Agents: How To Not Suck At Social Branding (even if you have the personality of a lockbox)

There’s no way around it…

Now, more than ever, you’ve GOT to stand out as a real estate agent.

To say our industry is over-saturated with agents is an understatement. I think there are actually more agents than houses. It’s like they’re passing out real estate licenses on windshields in Wal-Mart parking lots these days.

Seems like everybody knows an agent (or twelve)…

…and they’re all competing for your piece of the pie.

There’s actually good news, though…

There’s this little thing called Facebook that, when used correctly, lets you brand yourself as the go-to agent in your market.

Even better news?

Most of your competitors don’t even know what a brand is… much less HOW to brand themselves

Seriously, it’s true. Let me go ahead and bust a common myth:

A brand isn’t a logo or marketing collateral – it’s a feeling. It’s the reason WHY you do what you do. When people think of you, your brand is what pops into their head. Your brand is the output of your values as they’re experienced by others.

So boiled down to its most simplest form, your brand is what people think about when they think about you…

…it’s a perception – not a tangible thing you can hold.
…it’s your stand out factor – what makes you unique.
…it only exists in the minds of others (it’s a feeling).

Your logo isn’t your brand.
Your pretty website isn’t your brand.
Your (outdated) headshot isn’t your brand (*cough cough*).

These things are important, but they’re not branding tools. So what DO you brand yourself with?

CONTENT.

(The good stuff, too. Not weaksauce. More on this in a sec.)

These days, there’s no better place to post your content than social media. Everything you post and share is telling the story of who you are and what you do. THAT is social branding. So how do you not suck at it? First, a quick question:

When using social media to talk about real estate, do you…

… fear annoying friends followers by coming across too “salesy”?
… wonder if you’re posting too much real estate stuff?
… lack the time, skill, (or energy) to post good content?

What about your engagement? Are you reaching lots of people? Or does it feel like you’re shouting into a cave — “Anybody in here?… here… here… here…”

If you’re nodding yes, don’t worry. You’re not alone. I know this first-hand because agents reach out to me all the time.

Plus, as the guy behind the Lighter Side of Real Estate, I literally spend my entire day on Facebook (sad I know, don’t judge), and I follow thousands of agents. My general consensus? They need help.

Don’t get me wrong, they mean well. They just don’t “get” social branding. But it’s not their fault. Agents are supposed to sell real estate, not be social media experts. Plus, most “gurus” they listen to couldn’t post their way out of a wet paper bag. Ugh, don’t get me started.

So while I LOVE following my followers (isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?) I find myself feeling a variety of ways when doing so. In fact, here’s a rough breakdown of my reactions whenever agents cross my news feed:

83% nodding off (‘cause it’s BOR-ing)
16% gagging (‘cause it’s WAY self-serving while lacking ANY value to their audience)
1% fist-pumping (‘cause FINALLY an agent “gets” how to do social branding right!)

What do the 1% of agents who “get it”
know that 99% of other agents don’t?

Simple. That it’s all about YOUR AUDIENCE and not you.

Give ‘em value. Be interesting. Stop being a self-promoting, robotic-sounding megaphone creating a bunch of noise that’s lacking in usefulness to anybody.

Translation: Stop having the personality of a lockbox!

(Ok sorry. That’s what you call tough love right there… emphasis on the love part, I swear.)

But think about it: there’s so much “noise” on social media, isn’t there? Especially in real estate.

It’s mostly boring, stale, overly-promotional fluff that nobody cares about. Stuff like:

“I’m the local expert look at me and my listings and don’t forget to come grab a free pen with my name on it” type of self-promoting platitudes.

Blah.

You don’t want to constantly hear that stuff, so why would your prospects?

Truth is, we humans crave entertainment. It’s hard-wired into all of us! And If you can find a way to consistently post interesting stuff (with a real estate tie-in), you’ll grab people’s attention. And keep it!

So, back to the headline…