Redfin Launches AI-Powered Tool to Answer Questions About For-Sale Homes
Redfin announced the beta launch of Ask Redfin, a generative AI-powered virtual assistant that quickly answers homebuyers' questions about for-sale homes. House hunters can now use Ask Redfin to learn about a listing, such as whether there's an upcoming open house, monthly homeowners association fees, what school district the home is in and much more. Anyone searching via the Redfin iPhone app in the U.S. can opt in to the Ask Redfin beta.
Redfin created the feature to help homebuyers easily find the information they care about within a home's listing details, local market conditions, nearby schools, touring availability and more. Ask Redfin answers questions about home amenities (does this house have air conditioning?), market conditions (what do homes in this area typically sell for?), and zoning (can I build an ADU?), among other topics. It's integrated with Redfin's support team, so homebuyers can be quickly connected to a licensed real estate agent if their question goes beyond the details of the listing, such as how to make an offer or to get an agent's opinion on the market value of a home.
"When you're house-hunting, details about all the homes you're considering start to blur together," said Dallas Redfin Premier Agent Casi Fricks. "Ask Redfin will be an asset to buyers looking for fast answers 24/7. And, if a buyer wants to take next steps, get more expert insights or discuss their options, they're quickly connected to an agent who can help."
Ask Redfin uses large language models to tap nearly all of the publicly available information on a home's listing page and beyond to respond to queries.
"We include an enormous amount of data on every listing you find on Redfin because homebuyers deserve as much insight into a home as possible," said Ariel Dos Santos, Redfin Senior Vice President of Product and Design. "Ask Redfin makes it easy and effortless for customers to find the information they want to know."
People using the latest version of the Redfin iPhone app to search for homes in about a dozen U.S. metros—including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C., among others—will automatically see Ask Redfin when they view a listing. Redfin iPhone app users searching for homes outside of those areas can opt-in to the experience by logging into their account, visiting the My Redfin section of the app and selecting "Try Ask Redfin." This will turn on Ask Redfin for use on any U.S. listing, regardless of where the home is located. Redfin plans to make Ask Redfin visible by default in more markets and available on additional platforms in the future, and the company is encouraging homebuyers to share feedback as they try the beta version.
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5 Steps to Build Out Your Real Estate Mobile and Text Message Marketing Strategy
Marketing is getting tougher and tougher--there's no doubting that.
One strategy you can consider is SMS marketing, the process of sending short text messages to your ideal customers in an attempt to engage them with your campaign and get them to convert.
Even though average open rates for SMS messages beat email by a whopping 28%, your real estate company sells homes for a large price—unlike small-ticket items that can be purchased on a lunch break.
So, how can you make text message marketing your biggest driver of website traffic, leads and sales?
Here are the five steps you'll need to build out your mobile real estate marketing strategy, as well as two brands who are already killing it with their text messages.
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How to Edit Your Matterport Spaces Anywhere, on Any Device
Whether you are using a Pro1, Pro2, BLK, a supported 360 camera or the new Matterport for iPhone, now there are more choices than ever to scan your spaces with Matterport. Wouldn't it be great if you could also edit and stage those spaces, on the go, using your favorite mobile device?
Last month, Matterport rolled out changes to Workshop to enable editing of spaces on mobile phones and tablets, which makes the editing experience easier and more intuitive across the board.
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ERA Real Estate Launches IVR Enhancement to TextERA Platform
ERA Real Estate announced the addition of an IVR (interactive voice response) feature to the TextERA platform. TextERA, already hugely successful among ERA® affiliated brokers and agents, allows potential clients to immediately access the listing agent, pricing, video and details about the property within seconds by following prompts from their yard signs. TextERA's new IVR feature ensures that potential clients who still opt to make phone calls will also receive an immediate response.
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The Complete Guide to Promoting Your Business with Texting
Staying current has never been more important for business than it is today. As millions of consumers turn to Amazon for ease of ordering and delivery of a wide variety of products, the worst thing a small business can do is be complacent.
Most entrepreneurs would do almost anything to avoid being considered obsolete or out of date.
That's among the reasons why it's so crucial for business owners to leverage all the tools they have available. Sure, that includes email and social media and whatever other kinds of marketing is pertinent to a given industry. But if a marketing plan doesn't include text messaging these days, it's definitely missing a golden opportunity to not only stay current, but to stay in touch.
Text message marketing continues to flourish as one of the most cost-effective and result-driven methods to keep customers happy. Here is what you need to know about using texting for business.
3 Steps for Texting for business:
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Mobile Apps vs. Responsive Websites
Here's why responsive mobile design is not enough for real estate sales
Today it's normal to pull out phones while standing in grocery lines, at sporting events and in front of a house for sale. Ultimately, this means we are logging on multiple times a day, and these "mobile moments" as Google calls them, add up to big usage numbers.
Two takeaways from Zillow and Google
First, consumers are using mobile devices more and more because it gets them the information they want right away from a device they always have with them.
Second, though attention must be paid to the flood of people using the Web from their devices, engagement happens more in well-designed apps than on responsive websites.
Mobile apps are fast and to the point. They are quickly opened with a tap on your phone after you download them.
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How to Use Google Analytics to Understand Mobile Traffic
One of the biggest benefits of online real estate marketing is that you'll always have the data you need to understand how your website is performing – if you know where to look. Google Analytics provides a ton of valuable data about your website, but navigating the graphs, numbers, and jargon can be intimidating when you're not familiar with the details. While there's a learning curve involved, the insights that you get from your analytics will far outweigh the time you spent learning how to use them.
