Last week I watched a 60-second IG reel featuring a well-known agent podcaster and speaker talking about branding, and her entire argument comes down to one big premise: your face is your brand.
Given her popularity and the potential for this unconventional branding technique to be incorporated into your own strategy, let’s unravel this claim using some basic principles of branding.
Face the facts
Brands exist in the Venn diagram overlap between what a company stands for and what people really want.
Apple is an obvious example. What the brand stands for aligns with what people really want: the belief that using Apple products makes technology a seamless, harmonious part of our lives. Apple customers believe the brand improves how they live, work, and connect with the world.
The brand is what drives the product. If Apple built a house, most people would have a good idea of what it would look and feel like. People would want it based on a complex, personal connection to the brand itself that goes far beyond the founders' imagination.
If you have an authentic brand, you should be able to create a statement similar to the Apple statement above. You should be able to recite and embody that statement when people hear your name, experience your service, or see your face — an asset that acts as a connection to your brand.
It's easy to get on stage and tell an audience that your face is a brand. After all, everyone has a face and everyone wants to build and own a brand. Tell people what they want to hear and make it very easy to get their wish. A standing ovation.
Not so early.
At first glance, the brand is…
To further express the above example, a brand is a multifaceted concept, but at its essence it is the set of perceptions and distinct associations people have about a company and how a company's services or products improve people's lives in very personal ways.
The Marlboro brand was not a cigarette. It was created to represent the rugged masculinity and personal freedom associated with the American cowboy. With every puff, every smoker became the embodiment of the Marlboro Man.
Such connections constitute one aspect of brand building.Virginia Slims took a simple approach by portraying a female version of the Marlboro Man – someone who is smart, successful and has arrived at a new era.
There are other strategies that brands deploy to increase their relevance and power, including:
Fulfilling promises to customers. (FedEx, Unilever)
Unique solutions to problems that improve everyday experiences. (Amazon, Uber)
Communicating self-esteem through products (LV, Porsche, Rapha)
Serve a purpose beyond sales and profits. (Ben & Jerry's, Lego, Etsy, Warby Parker)
Incredible innovations that capture our imagination. (Apple, Boston Dynamics, Netflix)
Dedication and commitment to social contribution. (Toms, UNICEF, Lush, Patagonia)
Developing such a strategy with absolute consistency is the essence of branding.
Our face? Yes, if we can’t trigger and bring about the deeper things mentioned above, then it’s not a brand, it’s something else entirely.
So what on earth is your face?
It's a selfie camera with unique filters built in.
It's a physical emoji generator.
It's a movie trailer that expresses your personality.
It is the most versatile tool for non-verbal communication, especially when words don’t speak.
No matter how beautiful, handsome, or expressive your face is, the best thing it can be is as a recognizable brand asset (one of many) just like your logo or your company name. But the reality is, your face alone doesn't do anything other than be something people recognize.
Recognition alone is meaningless. Recognition alone does not make a brand.
A brand is the pride, love, connection, understanding, aspiration, comfort or sense of accomplishment people have about themselves.
Can you do that in real estate or as an individual agent? Yes, you can, but I'm not going to say it's easy.