For agents, the first interaction with a potential buyer or seller is always of the utmost importance. In the past, this meant having your script down when you answered the phone, or putting your best foot forward when introducing yourself at an in-person meeting. Not to say that the phone call or listing meeting are going anywhere, but the truth of the matter is that they’re typically no longer where you’ll make a first impression. That aspect of the transaction has moved almost entirely online, where it’s likely to stay.
Make a good first impression
There are two important places you’ll want to make a good first impression on your profile page. The first place to consider is on your profile page itself. What do people see when they first visit your profile page? Is it the same as other agents, or are you unique?
Standing out in the first few seconds is a great way to separate yourself from the competition, whether you do it with your photography, your copywriting, statistics and awards you present in your header image, or in an agent video. It’s not necessary to stand out in each of the mentioned ways, but make sure you’re doing something special to grab a potential buyer or seller’s attention.
The second place it’s important to stand out is a part of your profile page - in your profile image itself. Many home seekers on REW will see an agent’s face as a recommended agent before they even head to their profile page, so a strong first impression can really boil down to your one profile image. More on that next.
Be proud of your photography
The rule of thumb here is that if you’re not proud to show off your headshot, header image, or any other imager on your profile page, you shouldn’t be using it. Pay for a professional, contemporary headshot that’s friendly and represents you well. For your header image, you’ll want to put a significant amount of time and effort into designing something that demonstrates your value, your service area, and presents a clear call to action.
Work with a designer to layout a header image that includes the information that’s you don’t want your potential clients to miss. Some agents choose to design header images with their awards or sales numbers on display, while others highlight their area of expertise and phone number. On your One Profile, it’s entirely up to you.
Create a video overview for your business
Creating an agent video for your profile page is one of the best ways to show off your personality, your values as an agent, and your attention to detail. When home-seekers are searching for an agent on REW, agents with agent videos uploaded to REW.one will have their videos displayed right in the search results, which leads to more clicks and more overall engagement. If you’ve taken the time to have a video overview for your business created, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase it to buyers and sellers.
Here are a few more ways you can use video to stay connected with your clients.
Post away
With REW.one, agents have the ability to further show off their personality and market knowledge by posting content right in their posts feed.
Posting content gives your profile page life. It shows your page visitors everything from properties you’ve listed to recommendations you’ve received to market stats and videos you want to share. REW.one gives agents a ton of information on proprietary REW data and neighbourhood statistics, and on top of that, makes it easy for agents to share the information as posts with one click. Share the top five most search neighbourhoods in a given city on your profile page to give your page viewers confidence that you’re on top of the data and trends. This is a great way to stand out on a real estate marketplace like REW.
Show off your recommendations
Recommendations are often the difference between getting an opportunity to build a connection with a potential client and being passed over completely. Millennials, in particular, lean on recommendations when searching for a real estate agent, so spending time nurturing a review and recommendation strategy every month is important. It’s about quantity, quality, and recency, so be sure you’re not just asking for reviews once a year.
REW and Google are the best places to begin asking past clients for reviews if you’re just getting started. Agents who sign up for REW.one can request reviews from past clients with the click of their One Button, making it extremely easy to build a trustworthy profile page on REW.
Highlight what makes you special
At the end of the day, when people are looking for a real estate agent, they’ll want to know what makes you a good fit for them. This is why an agent’s profile page should always include details about what makes you the right agent to call. Agents can highlight plenty of awards, accolades, and strengths, including the following:
Languages spoken
If you speak a language other than English, let your potential clients know. They might be looking for an agent that speaks the language they’re most comfortable conversing in, and you could fit the bill.
Awards
Top-performing agents and agents with impressive sales records should take the opportunity to talk about their accomplishments on their profile page, whether it be in their header image or on their About Me page.
Charity and Giving Back
Some buyers and sellers are looking for an agent that reflects their values and gives back to the neighbourhoods they serve. Mentioning how you help your community is a great way to connect with local buyers and sellers.
Add your social media accounts
You should already be showing off what makes you special on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, so be sure to add links to those accounts on your profile page so that people doing their research can get to know you a bit better.
Make sure your call to action is always present
Whether it’s in your header image, on your listing pages, or in your About Me section, take every opportunity to place a call to action on your profile page. If your call to action is a phone number, add it to your About Me page and get a designer to help you place the number in your header image. The goal is to make sure that whenever a buyer or seller is ready to contact you, they’re not far away from the information they need to do so.
Follow the steps above and you’ll be on your way to having a profile page that gets more engagement on REW. For more information on how to stand out to homebuyers and sellers on REW, check out REW.one.