Your mobile site is one of your most important online properties, and today we're going to help you get familiar with how Google Analytics works for your mobile real estate website.
Bring on the Data: Making the Most of Google's Mobile Analytics
Mobile browsing is already absolutely huge, and it only seems to grow more popular year after year. The simple fact is that if your real estate website isn't optimized for mobile users, you're going to miss out on a major segment of your potential audience. Google Analytics will help you understand exactly how mobile users experience your website, and what you need to do to optimize your site for mobile devices.
The first step is to take a look at what percentage of your visits come from mobile devices. This can be found under the advanced segments section of your dashboard. Check the boxes for mobile and tablets to view your percentages. Ideally, you want your mobile and tablet views to comfortably top the 25 percent mark, at the least. If your percentages are hovering below that mark, it's a good indication that your website could use some mobile optimization.
You can get even more granular with your analysis by checking the size of the screens that people are using to browse your website. This information can be found from your dashboard by visiting In-Page Analytics under the Content tab, and selecting the Browser Window option.
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Turning Your Real Estate Business from Good to Great
As a real estate broker, your goal is to generate leads that will increase business for your agents and company. You probably already have an eye-catching website that generates leads. Your business is good, but is it great?
To turn your business from good to great means incorporating some of today's latest technologies into your overall marketing strategy. Start with a mobile responsive website design. A mobile responsive website design automatically scales its layout and content to fit whatever device visitors are using at the time.
With 89 percent of new home buyers using mobile search engines, it only makes sense to give your visitors a modern and easy-to-use website.
Still a little unclear about what makes a responsive design such an important part of your digital marketing plan?
Here Are Our Top 6 Reasons to Go Mobile Responsive:
1. There are plenty of reasons to implement a responsive design for your website; however providing a better user experience tops the list. Your website should look and function phenomenally whether a smartphone, desktop or tablet is being used. A better user experience decreases bounce rates, increases website conversion and enhances your brand image.
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Keys to Promoting Your Mobile Video Content
If you're not using video to connect with potential homebuyers, you're missing an increasingly large chunk of your potential clients. Research reveals it's become an important part of the shopping process for an ever-increasing percentage of homebuyers. And, increasingly, those videos are consumed on mobile devices.
Just how important is video? It's estimated as much as 85 percent of homebuyers and sellers look to work with a real estate agent who uses video to market their listings. Kathryn Royster, a blogger for inman.com, reports that homes listed with video get four times as many inquiries than homes with no video listings.
Clearly, video has become an important—or, shall I say, indispensable—tool in today's real estate market.
It's important to understand, too, that how homebuyers use video has changed. Instead of merely sitting at home, at their very stationary desktop computer (if they even still have one), consumers are engaging with video more and more on mobile devices: tablets and cell phones. And, of course, they could be viewing your videos virtually anywhere—even in the driveway of one of your listings!
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Integrating Mobile Actions into Your Business Life
Whether we'll admit it or not, most of us are online a lot. And if we're going off the cold hard facts, one-fifth of all Americans report that they're online 'almost constantly.' How is that possible?
Those pesky cell phones.
They're in nearly everyone's hands, purses, or pockets, and you better believe that they get whipped out in any moment of downtime. How else would we get through the day without our Candy Crush, our constant scrolling through Instagram feeds or our pithy 140 character statements on Twitter? Before we knock it as a major productivity killer, it could, in fact, be the next generation of getting your business done on-the-go, as well as a great way to access a whole new type of customers. So before you sit down at your computer and send out a couple hundred emails, check out why it may be more productive to spend some time reaching out to your network on your mobile instead.
Integrate Mobile Actions Into Business Activities
"About three-quarters of Americans use a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device to tap into the internet at least occasionally." Combine that with the fact that most Americans are online constantly, the signs point to something we all already know: everyone is on their cell phone/smart phone/mobile device at all points of the day. We're all guilty of it.
But just knowing the facts isn't enough in this case, the key is getting out there and acting on those high percentages of online, swiping, scrolling, and Snapchatting people. Here's the thing: your clients and your potential clients are almost all on their mobile devices. What reason do you have to not reach out to them through that channel if it's going to be effective?
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Home Search on Mobile Devices Continues to Grow
Summer is prime house hunting season—I'm not telling you something you don't already know. Google confirmed it when they reported that July is the month where real estate-related search terms typically spike. Combine that with the fact that 89 percent of home shoppers use mobile devices to search for homes, and I have to ask... Will your company be ready to capitalize on the 2016 selling season?
Let's face it—using mobile devices to search the web has become a part of our everyday lives. There's no doubt that a well-designed website that takes mobile into account is crucial in reaching today's real estate customers, but you probably have some questions about how and why it is important.
For many, the choice comes down to designing a "mobile first" website or living with what they have for the time being. Living with what is already in place may mean an app or app-like interface for mobile users. It could even mean living with a version of a website that doesn't render properly—typically frustrating and driving away potential customers.
This decision ultimately comes down to how your organization wants to engage its mobile traffic or if they are even ready to do so. This needs to be on the radar of every business owner as mobile usage continues to grow and becomes an even greater percentage of total website traffic.
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iPad Listing Presentations and Relationships
WAV Group has been working with many companies on listing presentations. They are the Barnum and Bailey Circus of selling real estate. You know the drill: in this ring we have the home tour, in this ring we have comps, and in this ring we have why you should pick me. iPads deliver listing presentations with a much higher impact than paper. It’s a great listing tool.
There are a few tools that make the iPad sing that I really like. I think that Paperless Agent has put together a great series of education and applications that make the iPad a terrific selling tool. They call it the Digital Listing Presentation Power Pack.
