Social media is instantaneous. It’s a billboard in the palm of everyone’s hand and provides feedback to advertisers faster than any other form of media.
I have built my career and my company on marketing. While the landscape of media has changed throughout my 20-year career, the principles remain the same: The most consistent messaging you can provide is through your brand.
Building a brand today, whether you’re a real estate professional, an entrepreneur, or a student, is heavily based on how you present yourself online. Your brand can be built up—and shot down—based on how you market yourself on social media.
My commitment and consistency on social media have helped me further my career as a real estate leader, which led to the success of my brokerage as well.
Letting people into your life is important for humanizing your brand, so don’t just share your listings and closings. Give your followers insight into your life outside the office. I provide glimpses into my life by sharing posts about my dogs, and of course, my wife Abby. Sharing more about my life helps my clients and prospects get to know the man behind the brand.
When you decide to enter the world of promotional sales, you have to be willing to give people some information about who you are in order to build trust. Your social media presence also needs to be consistent. The mother of all learning is repetition. Build a social media routine that revolves around both you and your real estate brand.
Your brand also needs to be pure, so stay true to yourself in your online identity. Your followers expect that what they see and read about you online is an accurate representation of what they’ll experience when you meet in person.
It’s easy to be misunderstood on social media if you’re not presenting the entire picture of your life and your business. This was a lesson I learned early in my real estate career. I was presenting a different online persona than who I am in real life. My messaging today is true to who I am, and it has helped me grow my business around what I want to represent both in my life and for my business.
Lastly, be strategic in who you are following on social media. Follow those who walk the walk and talk the talk instead of the jokers. Just as you should in real life, surround yourself with professionals you relate to, you respect, and who can help you move your brand forward.
Growing your brand via social media can be rewarding. Remember: Be persistent. Be consistent. Be true to yourself.