It's well documented how important keeping up with your online presence is. Your personal website, your email and your social media all play such a big role, looking outdated in any of them will put you behind.
A lot more goes into it than you might think. It's more than just your picture, posts and your emails. Each interaction, post or ad is a chance to build your personal brand. Don't take any of them for granted. Having graphics or pictures in your emails, Facebook ads or anywhere else can separate you from standard house sale ads. Your picture, graphics and how you market yourself will determine how much you stand out.
Using Graphics That Stand Out
Eye-catching graphics are a giant factor in catching the attention of people on social media or the internet in general. Sharing it on Instagram or Pinterest can boost your presence there.
The License
Whether it's a picture or some type of graphic, and you are using it in any form, make sure it's not under copyright and it's available for commercial use. If you create your own graphics or have someone do it for you, or take your own photos, this won't matter. If you're not doing that you can search for pictures available for use with Google or Flickr by changing the search settings.
Have a Graphic Made For You
If you don't make your own or have them made already, there are many resources and places to get images made. Hire a freelancer off the web or fiverr.com. Fiverr is a great resource where all task are 5 dollars, and you can have a whole lot done.
Size
Make sure your image pops out and is easy to look at. It needs to be at least 400 pixels wide, that way it can be shared on a few platforms and fit on each one of them. It does vary slightly from platform to platform, but you can keep up with the sizes for each here.
Text
Putting text over a picture or with your graphics is a good strategy. Facebook ads require that the image has 20 percent or less text on it. People are more likely to click on something with an image/picture and text accompanying it.
Don't Screw Up Your Profile Pic, Use a Professional Head-shot
Do not have a selfie or anything other than a headshot done by a professional. This is automatically going to let people know who you are. And if your headshot hasn't been done professionally, or close to it, then you should get one done. It does make a difference.
One thing you don't want to look in your picture is stiff or staged. A photographer will tell you to to relax for a reason. People will notice if it's not natural. It should be one of those things where people see your picture, but don't overly notice it, since if they do it is probably going to be for negative reasons.
So with that in mind, don't use special effects, weird backgrounds or any type of props. We've all seen agents with gags and goods in their headshots. That takes away from what they might be sharing or offering.
The last thing to remember about your photo is to update it at least once a year.
These are two simple ways to boost your online presence, and make sure it's not going backwards. A smart agent should always be looking to boost themselves online and doing anything they can to improve there.
UNTIL NEXT TIME, BE SMART, AND WORK SMARTER!
Joe Nickelson is a real estate professional dedicated to helping home buyers and sellers achieve their dreams of owning property, and helping real estate agents stop using the sometimes-vicious tactics that weigh on their consciences. He believes that the Smart Agents books will, quite literally, change people’s lives for the better. Check out his full bio here!