For $67, you should just purchase it to see how they combine the training with the tools and bring them to life on the iPad.
Another tool you cannot purchase but should see if you are a Realty Alliance broker, is Pacific Union’s Digital Listing Presentation. Like so many things that are in the DNA of Pacific Union’s success, they built it themselves. The first version was better than any listing presentation around, but version two is a combination of luxury refinement and simplicity. The Realty Alliance members share their techniques with other Realty Alliance firms, so that is the ticket to seeing this work of art.
Cloud CMA and TouchCMA are also winners. Cloud CMA is in every MLS, but only smart agents have found it. TouchCMA has less adoption but bangs out some serious horsepower.
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Brokers Must Immediately Audit Mobile
Mobile accounts for 50 percent of web traffic for most brokers today. Sadly, the mobile solution that you purchased a year or two ago is probably behind the times. Not only does your website need to be "responsive" to any mobile browser, but you'd better have a damn good app too.
The first thing that you should do is try it. Make sure that you download your app and use it every time you need to look up something on a property. Moreover, be sure to use the mobile browser. This consumer experience is lost on most brokerage operating principles.
The second thing to do is audit your agents and office managers. Ask them to show you the company's app on their phone. You will be astonished at the number of agents and managers that do not have the app installed. It's a good time to ask them "Why not?" There may be a very good reason.
Promote Your App On Your Website
Sometimes the simplest things can make enormous differences in your business. After getting everyone in your firm to download the app, market it everywhere. We audited a brokerage firm's online strategy recently and made a simple suggestion. We asked the broker to code in links to their mobile app on every page of their website. It is a simple procedure; place the icons and links to the download sites.
We were astounded by the results. Their app downloads went up by more than 3,000 percent!
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The Surface Pro 3: The Tablet that Replaces the Desktop?
Microsoft calls it "the tablet that can replace your laptop," and with every update of their Surface series, they are getting closer and closer to that goal.
If you are still in need a full-sized laptop, you should probably still buy one, but if you need/want something lighter and more portable but with the benefits of a laptop, the Surface Pro 3 is that something. It's a complete PC with a full Windows operating system, currently available in Windows 8 and Windows 10 models, but not a complete PC all of the time. It's perfect to use for both home and work, because it's essential to both. The Surface Pro is as adept at watching Netflix in bed as it is working on-site and on the go.
Boasting a 12 inch display, it's comfortable to watch movies on and shows as well as space to view webpages, compose emails and edit spreadsheets. It's light and thin, clocking in at 9.1mm thick and under 2 lbs. The standout feature of the Surface series is the kickstand. With the Pro 3, there comes a new and improved, more flexible one; it offers nearly every angle between upright and almost flat to give you the optimal viewing angle for any lighting situation.
For those that need the textile feel of a button press when typing and a touch screen just doesn't cut it, the Surface offers the flip out physical keyboard. Flexible enough to fold over the screen as a cover and durable enough to handle typing out the next great novel—or at least the next great email!
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A Look at the New Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
Samsung has been coming out with a lot of new products and, as always, has been raising the bar by making consistently better phones each year. Their main two models have been the Galaxy S series and the Galaxy Note series for those who love the larger screen. This year, it appears that they decided to provide an additional option.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 now has the Plus series available. It has all of the same great features of the recent Galaxy S6, but now has a 5.7" screen. For the usual Samsung fans, this was typically a decision of the screen size preference, but now there is more to consider.
With the already groundbreaking dual edge screen of the S6, it will now have even better quality with the 5.7" quad HD super AMOLED display. It has a 16-megapixel rear facing camera and a 5-megapixel front facing camera with a wide angle view. It can also shoot 1080p full HD video recordings with a 720pixel playback. The S6 Edge is embedded with wireless charging capability, like the Galaxy Note 5, and also has the Ultra Power Saving mode to extend battery life. That means longer usage and no longer having the hassle of dealing with cords.
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[Video] How to Assign a Unique Ringtone to Your Phone Contacts
Caller ID isn't the only way to know exactly who's calling you. With a little smartphone savvy, real estate professionals can figure out who's trying to reach them just by the sound of their ringtone.
How? Android devices and iPhones both allow users to assign unique ringtones to individual contacts. So if, say, there's a high maintenance client whose call or text you don't want to miss, you can assign that contact an attention-grabbing ringtone. Some people assign ringtones based on whether that person is a personal or professional contact, or any other number of criteria.
Changing your ringtone is easy. The two short videos below will walk you through the process on Android and Apple devices.
Android
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Mobile Use is Increasing: Why This Matters for Real Estate
The mobile landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years. In 2015 we've seen an impressive 20% increase in usage of our app, leading to more sales and clients for real estate agents.
This data doesn't surprise us; in fact, it's a reflection of the rise of mobile data usage overall in the United States. Here are some stats that might surprise you about the rise of smartphones in the United States.
80% of first time homebuyers have smartphones
The median age of first time homebuyers is 31, and 80% of people that age own smartphones. Repeat buyers average age 52, and 64% of those buyers have smartphones and that number is rising. Homebuyers are using mobile devices to search for homes.
80% of Internet users own a smartphone
Not only do most web users own a smartphone, they often choose to use their mobile device to search even when a desktop is available. 60% of smartphone owners will grab their phones for a search even when they are sitting in front of their desktop. In 2014, mobile usage was greater than desktop usage overall for the first time.
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Size Matters
Bigger is better. At least that's what Apple discovered when it unveiled larger iPhones. The sales numbers stunned everyone: 74.5 million iPhones in the first quarter of release.
