Building YOUR Personal Real Estate Brand?

Social media has become a key branding tool for professionals across all fields, including real estate..

Brokers and agents can connect with fellow industry players, push out information about listings or open houses and use social listening tools to identify potential clients who may be looking to buy.

But as with any brand, no one will want to follow you if all you post about is business.

Your social media audience wants to know that there's a human being behind your accounts, and it's important to have a healthy mix of personal and professional content to keep people engaged.

Members of Forbes Real Estate Council offered 10 key ways to use social media as an effective brand-building tool without alienating your followers.

Related Article: How To Make Social Media Pay?

1. Show Your Personality And Charm

You may be focused on selling your product and service, but it is paramount that you incorporate the importance of intangible factors like personality and charm. You've been in sales your whole life because every day you are selling your most important asset: yourself. It may sound clich, but people do business with people they like. So sell yourself; the business will come later. -Alex Chieng A & L Real Estate Team

2. Be Yourself And Let People Into Your Daily Life

Don't be afraid to let people in on your daily life. If you post little snippets of your life, people will love following you. Keep your social media positive — happy pictures of your friends and family, and then sprinkle in a little bit of work-related subjects. Be real! When you make people laugh, they will be glued to your reality. -Angela Yaun Day Realty Group

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Brand Voice?

3. Find A Balance

It’s important for your social media to be a reflection of yourself, personality and all. But at the same time, remember who your audience is. Your followers are likely interested in your real estate knowledge, not necessarily how you feel about the current political climate. Make sure to find a balance or people might not take you seriously in the real estate industry. -Joshua Hunt TRELORA

4. Have Your Clients Blow Your Trumpet

I have seen some younger brokers/agents use social media to engage with their customers and use that as a brand building tool. It adds more validity to your skills when praise comes from your clients rather than yourself. Tagging your clients in a post mentioning a successful closing might be the first step to brand building on social media. -Nikhil Choudhary Zenith Engineers Inc

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Brand Screenplay?

5. Focus On Facebook

The biggest mistake most good agents make with social media is they try to do it all. The vast majority can't; they are too busy. The best one for agents is hyperlocal: Facebook. You can connect with your sphere and your neighbors. There is no better way to reach your audiences to build your brand. Use Facebook in the course of your daily routine and post as you go. -Kevin Hawkins WAV Group, Inc.

6. Be Consistent

To build brand awareness you need to stay consistent with your message, whatever it may be. Make sure to be active across your social media platforms on a daily basis and find a way to differentiate yourself and stand out from the herd. -Engelo Rumor List'n Sell Realty

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Business Presence?

7. Don't Try To Sell

Use social media to build your personal brand, not to sell your product or service. Post items that help people understand who you are, what you think and what you stand for. Be very careful never to criticize others: Whatever you say on social media is out there forever, in writing, for anyone to see. -Lee Kiser Kiser Group

8. Add Value To The Conversation

Whether you currently use social media or not, it is critical to understand that your brand is already being talked about online. By using social media, you can steer the conversation in the direction you desire. The No. 1 rule of social media is to provide value. Always make sure you're adding value to the conversation while keeping the goals of your audience in mind. -Sarnen Steinbarth TurboTenant

Related Article: Social Media Secrets To Going Viral?

9. Be Where Your Clients Are

When developing and managing your social media brand, it's important to focus on those channels where you'll have the most impact. The greatest content in the world is useless if no one is seeing it. Survey your clients and prospects to find out what social media channels they're using and what type of posts they like to read. -Lisa Fettner ReferralExchange

10. Go Behind The Scenes

Use social updates, videos, live streams and other tools to show off your listings, but your life. And I'm not talking about a video of you standing in front of a Bentley — I'm talking about the real grunt work that goes on behind the scenes whether you're staging, flipping or listing a home. -Kent Clothier Real Estate Worldwide 

Guest Authored By Forbes Real Estate Counsil. Forbes Real Estate Counsil is an invitation only organization for executives in the Real Estate industry. Follow Forbes Real Estate Council on Twitter.

Related Article: Promoting YOUR Social Media Content?

“As with any brand, no one will want to follow you if all you post about is business.

Your social media audience wants to know that there's a human being behind your accounts, and it's important to have a healthy mix of personal and professional content to keep people engaged.."

• 

  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

Tweaks To Elevate YOUR Brand?

5 quick social media tweaks to elevate your personal brand.

Think refining and boosting your personal brand is an overwhelming undertaking? It doesn't need to be..

Related Article: Fixing YOUR Boring Social Media Brand?

Want to give your personal brand and online reputation a boost? These social media tweaks take little time, but have a big impact..

If you're anything like me, the idea of personal branding seems somewhat intangible and even slightly overwhelming. Don't get me wrong -- I understand the importance. But, when it actually comes time to do something that contributes to my personal brand, I find myself stuck.

Here's the good news, though: Refining and improving your personal brand doesn't need to be an overly complex undertaking -- particularly if you're ready and willing to leverage social media to your advantage.

In fact, there are a few quick and easy things you can do to foster a more positive reputation for yourself online -- without needing to invest tons of hours and elbow grease.

Related Article: Social Media To Magnify YOUR Brand?

1. Swap Out Your Photos

Is your LinkedIn photo growing mold? Has it been years since you've changed out your Twitter profile picture?

Adding a new image to your social profiles is a great way to give your pages an instant makeover with very little effort.

Even if your existing photo isn't necessarily bad, adding a brand new headshot serves to breathe some new life into your accounts!

2. Update Your Twitter Profile

You know that little 160-character blurb that appears directly under your Twitter photo? Well, when's the last time you knocked the cobwebs off of that?

Related Article: Using Social Media To Market Yourself?

It's a short little paragraph, which means it takes very little time to update.

