  Electromagnetic resonance properties are uniquely defined at the pole and do
not depend on the separation of the resonance from background or the decay
channel. Photon-nucleon branching ratios are nowadays often quoted at the pole,
and we generalize the considerations to the case of virtual photons. We derive
and compare relations for nucleon to baryon transition form factors both for
the Breit-Wigner and the pole positions. Using the MAID2007 and SAID SM08
partial wave analyses of pion electroproduction data, we compare the $G_M$,
$G_E$, and $G_C$ form factors for the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance excitation at
the Breit-Wigner resonance and pole positions up to $Q^2=5$ GeV$^2$. We also
explore the $E/M$ and $S/M$ ratios as functions of $Q^2$. For pole and residue
extraction, we apply the Laurent + Pietarinen method.