That's more than 34,000 phones an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Even Tim Cook was taken aback, telling analysts the "Demand for iPhone was staggering," adding, "This volume is hard to comprehend."
Every major smartphone vendor has discovered that when it comes to consumer preferences, they are turning to larger screens.
The bigger story
But what is happening here goes beyond record sales numbers for Apple, Samsung, Google, LG or HTC.
What the dominance of bigger screen smartphones in the marketplace is doing is accelerating the dominance of mobile in every aspect of our lives.
Mobile growth has exploded with 71% U.S. market penetration, but I think we've just scratched the surface of what's coming and coming on fast.
This is what real estate professionals need to pay attention to.
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Check Out the Upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6
Soon, Samsung will be coming out with the new Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge models that will keep many of the same great features of the previous models but still raise the bar. If you are already an Android user or thinking about getting one, here is an upcoming smartphone to look for, which is expected to be released this quarter.
Better Camera
This phone is expected to have the best camera Samsung has ever put on a smartphone. It comes with a 16MP back camera for incredible clarity and a 0.7 second activation for faster response. It also has a best-in-class 5MP front camera with a 120 degree wide angle lens, making wide-angle selfies, Auto HDR pictures, and 4k videos easier to take and better looking than ever.
Better Display
Inspired by the Samsung TV screens, the new 5.1 inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display will now have a 2560 x 1440. It has the large screen to keep up with other modern competitors, but still has the great image quality to exceed expectations.
New Operating System and Processor
The Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge both come with a lightning fast, 64 bit Octa-Core processor. They are expected to come with the Lollipop OS since that's currently the latest version, but Samsung is currently working on their own Tizen operating system, which may be released shortly after their new model. Of course, this all depends on when Samsung decides to release the new models.
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Everything You Need to Know About Syncing Your iPhone Contacts in 3 Steps
Do you know how your phone stores contacts? Maybe you should.
You may not know it, but right now your iPhone contacts are being synced with something. It might be iCloud. It might be your work email's server. Either way, you won't really know until you check your settings. But is that sync two-way? In other words, if you make a change on the other end, will that change sync back to your iPhone's address book?
By default, it probably won't. Fortunately, you can fix it by doing three simple things.
Import Google Contacts.
Set Google Contacts as your default.
Move your phone's contacts over.
It's fast, easy, and when you're done, you'll have an always-up-to-date contact system across all your devices.
Why is contact syncing so tricky?
Apple has historically made it difficult to sync contacts from their devices and services to others. While technological politics plays a part in this, some of these restrictions are strictly practical. For example, if you have three different cloud services all syncing back to your address book, you could easily end up with four versions of the same contact. You wouldn't want that, and neither does Apple.
But if you're looking for a really efficient two-way sync between your iPhone and the cloud, there really is no substitute for using Google Contacts. So rejoice — by following the three steps below, you'll have all of your iPhone contacts up-to-date at all times.
OK, let's do it.
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How to Make Your Own Emoticons
Here's a fun tip for today's tech-savvy real estate professionals: you can make your own emoticons and use them in your text messages.
Making your own emoticons is a fun way to make your texts stand out and make your brand more memorable. All you need to do to get started is to download an app. Here are three great options:
Imoji
This free app for iPhone users lets you make your own emoji from any image, including photos you've taken. You can set your creations to public or private and then use them in text messages, on Facebook and Twitter. You can also search for and use fun ones created by other users. Here are some pro Imoji app tips to help you get going.
Facecon
This free app for Android users lets you create emoticons using your own face! Simply snap a selfie and use the simple tools to customize your emoji. Change your hair, background, all kinds of stuff. You can even create animated images that you can text or post to social media.
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Top 10 Mobile Marketing Strategies for Real Estate
Before we take a look at these top 10 strategies, let's agree that mobile is crucial to our Internet marketing based on just two simple facts:
As of January of 2014, there were 143 million smart phones and 71 million tablets in the U.S.
Nearly half of consumers state that they won't return to a website if it doesn't load properly on their mobile devices.
Mobile is how our prospects, customers, and clients are searching for information about local real estate, so we need to respond with mobile marketing strategies that meet their needs.
1. Your site must be mobile-friendly: What do you carry? Perhaps it's an Android phone, or an iPhone, or even a Blackberry. You may also frequently use a tablet device, Android or iPad being the most common, though Windows is still in the tablet battle as well. What happens when you try to visit a website and it doesn't load properly, or maybe the text and images are so small you can't decipher the information? You do what everyone else does ... you move on to another site.
Our first mobile marketing strategy tip is simply to be certain that your website renders properly in all types of mobile browsers. It's not just about seeing it all, but also about being able to read it without a magnifying glass.
2. Understand the mobile user: When it comes to real estate research, think about why someone would be using a mobile device. With the movement from desktop to mobile searches growing at a rapid pace, we should change our marketing planning to always include a mobile component, if appropriate. Whether online, in print, or in other media, think about how mobile can be a part of every campaign.
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Mobile Apps: a Primer for Brokers
There's much more to mobile than just the iPad. Smartphones and Android tablets are everywhere and clever technology companies have built apps that work wonders on these mobile devices.
These apps are as diverse as the devices they're built for. Some may be consumer-facing property search apps, branded to an agent or broker. Others are strictly for professionals, many of which are plugged-in to MLS data to ensure you have all information at your fingertips no matter where you are. And don't forget helpful apps for digital signatures, marketing, and forms! If you have a mobile need, there's probably a great app to fill it.
