Branding with Group Photos | The Zebra Blog

Branding with Group Photos

Every once in a while, I get a question that really warrants more space than my #AskDenise column that is featured in our weekly industry newsletter, the Zebra Report. This is one of those questions.

Have you ever spent time and money getting your team together for a photo which turns out perfect? It is a perfect day. Everyone looks great. There is great energy. For that moment, you are able to convey to potential clients the power of your team.

And then what happens?

Inevitably someone quits or is removed from your team. You make the photo still work for a while, but then there is another change – someone else comes on or leaves rendering the photo useless and just a reminder of a team that isn’t functioning as a team any longer.

After battling with this issue on behalf of my clients for several years, I have learned to help teams plan for the inevitable when getting a group photo done. And when I am talking teams, I refer to larger, non-family groups. Husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, or those immediate family teams aren’t really the issue here because there is something stronger than a job that binds them together.

So here was a team photo question I was asked this week:

Q: “Denise, I am just starting my branding project with you and your team (yeah!) and I need to get a new photo. I am thinking about getting a team photo done which would include both my husband and myself, but I was also thinking about including my go-to lender, transaction coordinator, and title and escrow rep. What do you think?”

First of all, we are so excited to get started on your project and so glad you are getting a new photo done. I always recommend getting a few different photos done so you can see what works and what doesn’t. That includes trying different outfits, standing, sitting, inside, outside, etcetera.

But when it comes to who is in the photo, I have some pretty strong ideas. Here are some good rules to follow:

Get Individual Photos Too
Make sure you get individual photos of your real estate team members as well as a group. In this case, I am referring to yourself and your husband. There will be times that only one of your photos may be on a marketing piece and sometimes we will have you both together. For example, take a look at this lovely business card series below that we did for Team Advantage – Linda, George, and George Anthony Arvanitis. See how well those options work together?

Be Prepared for Future Team Changes
When it comes to larger teams, a team that hasn’t established longevity, or team that are not comprised of family members, then I encourage you to think about photo solutions that are easy to edit if you have a team member leave. For example, you might put the primary people in the front, the others in the back, and be sure you have a non-descript background that makes it easy to Photoshop people in and out. You could also opt for a clipped out photo like we did with the Arvanitis team photo above.

I have seen so many great team photos thwarted by a team member leaving and I don’t want that to happen to you!

If you would like to see other columns from my #AskDenise series you can read back-issues at our website or subscribe to our industry newsletter, the Zebra Report. Have a real estate business question of your own? You can tweet it to me @thelonesgroup or email me at [email protected].

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