The real estate market is quite competitive, with many realtors offering similar services. To stand out, you鈥檒l need to invest significantly in your public image.
You probably already know this and have a budget allocated toward marketing and promotions. But do you invest in managing your agency, team, or own reputation? Reputation management is one of the most important topics to be aware of as you lead your team to real estate success.
In this article, we鈥檒l explore some of the major reasons why reputation management is crucial for realtors and what you can do about it. Let鈥檚 get started!
Why Reputation Management Is Important for Realtors
The goal of reputation management is to ensure that every time a prospect comes across your brand, they walk away with a good impression. Here are six reasons why this is important:
1. Building Trust
Buying or selling a property is a significant financial decision, so before anyone signs a contract or even schedules a showing, they鈥檒l want to trust you represent their best interests.
That trust often starts online with your reviews, testimonials, and social media tone. shows that 87% of buying decisions begin with online research before making a decision. This is particularly true of Millennial and Gen Z homebuyers, who are particularly tech-savvy.
Most of the time, these searchers will be looking for your website or for generic information about the property or area they鈥檙e looking into. However, they may very well stumble upon reviews about your agency on sites like Google Reviews and Trust Pilot. You鈥檇 want these to be overwhelmingly positive.
2. Differentiating Your Brand
The real estate market is highly competitive, so you need to work extra hard to stand out. But instead of trying to be louder than everyone else, focus on building a reputation that speaks for itself.
Lacey Jarvis, COO at , explains, 鈥淚magine if the mere mention of your name or brand alone made people go, 鈥極h yeah, that person gets results.鈥� That鈥檚 what having a solid reputation does. It creates an invisible, 24/7 hype machine working in the background.鈥�
Even when you鈥檙e asleep, that reputation is doing heavy lifting. A well-managed reputation will give you an instant advantage in an extremely competitive market where clients can easily pick from dozens of other agents, teams, or brokerages.
4. Enhancing Online Visibility
Putting effort into building your agency鈥檚 reputation won鈥檛 only protect your brand, but it will also give your SEO a significant boost.
This is because, according to , search engines tend to interpret reviews and other forms of brand mentions as indicators of brand authority.
When people mention your name online and give feedback, Google will see that activity, assume that your business is well-known, and bump your website up in search results.
5. Crisis Mitigation
Sometimes, things go wrong. No matter how careful you are, you won鈥檛 be able to prevent crises. But building a good reputation ahead of time will help you manage any situation that comes up.
For one, people are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt if you already have a strong reputation.
Additionally, how you deal with crises can help strengthen your reputation. If you own it, stay professional, and try to make things right, people will notice, and they will develop positive perceptions of your character.
Strengthening Your Online Presence
Think of your online reputation as your digital storefront. Is it polished? Welcoming? Responsive? Here are a few quick tips to help you achieve this:
1. Audit Your Online Reputation
The foundation of every good reputation management plan is a thorough audit. You need to have an idea of what people are already saying about your brand. The good news is that you don鈥檛 need any fancy tools to get started.
Simply do an online search for your brand. Your regular browser has cookies that remember your browsing activity, which might influence the results the search engine will show, so be sure to do this in incognito mode.
Doing a search this way should turn up most of the places where your brand may have been mentioned. You can also set up Google Alerts to notify you whenever your brand is mentioned.
2. Invest in Data
In the real estate industry, building trust hinges on demonstrating expertise and providing consistent value to clients.
Adrian Iorga, Founder & President at , shares, 鈥淏y leveraging data-driven insights, realtors can better understand market trends, personalize client interactions, and ultimately deliver superior service. This commitment to informed decision-making solidifies a realtor’s reputation as a knowledgeable and dependable professional within their community while also enhancing client satisfaction.鈥�
Through data, realtors can understand their audience and better address clients鈥� questions.
2. Ask Happy Clients for Reviews
We鈥檝e talked about the role positive mentions and reviews can play in reputation management. Don鈥檛 wait for your clients to give them on their own, as this may not be something they鈥檒l prioritize. Instead, you can ask them to leave reviews and encourage them to do so at various times in your relationship.
It鈥檚 usually best to have this conversation right after you close a successful deal, as this is usually when they鈥檒l be most willing to do you a favor if they鈥檙e happy with the deal. When they do offer a review, be sure to thank them.
Occasionally, you may get some negative reviews, which may or may not be fair. In all cases, be sure to respond with empathy, professionalism, and a solution-oriented attitude. People reading these reviews will respect this, and it will help offset the effects of any negative comments while strengthening client connections.
3. Create Helpful Content
Content is at the heart of any online marketing strategy. But creating useful content doesn鈥檛 just have an impact on your marketing. It can also be a critical tool in reputation management.
You can achieve this by creating content around real estate ethical best practices and how you adhere to them. Creating valuable content tends to lead other sites to link out to your content.
This usually will have two effects: First, it signals trustworthiness to your human audience. Additionally, just as positive reviews and testimonials build trust, a strong backlink profile signals to search engines that a realtor’s website is a valuable resource.
These elements work together to create a healthy organic footprint for a business. Understanding the nuances of effective can help any real estate professional or firm more effectively reach their target markets.
4. Have a Crisis Management Plan
As we mentioned previously, you may not be able to avoid crises entirely. However, you can plan and prepare for them so you don鈥檛 get taken unawares.
It should include a clear definition of crises and potential scenarios, a designated crisis management team with defined roles, and a communication plan for both internal and external stakeholders.
5. Get Involved with the Local Community
Beyond online interactions, a realtor’s brand extends to their physical presence within the market. Consider the impact of branded merchandise, such as featuring a realtor’s logo and contact details, at local community events or open houses.
With how prevalent online media is these days, people are placing real and tangible value on human-to-human interactions and physical products. By taking time to invest in their local communities, realtors can increase their brand awareness while also fostering a sense of professionalism and approachability within the local market.
Here鈥檚 The Bottom Line
Reputation management is crucial for every realtor, team, and brokerage. Everything we鈥檝e discussed adds up to long-term growth. A good reputation builds trust, which leads to more referrals and positive reviews. This boosts your visibility online and helps more people find you.
Over time, as the effects of your strong reputation compound, you鈥檒l likely find that you have a steady stream of leads even without investing as much as you used to. For more tips on marketing success, here鈥檚 our guide to becoming a digital marketing genius.
