Episode Transcript
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(00:30):
Hey, Holly Kitchen's, how you doing today?
(00:53):
Hey, I'm great.
How are you?
I'm good.
Man, we've been busy lately.
It's been nice.
I just love to work, you know, it's wonderful.
Yeah, I hear you on that.
You know, so I appreciate you coming on today.
I want to talk about branding and marketing and how it can really impact your business
(01:20):
in a positive way.
Yeah, absolutely.
Because how many agents are in your marketplace, right?
So there's the importance of branding and how you utilize different strategies to stand
in your marketplace.
So I'm super excited to chat with you today on all those things.
Nice.
You know, and I've noticed there's a difference too between branding, marketing and everything
(01:42):
that you have to do to kind of set up the branding because branding is great.
But if it doesn't get out to anybody, it's kind of a mood point, right?
Absolutely.
If you don't have all of your systems and processes and your infrastructure built up
to be able to get that message out there, it really doesn't go far.
(02:06):
You know, that's why I kind of studied and learned everything I could about search engine
optimization and figuring out exactly, okay, here's the platform I'm using.
What do I need to do to be able to stand out above everybody else first to get my message
across to people, right?
(02:28):
Yeah, 100%.
So like you could be the best real estate agent.
You could know all the different, you know, lending options for your clients.
You can help them from point A to point B. But at the end of the day, if you don't have
that marketing out there and people don't know you exist, you're not going to be able
to help anybody, right?
So that's where branding comes in and what it means to branding, it's showcasing you
(02:53):
as a professional, showcasing your company, so on and so forth.
And I think a lot of people make the mistake when they, either they're just now starting
out or they're just now getting serious about their branding and they go towards something
that's like kind of what they aspire to be or something that they just like because it
looks like this, instead of being true to themselves of who they are, what they stand
(03:14):
for, because I think once you really truly understand that and understand who you are
as a person, individual, especially when it comes to personal branding, as a lot of us
will have to rely on for real estate advertising, I think that's going to be the key.
So it's understanding, you know, who you are, what you stand for, you know, a brand is more
than just a color scheme or logo.
(03:35):
A brand is in the way you talk.
It's the way you care yourself.
It's the clothes that you wear.
It's how you care yourself.
And I think once you really get that dialed in and know who you are, and, you know, of
course, if you're just starting out on the branding journey, there are times where it's
kind of like that awkward phase in middle school where you're like, I'm not sure what
kind of a crowd I belong in.
Am I like the Gothic kid or am I like, you know, the hipster kid or, you know, whatever
(03:58):
it is, whatever place you're looking to fit in.
And, you know, but once you really dial it in that brand, it's so important to stay consistent
with it and then more importantly be that brand, right?
Like you, you know, we all know those people that you look at them online and then you
meet them in person.
They're not anything at all what they show up as online.
So I think what you dial in that is a brand of the professional and then you use the effective
(04:22):
marketing tools to take that brand and amplify it and get your messages out.
That's going to be a key to successful way to market yourself in the area that you're
in and really be known as the go-to person because the reality is, you know, we're working
with people who have the biggest investments of their life.
It's needless to say this day and age, someone's going to go with your name.
So how are you showing up online when they form that Google search?
(04:45):
And then how are we creating that intentional online presence so that we showcase ourselves
and our talents?
Right.
And I think it's so awesome that you pointed out, you know, that it's everything.
It's like your personal character.
Because I always like to look at things from the consumer's point of view.
Like if they just look me up online because that's how we get a lot of business, right?
(05:08):
And they watch these videos, they listen to me talk, they look at, you know, every Facebook
post, every Instagram post, every, you know, social media, anything.
And then if I show up at the listing appointment and I'm anything different than this guy,
they're not going to like me very much, right?
No.
I've taught them to know, like, and trust me through my marketing, through my branding.
(05:33):
And, you know, it really does consistency matters.
I agree with you on that.
Would you agree that keeping things kind of simple when it comes down to branding is important
too?
Oh, 100%.
Especially in this day and age of, you know, of course, brands shouldn't be necessarily
(05:53):
on trend.