To help you learn more about mobile solutions, we recommend reading the following articles. They're a good place to get started:
What to Look for in a Mobile Solution
Real Estate Apps: Have They Downloaded Yours Yet?
Mobile App or Mobile Website? The Pros and Cons of Each
Choosing the Right Tool
If you're in the market for a mobile app, there are questions you can ask to evaluate which option is right for you, like:
Do I want a consumer-facing app or do I want an app that is strictly for professionals?
If this is a consumer search app that my agents will share with their clients, what kind of branding does it offer to my brokerage?
What functionality is available when I am not connected to the Internet?
Which devices was this app built for? Will it run on my smartphone or tablet's operating system?
Does the developer of this app have permission to access my MLS data?
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What the New iPhone 6 Camera and Video Features Mean for Real Estate
They said it wouldn't be done. Late Apple founder Steve Jobs, specifically, said his company would never develop a larger smartphone like those rival Samsung and others were deploying, because, in his words, "No one's going to buy that."
Now four years later, Apple has introduced — finally — large-screen iPhones that are designed to, well, meet consumer demand. And, just to make sure everyone was happy, Tim Cook, Jobs' successor as Apple CEO, introduced two new sizes: the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. Ironically, some of Apple's biggest smartphone rivals are reportedly ushering new, smaller models to market to compete with the smaller of the two new iPhone models.
While the new, bigger size is what's grabbing the most headlines, there are some neat new photo/video related features packed into the latest iteration of Apple's smartphone. First, Apple has added a new A8 processor in the new iPhones. This will help ensure smooth camera, browsing and app use, but the upgrade may not be too evident except under heavy use.
Like the previous iPhone, the iPhone 6 has an 8-megapixel camera, but this model features what Apple is calling "focus pixels," a technology previously found only in professional DSLR cameras (this is very important). Enhancements include a sensor that can determine focus direction and how far to move the phone's lens, plus the ability to lighten or darken a photo from within the preview frame, a Retina HD screen, and image stabilization technology that will reduce shake and make low-light photos better. Bottom line: This phone may stop my relentless jabbing at agents who take photos of listings with their phone, versus using a higher-quality camera.
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Six Steps to Improve Your Real Estate Website for Mobile Visitors
79% of mobile users will visit another site for the information they need if they find a site difficult to use, according to a Google study. How are you engaging with potential customers via mobile? Use the six tips below to improve your business' mobile site, and attract, engage and retain on-the-go customers in your market.
Optimize your website
Make sure your visitors can easily access your website on a mobile device. According to the National Association of Realtors, 89% of homebuyers use mobile to conduct their search. A mobile optimized site will give potential clients the convenience of easily contacting you and viewing your listings on-the-go.
Get in touch with ease
Once potential clients land on your mobile site, make it easy for them to contact you. List your contact information at the top of the page and hyperlink your phone numbers and email address so you can be reached with one click.
Simplify lead forms
Keep your lead forms short and sweet. Lengthy forms that require a lot of typing can deter mobile users. Limit the number of entry fields short to the most pertinent information you need from the first point of contact.
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Browser or app — what’s the best way to read your email?
Have you ever run into one of those debates that you never even really knew was a debate? Then, you find out that all your new neighbors call soda "pop," and all of a sudden you don't know who you can really trust anymore?
How you interact with your email is definitely one of these arguments. When people who use nothing but webmail find out that I use a dedicated email application like Outlook or Mail.app, they don't usually get upset, or make jokes at my expense. They're just generally flabbergasted, as if I had just told them I preferred walking backwards on the treadmill or something. To webmail-only workers, dealing with an email client is just an additional layer of work that provides no real benefits. But to those of us who are used to our dedicated client apps, webmail often feels like "mail-lite" with restrictions we can't accept.
So is one method REALLY better than the other? Or is it just a Coke/Pepsi matter of personal preference? Let's break down the issues for each.
Simplicity
Using webmail is like walking into a deli and ordering a sandwich. There's a limited amount of things that can go wrong, because you're right there. If they're out of ham, they'll say "sorry, we're out of ham. Using a client application is like ordering that sandwich over the phone — all kinds of stuff can get between you and your order.
Maybe they are out of ham. Maybe they hung up on you. Maybe you hung up on them. Maybe you called the wrong deli. Maybe they went out of business and now it's a bait shop. You don't know.
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Is It Time for BYOD to RIP?
Guest contributor Bill Thomson of REALTOR®Mag says:
Real estate pros are definitely not nine-to-fivers. They spend the bulk of their time on the road, doing everything from meeting with listing clients to logging hours at open houses. As a result, practitioners have unique technology needs that usually revolve around communicating and accessing information while out and about. Today, most real estate agents use their personal phones — the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon — for daily business.
BYOD has, however, been a double-edged sword for the real estate industry. There are benefits and complications inherent for both agents and their broker partners. Should you BYOD or explore some of the new technology options available?
BYOD Benefits: Always in Touch
Mobility is critical to ensuring that agents have the resources they need at hand. As such, most firms support BYOD policies. A personal smartphone acts as an office in hand to keep agents in touch with clients, colleagues, and the home office, as well as to access listing and contract data. Allowing agents to use their own mobile devices helps save on hardware costs. Further, agents who are comfortable with the features and applications on their personal smartphones use them more effectively on the job.
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Is Your Mobile Site Doing More Damage Than Good?
REAL Trends was contracted to research and develop a whitepaper covering mobile aspects of real estate with an emphasis on mobile websites. While we aggregate our data and construct the whitepaper, we thought we would share some of our general observations with the real estate industry.
