Preparing Your Materials

Anytime I'm walking somebody through creating any kind of personal or business profile on social networking, I always recommend that they think of it like preparing a meal. You want to have all of your ingredients laid out before you start putting it together.

The first thing you are going to need is something called a cover photo. You see the cover photo as the big bold image that goes at the top of your personal Facebook profile. This same type of photo is featured on a Facebook business page as well.

Cover photos are 851 pixels by 315 pixels tall. So to get a proper Facebook cover photo that will display in the manner you desire, those are the dimensions you need to use.

Now, what exactly should this cover photo be? Well, my recommendation is for it to be something that represents your brand or business. Something that's eye-catching but that doesn't distract from all the great content that you are going to put below. Something that establishes a good theme to your business. In fact, think of it more like a backdrop than something you would feature.

As a real estate agent, you may want to use a beautiful property that typifies the type of properties you are trying to sell. You can also be creative and use something like a picture of you handing keys to a client.

One of the things you cannot do with the cover photo is make it promotional. You can't add a call to action like click here, go here, buy this, call me, list with me, or anything like that. It is simply an overall fun, inviting way of welcoming people to the page.

The second ingredient is the profile photo. On Facebook, the profile photo needs to be at least 180 pixels by 180 pixels. That's a complete square.

So what goes into a profile photo? Well, what is on your business card? You want to make sure that this is consistent not just across all social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but also the same photo that you use for your company website, your business cards, and your mailers. Although you may have many great images, you want to be consistent so that when people see that Facebook page they know it is the same guy from the business card, Twitter account, etc. It is a matter of creating brand recognition. People think that everybody will recognize them even if they use a different photo. You have to think in terms of somebody who is seeing a ton of promotional content with pictures of smiling people wearing similar professional attire. To that person, if you do not have the same photo across all platforms, they many not realize that you are the same person. Keep in mind that they are glancing through a lot of material.

I highly recommend using a staple color. Studies show that red is a fantastic option. For guys, it can be as simple as a red tie. Women have a bit more flexibility with wardrobe choices. But incorporating a consistent color can be key for brand identity. That way people can instantly identify you and recall why they like you.

Studies also show that familiarity builds comfortability. That consistency of image will be a subconscious comfort for the client, who may not even realize it is happening. People feeling comfortable with you is a huge part of getting business as an agent. So you should take advantage of whatever you can in order to create that feeling.

Finally, you're going to need some text. The first one would be a biography, and this is usually about two to three paragraphs describing who you are, what makes you a good agent, what kind of real estate you do, that kind of thing. You will also need something called an About Me section. This is a general one to two paragraph statement giving people a brief overview of what you're about. The bio is the in-depth section where people can go to read more about you; the about me is a quick introduction.

Last, you'll need a tagline or slogan. Usually this is just a small phrase, maybe one to two sentences. It could be as simple as just three words.

All of these should be pretty much done already, because chances are you have put these things together for your other marketing material. If you have not, you will soon. It's pretty basic stuff that you will use on your business cards, brochures, personal website, and whatever the case may be. Just refine it and make sure that you have it handy, so that when you're filling out your Facebook profile, it'll be as easy as copy-and-paste.