When Lauren Fours first approached us, she was a successful realtor with a bubbly personality and plenty of experience to share. But her online presence? Not so much.
When we met Lauren, her website was outdated, inconsistent, and not reflective of her abilities. She was using a restrictive website template provided by her brokerage, which limited her customization options and made it hard to stand out in a crowded market. Her logo lacked the functionality and simplicity needed for effective branding. The result was a digital presence that didn’t match her offline success. Lauren wanted to change that.
Constrained and confusing branding
Lauren was struggling with:
- An outdated and restrictive website that failed to highlight her unique services
- A lack of organic traffic due to none of her content ranking in search results
- Inconsistent branding across social media and real estate platforms
- Specifically addressing her different target audiences: other realtors for recruitment purposes and home buyers (specifically the over 55 community and divorcing couples)
- A confusing logo that wasn’t scalable or recognizable, making it difficult to use across various mediums
Pretty pictures do not make a good logo
Her previous logo, while a lovely watercolor image, didn’t function well as a brand mark. It was more artwork than a logo. The design elements were scattered, and the typography wasn’t scalable or legible across different platforms.
The logo depicted a building on the corner of Main and Oak Streets (Lauren’s previous office location) and reflected her prior business (a real estate team known as Oak and Main). Aside from no longer being relevant, the logo lacked a clear connection to her brand identity and real estate services.
As graphic designer Elizabeth Parker pointed out: “How would her target audience think of ‘Lauren Fours Properties’ or ‘realtor’ when seeing the artwork in a Google search or on a marketing piece? If the artwork is significant, perhaps rather than using it as a brand mark or as the logo, it can be used in another way such as a background on a website or on a promotional asset (postcard, etc).”
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The Brighter solution
After an in-depth audit of her online presence, we proposed a complete rebrand and a custom website overhaul to give Lauren a unified, professional look that reflected her expertise and connected her with her audience. Here’s what we did:
- New brand identity: We created a new logo and branding guide that brought consistency across all her digital channels. The new logo was simple, scalable, and designed to clearly identify her business.
- Custom website design: We built a clean, professional, and user-friendly website that highlighted Lauren’s unique services and made it easy for clients to engage with her.
- Targeted website copy: We created clear messaging that spoke directly to Lauren’s target audience, emphasizing her expertise and the stress-free transactions she offers.
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How we did it
- SEO: The site was built according to SEO best practices. We conducted keyword research and included target keywords in the copy and meta-data.
- Design consistency: The new brand guide served as a design manual for the new website, and Lauren also implemented her new branding across her social media and other online profiles to ensure a cohesive look.
- Navigation & accessibility: We cleaned up her website’s pages and navigation, added internal links, and optimized content to be scannable and accessible.
- Website tracking tools: We included tracking tools to monitor her website’s performance and continued SEO efforts to ensure it ranked for targeted keywords.
- Copy: We rewrote her value proposition and website copy to directly address her audience’s pain points. We decided to create audience-specific pages for realtors, divorcees, and the 55+ community, along with a blog and mortgage calculator as resources.
Here are a few examples of ways the new site addresses her target audiences’ needs:
From just another realtor to a standout professional
Lauren’s old website was a cluttered mix of elements that didn’t do her justice. The new website is streamlined, clean, and full of valuable resources for her clients. Lauren’s new branding now mirrors the level of service she provides to her clients—professional, engaging, and tailored to her audience’s needs.
Within a few short weeks of launching her new website, it was already ranking for targeted keywords like “real estate agents Holly Springs NC” and “Holly Springs NC real estate agent.”
This project was a team effort, and the results speak for themselves. By creating a brand identity and website that truly reflected Lauren’s expertise, we helped her stand out in the competitive real estate market.
“This was an awesome project, and I’m so thrilled with the results and the way it elevates Lauren’s online presence to match the level of service she provides to her clients (for those of you who don’t know, she is a real gem of a realtor, too). Huge props for this team effort,” says Sara Jensen, Brighter Messaging Principal, “I’m so proud of my team, and I look forward to showing it off!”
What Lauren had to say
“Working with the team at Brighter Messaging was a game-changer! I knew my old website wasn’t doing me any favors, but I had no idea how much better things could be until they stepped in. From the first audit to the final launch, they completely reimagined my brand and gave me a custom website that finally feels like me. It’s clean, professional, and so much easier for my clients to navigate.
I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out! If you’re looking for a team that truly cares about your vision and knocks it out of the park, look no further!”
The before & after branding
Check out the before-and-after images below to see how Lauren’s branding went from chaotic to cohesive.
Logo
Before
After
Website
Before
After
CLICK HERE TO VISIT LAUREN’S WEBSITE
Is your website holding you back?
Your website is often the first impression potential clients have of you. If it doesn’t reflect your services and personality, it could be preventing you from reaching your full potential. If you’re ready for a transformation like Lauren’s, get in touch with us about our website development services.
