The Power of Sharing

Today, many leading news sites and blogs welcome by-lined posts and articles from respected professionals willing to share valuable knowledge and insights with their readers.  Good, free content helps boost their SEO, readership, and prestige. For companies who sell to brokers, agents, lenders, and consumers, the explosion of real estate blogs locally as well as nationally creates unprecedented opportunities to build brands, advance careers and position products and services.  The only cost involved might be the time of a professional writer experienced in the residential real estate to turn concepts into great copy. The publishers who operate these sites make [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:01-07:00November 17th, 2016|Marketing, Strategic Planning|0 Comments

NAR Annual: Looking for 2017 trends, tech and tactics

This week, Orlando is more than home to Disney World and tens of thousands of happy tourists across the globe: it also will house nearly 20,000 enthusiastic REALTORS®, other industry organizations (RESO Booth #609), MLSs executives and staff, lenders, title firms, closing agents, technology providers of every shape and size, and of course, the Scarf King. Navigating through the maze of more than 400 exhibitors is challenging, but kudos for the NAR for making it highly accessible. The Trade Expo kicks off on Friday afternoon with its Grand Opening at 3:00 pm, running to 6:00 pm. The official hours: Expo Hours [...]

The Convergence of PR, Traditional Media and Social Media

One of the most profound changes in the media we consume in recent years is going largely unnoticed. The convergence of public relations, traditional media and social media is causing lines to be crossed – or at least blurred – and that’s making it nearly impossible to distinguish PR, from traditional media or social media. It appears that this convergence is accelerating and what that means is content today is often a bit of everything mixed together. Let me explain. Traditional media – newspapers, radio and television – once ran news only created by their own reporters or from wire [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:03-07:00October 19th, 2016|Marketing|0 Comments

Drones: A Game-Changer for Real Estate Marketing

For most real estate agents, marketing with aerial photography or video has been considered an extravagance reserved only for high-dollar properties and luxury homes. However, a new federal policy now permits Realtors to market properties at all price-points in ways that were cost-prohibitive in the past. The “Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule,” expands the possibility for commercial drone usage for the real estate industry—without the previous restrictions and complicated application process. With this new accessibility, aerial photography and video are shaping up to be the next evolution of transformative real estate marketing solutions. While video has already proven its value for [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:04-07:00September 27th, 2016|Marketing|1 Comment

Do Online Marketing Analytics Blind Agents to Offline Opportunities?

We’ve all been the unhappy recipients of unwanted junk mail and Internet advertisements, yet online marketing has been hailed as the Holy Grail among Realtors for turning up sales leads. However, statistics show that scattershot online marketing does not necessarily translate into sales strength. By hyper-focusing outreach efforts on online portals, agents are missing valuable opportunities to not just create leads but actually increase sales. Agents can optimize their reach and revenue by remembering the roots of marketing principles and embracing an integrated plan that engages more offline strategies. To be sure, the prospect of influence through online channels is [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:05-07:00September 21st, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, Marketing|0 Comments

What’s the Real Value of Portal Marketing?

A recent survey of over 120 broker-owners and senior leaders at some of the top real estate firms in the U.S. and Canada revealed an apparent disconnect between revenue goals and business strategies. According to the survey, 85% of brokerages focus their marketing investments on lead generation activities– despite the fact that nearly two-thirds of sales are the result of repeat clients and past client referrals. Clearly, agents and brokers are spending too much time and money marketing on portals when long-view strategies produce a better return-on-investment. While lead generation is an undeniably important tactic for targeting specific market segments, [...]

Looking At VR For Real Estate? AR Will Be Even Bigger

A lot of attention in real estate goes into looking at what the next big thing will be in technology that will impact our business. As a self-confessed closet Geek, I do my best to stay on top of future trends. All things related to data has garnered my greatest attention over the last few years – from Predictive Analytics, to Artificial Intelligence and the emergence of the “algorithm economy.” The future impact of these trends on real estate will be stunning, but there are two other trends closer to the vest for real estate brokerages that could have a [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:05-07:00September 14th, 2016|Marketing, Virtual Office Website Series|0 Comments

Good PR Sometimes Means Keeping Your Name Out Of The Media

It was a lesson I learned fairly early on in my career in Public Relations and one I will never forget: Good PR sometimes means keeping clear of media coverage. It’s an axiom that not many people understand, but I believe it is actually harder than any other kind of strategic public relations. Let me explain. A deeper understanding I wanted to be in Public Relations since I was a junior in high school. That is quite the anomaly, as even today, most high school juniors do not have a clue as to what PR really is. But I was [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:05-07:00September 14th, 2016|Marketing|0 Comments

Growing Agents’ CRM with Solutions from Homes.com

  There’s a significant opportunity gap for agents to grow their CRM through online real estate sites. The statistics are in: While almost half of buyers find their home online, 89% still use a real estate agent or broker to seal the deal. That’s why advertising on a real estate site can do wonders for creating a robust agent CRM for agents… IF the agent understands how online marketing works to secure more traffic, leads, and clients. There are many online marketing options, but Homes.com ranks #1 in terms of lead quality and they offer a range of solutions for building [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:06-07:00September 7th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, Marketing|0 Comments

Imprev Study: Upstream garners remarkable support

Going into Real Estate Connect San Francisco, Upstream CEO Alex Lange should be all smiles when he reads the latest Thought Leader Survey – an Upstream-focused study – from real estate marketing automation leader Imprev. The latest Imprev study released today shows that 84% of the more than 300 top real estate execs participating say they “support” Upstream. Alex already had a strong wind of momentum at his back after releasing, to much praise, the new Upstream website. Upstream is also nominated for a 2016 Innovator Award by Connect conference organizer, Inman News. The nomination in itself is a considerable [...]

RESO Continues to Expand it’s Influence and Leadership

The dedicated staff at the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) and thousands of volunteers from companies across the globe have labored away at the arduous task of creating consistent data standards to be used by all MLSs, technology companies and brokerages.  They have set the stage for a ton more efficiency and innovation in our industry. The RESO Data Dictionary is now available through nearly 550 MLSs across the country serving nearly 1.2mm REALTORS® today and the RETS data transportation standard has been adopted by every MLS organization and successfully utilized over the past 16 years since its inception. RESO’s [...]

RESO slashes Brokerage membership dues, makes Certification member benefit

The Real Estate Standards Organization – or RESO – just announced two big moves. First, RESO is eliminating separate Certification fees by making all Certifications a member benefit, covered by annual RESO dues effective immediately. Second, beginning in January, Real Estate Brokerages with fewer than 100 agents can become a RESO member for just $50 a year, slashed from $500 a year previously. Membership fees – shown below in the news release issued this morning – have been overhauled for 2017 and takes into account folding in Certification fees, which should be welcomed news for larger MLSs. RESO is pushing hard to get [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:10-07:00July 26th, 2016|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|0 Comments