Paige Steckling has earned her reputation as a creative and skilled real estate professional with serious marketing chops. I’ve honestly lost count of the number of her Instagram posts featured on The Walk Thru podcast as examples for real estate content creators to follow.
So, it’s no surprise she’s one of the first guests on BAM’s newest podcast, Branded, with host Brad McCallum. I do not exaggerate when I say this episode was so packed with valuable insights on real estate branding that it was a real challenge to limit this blog to five takeaways.
I’ll leave the rest for you to enjoy when you tune in for the full conversation. Until then, read on for a quick overview of our top five branding takeaways.
Top 5 Branding Takeaways from Paige Steckling
#1: Being a legit agent matters more than being an influencer
More than once, Steckling and McCallum drove home the point that being a legit real estate agent is (infinitely) more important than being an influencer.
Steckling recounted an experience where the husband in a couple she served was at first skeptical about working with someone his wife had learned about through Instagram. He soon learned that Steckling prioritizes her skills, knowledge, and growth as a real estate professional well over her popularity on social media.
That hasn’t changed. Because how popular you are on Instagram or any other platform only tells people how good you are at playing to the algorithm—not necessarily how much value you bring as a real estate agent.
You have to actually be a legit agent. You can’t just be an Instagram influencer and expect to have results if you don’t actually know what you’re doing. So, I think that’s the most important part is being a really good agent, having the knowledge, having as much experience as you can get, doing your research, staying up to date on what’s happening in the market. And then, to get the business, that’s where the personal brand comes in—and getting your message out there to the most amount of people.
#2: Perfection is not the goal
Value, authenticity, and a tireless commitment to service will do more to grow your brand than “perfect” content ever will.
McCallum asked Steckling what she believes holds most agents back from getting started building their brand through real estate content.
The two biggest things for me, and I think for other agents, are thinking that everyone’s already doing it…but most people aren’t following [even] one real estate agent. And they don’t know anything about real estate. So, anything small that is day-to-day for you might be super-helpful for them.
The second hurdle for many agents is the fear that their content isn’t good enough and will do more harm than good for their real estate brand. Steckling pointed out how the Instagram algorithm helps with that.
The algorithm is really good at figuring out what people are going to like, what’s a good video, and what’s a bad video. So, if your video sucks, probably no one is going to see it anyways. And the people that do see it, maybe a couple of people scroll past, they don’t care. Everyone’s so wrapped up in their own life that you’re just building, and you’re getting better while other people are worried about looking dumb and not posting anything… So, just remember that your good videos are going to get pushed out naturally, and your ones that maybe aren’t as good…not many people are going to see [them] anyways. So, it doesn’t really matter.
Post that imperfect content. And keep improving as you learn.
#3: If you don’t have any haters…
Another thing most people tend to avoid whenever possible is controversy surrounding their content.
What do you do when you see a negative comment on one of your posts? It probably depends, as it does for Steckling, on the spirit of the comment.
Is it needlessly rude without offering anything that could help you improve your content? Then it’s probably best to ignore it. If it makes accusations that could influence other viewers and potentially damage your brand—and the trust you’ve built with your clients—a calm, concise answer disproving their accusation could be in order.
Not everyone will agree with your content. And not everyone is respectful when communicating their disagreement.
Ultimately, staying true to your message and treating all your commenters (the ones you reply to) with respect, even when it’s not reciprocated, will speak louder to your intended audience than the tactless comments left by haters.
Steckling is no stranger to negative (and often cringe-worthy) responses to her posts. In fact, in one of our favorite quotes, she told McCallum, “If you don’t have haters, you should probably dial it up.”
Put that on a poster, a mug, or whatever you need to keep that fresh in your mind whenever you’re putting out fresh content.
Because it’s never going to be perfect. And while most people care more about the value a particular post brings them than whatever its flaws might be, the more haters you get in your comments, the more likely you are to be putting yourself out there despite imposter syndrome and lingering fears that your video might not be good enough.
Some of that imperfect content could resonate especially hard with your ideal viewers. So, focus more on being authentic, delivering value, and honing your skills than on whether a particular post is as close to perfect as you can get it.
You’ve probably heard the quote, “Perfect is the enemy of good.” It also tends to be the enemy of growth.
No one needs perfect. But plenty of people need skilled, trustworthy, and dedicated real estate professionals who are constantly looking for ways to dial up the value they deliver.
#4: The most important question to ask with every piece of content
McCallum related an experience he had with Sharran Srivatsaa, President of Real, who reacted enthusiastically to some of McCallum’s video content.
That guy has more capacity than any other human I’ve met in my entire life. I’ve known Sharran for about five and a half years. And the first time I met him I was about seven months into the industry. He came and spoke at our brokerage back in the day. Our broker knew him for some reason, so he flew in…
After Sharran spoke, McCallum went to talk to him, and his broker came up and excitedly told Sharran, ‘You’ve got to see Brad’s videos…’ and showed him one. So, Sharran watched it and excitedly responded, “Dude! Dude, dude, dude, this is amazing!” before asking him, “Do you want to be the guy who sells all the homes, or do you want to be the video guy?”
A little further into their conversation, Srivatsaa took out a napkin and proceeded to sketch out a framework for McCallum’s business: “Everything you do with your business, just run all of your content through that [siphon].”
In a nutshell, the siphon was “Have it always be in service to your clients.” You want to create this or that piece of content? That’s cool. How does it serve your client?
That’s priority one for real estate content creation. That’s the litmus test.
Another question to ask when posting content is, “How does this communicate what my clients get when they work with me?”
Being able to communicate your value as a real estate agent is more critical now than ever. The more your clients see that, the less likely they are to wonder whether your services are worth the commission you’re asking them to pay.
#5: Top agents invest early in quality
McCallum asked Steckling why she chose to invest in high-quality content from the beginning rather than waiting until after she had broken into the luxury market.
If I were just to do a random Reel talking to somebody, I would still do it on my phone, do it green screen, like an informative one. I think it’s fine to use your phone. But with listing videos, I one hundred percent invest in a full-on videographer that knows what they’re doing, that has a high-end camera, because your client is hiring you to showcase their listing. You don’t want to just shoot it on your phone… So, I do invest in that.
[With] my first couple, I remember thinking, ‘Why am I paying money for a video on top of photos and things…I’m just gonna post it on my Facebook or Instagram.’ I didn’t have a big following at the time. But it ended up being huge for me, and I got so many more listings from other sellers seeing it and being impressed and [asking], ‘Oh, my gosh, will you sell my house? Can you do one of these for my house?’ Then it just kind of snowballed from there….
Whether you choose to invest in professional-grade video creation tools right off the bat or to use what you’ve got right now to start building your brand with authentic value-driven content, put yourself in your client’s shoes and look at it from their perspective.
And remember to ask, “How does this serve my clients?” or “How does this serve the people I’m making this for?”
As Steckling pointed out, investing in a videographer and high-end equipment makes more sense with some types of videos than others. And ultimately, while the quality of her listing videos definitely stands out, the creativity and commitment behind them stand out more.
Watch the full conversation for more.
