What Every Agent Needs to Know About Becoming a Local Influencer

In real estate, a good reputation means everything. In order to gather more referrals, connect with new clients, and close more deals, you have to work hard to leverage yourself as a trusted resource in your community.

The question is, how do you do it?

How do you go from being someone who helps people buy and sell homes to becoming a well-known and well-respected real estate influencer in your local area?

There's no secret equation that will guarantee your success, but there are a number of tactics you can implement that will help put you on the right track.

Here are six ways to position yourself as a real estate influencer in your community:

1. Be Everywhere

To be well-known by many in your community, you really need to make an effort to be everywhere. What does that mean for a real estate agent? It means investing your time, money, and energy in the following ways:

Attending Business Breakfasts – Make time in your schedule to attend organized and informal business breakfasts. Organized business breakfasts are scheduled events that happen on a weekly or monthly basis. They usually focus on a particular topic or theme, such as small business or community development. Informal business breakfasts, on the other hand, can be something as simple as inviting a few of your business contacts or best clients together to eat breakfast and network once per month.

Joining Networking Groups – Join networking groups that bring different types of professionals together for the purpose of sharing contacts and helping each other grow your businesses. To find a group to join, look for a group on LinkedIn, find upcoming events on your community or city website, or look for a BNI group in your area.

Buying Advertising Space – Allocate part of your marketing and advertising budget for different types of ads that you can place throughout your area. Test launching ads on billboards, benches, poster areas on buses, community fliers, and local radio. You can also launch advertisements on Facebook that will target people living in your city. To learn how, explore this resource.

Going on Local TV and Radio – Connect with local news broadcasters and morning show DJs and convince them to let you occasionally share tips and insight about the real estate industry and local market on their shows. Work with them to create a regular segment that will allow you to position yourself as an influencer and familiarize people in your community with your face and voice.

Sponsoring Local Events – Donate your time or money to help support and sponsor local events. Sponsor different types of events that target different audiences, such as theater events, high school sports, concerts, county fairs, and any other events that happen regularly in your area.

Having Meetings at Public Places – Instead of meeting at your office, schedule more meetings at local restaurants and coffee shops. Doing so will help you connect with other potential clients and give you the opportunity to get your face and voice out in front of others in your community. It's also a good way to support other local businesses in your area.

Meeting with New Business Owners – Whenever a new business owner moves to town or opens up shop, invite them out to lunch. It's a great and easy way to build relationships with like-minded people who could refer leads to you.

Being Involved in Local Government – If you're comfortable doing so, participate in local government. This could be as simple as attending meetings and events as an audience member. Or, it could mean getting involved with a local initiative that you care about.

Give Back to Your Community – Donate money to local causes and events. It's an easy way to big back to the community and show people that you actually care about making the city you operate in a better place for everyone.