3 Expert Tips for Realtors to Stand Out With Effective Branding and Design
Penned by Sara Schultz, founder of Free Afternoon™.
it can be challenging to stand out
In a crowded market where every real estate professional is vying for attention, it can be challenging to stand out. How can you make an impact, reach your goals, and live a balanced business lifestyle in a highly saturated market?
In this blog post, I share three expert tips that will help position you as a standout realtor, leveraging your brand presence to leave a lasting impression that creates an obsession with your dreamy client.
IF WE’VE YET TO MEET…
I’m Sara. As a Brand educator, I help business owners curate ideas, create alignment with voice & visuals, and educate them on how to captivate the perfect clients. I run a creative agency, Free Afternoon™, where my team and I work 1:1 with incredible clients ready to create brand obsession. I also run an online brand education website, heysaraschultz.com, where we educate with free and paid resources. At the core of it all, I believe you simply deserve to have a roster of dreamy clients to call your own and also lead a lifestyle you love. I’m a both/and kinda gal.
Captivating the perfect clientele in a sea of fellow Realtors isn’t easy; the cost of entry into your profession is low, meaning it’s not necessarily challenging to enter the profession. There are a lot of you. I’m a firm believer it doesn’t matter how many Realtors there are, though; your job is to stand out and speak directly to your ideal client. Ignore the rest. Let someone else have those folks. You want to work with the best fit for you.
SO, HOW DO WE GET YOU THERE?
Branding is a critical part of captivating your audience. Before someone can even read your message, you need a persuasive visual experience to draw them in. And once they’re paying attention, your voice (written or spoken) needs to align with the visual story you hooked them on, speaking directly to your dreamy client.
Ensuring your branding (the identity of your brand) is targeting the right people matters. Strategy, thought, intention, value propositions, mission statements, values, goals, and your personal story should all be considered when developing your brand identity.
To get you ready to build that brand obsession, here are 3 Expert Tips for Realtors to Stand Out in a Saturated Market, using Effective Branding and Design.
1. Embrace Authenticity
Leverage who you truly are. You should shine through your writing style, social media presence, website, and personal interactions. Clients appreciate and value authenticity, so let it be the cornerstone of your brand strategy.
Why this matters: your clients are hiring you. As a Realtor providing a service supporting the most money many people will spend/receive in a single transaction, your dreamy clients want you to be their usher through a high-stakes, high-risk, high-reward time.
By staring in your brand authentically, you’re quickly able to make the right connections right away. Anyone who isn’t into you won’t interact. Good! We don’t need them to waste your time (or theirs).
By showing up as your you-est you, your right people are compelled to action. They reach out, interact, and connect. From there, you work your sales magic to close the deal and get them under contract. You being you is the fastest way to get them signed on (and you get paid).
Tip: Infuse your marketing materials with your authentic voice. Craft listing descriptions, social media posts, and bios that reflect your genuine self. Show potential clients that you are a relatable and trustworthy professional who truly understands their needs. Be consistent and be you. All day. Every day. Rinse and repeat.
For example: if you’re an easy-go-lucky, care-free kinda human, maybe your messaging could read more casual, a bit quippy and cheeky, and rich with fun:
“Hate your home? Let’s find you a spot you’re damn excited about, one that makes you eager to drink that morning cuppa joe on the front steps in your robe. But like, a nice robe. Because you have class, after all.”
2. Create a Memorable Brand Identity that Reflects Your Expertise
Your branding is a tangible representation of your brand. It's an opportunity to communicate your expertise and make a lasting impression. Avoid generic symbols in your branding that blend into the crowd (I’m looking at you, house logo marks). Instead, invest in professionally designed branding that captures the essence of your brand. Make it clear that you are not just another realtor, but a trusted industry expert.
This may seem obvious coming from a brand designer, however, your brand identity is the foundation of everything you create.
Need a listing flier created? Social media graphics? An email blast? Business cards? None of those things can get created without having stellar branding.
All of these visuals need to be crafted with creative consistency. And the voice that identifies the writing style also needs to read/sound consistent, too. You can’t just open up Canva and pick a new graphic style, color palette, or your favorite font of the week. Without consistency, you’re missing an opportunity to create brand recognition. When someone recognizes your brand, they’re more likely to interact with it.
You’re in sales… so I’m sure you understand the rule of 7; you need SEVEN interactions with someone before they’re willing to close with you. Your marketing materials (digital and print) can help get you there, but it won’t count if you’re not RECOGNIZABLE. Don’t waste a touchpoint!
Consistency > Recognition > Awareness > LOYALTY. You want someone to be brand loyal to YOU; your branding can help you get there.
TIP: If I’ve lost you on what EXACTLY makes up your brand identity and branding, I have a free video course waiting for you. This way, you know all the things you need to captivate your audience, even when you’re sleeping.
Another tip: I can’t sit here and pretend great branding just happens. Be smart: if you want people to invest in you, you need to invest in you, too. Hire a skilled designer or creative agency to develop your unique brand identity. They will help you leverage strategy to build your best brand.
3. Don’t Forget About Social Proof
In today's highly connected and digital world, social proof has become a vital component in building a strong brand. Use the influence and validation of previous clients to help draw in your next clients. This isn’t a referral; this is using your existing client base who had positive experiences with your brand as a powerful tool for establishing trust, credibility, and reliability in your future dreamy clients.
Social proof acts as a stamp of approval, assuring future dreamy clients they are making the right choice by choosing YOU. It helps overcome skepticism, reduce buyer hesitation, and increase conversions.
By actively cultivating social proof through testimonials, case studies, social media engagement, and online reviews, you can harness its persuasive influence to differentiate your brand and establish a reputable presence in the market.
Tip: video wins in today’s landscape, so although a graphic with a testimonial (in your branding, of course) on your social platforms and a Google review is good, don't underestimate the power of an actual video review.
Curate a video series of clients who are gregarious with a strong presence on camera; this isn’t a job for every client. Make it personal and invite your ideal clients to do so, making them feel special and appreciated. Toss in a gift card while you’re at it.
Give them prompts with specifics you want them to mention; this is all about being ON BRAND. You need to control the narrative and select messaging prompts and people accordingly so this expands your brand recognition through social proof. Basically, this strategy is like a 2-for-1 special for brand building: social proof + brand recognition.
My biggest piece of ADVICE
Standing out in a saturated market doesn’t have to feel impossible. Be authentic, invest in telling your best story well with strategic branding that targets your dreamy client with both voice and visuals and use smart tactics like video + social proof to further brand recognition that can help convert those dreamy clients.
I promise, with some brand clarity and consistency, you’ll be wowing in no time.
Be sure to find me on the Gram @heysaraschultz or peek at my agency Free Afternoon™ if you are ready to bring on experts to help you catapult your brand.
All the best!
Sara