However, our, you know, aesthetics and things like that should be relatable to who we are
and kind of ever growing, right?
If you make, if you think about it that way.
I feel as far as branding goes, people don't want to think really hard about who you are
or what you do, right?
So, you know, making sure that you associate keywords of, you know, obviously real estate
(06:14):
is going to be a great one.
So it's going to be like Holly Kitchen's realtor, right?
Like my name says what I do.
But you know, some people like to get crafty and they're like, well, I like to say that
I'm a homing, you know, whatever.
And it's like, that's great.
But also if someone's like, oh, that's, I'm looking for a real estate agent.
So keep it super simple going back to the basics when it comes to branding.
(06:37):
And then two, that way, you know, you don't have 500 color scheme, colors going in your
color scheme, you have, you know, three, right?
So keeping it super simple down from the name to the tagline to the brand look itself.
Yeah.
And it all comes back to the SEO stuff.
I mean, if you keep all of your information simple, correct the same across every platform
(06:57):
that human mind kind of acts and reacts the same way.
They, they want simplicity.
They want to know you right away.
And like you said, they're, they're dealing with the biggest investment of their lifetime
potentially, right?
Yeah.
They probably don't want like a cute fuzzy bubbly person.
(07:19):
They want someone taking this career as seriously as humanly possible because, you know, you're
seriously playing with other people's money essentially.
And you know, like I know for fact, if I weren't a realtor and I was buying a house, I would
want to go with somebody that met a professional standard of mine, right?
(07:44):
Absolutely.
Like you want to go for somebody who has a proven track record, not just because they
have a pretty sign, right?
Or they have a pretty face or whatever it is that, you know, people might think that
that's what the consumer is looking for.
But typically the consumer is going to looking for a proven track record with results.
So that leads into like, you know, the part, another part of brain that people need to
(08:04):
take into consideration is how are you sharing those results?
How are you letting that social, that social feedback of people saying how great you are,
how are you showcasing that?
And you know, it's great.
A lot of people, you know, will just take the typical closing day picture, which don't
seem wrong, those are great because you're at the closing table, everyone's happy.
(08:26):
But typically, you know, the ones that are most powerful are going to be like the hearing
stories from themselves.
And you know, what do you, you know, if you got into a, if you just came back from a bad
home inspection, like maybe go live on Facebook and say, Hey, this is what happened.
These are things to look for.
This is why it's important to have a home inspection or if you're on the flip side
and you have a seller that gets a, you know, a inspection report that's, it seems very overwhelming.
(08:48):
But if you actually start looking line by line, maybe having a home inspector going like
the live like this and demonstrating that.
So like, you know, if you obviously, when it comes to building your brand, you do want
to tie in expertise and knowledge to your brand.
So finding ways to go in and do that as well is just another way to amplify your yourself
as a person and a true professional versus just the next, you know, pretty face on a
(09:13):
sign or whatever you want to say.
Well, another thing that's cool about doing these lives and stuff with people, right,
is you can repurpose this information.
Like all of these videos, like I had no problem launching a podcast last month because I had
hours of information, you know, from doing these lives with people and you just upload
(09:35):
the MP3 and boom, all of a sudden you have a podcast out there and, you know, you cut
it up and make little reels and do all kinds of stuff to where people are constantly seeing
your activity and you're constantly broadening your audience that way.
Oh, 100%.
(09:56):
It's so easy podcasting as like for those who know me, they know that podcasting is my
favorite way to deliver content because there's so many ways that you can deconstruct it,
especially if you do a video.
There's, you know, long form YouTube, there's shorts, there's transcription, there's blogs,
there's all so many ways.
So, you know, I'll just use podcasting as a great way to leverage, to showcase your
(10:19):
brand and really market your expertise is I have a lot of friends in real estate that
are doing podcasts that are like specifically toward their marketplace.
Right.
So, you know, for instance, if they're a real estate agent here in Oklahoma City, they
are, you know, showcasing the events that are happening this weekend and every week,
my friend Ronnie, he will do a post on social media that's like, here's the things to look
(10:43):
forward to do this weekend.
