It feels like everyone these days is talking about having a strong personal brand, but why is this important and what steps can you take to do this? Considering the importance of digital presence, developing a strong personal brand is more crucial than ever and it is even more important in the business of real estate where you have to sell yourself before you can sell properties. So here are some big tips for the task of building your personal brand!

Know Yourself and Be Yourself

This is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when building your personal brand. According to Karl Moore, a contributor at Forbes, “... authenticity can be considered to be one of the ten values regarded as most essential to [Millenials].” So in the age where the population of Millenials now outnumbers that of Baby Boomers, don’t try to be something you’re not. Consider the best traits about yourself. Ask your closest friends and family what they think your best qualities and greatest strengths are and make sure to highlight those. Make a list of your talents, be sure of them, and take pride in them! Know the things that you are good at so you can confidently share those talents with clients.

Strengthen Your Strengths

Once you are sure of all of your amazing talents, become an expert at those things. Are you highly relational? Great. Never stop building your network of connections. Are you highly knowledgeable about all things real estate? Amazing. Follow some great real estate blogs (Like this one! Kudos for being here!) and never stop learning! As you become an expert in both soft and hard skills, be sure to write about what you know. Having published material, with your name on it, makes you more credible to clients.

Google Yourself

It’s important to know what already exists concerning your online presence, so that you can know how your personal brand is already being perceived. Do you need to completely rebrand or can you work with the things that already exist about you online? In researching yourself, potential clients will likely Google your name and it’s a good idea to know what will come up when they do. Brian Croxall, from the Chronicle of Higher Education, has a very helpful article called “How to Google Yourself Effectively and What to Do About It” and while it is targeted toward professors, it is still very helpful for anyone looking to manage their Google search results.

Have Platforms Where You Can Promote Yourself

The point of having a strong personal brand is being able to promote yourself well, so you obviously have to be able to promote yourself somewhere. Having a website that represents you well and communicates your character is a great idea. It is also highly important to have a strong social media presence. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, Facebook is the largest platform with the most users and its users usually range in age from 25-54. Twitter is the next largest platform as far as users and the majority of its users are under the age of 50. It is smart to research the various social media platforms, even if you already know how they work, to figure out the demographics of users and therefore tailor your content well on each platform. In developing your personal brand, it is important that you remain consistent across all platforms, not necessarily posting the same content across all platforms, but rather maintaining your brand across all platforms.

Consider Every Post

In branding yourself, and keeping in mind the importance of your social presence, remember that EVERYTHING you post contributes to your personal brand. Even if you have a “Personal” account and a “Business” account, they both contribute to your personal brand as a professional Realtor so you want to maintain that brand well on all platforms and on all accounts.

Construct a Personal Elevator Pitch

If someone were to ask “Who are you?” do you know what you would say? Would you say your name and your age and your profession? Would you spill your entire life story? In building your personal brand it’s a good idea to have an answer somewhere in between those two extremes. Be able to explain yourself and what makes you stand out from every other Realtor. Use this personal elevator pitch to explain yourself on your social platforms and live it out in everything you do.

Grow and Evolve Your Personal Brand

Developing a personal brand does not mean developing a script that you stick to for the rest of your life. Part of your brand should be that you are continuously growing! Let people in on your process. As you continue to learn, post about the things you are learning, engage in fruitful conversation with other industry professionals, and have goals set in place for your growth. You can never be too good at your job, so don’t be afraid to be a continuous work in progress!

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