We analyzed several hundred of the top real estate brokerages in the country to find out what they did with their mobile presence. We then graded each on their mobile websites. Often times, a brokerage's website is the consumer's first impression of a real estate brokerage. Unfortunately, there is a large percentage of real estate brokerages that are sending the signal to consumers that if you are on a mobile device, then you're better off going elsewhere. That elsewhere is one of the reasons the large portals are commandeering your hard-earned real estate web traffic.
Template Sites
We found far too many out-of-the-box template mobile websites and not enough of what makes local brokerages the go-to source for real estate—a custom mobile site. Ultimately, having a custom mobile site gives you a competitive advantage. On the flip side, we found a small percentage of brokerages that have impressive mobile websites or mobile apps. These brokerages have differentiated themselves significantly and made the mobile consumer experience spectacular. The premise of the white paper will not only recognize these companies, but also point out the features and characteristics they've developed that stands them apart.
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What’s Your Mobile Strategy?
If you're like most real estate brokers or agents, you either don't have an actual mobile strategy or you've pieced together some kind of plan over the past year or so. It's not too late to build a plan.
You've all heard the NAR statistics (2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers) that 100 percent of consumers use the Internet to search for property and that 89 percent of new home shoppers use a mobile search engine throughout the home search. But, you may not have heard this: Google research (Google & Compete Home Shopper Mobile Survey, 2012) shows that mobile applications are being used by 68 percent of new home shoppers either in the onset or throughout their home-buying experience.
Here are some key questions and considerations when developing your mobile strategy:
Mobile marketing is all about getting in front of your customer at the right place, the right time with the right information. By offering a mobile website with IDX, you're giving them real-time listings from your MLS.
Your mobile marketing efforts should include the ability to distribute mobile virtual tours and mobile optimized single-property websites.
Decide how to offer your mobile website—through a native app or a responsive website design. Each will have key benefits. Discuss these options with various mobile suppliers such as BestFit Mobile or Aumnia.
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Laptop vs. Tablet: Which Should You Use?
We asked Matthew Rathbun of The Agent Trainer to give us some guidance on the laptop vs. tablet dillemma. Here's what he had to say:
A few years ago, I stopped putting off a desire I had possessed since I was young, and I took a weekend off and went to class to get my motorcycle license. Now, I ride my BMW 1150 Rockster as often as I can. Why do you care? Because, this is how I begin to answer the question, "When I need a new laptop, should I just get a tablet device instead?"
I use the analogy because it puts into perspective my answer--which is both. Just like my motorcycle, the tablet is fun to use, gets good gas mileage and can quickly get me where I need to go. However, if there is bad weather, the need to transport more than two people, pack a lot of stuff or long distance traveling, then my car is the vehicle I choose.
The tablet device is not quite ready to completely replace the laptop; rather they work together to meet my needs. I can check email on both and access most, but not all, websites. There is a much broader range of computing programs available to the Mac or Windows operating system than the App Store currently holds. Most tablets allow me to create presentations, documents and other multimedia presentations. It just isn't as easy to do on the tablet as it is on the laptop. And, there are often fewer options or features on the tablet.
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iPad vs. Microsoft Surface Pro for Real Estate
The real estate industry has struggled with supporting the tablet needs of real estate professionals. Until now, the iPad has reigned supreme as the leader among real estate professionals. Now Microsoft has a legitimate contender in the race that deserves serious consideration among real estate professionals. It is called the Surface Pro.
About Microsoft Surface Pro
The Microsoft Surface is a tablet like the iPad. It offers touch screen computing like the iPad, and is similar in size (weighs 300 grams more than the iPad, or about 30% heavier). The Surface Pro is clearly the more powerful device in terms of computing power and memory. However, the key feature is that the Surface Pro runs the full version of Windows 8 that you may be running on your desktop today.
Moreover, every application that you use in real estate will work 100% of the time. You will not run into any glitches with any of your business software because you are using a tablet instead of a desktop. You have access to the full MLS, forms, Internet, and all of your mail, calendar, and documents are mirrored seamlessly across your computers.
Of course, the Surface Pro runs full versions of Microsoft Office including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. It also runs popular business software like Adobe Acrobat Pro and QuickBooks. Everything works exactly the same as it does today on your computer. It even has a camera like the iPad and offers apps for your favorite site like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Pandora, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Skype, Netflix, and more.
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The Thin Line Between Great and Not-So-Great Real Estate Marketers
Guest contributor Joel Maas says of Delta Media Group says:
Everyone is a marketer in the real estate world.
While there's nothing wrong with that, it should remind of us the old adage: When everything is something, nothing really is. Another way of putting it, just because everyone is doing marketing doesn't mean that everyone is doing it well. And those who are doing it not-so-well oftentimes reflect negatively on those who are executing effective marketing.
Marketing is not a dirty word and there's nothing wrong with you being a marketer...quite the opposite. But, perhaps unfairly to you, there's a group of people in every profession who might misunderstand marketing enough to cast a negative light on your craft. This has gotten so bad that famed marketing coach Seth Godin recently wrote, "More people are doing marketing badly than any other profession I can imagine."
Your job (and opportunity) is to separate yourself from them by outperforming them.
Below, we'll walk through a few ways to do just that, noting the differences between those who effectively leverage real estate marketing and those who don't.
Great Real Estate Marketers...
Understand the Internet is the primary source of all current real estate business, and digital marketing channels must be embraced and fully leveraged.
Not-So-Great Real Estate Marketers...
Ignore the constantly evolving and growing digital marketing landscape, relying instead on "the old way of doing things" offline.
