in this issue…
Putting a Face on Real Estate since 1995™
• WCR Monthly Meeting • AYREP Happy Hour • Tuscan Village "Dusty Foot" Tour • Hay Compere Open House • ABoR Hill Visits • and much, much more!
Associates in Progress
In Just Four Short Years page 36
page 25
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MAY 2013 • VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1
Marketing in real estate changing with proliferation of smartphones By Stacy Hale
A
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recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that 22 percent of U.S. adults own a tablet computer, and almost half of all adults in the U.S. have a smart phone. Data gathered in our field overwhelmingly suggests that most buyers start their search for a home online, and many times, that’s through a website or app on a mobile phone or tablet. With that in mind, it pays to consider how listings and searches
are presented in this brave new world of mobile real estate. Last October NAR ran a blog post on Realtor.org that brought to mind a particular nuance when it comes to mobile real estate marketing: many search tools designed for smartphones and tablets allow buyers to get very specific about their criteria; for example, price. Most apps have either a $25,000 or $50,000 price spread between two different brackets, with typical ranges from no minimum up to $300,000. Depending on how you price the home, it may show up in one bracket but not another, even if your price c o m e s very close. (So if you normally price a home at $199,999, you might want to list it at $200,000 exactly, so that it will show up in both search brackets.) Many of the real estate search apps now offer features that connect buyers to agents in ways similar to social media. For example, the Realtor.com app allows you to add your clients much like a friend request on Facebook and connect with them collaboratively. You can use the app to send your clients homes they may be interested in, or they can use the “Send to Agent” feature that delivers all of their requests for more information and appointment requests directly to you. Other apps from Realtor.com can help you create a mobile-ready Facebook business page or a QR mobile marketing system. Real estate CRMs are catching on too. Top Producer is mobile and cloud-based, with apps like Top Connector that let you
send out marketing pieces via mobile. BrightOpen for Market Snapshot creates a soup-to-nuts open house experience, complete with contact forms visitors can fill out on the spot (and right on your device) and follow-up tools. Or, if you’re a real trailblazer and you’ve got the resources, you can create your own app. The point of mobile marketing in real estate is the same as it is in any business: to consider every touch point of the customer experience, and make it (the information you want them to access, the action you want them to take) easy and accessible. The best content marketers understand that relevance and convenience are the keys to winning customers’ hearts and minds, never forgetting, of course, that personal touch that fosters great relationships. The general rules are as follows: 1. Consider where they are. People like their information presented in formats that are compatible with their technology ecosystems. Use mobile-responsive design (content and layout that automatically adapts to any screen size) and mobile-friendly content (powerful headlines, to-the-point copy, images that grab). 2. Consider where they’re going. Real estate by nature is not a geographically static business. Your clients need to get from point A to point B to point C, and you don’t want them getting lost. Apps like Glympse can securely
Front Page: Continued on page 22
Upcoming Events Friday, May 17 HBA 2013 Tour of Homes REALTOR Day - Various Locations - 12 to 6 p.m. Monday, May 20 WCAoR 24th Annual Golf Tournament - Cimarron Hills - 10 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 21 HBA Georgetown Chapter Meeting Bob's Catfish 'N More - 12 to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 22 Netco Title: "Come Get Happy" Happy Hour - Doc's Backyard & Grill 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23 ABoR TREPAC Prom: Denim & Diamonds - Scottish Rite Theatre 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4 HBA Lakeway/Bee Cave Chapter Meeting - Fore - 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 4 HBA Lakeway/Bee Cave Chapter Meeting - Fore - 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, June 6 ABoR Member Meeting - Austin Country Club - 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ABoR Foundation Mercedes Benz Raffle Drawing - ABoR Office 6 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 19 CRS Bi-Monthly Meeting Westwood Country Club 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. More at www.myRealtyLine.com