By Robin Wilding

These days, being a Realtor without a solid online brand is like trying to run a marathon in bare feet. You have no hope of catching up to the leaders and you’ll likely trip over your own feet trying.

Building an online brand revolves around your ability to characterize yourself with a killer website that highlights your differentiators as an agent and then to integrate other technologies that keep you ahead of the curve. Easily said, but hard to achieve – just like everything else valuable in life.
Building an online brand revolves around two elements: your ability to distinguish yourself online as a solid choice as a Realtor and your ability to leverage current and relevant technology.
To succeed in the current real estate landscape, there are four prime technologies you need:

1. A rockstar, mobile-enabled website that is professional and sets you apart from the competition with useful images and unique, relevant content.

2. Video-marketing strategies that showcase your skills and personality as an agent, including website-based, selling-yourself videos and video listings.

3. QR codes that you integrate into all your forms of marketing (both online and offline).

4. A solid social media marketing campaign that engages your existing contacts while encouraging new followers.

As you implement and refine these four technologies, including your website, QR codes, video marketing and social media marketing, you will want to keep these brand-building concepts in mind:

• · Online, you have mere seconds to grab someone’s attention – so be different, immediately, by using a slogan, motto, statistic or one-line bio.
• Avoid stock photography and stock animations for “effect” that don’t add to your overall online impression.
• · Portray a manicured, but realistic, image.
• · Leverage a well-written professional bio that highlights your specific skills as a Realtor and give it prime real estate in order to place it prominently.
• · Use professionally written material in your high-impact, high-traffic content.
• · Invent a new logo and/or catch phrase that helps to differentiate you.
• · Create a brand by using the same colours, textures, images and phrases across all forms of marketing, from your website to online brochures to videos to business cards to signs.

When it comes to building a client list-building online brand, the key is to be original. There are a thousand other cookie-cutter Realtors out there. Properly highlight your skills with a professional bio, leverage the four primary technologies that every Realtor needs and find a way to differentiate yourself through unique content.

Robin Wilding is the creative mind behind Real Estate Websites Canada, a boutique real estate website company providing “differentiating-yet-laughably-affordable web solutions for agents across the country.” She says: “The company’s success is highly attributable to creating low-cost branded websites that highlight the personality of each individual agent. You’re unique; your website should be too.”  https://real-estate-websites.ca/