they rationalize that decision later. A personal brand is significant for making emotional connections with sellers you haven’t even met yet because it allows for that human connection. When you share humor, a relatable story, or when you empathize with what a seller might be going through you’re tapping into the emotions of your audience.
Before you can do this though, you need to figure out what your brand stands for and what your voice is.
- Are you a funny laid back person who is easily approachable and has endless stories to share?
- Are you a proud parent who is raising your children to be financially savvy?
- Are you an avid athlete who is passionate about being the best person you can be in all areas of life?
These are just some of the characteristics you need to decide. The good news is that you already know the answers, but you’ve probably never thought about it in this way.
So let’s dive into the seven laws to creating a personal brand that will help you make some of these emotional connections and develop unshakable trust with your audience.
Law 1: Become a Specialist
Simply put, you need to be one of one, not one of many.
Think about the last party you were at when you told someone that you were an investor. Did it go well? Were they intrigued? Did they want to know more?
Thanks to shows like Flip This House, Flip or Flop, it seems that everyone has an idea of what investors do and what they’re all about. Flippers have become commonplace, so there’s a lack of interest as much as if you simply said you were a real estate agent.
More than ever it’s important to decide what you want to be known for. Is it that you’re going to specialize in a certain area of town? Are you going to work with a particular audience? Maybe you focus on the senior market or the military market. Maybe you just have a niche that you’re really, really good at like pre-foreclosures, probate, or divorce. Whatever it is, you need to become a specialist. This will allow you to rise above your competitors so that you’re not just the same old thing, they won’t know what to expect from you because you’re going to be so different from everybody else that they have come across.
Law 2: Become a Leader
Becoming a leader means displaying confidence so that sellers, agents, contractors, and private money lenders feel confident that you would be a rock-solid person to do business with. All of this is done through the content you share which shows a track record of success. This could be taking a selfie at a job site, or by sharing weekly progress on a job including any challenges you’ve overcome.
Law 3: Be Distinctive
Remember, nobody can be a better version of you! When you are authentic, transparent, and vulnerable online, people will be interested. They will follow you. They will want to know more about you. Being distinctive means embracing your unique personality and showing it through a signature hat, hairstyle, or lifestyle.
One important note, being the real you could run the risk of repelling people. Before you panic, realize that this is actually really great because it weeds out all the people that wouldn’t work with you anyway. Being authentic has a way of galvanizing your audience so they become super fans.
Law 4: Provide Value
Be of service by providing relevant information to homeowners that will keep them interested in us. Value will help us stay top of mind with potential sellers and those that will refer us.
Law 5: Display Good Character
How do you want people to talk about you when you are not in the room? No doubt you want people to say good things about you. You want things like your integrity or the fact that you’re such a great listener or the fact that you always keep your word and you do what you say you’re going to do to be primary components of how people describe you.
These are all parts of building a good character and those things can come out on social media loud and clear to people.
Law 6: Share Your “Why”
This is so powerful and I don’t feel like I see enough of it. What gets you out of bed in the morning? Why have you chosen to help distressed sellers?
You could have chosen to be a real estate agent, but instead, you chose to help distressed sellers. Why is that?
Whenever you’re talking about your why you have to remember your audience is thinking, “What’s in it for me?” They want to know why what you do matters to them and why you’re going to help them.
Your why is a very powerful part of your personal brand and you need to share it often.
Law 7: Be Consistently Visible
To become a known presence in your community you must show up on all of your social media platforms consistently.
Through social media, you can show value, relate to your audience, tell stories, and build trust. Social media is by far the most effective and affordable way to raise awareness about your business and about you. It is the perfect medium to build your personal brand, but it also requires investing time to post regularly.
REI Social is the only social media service for real estate investors. We understand your business and your customer’s unique challenges. Our posts help to attract, nurture and convert motivated sellers while helping you build your personal brand so you can become an authority in your market.
Listen to the Livestream
This post was adapted from the Livestream I produce weekly. If you’re interested in listening to the recording, join the Facebook Group! Inside you find information on social media marketing, as well as training, and networking. Learn how to leverage social media to grow your business online.