They say hindsight is 2020. Not for Houston-based real estate professional Julia Wang: this year has been all about the fruition of her marketing foresight.
When COVID-19 coincided with an energy downturn-the lifeblood of her hometown economy-she doubled down on the digital marketing strategy that has always set her apart. Other real estate professionals were still stuffing mailboxes when she started out five years ago, but Julia spotted an opportunity.
“Online presence is more important now than ever. And this is where I dominate, especially in an old-school market like Houston, “Julia explains. Even as a fledgling agent, she spent nearly all of her marketing budget online. This may have raised eyebrows back then, but her subsequent rise to success serves to vindicate her earliest instincts.
In only her second year as a real estate professional, Julia was named one of Houston’s Top 20 Under 40 Rising Stars in Real Estate. She closed 2019 with over $29 million in sales and, despite a year of unprecedented market pressures, is still tracking the course of a top producer in 2020. Already a licensed broker, an Accredited Luxury Home Specialist, and a member of the Christie’s Masters Circle, last month she was also ranked the #1 Texas real estate professional on social media.
And so it is no surprise that when stay-home orders brought showings to an abrupt halt in the spring and agents all around her shrugged and bemoaned “the market”-Julia did what she does best: diverted her energies online.
“There aren’t many real estate professionals in Houston who can compete with me when it comes to marketing, especially online and social media marketing. Even though I have only been in real estate for five years, I am now one of the most recognizable names in this industry, “Julia says.
To supplement an already well-established presence on Instagram -more than 80k followers from all over the world started taking her content to other platforms. Ever the entrepreneur, she recognized that people were spending their time locked down at home streaming endless hours of video. Her answer was to expand her YouTube channel with Q&As, life updates, and all-new episodes of her real estate docuseries, Houston Hustle.
She also rounded out her online offering with a lifestyle blog, Wangsta’s Paradise. Carefully tracking which content yielded the most engagement, she found that her niche now extended far beyond real estate. Fashion, beauty, travel, wellness, and family were all topics that gained enormous traction with her subscribers.
Julia’s willingness to share her trade secrets and her genuine desire to see others succeed without question are the reasons her content has remained so relevant, even at a time when fewer people are buying houses. One of her most popular videos is about manifesting goals through journaling, which taps into her long-held belief that mindset is everything when it comes to business, not to mention life.
“I can’t even count the number of times I’ve thought about quitting real estate. But you are your own biggest obstacle,” Julia admits. “It’s so easy to get sidetracked and focus on things that don’t matter, but by writing down your objectives your vision will remain laser-focused.”
In a year like 2020, this has been key to Julia’s success no doubt that of the other entrepreneurs who have demonstrated resilience in these unprecedented times. Deciding what you want your brand to represent and staying the course despite the natural ups and downs of life are for her the most important metrics of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
For Julia, these core values are authenticity, abundance, loyalty, and trust. Her mantra has always been that selling homes is as much about selling yourself. And so although “Julia Wang” is a brand founded on professional excellence, it has grown organically into so much more.
It might be her motivational messages. Perhaps it is behind-the-scenes glimpses of life as a top-producing real estate professional and influencer. It could even be the cameo appearances of her cute kids and adorable Frenchie pup! Whatever your reason for following Julia’s feed, you are guaranteed a steady stream of invaluable feel-good content that keeps you coming back for more.
