For agents, developing their brand can depend on many factors. Who is their target demographic for where they are selling homes? What advertising catches a potential clients eye? Is the Internet really the key to attracting more sellers and buyers? With all of these questions to take into consideration, the real question agents can pose about marketing and branding themselves is ‘What works best for them?’.

Lisa Kornhauser, real estate agent with John Daugherty Realtors in Houston, says for the past 15 years in the business she has found going to events in the community has helped her gain notoriety among future clients.

“You have to get out in the community and let people know that you’re out there working in different organizations, and not just selling real estate,” says Kornhauser. “I think that has really catapulted my business, just getting out there and meeting people and not being stuck behind a computer. And all people want to do is talk about their homes when they find out I’m a Realtor. At any party, the one common ground people have is their homes, and they love to talk about them.”

Even though web presence is good to have, especially having an agent web page and a Facebook page, the Internet shouldn’t be the essence of an agent’s branding strategy.

“You really have to look at everything. Most of the buyers are web-based, so it’s good to do most of the marketing on the Internet, but you can’t rely on it as your end all,” says Kornhauser.