By Brian Copeland, CRS
When you think about how to build your personal brand, it’s good to go examine important relationships in your life. We have our spousal relationships, our friend relationships and relationships with our children, which are essential to our lives. And as REALTORS®, one of our most important relationships is with our own community or city. In my case, people have always known me as having a huge love affair with Nashville, Tennessee, and so I’m known as Nashville Brian.
In the class I am leading for RRC, “Building a Personal Brand,” we will go over what a successful brand is—and what it is not. Your brand is a feeling that people get about you. Not the logos, graphics, videos or TikToks that you’re putting out. Those are promotional pieces. When someone says your name, what do they think? Is it joy, lemonade and bubble gum, or prickly pears and vinegar? Are you a “yes” or a “no” brand? When someone says your name or your team’s name, is it a brand of “yes” for a consumer and your fellow REALTORS®?
Another way to think about your brand is what it attracts versus what it repels.
In online communications especially, you should look at everything you do and say, and think: Is this post going to endear people to me or is it going to push them further away? Examine your content and think, “Who could be left out of this post? If I’m joking or saying something very specific about a holiday, who am I excluding in that?” Make sure your brand is inclusive.
Avoiding common branding mistakes
I mentioned earlier that your logo, graphics and color choices were part of your promotional materials, not the brand itself. But they must support your brand identity. You need to be very cognizant of the fonts, the colors, the simplicity versus the busyness of your brand. I believe that less is more attractive in branding pieces.
I frequently see real estate branding that is just all over the place. There are so many fonts, so many words, so many graphics, so many colors—and that’s a huge mistake.
Other areas to avoid include discussing politics or religion. You can argue and say, “Hey, I want to attract this demographic,” but I would say that you need to be careful that you’re not violating Fair Housing standards. If you’re trying to attract only one demographic, you’re repelling other demographics, in turn setting yourself up for liability lawsuits when it comes to Fair Housing.
Be authentic and harmonize your brand
I believe in omnipresent branding, which means you always present yourself in the same way in all places—or at least it seems that way to people. When you’re omnipresent in your branding, you’re sharing your business, you’re sharing your personal life (within certain limits) and they’re all in harmony. It goes back to your brand: What do you want to be known as? Do you want to be known as the serious businessperson? Do you want to be known as the fun person that everyone wants to spend time with?
I see a lot of people online and unfortunately, they’re very unclear on what they want to be. One day, they’re upset about something. The next day, they’re excited about having lots of closings. Then they’re going off about some political thing, and the day after that, they’re depressed their parents did not treat them properly during their last visit. You must learn the difference between being authentic and over-sharing.
The consumer cannot get to know you unless you open your brand to them. And that brand can be many, many things, but it needs to be focused. The more you’re focused on that brand, the more you’re going to attract the consumer that will ultimately make you the happiest. That’s why proper branding is essential.
You can follow and connect with Brian Copeland, CRS, on Instagram and Twitter at @nashvilleBrian.
Photo: iStock.com/DrAfter123
