How Branding Plays a Key Role in Effectively Marketing Your Real Estate Business

Are you an Apple fan? Regardless of whether you’re the proud owner of a Macbook Air or not you would agree that the first thing the word ‘Apple’ brings to mind is not the fruit but the brand. You probably know more benefits of using the Apple iPad than you know about the fruit.

That’s exactly what branding does, and it’s more important than ever now for a real estate business.

So, what makes a good real estate brand?

Going by the Apple example, it’s now easy to imagine the impact that branding can have. A strong real estate brand identity does a lot more than move product. The most prolific brands know that it represents something much more valuable:TRUST. When you build trust, you cultivate a loyal following and your products start selling themselves. This happens when you establish a thoroughly thought-out identity of your company that goes beyond just logos & fonts. It creates a consistent identity that consumers will link uniquely to your company. This sets you apart from the others in creating a recognizable and memorable experience for them. There is a distinct correlation between genuine trust engendering consumer loyalty, devotion, repeat customers, cross-selling, positive word-of-mouth, positive sentiment, and more cooperative interactions. All of these things, and more, are the result of a real estate brand identity founded on trust. This is how, if taken care of, a real estate brand identity is capable of becoming your most valuable asset.

Your brand is the first impression you make. It’s what people think of when they think of you. The words ‘looking for a house’ or ‘searching for a good property’ should be synonymous with your brand, and it’s what will ultimately set your business apart from competition.

Real estate marketing and branding are entirely different

Often real estate developers focus more on marketing their products rather than searching for an answer as to who they are as a company. Marketing and branding are different but they are two sides of the same coin. In a nutshell, branding is who you are as a company—and marketing is how you build awareness about your products. Branding is your strategy, while marketing encompasses your tactical goals.

Branding covers a lot more ground than marketing. It’s where you define your unique offerings and the features that make you, you. Think of it like this – there will never be another person exactly like you down to your last little idiosyncrasies. Think of your real estate brand as an individual with well-defined distinctive characteristics to stay ahead of competition.

How does brand help marketing?

If you were to choose between reading a gripping story and a business report, what would you choose? Chances are you would check out the story first. If you have a story to tell your clients, they will turn their attention away from the competition towards you.

Real estate branding is a long-term investment that a company makes in the shape of their properties, and in doing so they are creating a positive image for themselves and their business. Building a story and a nice image is the foundation for a good marketing strategy.

What are some of the important factors in real estate branding?

What was your sole mission when you started your business? What are your core principles and values? How do you want people to feel when they think of your business? Ask yourself these questions, write down the answers. That’s the outline for your branding strategy.

Your branding should be driven by a clear mission statement that ties in with the organization’s goals and values. The strategy should also include objectives for who you’re trying to attract, where you’re trying to reach them, and how you will communicate. For instance, if you are targeting millennials you might want to think of themes like diversity and inclusion in your strategy.

Finally, the brand strategy needs to list what other real estate companies are doing and what will set you apart from those other brands.

There are many different branding strategies that you can play with but it’s important to remember that every strategy needs to be backed up with strong and consistent messaging. A good way to do this is by creating a slogan or tagline, for instance, that can be used throughout the organization.

Final thoughts

You might have a stellar marketing strategy in place but without solid real estate branding efforts it will be half as effective. As a real estate professional you’re constantly interacting with people. Start by being your authentic self. That’s going to reflect in your brand, and eventually, marketing too.