Improve Your First Online Impression

These days, buyers, sellers, and agents are finding you for the first time online more than ever before. According to a study conducted by NAR in 2018, more than 90% of home buyers conduct their home search online. So, whether it is from a listing that matches their search, social media, a third-party website, or a blog post, you want to make sure that their first impression of your brokerage sets you apart from the competition and leaves a lasting impression. Here are some things you can implement to help you start these relationships on the right foot.

Keep Agent Team Webpage and Social Profiles Current and Active.

For both Gen X and Gen Y clients, nothing raises a red flag quicker than a Facebook page that hasn’t had a post in a month. Website and social profiles should regularly showcase the skills and experience of you and your team in a visual and relatable way. It tells customers why you’re the right partner for their real estate transaction.
An effective profile contains:

• A high-quality photograph (headshot only) presents your team members as likable and trustworthy. You don’t necessarily need to hire a professional photographer but avoid ‘selfie’ shots with shadows or odd angles. Encourage your team to dress professionally (no ballcaps or sunglasses) in their online photo. Update photos about every 2 years or when a team member’s appearance changes significantly. People expect to meet the person they seen online.
• An engaging bio that tells a story about each team member. The bio establishes credibility with potential clients by being relatable; avoid using the bio like an advertisement. A useful bio will outline qualifications, personal background, and the kind of partnership approach you will take with clients. Team members can also use their bio to explain their knowledge about the local market and share client testimonials.

Since each team member is an extension of your brand, the language, and style of their bio should be consistent, and reflect the values of your real estate brokerage.

Craft A Content Plan

Content remains king in the information age. At the core of every successful real estate content marketing strategy are three things:

A clear vision: In order to best optimize your content and resonate with your ideal clients you need to create a comprehensive profile of who they are, what they seek, and what problems they face. Decide what you want to accomplish through your content plan.

Altruism: Make sure that all the content you post is in the best interest of the target audience. If you constantly try to promote yourself throughout your blog and other content, you will alienate the people that you are trying to attract. Instead, aim to inform and entertain them by delivering the content that they crave without any expectation of getting something back.

Consistency: Create consistency with all of your content to present a more polished perception. Not only should everything look, sound, and feel the same, it should be posted and updated on a consistent basis.
Since you can never be sure which piece of content someone will find first, it is important to regularly update your content on brokerage blog posts, social media channels, and pay careful attention to your images and videos. An active and relatable set of digital channels can be like honey to the bees for creating a first impression that leads to engagement.

Leverage Testimonials

One of the main driving factors behind a buyer’s decision-making process is social proof. Here you really only get one chance to make a first impression. With so many competing brokers and agents out there, the one with visible, authentic sounding, properly attributed reviews will often be the one who gets the call.

Luckily, online reviews are easier to collect and control than traditional word of mouth. Get the most out of every testimonial, no matter where it was collected from, by posting them everywhere people can find you like your website, profile pages, various social media profiles, third-party websites, printed materials and newsletters. There are many resources out there available to help you do this.

Affiliation Can Help Make Your First Impression Stronger

Making a great first impression is one thing, but you have to have the infrastructure to live up to customers once you get them. Sure, you can build all the tech, tools and systems on your own, but it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears and you have a business to run! By finding the right brand to affiliate with, much of the heavy lifting will already be done for you.  All you have to do is apply it to your already successful business. Weichert franchisees benefit from a comprehensive suite of branding, technology, lead generation, marketing tools, and training that allow them to always put their best foot forward on and offline.

The power of a carefully built brand, like Weichert, gives every franchise owner a leg up in their local marketing and recruiting. When coupled with our proven systems for everything from personal branding, to training, to brokerage management, you can finally spend more time working on your business, instead of in it.

For more information about how Weichert can help you strengthen your brokerage’s first impression, go to www.weichertfranchise.com or contact us at 877-567-3350.