This week I'll share some of the new technology, websites and applications as well as some of the ways US agents are now using social media to communicate with clients.

Image credit: FirmBee via Pixabay.com

 

Social Media

In the US, social media is big for real estate agents and brokers. Although LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter may immediately spring to mind, real estate professionals are now starting to effectively create leads from Instagram and Pintrest.

In fact, in the US, agents receive more referral traffic from Pintrest than they do from Google Plus, Linkedin and Youtube combined. Real estate professionals are effectively using Pintrest by creating pinboards of design ideas and solutions that they like and local area information.

• This can include but is not limited to:
• Smart home design
• Storage solutions
• Room designs
• Local area landmarks (shops, cafes, bars etc)
• Local restaurants

Furthermore, US agents are pinning the listings information of homes they have, and have had, available for sale so they can show customers on their inspections.

Instagram is being used in a similar way whereby agents create a unique hashtags (e.g. #ckusherlistings) and upload photos of all their current and previous listings to have these immediately searchable to show clients.

Buzzsumo.com

Buzzsumo is a website that that allows you to analyse how well your social media content is being used. It shows the total number of shares of your content and then breaks it down by the different social media platforms.

This is a good website that allows you to see where both you and your competitors are getting the eyeballs and ultimately the shares.

Fancyhands.com

Fancyhands is a US based business which offers a virtual personal assistance service. As per the website they can do all those tasks that you don’t have the time nor the desire to do, this may include:

• Managing your appointment schedule
• Organising travel
• Administrative tasks such as data entry
• Reservations
• Booking travel

Floored

Floored create 3D videos of properties so potential buyers can walk through a property before they physically see the property. The models are optimised so you can watch them through an internet browser of through a mobile phone or tablet. The technology can also be used to create 3D real estate models for homes which aren’t even built as yet. You can also include furniture to get an even clearer idea of how things will fit in the space.

Oculus

Oculus is a virtual reality headset which is being backed by Facebook. For the real estate industry it can be utilised by allowing customers to literally walk through the home without having to physically do open-for-inspection.

Homekeepr

Homekeepr is a home maintenance app that can be used by both real estate professionals and anyone that owns a home. The app asks 10 questions about the characteristics of your home, it then creates a list of maintenance tasks that are required for the home and sets reminders as to when you should do these tasks.

The application provides a description of what the task is and why it should be done. It then recommends local service providers to undertake these tasks. The agent’s app offers customers the opportunity to download the app and it is customised to the clients’ home(s). The list of local service providers for each task can be customised by the agent.

When the task is due to be completed they receive both a notification on the app and an email from you as their agent reminding them that the task needs to be completed. The agent can even put their own recommendations outside of those specifically for the home such as local restaurants, shops, schools and much more.