Real Estate Branding – NO, Not for Agents!

Check out the next ten or so products you use regularly that are famous brands. How many are someone's name? No, I don't mean Wendy's or Burger King, as they're not real people. Sure, there are a few clothing designers marketing under their names, but they also create their products.

You're a real estate agent, and you do not create any real estate, so your real estate branding shouldn't be about your name.

Yes, you're the agent or broker they're going to talk to, but how many people who you haven't met yet will go to the web and search for your name to find real estate for sale in your market area? That would be a big fat zero in most cases that aren't referrals where they can remember the name they were given.

So, what should you be thinking about in a brand to set your real estate branding apart? Let's look at Coke, or Coca Cola, as an example. Did you know that until 1929, Coca Cola actually contained cocaine? Yes, it really did, back before cocaine became an illegal drug. That brand stuck though, and we just think of it as Coke today.

Using that thought, what is your product? Depending on niche and some keywords, your product could include:

• real estate
• homes
• real property
• realty
• buyer agent

That's just a few. With that in mind, perhaps real estate branding should maybe have one or more of those words/phrases in it. Seems logical, especially in today's Internet shopping world.

Rule #1: Think Web Search in Real Estate Branding

People who are seeking to buy or sell real estate, and will eventually end up engaged with an agent, will first almost always go to the Internet for research. This allows them to take their time and remain anonymous, not hearing from us annoying salespeople.

Action #1: Key Phrase in the Brand

Now we take a look at all of the words and phrases that describe what we do and think about which one would most accurately describe what we do or our market niche or services. Obviously, "real estate" is the top phrase, but it's also the most competitive; worth considering. "Homes for sale" works, as does "upscale homes," or "luxury homes," or "vacation homes." You're getting the idea, so choose what you believe fits your niche and will be used in searches.

Rule #2: Real Estate Is Local

Yes, I know you know this. But are you thinking about it when you're thinking real estate branding? People don't search for "united states real estate." Even if a couple do, those aren't your customers. People search for local real estate for sale and listing services.

Action #2: Think Local in Different Ways

The most common thing is to think city-wide, as in "houston real estate," or "denver homes for sale." That's fine if you normally and regularly cover the entire metro area. If not, where do you most often work and earn the most in commissions? Perhaps it's a subdivision name or maybe an area like "southwest houston homes." Spend some time on this as it's important. You don't want to limit your area of practice, but you do want a brand that will deliver lots of prospects.

Rule #3: Think Creatively

This is a brand, and you want your real estate branding to not only reflect who you are and what you do, but also be able to grab some consumer attention and retention. Take that bland "houston luxury homes" phrase and make it something like "find houston luxury homes," or "discover houston luxury homes."

Action #3: Put It into a Sentence or a Question

We're in the age of mobile searches, and more of those are becoming voice searches every day. That "find houston luxury homes," or "find houston homes for sale" become what some searchers will actually say into their phones. When it's your domain name and brand, guess who is likely to get their attention?

Take your time and get it right.

You don't have to lose your "yourname real estate website," but you should work on another one or one for each product niche with real branding names. Or, you can change your site's domain name/brand and then still point yourname.com to it as well.

To view the original article, visit the WebsiteBox blog.