Tag the company you're currently working with, add your personal website, or even challenge yourself to think of a witty statement that suits your personality and the brand you're attempting to foster.

Yes, that bio is short, but it still says a lot about you -- so, make sure it's accurate and engaging.

3. Highlight Your Recent Work

You never want social media to become your platform for shameless self-promotion. But, there's nothing wrong with sharing some of your recent work there.

Related Article: Your Consistent Brand Presence?

Add a few new portfolio pieces to your LinkedIn profile. Or, share a recent piece of work on Facebook or Twitter.

It's always better to show what you can do, rather than just talk about it -- and this is an easy and wide-reaching way to get that done.

4. Share an Interesting Piece of Content

Of course, you don't only need to share your own work. Passing along pieces of content that you find interesting is an effective way to establish yourself as a thought leader without being overly promotional.

Whether it's an article you thought was intriguing, an infographic you found relevant to your industry, or even an engaging video clip that relates to your profession, there are plenty of opportunities to fill other people's feeds with valuable and informative content.

Related Article: Social Media Content Curation Tools?

5. Tweet to Someone You Admire

Social media is also a powerful way to forge connections with people -- provided you're willing to actually reach out.

Whether it's an author or speaker, industry leader, colleague, or anyone else that you look up to, send a friendly tweet telling that person how much you admire his or her work. It's a great tactic to establish relationships in a casual, low-pressure environment.

Guest Authored By Kat Boogaard. Kat is a Wisconsin-based freelance writer, mainly covering topics related to careers, self-development, and freelancing. Currently, she's a staff writer for The Muse, the career editor for The Everygirl, and a career-advice blogger for ZipRecruiter. When she escapes her computer screen, you can find her baby-talking to her rescued terrier mutt, pretending to be a runner, cursing at a recent DIY project, or dishing out advice for prospective freelancers on her website. Follow Kat on Twitter.

Related Article: New Brands Pressing The Right Buttons?

“Elevating your personal brand might seem like it involves a huge time investment.

But, like with anything, small steps in the right direction can go a long way.

Utilize these five quick tips, and you're sure to give your online reputation a boost.."

• 

  Post Crafted By:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

Becoming A Social Media Rockstar?

Social media seems like an easy and appealing career, right? You usually work from home, and all you have to do is be yourself..

Not so fast, buckaroo. Before you go charging off on your quest for social media fame, there are a few things you need to know.

Social media professionals are in demand, but getting the really plum jobs can be challenging. Much like sales careers, you have to prove yourself before big companies - with big payrolls - will be willing to consider you. Here are some steps you can take to stand out from your competitors and land a prestigious job in social media.

Build Your Own Network

Your loyal followers are a big plus. If you have the personality to build a big network on your own, building a brand network should be easy. Plus, your followers will help you launch your career with the brand. An engaged following is a huge leg up on your competition, especially if you can point out that your audience fits the demographic of the business you're applying to. If you want to work for a specific type of company, say retail fashion, cultivate a following heavy in young women.

Related Article: Tools to Catapult YOUR Brand?

Protect Your Personal Brand

Social media is built on personality. Potential employers will search for you on every social network. Your online presence should be consistent, professional and interesting across every platform. Post with reputation management in mind, and that includes minding what groups you join, who you interact with and what photos you're tagged in. Potential employers really don't need to know about that drunken college weekend in Cabo. Plenty of people lose their jobs for doing something horrible on social media or when a video ends up online (not safe for work - bad language).

Related Article: Personal Brand Protection - 5 Easy Steps?

Include Customer-Service Skills and Experience

Contrary to popular opinion, social media is not only about delivering clever one-liners. As a social media professional representing a company, you are customer service, marketing and the face of the company. While you are not applying to be a face-to-face or field service representative, your customer-service skills must be on point. Customers will come to you with complaints, issues and kudos. The ability to respond professionally and de-escalate volatile confrontations is a critical social media skill.

Build Experience

Consider being an intern or volunteering for a business to build experience. Look for a charity, local politician, school or local business and offer to help out, or combine social media with a compatible job. For example, a company blog writer, receptionist or office assistant could volunteer to take on social media and build experience for the next move.

Get Cozy With Analytics

Let's be honest here - creatives aren't always analytical thinkers. Numbers come hard to some of us. If your aim is to be a social media superstar, suck it up. The social media game is all about analytics. Sure, a big company will have people to analyze data and run numbers, but to do your job right, you need real-time analysis. You need to check the reaction on each post or tweet, figure out what works best and adjust your performance before anyone else sees it. With a basic understanding of analytics, you can show an upward trend instead of waiting for some numbers guy to tell you where you're failing.

Related Article: Brand Management Social Media Selfies?

Embrace The Selfie

Some people are just terrible at selfies. It's a skill that takes practice, and selfies are an inevitable part of social media presence. Practice until you can find your best angle and take the picture without fumbling, taking a photo of your finger or taking so long your phone battery dies while you're trying to find the sun.

Get Certified

While you may not be able to get a college degree in social media (yet), you can get a social media certification by taking a comprehensive online course. Take advantage of any educational opportunity you can find. Classes and certifications look great on a resume and show employers you're serious about your career.

Guest Authored By Sherry Gray. Sherry is a freelance content writer from Key West, Fla., currently suffering in the suburbs of Orlando. She is a science geek, a social media junkie and an unapologetic fan of all things bacon. Follow Sherry on Twitter.

Related Article: Becoming A Social Media Consultant?

"Being a social media professional is a dream job for some people.

Imagine working from anywhere and making a living on your wits alone. Who knew that being friendly would someday become a job classification?

It's a job a lot of people would love to do, so competition can really be fierce. To land your dream job, make sure you stand out from everyone else.." -Sherry Gray

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

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