Hi James;

I don't have a picture of my dog Zeke on my business card, or on other paper marketing pieces...but he DOES have his own page on my website!  I let folks click around...if they stumble upon it, that's fine...if they don't see it, then it wasn't meant for them this time...

I've gone to some lengths to tell the story (in pictures and with videos) about how Zeke is the best real estate assistant ever.  Even blogged about it on AR, and got some really nice, fun comments about Zeke from AR members...  

I have found that when folks do find Zeke's page on my site, they are pretty happy about it.  They enjoy the page, and I enjoy knowing that his page has put a smile on a few faces.

I'm all about being professional. I just want my clients to get to know me as an individual too, and Zeke helps me do that.  Zeke is a great conversation-starter with someone I've just met.

I think there can be a couple of good reasons for this.

It creates opportunity for more unique, fun marketing, rather than the same ole boring stuff.

It creates instant rapport with other pet lovers, many of whom are super passionate about their pets

If the person doing the marketing is a huge pet person, it reasons theyd enjoy working with other huge pet people, so it can attract the type of client they like most.

When it's done professionally, I think it's fun, and stands out in a good way.  Just the mention of this post made several AR members names pop into my head immediately because they either market with pets, or market the fact that they're pet friendly.......it must work.

I love my pets, but I don't do this. Although I have seen some very effective marketing campaigns where pets are used. 

I personally do not like it but I guess if the person is all about their pet and everyone knows it and that is the message they want to convey, they may be doing the smart thing. 

I guess they want to show that they are pet loving people.  It's all a matter of personal preference.

I am not sure!

No idea...we do not

I am thinking they are hoping they get other pet lovers to buyer a home though them.

I have pets, and I did use a picture with a dog one time for holiday cards( it was really cute picture). I think, the agent who always use their pets for marketing do attract pet lovers as their clients. Such picture is an instant topic for conversation to connect on a personal level.

Personally I couldn't do it. I love my dog but she's not a part of my professional life, same as my children. I can see how it creates a likability factor though. I think that you can create that same factor by getting to know your clients one on one. Such as, attending some sort of pet charity and introducing yourself and handing out your business card.

Good question.  I have been told that I look unapproachable or hard ass in my profile pictures.  With Halley she softens my appearance apparently.  And have received many comments to the positive on her...not so much the mutt next to her.  Mark

Since my niche is horse properties and farms, my photo is with my horse.  This shows others that I am a horseperson.  Who better to market these properties than a fellow horse person?

As you can see I do this, in fact my toy poddle appears with me in videos. It creates an emothional comfort with people and what often happens is that they show me pictures of their pets.

James, it doesn't bother me and to each their own.  There are a lot of pet loving people out there so it could actually gain more positive feelings than negative ones by posting a business card picture with a pet.

I think it falls in the same category as facebook pictures.  Not Professional at all!

Presumably they're hoping to build affinity with pet owners.  That's nice, but it's a questionable strategy for hoping to convince a serious buyer or seller to work with you.

This is a good question. Pet lovers may respond positively but the appearance would be more professional sans pets.