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Responsive vs. adaptive: optimizing your mobile website
Did you know 65% of today's smartphone users use their devices to make purchases? Additionally, tablet penetration in the US market is up nearly 50% since 2012. It is even expected that tablets will outsell PCs as soon as 2015. Within this expanding and unavoidable mobile device market, however, almost half of tablet users are complaining that business websites are not proficient enough for online tablet browsing. This may be due to pages that take several minutes to load, sites that have strange formatting on users' devices, or webpages that are just not supported by the user's device.
Whatever the reason, it is clear that businesses cannot further postpone adapting their websites' compatibility for mobile devices any longer. We've been talking about the content side of things that we are experts in here at Onboard Informatics – but display is just as important as content. So how do we provide these mobile users with the best experience possible? For the companies that already have successful mobile device platforms, they have either adapted a responsive or an adaptive web design approach.
A Responsive Web Design, or RWD, is a singular webpage coding that adapts to the screen size it is appearing on. More specifically, the approach utilizes pre-determined size brackets that designate when and how the site will change as it passes through each bracket. Cycle to Work Calculator's webpage is a perfect illustration of RWD in action. The main benefit of RWD is that it is remarkably easy to manage. As opposed to having multiple different codings, the programmer needs only one. The main deterrent, however, is that advertising space and the attached potential revenue is quickly eliminated on smaller devices and screens.
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Infographic: Mobile eSignature Trends
Over the past few years, real estate technology has shifted from slow, desktop software to cloud-based solutions. Everything from CRMs to real estate forms can now be accessed from mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. This not only frees real estate pros from their desks, it enables them to respond to clients and leads faster, from wherever they're at.
It's no wonder, then, that our industry is at the forefront of a growing work trend called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Using their mobile devices, agents can manage transactions, give listing presentations, update social media, and access email. This is great for brokers. By encouraging agents to BYOD, brokers free up storage (and office) space and increase efficiency.
Electronic signature technology is especially benefiting from the drive toward mobile. In fact, Docusign's mobile app, Docusign Ink, is experiencing growth at almost three times the rate of the general mobile app marketplace! The infographic below highlights the universal expansion of both mobile and eSignature technology. With BYOD growing in industries beyond real estate, more of your clients are likely to have access to mobile devices during the workday--which means more signed documents and closed transactions for you!
Learn more by viewing the infographic on the next page.
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Get Moving and Go Mobile!
It wasn't long ago that the thought of having access to the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via a device you could fit in your pocket seemed like the stuff of science fiction. Today it is not only reality, it is common place! In fact, the number of Internet-connected mobile devices (i.e. - smartphones and tablets) will exceed the number of desktops and laptop computers in the next year, according to recent report from Morgan Stanley.
The growth and usage of mobile devices in the real estate industry has skyrocketed in the last few years. Companies in nearly every industry are considering how to leverage mobile to maximize their ROI. With ListHub, it's easy! Many of our top publishers have either a mobile friendly website or application for download, and some have both making it easy for you to reach consumers on the go.
Here are some recent stats from a few of our publisher partners about mobile usage in 2013:
More than 241 million homes were viewed on Zillow via a mobile device in April 2013. That's 93 homes per second!
In Q1, Trulia had 11.4 million mobile monthly unique visitors, up 122% year-over-year
Mobile traffic now makes up 40% of HomeFinder.com's traffic across the site's apps and mobile website
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Is Your Real Estate Site Mobile Responsive?
You've published a great website, you're blogging, accounts on social sites are in place, and you're creating new content on a regular basis. You're posting with SEO in mind, and maybe even doing some PPC (Pay Per Click) marketing to get visitors to your WordPress site. If those visitors are sitting at their desktop with a really big monitor, they're experiencing the best of your web presence.
But what if they're visiting your site from a smart phone with a 3" or 4" screen width, or from a 7" or 10" tablet? What if they're visiting your site from a phone one day, and their tablet another day? What's their experience then--what are they seeing and how well can they navigate around to the content they want and need? The screen real estate on your desktop is worth far less per pixel than the screen real estate on a smart phone or tablet. It's a lot like the difference between a land parcel with a value that may be a few thousand dollars per acre, or it could be a few thousand dollars per front foot or square foot.
Your visitors are going places, and your site needs to go with them. Did you know that right now 5.1 billion of the 7.8 billion people on the planet own a cell phone? When surveyed, we find that smart phone users are accessing the Internet more every day, and from just about everywhere. They tell us they take their phones to bed, use them in the bath, and use them while watching TV. Many also use them while they're doing other things on their desktop computers!
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Amp Up Your Real Estate Mobile Marketing Strategy with Native Apps!
Guest contributor Showing Suite says:
While everyone seems to be busier than ever these days, it's nearly impossible to pull anyone away from their smartphone. The widespread use of smartphones and tablets are especially changing the way agents and home buyers are doing business, and that alone needs to be the focus of a real estate mobile marketing strategy in its own right. Prospective buyers especially want information in a quick, convenient, and timely manner, which is why it's important to be sure you are not missing out on potential business due to an inadequate real estate mobile marketing strategy.
Native branded apps and HTML5 are changing the face of real estate mobile marketing. Here is what you need to know about integrating native branded apps and HTML5 to start amping up your marketing strategy:
Get your own mobile application
Native branded mobile applications give your users an experience that is truly unique to your business. A native branded app is installed directly to a smartphone, allowing users to access your app from one single location, completely independent from the users mobile web browser. Compared to web apps using HTML5 designed websites, native branded apps allow users to receive push-notifications. Native apps also provide enhanced user access, which allows the app to access the users camera, contacts, iPod, etc.