I know every Friday, if I have nothing to do that weekend, I could easily hop on Ronnie's
MyOKC Metro Live and find a detailed list of everything, what to do and where to go
and what's happening in the area.
So, but he does that so consistently.
He's done it for like so long to where I know that I can go there, right?
(11:03):
So what are you guys doing on a daily or not, it could be daily, weekly, whatever it is,
is to build that trust and have that consistency and if a podcast is it, podcast is a great
way to also put your name out there and you get to control that topic as well and speak
on being the expert of that podcast topic.
Yeah.
And it's really neat too, because once you like, I go through rss.com for my path of
(11:29):
travel podcast, right?
And I couldn't believe it.
Within like a week and a half, two weeks, I was in like six different countries and
it's just that simple.
It's yeah, there's a small amount of money.
I think it was 120 something bucks for the whole year to be able to have that engine,
(11:51):
you know, be the vehicle, but that's nothing, you know, it's cheap and it is so neat.
I will say this podcasting gets you into rooms that you can't buy yourself into.
I mean, I found myself in, you know, green rooms being escorted by Thurdy Blinds management.
I've seen myself being, you know, led into after parties where people are brainstorming
(12:16):
about their own podcasts as artists and things like that.
There's no VIP ticket that I could have bought to get myself into that room.
It does allow you to get access to authority while being that authority figure in the room.
And I think that that's a great one.
Me personally like Lipson is what I was using for the past since 2017.
I started my podcasting journey and it was $15 a month.
(12:36):
I personally actually just moved my podcast from Lipson to Spotify for podcasters.
They recently, I say recently, well, I could say, I guess probably the last six months,
they bought Anger, which a lot of people are familiar with.
And I, you know, I, it's, there's, if you're really dedicated and committed to becoming
a podcaster and really real about it, it doesn't have to cost a lot of money.
(12:59):
You do need to have a, you know, a good microphone and things like that.
Cause those things are important to a good podcast episode.
However, as far as like getting your word out there, I mean, you pod spotify for podcasters
just free and it gets you on iHeartRadio, it gets you on Apple iTunes, it gets you on
Spotify and all these other places.
So there's just another way for you to amplify and, and share that content across platforms.
(13:22):
And podcasts are so popular.
Like I constantly, when I first wrote Path of Travel, the first book, people constantly
were like, what are you coming out with the audio book?
You know?
Yeah.
I was like, rather you take the time and read it.
But then I realized that people are literally sitting in their cars listening to podcasts
(13:45):
and, and consuming information that way.
And just like with real estate, right?
You got to go where the eyeballs are with, with podcasting is almost like you got to
go with where their ears are.
What, what, what are they listening to?
Um,
Oh yeah.
And I burst out because that's exactly what they're interested in.
(14:06):
If we're wanting to expand our brand, that's, that's the only way to go.
So I am in the middle of working on, on trying to wrap my mind around doing an audio book,
but you know, at the same time,
I'll be completely honest.
I will listen to a whole entire audio book before I will read it page by page just because
(14:27):
it's easy to adapt that to your lifestyle.
You know, like you said in the car at the gym, traveling, you know, we all know when
you're driving, you can't sit there and watch a YouTube video or you can't sit there and
keep your phone on lock because it's going to shut off because it's an activity or whatever.
So, uh, audio is, you know, a lot of people might think video is taking over the podcasting
(14:47):
experience, which yeah, it's definitely helped change the game of getting more eyeballs on
your podcast.
However, at the end of the day, a podcasting in its true form is an audio experience.
Yeah.
And it's enjoyable.
I never, I never thought it would be.
And then all of a sudden, you know, the busier I get, I'm like, hmm, I want to consume some
(15:07):
information that it's the new radio.
I mean,
100%, you know, Thirsty even talks about like AM FM radio, like how far is, how long
is it till they're not existed?
And I think next year, there's some vehicle companies that are even putting AM FM radios
in their vehicles.
So one point is it, it's kind of like blockbuster and Netflix, right?
(15:27):
It's like at one point, radio stations, they're going to make that happen, make that switch
to now they're going to be streaming on Spotify.
Now they're going to be streaming on where I heart radio.
I know they already are right now, but one point is it going to be like, that's going
to be how you consume the information.
