The way that buyers and sellers search for real estate professionals has changed.
According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 73% of buyers and a whopping 82% of sellers only interviewed one agent. By comparison, the 2016 edition of the same report shows that 62% of first-time buyers and 72% of sellers only interviewed one agent before finding the right representative to hire. That means over the past five years, the number of buyers and sellers who only interview one agent has increased by about 10% respectively. As a result, many agents are being evaluated before anyone even gets in touch with them. While this may seem like a challenge, it is actually a fantastic opportunity for agents to dominate their local markets with a stellar online brand.
2 Mistakes that Agents Make When Building Their Online Brands
Before we talk about what makes a great online brand, let’s first start by highlighting a few common mistakes agents make when building their online brands.
Mistake #1 No Defined Brand Vision
Many agents mistake themselves and their trademarked materials for their brand. This causes a snowball effect that negatively impacts the entire marketing strategy. Without a clearly defined vision and target consumer, the marketing materials speak to an audience that is too broad. This ‘spray and pray approach is typically less effective compared to a more targeted approach that relies on content that speaks to a clearly defined consumer demographic.
Mistake #2 – Not Differentiating Your Real Estate Brand From Your Competitors
Too often agents will choose to create digital marketing content that looks exactly the same as their competitors. These marketing materials often include static PDFs, MLS listings, or print brochures that resemble what everyone else in the industry is using. By replacing these two common branding mistakes with creative digital storytelling solutions, you can become that “one agent” that’s being seen, interviewed, and hired by the clients in your market.
3 Steps In Which You Can Incorporate Digital Storytelling To Build Your Brand
Why Storytelling Is Key In Building Your Local Real Estate Brand
Human beings are naturally driven towards a narrative that they like and trust. This is true even when someone is choosing a local real estate professional. Your story is your brand and you need to make sure that every prospect experiences it in each stage of the buyer journey. Storytelling allows you to create a differentiator from the rest of your competitors. When executed properly, it can not only help you close more deals but also accelerate building your brand in your local community. The good news is Studeo’s digital Storybooks can help you build a strong online brand. Storybooks are a great way to tell stories that appeal to your audience’s interest and thanks to new advancements in technology, these interactive digital storybooks are now easier than ever to create.
Here is how you can use digital storybooks to enhance your online brand:
#1 Start with a Strong Brand Vision
The most recognizable brands are powered by a strong brand vision. A vision is how you would like to be perceived in the marketplace. For example, would you like to be the leading real-estate agent for luxury homes at the $2M+ price point? Or, would you like to be the go to real-estate agent for first-time homebuyers in your market? By aligning with a specific vision, your brand can speak directly to the customers you want to service — demonstrating your expertise in that niche market.
#2 Create Interactive, Engaging Marketing Materials That Tell A Story
Creating compelling digital storybooks that communicate your brand’s vision to a specific audience will help you become easily recognizable by the online leads you want to work with. By leveraging the one-of-a-kind format of digital storybooks, you are instantly showing your online traffic how you are different. You don’t have to tell leads that you excel in creating eye-catching online content because they are experiencing it for themselves. To improve the conversion potential of your marketing efforts, let your brand vision inspire your digital storybooks. For example, if your vision is to be the go to agent for downsizing retirees, make sure that the language and visuals of your materials reflect that. In this case, you may want to create digital storybooks that include relaxing lifestyle videos and descriptions of laid-back, manageable homeowner responsibilities.
Pro Tip: Studeo’s Storybooks can now be created using Artificial Intelligence. This new process has helped reduce the time needed to create a digital storybook by over 85%!
#3 Always Ensure Consistent Visual Branding
Your visual brand is an important part of your overall branding. Your visual brand consists of your brand logo, brand colors and brand fonts. Your visual brand should reinforce your brand vision. For example, if you are going after a younger demographic, your visual brand should feel brighter and more energetic than if you were going after a luxury market, or a market that is looking to downsize.
Pro Tip: With Studeo’s platform you can set up all your storybooks to automatically feature your brand logo, brand colors and brand fonts- ensuring every storybook you make is perfectly on-brand.
Remember, agents, are in the business of changing people’s lives. Real estate is a service-first industry. The human, emotional, and experiential aspects of your online brand will leave the biggest impact. By incorporating digital storytelling into your content, your brand will automatically help you stand out from other real estate agents. Your marketing will resonate with new buyers and sellers — and will ultimately help you to capture their business.
