Amory Wooden, Chief Marketing Officer for Anywhere Brands, which includes ERA Real Estate, recently hosted a panel discussion about marketing best practices with Tania Moore, Broker/Owner of ERA Live Moore and Rashawn “Shawn” Webb-Locke, REALTOR and team leader with American Real Estate ERA Powered, who were both recognized for marketing excellence at the brand’s annual conference in March 2023.
Amory: We know that you have deep roots in your community and many of the efforts ERA is spearheading at the brand level are driving local differentiation. The table stakes to compete on the digital landscape have increased. From websites to social media to interactive display ads and more, today’s consumer expects an exceptional user experience and new ways to engage.
Tania, you have deep experience in real estate marketing – more than 20 years! I understand you doubled down on your brand this past year to unify your marketing efforts. Tell us a little more.
Tania: Over the last five years, our company has sold more than 25,000 homes. Our challenge has been that we’ve done that across several brands within the same organization. We began assessing the strengths in our brand awareness, market potential and the opportunities in our future, and we realized that our identity as a company was not reflected in the various names under which we operated.
We recognized that we had an opportunity to make a greater impact on all the markets we served by uniting under a single entity. In 2022, we officially rebranded to ERA Live Moore. This effort required extensive resources, including a project team comprised of our ERA Live Moore Executive Leadership team, our in-house marketing agency as well as key members of ERA Real Estate’s and Anywhere’s corporate marketing, technology and communications departments.
Amory: Very powerful – a great way to stand out in your market. What results have you seen so far?
Tania: The biggest impact we have made so far has been aligning our vision and values as a company to operate under a consistent guiding principle. Today, our company promotes the values of excellence, empowerment and belonging by empowering dreams through real estate — for agents and consumers. We like to say that at our company you can Live “Moore” of the life you dream. This puts us in an even stronger position to recruit and retain talent, as well as attract customers.
Part of our rebranding initiative involved moving to consistently branded yard signs. No matter what market we are in, the sign looks the same. This serves to enhance our reputation as a large regional brokerage and communicates our strength in the Carolinas.
Amory: How about you, Shawn? Not only do you run a successful team and produce at a high personal level, but you also have some marketing chops. Tell us what you’re doing on the marketing front.
Shawn: I’ve really focused on developing a strong social presence and following.
Video is a major component of my marketing and I love how well it increases my visibility. About 90% of my video content is informational, designed to provide value to prospective clients in a humorous way. It has also become a great way to brand myself as someone who is not only knowledgeable and experienced but also very personable and approachable. For me, marketing is all about meeting people where they are, and many people today, especially younger people, prefer meeting in online spaces.
But I also make it a point of incorporating offline efforts into my marketing outreach. I speak on panels, attend many community events and even sponsor some of them. Getting my face out there and having in person connections has been a great way to expand my sphere.
I added another offline marketing element last year – mobile digital billboards – which has really increased my visibility. My husband and I had seen them in several cities while we were traveling and they made such an impact on us, we started our own company here in Beaumont!
When the market cooled, I took advantage of the down time and took as many courses as I could and also got really proficient on all the tools I use to enhance productivity.
No matter which one of us you work with, the branded experience will remain consistent. And because there are a lot of independent firms in our market, our sophisticated branding really helps us stand out. Our clients are always impressed by our professional presentation. This investment of time really paid off as we saw an increase in every category of our production in the past year.
We have also focused a lot of energy on generating customer reviews. While there are many channels for leaving reviews, we request reviews on our Facebook business page because we have learned that many people prefer to use social media to search for a real estate agent. Because we make it a point to stay on top of marketing trends, we are working on incorporating additional engagement elements that are available on Facebook in the coming months.
Amory: Increasingly we are seeing more focus on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Tania, do you see this as a marketing effort?
Tania: Absolutely. Furthering DEI in our business and community involves promoting the features and the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion through outreach, partnerships and public relations – all components of an intergraded marketing effort.
At the core of this effort is the importance of increasing homeownership rates for minorities to start building generational wealth. We embraced this effort in the wake of George Floyd’s death when one of our agents came to us and asked how we can do better in our company. I invited her to form a DEI committee and with the involvement of our leadership team and affiliated agents, we built a program around education and awareness about the disparities in minority homeownership.
We combined social media campaigns with community events, partnered with the Charlotte Business Journal in an awareness walk and brought in experts from every facet of real estate to help support people looking to become the first in their family to own a home.
This initiative also started lifting voices in our company. We have an incredibly diverse agent base comprised of people from 25 different countries who speak 14 different languages. We mark Black History Month, Asia-American Heritage Month, Pride Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and recognize Juneteenth and Indigenous People’s Day.
We know that our focus on education and awareness has really resonated: agents have taken our model and furthered its impact by extending it in their own local spheres. They clearly understand how important it is to build generational wealth through homeownership and help strengthen communities.
Amory: Shawn, what’s your view on diversity, equity and inclusion in real estate? Does that come into your marketing efforts?
Shawn: We are a team of color so it’s a very important part of our marketing strategy. We are well aware that homeownership rates among minorities lag behind the national homeownership rate. We also know that becoming a homeowner is an excellent way to build generational wealth.
For that reason, we serve the black community by providing education because many people who are looking to buy may not have any close friends or family who are homeowners who can help guide them.
A lot of our online content is tip based, like the “Dos and Don’ts of the Loan Process” or “How to Improve your Credit Score.” We also explain things like the transaction process or how to find down payment assistance. Again, our lighthearted approach to breaking down these very intimidating and complicated elements has done wonders to overcome people’s fear of engaging in the process. We want them to know that we are with them every step of the way and that they can trust us.
Amory: Any closing thoughts Tania?
Tania: I’d love to share my own personal philosophy about our work. I truly believe that having a real estate license is a gift. We have the opportunity to work with people through every phase of their life – not many other professions get to do that. A home is our greatest investment, both financially and emotionally. After all, a lot of life happens at home. I like to say all great stories start at home. I remember that every day and I think it makes a huge difference.
Amory: And great marketing is built on great stories, which the ERA network is no stranger to having amazing stories. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights on excellence in real estate marketing!
The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of ERA Franchise Systems LLC.
