Part 2: The Importance of Your Background Story

This is part two of our blog series entitled: Real Estate Agent Personal Branding: Learning form American Idol. It is a fun and easy way to learn the principles of personal branding. You do not have to be an Idol fan to enjoy!

The key to real estate personal branding is finding a way to stand out and engaging the emotions of your target market. The role of your background story is very important. You want to present your personal brand in such a way that potential clients can identify with you. Then you want to turn them into “raving fans”.

When you think of Martha Stewart what emotional associations come to mind? Wholesomeness, down to earth, helpfulness, cheerfulness, comfort food, hearth and home are some. Emotional bonds with Martha’s loyal fans are so strong that they were able to readily forgive for her past indiscretions. Rating for her show actually improved over time.

The American Idol judges look for the stand outs in the initial selection process. To build empathy the opening shows begin featuring background stories of candidates especially if there is pathos or they have a particular human interest story. Certain themes emerge which begins to create personal brand categories:

The single mom on her own

  • The blue collar workers who audition because they want a better life for their family
  • The young man whose wife died
  • The guy who gave up his life to take care of his mother
  • The country girl living on a farm

These aspects contribute to the entertainment value of the show, and also influence the voters’ selection of the best performers. Prior to each performance, the viewers are reminded of the lives of the individuals and their initial auditions. This reinforces these brand categories. You will see in the next post just how important brand categories become in the competition.

This season’s first selection included a young mother of 20 with pink hair and a sizzling performance, an oil rigger, and a widower. Each struck a chord with the voting audience, and they received the highest number of votes.

Watch the video performance of Danny, the young man whose wife died. The talent is definitely there. But, the interesting background story definitely helped him win. What is your background story?

Click here to view the entire American Idol- real estate agent personal branding blog series

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