Brand out your blog. You’re brand is the sizzle, you are the steak! You might be USDA Prime as a Realtor but if your brand doesn’t convey that on your website, you won’t get conversions. It’s that simple. If you cater to an upscale market, your real estate blog or website needs to reflect “richness” both in graphics and content. If you cater to first time buyers your site needs to be easy to use and very tutorial based. What’s the sizzle in your brand?

Shout out of the day goes to Web Branding Matters and Future of Real Estate Marketing's Better Web Design Article.

One of the things all big brands like Kellogg, Microsoft and Coca-Cola know is that their brand sells. Why? Because they have invested heavily in building it and targeting their prime consumers. When it comes to the Internet all the major brands know they are catering to consumers and consumer like to feel welcomed with pretty graphics and a soothing layout. When building your real estate blog or website remember to give it a distinct look and feel that compliments your brand. You also want to make sure that the navigation and layout are consistent and easy to follow. Make sure the contact button and subscription option for your blog is prominently displayed.

6 Steps to branding out your site:

1. Identify your market: The key to branding out your site is to first identify your market. Who do you sell to? Do you cater to upscale million dollar listings, first time home buyers, retirees? Figure out what your primary market demographics are. That means identify marital status, age, wealth and lifestyle.

2. Identify your core business values: now, this one should be easy. What does your business stand for? Do you offer superior service at a premium price, discount services, focus on education first time home buyers or are you a luxury provider? 

3. Select colors and images that reflect your business values and connect with your market. The colors and imagery you select could mean the difference between connecting with your market and not. So, here is a simplified guide to choosing colors and images for your site based on popular market segments.

Color selection guide

Colors that build trust: navy blue, forest green, deep purple

Colors that say economy: yellow, electric blue, red

Colors that reflect wealth: maroon, black, gold

Colors that connect with the past 60 crowd: pale and muted colors like kelly green, mauve and baby blue.

Want to select a color pallet based on one or more of these colors, try this very cool Well Styled pallet selection tool.

Image selection guide

Imagery is important on your site. If you are selling in a tropical area, include palm trees and beaches in your images. If you are selling luxury homes, make sure you include luxury imagery like golf clubs and yachts if appropriate. If you are selling to first time home buyers, convey education by using simple, high contrast large icons for mortgage and economy homes. 

Places to find great photos:

Flickr

iStockPhoto

Read also: Ultimate Guide to a Real Estate Website

4. Web 2.0 your design strategy

Give your blog a web 2.0 look, so people associate you with being on the cutting edge. A web 2.0 look says “I am current.” So, what’s hot in the world of web design? Just look at CSS Remix, CSS Beauty, CSS Elite and you will get a good idea of what the current trend in web design is. What are the characteristics of web 2.0 design? Rounded corners, large images, reflective logos, a glossy look to buttons and menus, larger, easy to read fonts with lots of white space. Here is a good post talking about web 2.0 design.

Free tool I love for deisgning web 2.0 looking menus and drop downs: OverZone CSS Tab Designer

Check out these FamousAgent Sites that clearly show the personality of the agent and cater to their specific markets with high-end market centric design.

Jackson Hole Real Estate

Now, look at the RSS Pieces blog. See how the whole site is fully branded with our colors and conveys the idea of fun yet remains techie and modern?    Want to see our portfolio of works in progress? Check it out.

5. Display your logo and tagline prominently on each page of your site. Your logo and your tagline are your brand, so make sure it is prominently displayed on your website. It is worth it to pay a graphic designer to reinvent your logo if it has started to look old and tired. A good graphic designer should charge around $35/hour or around $150 to redesign your logo. Make sure your tagline speaks to your audience. Here is a good article on selecting a tagline.

6. Use a clear and easy to navigate layout. The key to a good user interface is clear and consistent navigation across all pages. A good user interface that is easy to read (meaning large fonts or easily identifiable icons) is essential to making visitors feel comfortable on your site. One of the most prevalent problems real estate sites tend to have is long menus. Here is an example of a site with too many menu items. You can break up long menus into sliding or flyout menus to more easily group similar types of content. By grouping menu items, you guide a use through your website experience which helps create comfort and security.