There's no longer that radio airways, if you will.
Yeah, I think that that's like super important to also understand too, like while someone's
(15:49):
developing their brand and doing these things, understanding the big picture and not thinking
too small, because if not, then you're going to end up, you know, left in the dust like
a less like everyone else that didn't take action and adapt.
Yeah, no, I agree with that totally.
You got to almost look five years ahead in almost everything that you do because if,
(16:12):
I mean, let's face it, if you think small, you're going to get small results, right?
Correct.
If you think small, you're going to get what?
Small results, if you think huge, you're going to have huge success and it's going
to be tough to get there.
It's going to be hard work.
You're going to have to, you know, get beat down a few times and learn how to, you know,
(16:32):
what each step in the process takes to be able to get to the next step, right?
But in five years, you'll be excited with your results and you'll be excited with how
far you've come and in whatever you're doing and just staying relevant these days.
I mean, man, the climate, it's a lot.
(16:57):
Climate change is quick, you know, and technology is just advancing faster than I've ever seen
it, you know, before.
And so it can be fun, but it can be daunting, right?
Like staying cutting edge and one step ahead.
(17:17):
And another thing too, like it's great to be on point, on trend when it comes to what's
going on and like you said, you know, technology and so on and so forth.
But I think also to understanding and not getting lost of who you are and what you stand
for, I'll give it a classic example of for me like AI, right?
Like AI is kind of like the hot topic this year.
(17:38):
Like everyone is an AI expert.
Everyone knows all the cool things.
And I personally use AI.
I think it's cool.
I think it's great, especially you're like me and you write the way you talk and you
know as a writer, you're supposed to write differently, right?
So it does help me.
However, I think a lot of people might make the mistake in getting lost into AI instead
(17:59):
of using the original AI, which is actual intelligence, right?
So not having a machine, not having a machine telling us who we are and what we do and what
we say, utilizing that machine to help us show it better and maybe wording some things
better or you know, giving some ideas whenever we're drawing blanks, but not allowing AI
to really dictate who we are because I see a lot of people, you know, you, you read things
(18:23):
and you're like, ah, that's definitely not that person.
Like that's, you know what I mean?
So I think, you know, it's understanding that too and like being cautious, cautious and
aware, and then remembering why you started doing what you're doing.
You know, a lot of real estate agents are super passionate about the area that they're
in.
Don't allow like shiny objects to distract why you're so passionate because you'll soon
(18:43):
experience that burnout like a lot of people do, or that you'll just get, you know, you'll
be blended in with just like everybody else saying the same thing that's being generated
by an output.
Yeah, no, I agree.
But it is super helpful, right?
Technology.
Oh, absolutely.
Technology is a tool.
That's, that's all it is.
AI is a tool.
(19:04):
And when you're busy and you got to do a listing description really quick.
Yeah.
It does come in handy.
It really does, you know, and it's just so much faster than sitting down and actually
taking the time to write it out.
But here's the rub.
It's so different.
Like when I sit down and I actually write out a listing description, people are like,
(19:29):
that is amazing.
Right.
When Janelle does it with AI, because that's how we do a lot of them a lot of times.
If I'm too busy to write something, my wife, you know, will put it into the chat GPT or
whatever she has and she'll go through and edit it because it's never perfect.
Right.
(19:50):
It literally is artificial, but it doesn't land the same as when I sit down actually.
It doesn't.
Like I always tell people too, if you're using AI for content creation, again, it's fantastic.
I am not an AI hater.
However, I always encourage people to go in there and add their own touch to it.
(20:13):
So it actually sounds like it's, you know, so it is coming from you in that sense.
Right.
I need you to be aware of, and I know it's getting better and better each time with
their updates, but at the end of the day, AI pulls from, you know, Google pulls from
things like that.
What else is also on Google?
Pulse information.
Right.
So a classic example is, you know, for my music podcast, I was like, you know, researching
(20:35):
like artist birthdays, you know, so they're doing happy birthday, you know, whoever, right?
Whatever band member.
Well, I like typed in like list out 25 rock star birthdays in this upcoming month.
Right.
And then bam, bam, gave me 25.
