He’s smart. He’s a risk-taker. He’s fun to talk to. He’s open. And he built his brand up much in the same way I did — he busted his butt writing and using social media to expand his audience. He totally gets the hustle that comes with being a young agent — or a young business person in general. Although some real estate reality shows (we all know which one I may be talking about) portray luxury agents with a glam and easy life, creating a brand and actually making money from it, is far from a cakewalk.
Blogging played an integral role in the creation of my business and brand. When I first got in the game, I had no clients, no business, and no business being in business. There was no one jumping for joy to be my first client so I had to start with the basics. I asked myself “What am I good at and how do I leverage whatever I am good at to grow my real estate business and brand?” I had a passion and love for writing and I started my real estate blog giving tips, trends and advice–I put my take and spin on the facts and made it educational but also fun–all can be seen on DeBianchi.com. When I met Dusty a couple years back, we shared stories of stumbling into the blogging business and how we grew our real estate business from there.
So I was especially thrilled to sit down with Dusty for Episode 4 of SamSpeaks! and really dive into how he got started and how his blog plays such a huge role in his brand. And it’s not just that he’s blogging about real estate and home values and whatever is changing in his local market of Montecito, California. He writes about everything in life, and shares even more on Instagram and Facebook. Lesson from this– build your brand on you, not from someone or something else.
But it’s not just scattershot… the information fire hose isn’t just turned on all the time. He’s really strategic about what he shares, to whom he shares it and how he makes sure it gets read. There’s so much noise in today’s social media. Everyone is looking to be the next super star, “Instafamous”, or just plain popular. Just because you publish something doesn’t mean it will be seen–but as I always tell people…always assume that it will be and plan accordingly.
How do you get better engagement? More followers? More views? More likes? Dusty has some super smart tactics to make sure he breaks through, and no, it’s not buying and paying for followers (please, don’t do that–you’re not helping yourself or your wallet). And if you’re looking for instant gratification or having your new amazing video immediately go viral, always remember, patience is a virtue and something you must have in order to grow your brand, social media presence, and of course, your business.
The biggest lesson I want you to learn from Dusty is that social media is a *free* tool but it takes work…and your time. And your time is incredibly valuable, so make sure what you share and how you share it counts.
That doesn’t mean you have to be an amazing writer — in fact, Dusty admits he nearly flunked out of English class. But he really gets the kind of writing you need to do be a strong brand. It should be genuine. It should be easy to read. And it should offer value. Prove you know what you’re talking about so people start to appreciate what you offer from a content perspective. It creates confidence in you as an agent — or as whatever kind of business expert you trying to position yourself as. And that’s the foundation of every great brand.
Here’s what you’ll find in this episode:
1:00 How did Dusty’s blog become a lead generating machine?
2:45 How can agents start blogging for real estate?
5:00 Do agents have to be great writers to blog?
6:14 What is Dusty’s process for driving traffic to his blog?
8:25 How can you use Instagram and other social platforms?
10:00 What is Dusty’s Facebook strategy?
14:15 What are some tips for starting out with your brand on social media?
14:45 How has being a millennial agent helped and or hurt Dusty?
17:12: What’s Dusty’s favorite old school method of marketing?