I started like copying and pasting because of course I never want to say happy birthday
when it's not actually their birthday.
Almost half of the information was incorrect.
(20:58):
So I'm like, I'm glad I double checked because I would have looked like a silly girl posting
like happy birthday and their birth, you know, an October and their birthdays, not until
April.
So, you know, it's having that awareness too.
And you guys are going through and you leveraging those tools, fact checking it.
Because the last thing we want to do is especially real estate because there's a lot of times
that you can get in trouble for spreading misinformation and not that we're doing it on purpose.
(21:20):
But you know, at the end of the day, we are professionals and people look for on us.
So I know that that's kind of a rabbit hole away from like branding, but I feel like it's
important too because a lot of people would leverage, you know, AI when it comes to building
a brand and creating content.
And again, at the end of the day, we're the face of our own brand.
So how are we distributing ourselves online and what information are we putting out?
(21:41):
Yeah, that's not that much of a rabbit hole.
I mean, if you think about it, we're talking about.
We're talking about vehicles, right?
Mm-hmm.
SEO, you know, making sure that that all of your information is correct, right?
If everybody did that, AI would be better.
Correct.
Yeah, we would have to worry about tech things.
Yeah, we're talking about the vehicle of using a platform to get your podcasts out there,
(22:07):
you know, I personally use a different one than you, but yeah, there's so many ways to
get there, so many ways to execute something.
It's just, I would tell people exactly because, you know, people ask what's the best, like
what's the best hosting platform.
You're like, the best one is the one you're going to use.
So find what works for you and execute and stay consistent.
(22:28):
Yeah, exactly.
So yeah, I love AI.
I think it's, it's a really fun thing.
It's not new.
It's been around for quite a while.
It's just so accessible now to everyone.
It's new to the general public, yeah, but it's been around for a minute.
You know, I was part of the people that got to do the beta testing for Google's AI, the
(22:53):
Bard, and it's fun.
I enjoy it.
I really, I really like the fact that when you get information out there and like branding,
right?
You get your image out there.
You get everything that is unapologetically you in front of the populace, you know, the
(23:18):
general population, they start reacting to everything that you do in a different way.
And I think it's really important to get your marketing and your branding on point.
100%.
I always tell people, if you're just now starting to be super intentional about building out
your brand, think at three to five keywords you want to associate with your brand and
(23:40):
make sure that that's what you put on everything.
Anywhere you speak on a platform, anytime you do a post, ties back to those keywords
because, you know, it's like a muscle going to the gym.
You don't go once and then walk out with a six pack of abs.
Right.
And they're open over and over again.
So as you're building your brand, you want to be known as the go-to, let's just say,
country club expert or the go-to local lake community expert.
(24:05):
You need to be known to be putting that content like that.
So like for me, like I've been podcasting since like 2017 and it's just something I'm
super passionate about.
So of course I talk about it a lot when it comes to content creation.
And now like I'll get it to point where we're like, oh, that's the podcasting quote.
And it's like so weird to hear people say like the podcasting expert, the podcast.
And I'm like, I just really enjoy doing it.
(24:26):
I guess I talk about it a lot.
But once you start doing that so many times and knowing how to do something so well, that's
when people start looking at you differently.
So if you want to be known as the go-to listing expert in your community, make sure your content
saying that you are, putting in the work to show that you are that person.
Because you might be mailing out a bunch of postcards and making those dials, making those
(24:48):
contacts, which is great.
However, if you're not putting that, you've sold this home three doors down from your
own house or whatever it is, like, hey, I live in the community or however you want to build
yourself up as an expert, how are people going to know?
So start with three to five key words.
Maybe it's real estate.
Maybe it could be like, there's a Glaria.
It's a country club here.
(25:09):
So Glaria, it could be North O.K.C., O.K.C.
Metro.
Think of those key words and then make sure you are creating content out there to establish
that brand as the go-to agent of whatever you're looking to put yourself as that brand
expert in there for.
(25:29):
I think that's great.
That is really good information for people to take to heart.
Thank you for coming on with me today.
I appreciate it.
Stick around for a minute.
Perfect.
Thank you.