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Responsive Real Estate Websites: Join the Club!
Have you heard the news? Mashable.com – a leading online technology and news source – has declared 2013 the "year of responsive design." What does that mean to you? If you're already a Point2 member, it means you're ahead of the pack!
Responsive design is a type of web design that results in optimal viewing on all screen types across all devices. Responsive web designs resize and reformat page content in response to screen size and resolution.
In short, a responsive website is one that looks good and performs well on traditional computers, tablets and smartphones. It's one size fits all – no separate mobile version required!
Major brands are converting their websites to responsive designs this year. For some, this can mean hiring or developing a new web team to do a complete overhaul over the course of weeks.
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Assembling your 2013 Real Estate Marketing Budget
Guest contributor Delta Media Group says:
Have you compiled your 2013 budget yet?
If you're wise, you'll account for flexibility. But there are some things you'll certainly want to consider investing in.
Those probably aren't rocket science, because they're many of the same things you've been at least considering investing in for the past few years. But they're back on the top of your marketing list because they work.
If you're planning on budgeting more of your marketing budget toward email, mobile and social, you're like most marketers, according to a StrongMail survey. One thing you're definitely not considering is cutting back your budget. The same survey found 89 percent of those surveyed said they plan "to increase or maintain the same level of marketing spend in 2013."
Interesting news, when the past half-decade has largely boasted reduced annual marketing and advertising spends due to the downtrodden economy.
Real estate might not be what it was in 2005 through 2007, but it has improved over the past few months, and companies are adjusting accordingly. This is a new economy where marketing is necessary, but it absolutely demands return on investment. This absolutely demands you have a way of measuring your results and comparing those with your investments. Doing so means you can be more aggressive while also being more cost-conscious in your real estate business.
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iPad: What Agents Want For Christmas
2012 was an outstanding year for real estate technology embracing mobile. 2013 will be even better. However, all of this new freedom functionality will be for naught if agents do not buy iPads.
In November, WAV Group did a number of research projects that included information about the adoption of mobile in real estate. By our average numbers, 60% of agents now have a smartphone. 40% of agents have a tablet computer like an iPad. We would have served ourselves well to break out the types of devices that agents use by sorting Apple devices from Android devices, but we did not.
Lots of people talk about cloud computing. The notion is that all applications and data are in the cloud, accessible from any device that can reach the Internet. Unfortunately, this is not exactly the case. As WAV Group has long bemoaned, the cornerstone of agent technology is the MLS, and many MLS systems have been slow to fully support Apple desktop and mobile devices. It is the number one complaint in agent satisfaction surveys.
Sure, there are tools to work around it, but at the end of the day, many MLS systems are not fully functional on mobile. Alas, things are looking up. Most MLS systems are now cross-browser compatible or will be in Q1. In many ways, secondary applications like agent website administration, CRM, CMA, and marketing solutions are ahead of MLSs at going mobile.
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iPad Is What Agents Want For Christmas
2012 was an outstanding year for real estate technology embracing mobile. 2013 will be even better. However, all of this new freedom functionality will be for naught if agents do not buy iPads.
In November, WAV Group did a number of research projects that included information about the adoption of mobile in real estate. By our average numbers, 60% of agents now have a smartphone. 40% of agents have a tablet computer like an iPad. We would have served ourselves well to break out the types of devices that agents use by sorting Apple devices from Android devices, but we did not.
Lots of people talk about cloud computing. The notion is that all applications and data are in the cloud, accessible from any device that can reach the Internet. Unfortunately, this is not exactly the case. As WAV Group has long bemoaned, the cornerstone of agent technology is the MLS, and many MLS systems have been slow to fully support Apple desktop and mobile devices. It is the number one complaint in agent satisfaction surveys.
Sure, there are tools to work around it, but at the end of the day, many MLS systems are not fully functional on mobile. Alas, things are looking up. Most MLS systems are now cross-browser compatible or will be in Q1. In many ways, secondary applications like agent website administration, CRM, CMA, and marketing solutions are ahead of MLSs at going mobile.
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Monday Morning Mobile: Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop; Mobile Growth
When you stop and think about it, it's amazing how fast the mobile space has changed over the past five years. Five years ago Blackberry was the predominant device on the market, while both the Android OS and iOS were both first being released.
By the end of 2012, mobile app revenues will pass the $30 billion mark. While this includes all platforms, it is primarily from the two most predominant players in the market, Google and Apple. This figure encompasses paid apps, free apps, all in-app purchases, subscriptions and in-app ad revenues. This is over double what revenues were for this sector last year.
In a recent survey of 150 US mobile marketing professionals, 86% indicated that they use their mobile marketing initiatives for new client acquisition, and 79% for awareness. This is very consistent with what we see in the real estate space, where many firms are using tools such as text message lead generation and QR codes on their signs, print ads and marketing materials to engage home buyers throughout their local markets. Once they are able to get consumers in the door through these channels, they are then able to provide additional information to them through a robust mobile website and/or app presence.
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Monday Morning Mobile: End of the Social Etiquette Era
Has making plans or, more importantly, keeping plans become a lost art? In today's mobile world where we can text, tweet, e-mail and call one another at the touch of a button, many feel that what was once social etiquette is falling by the wayside.
In a recent article in the New York Times, sry gotta bail mayb nxt tme, Caroline Tell explores this phenomenon of how people are now navigating their social lives in real time and either confirming or cancelling plans on the fly. She points out that not only are people using text and other mobile communications to cancel, but they cancel as close to the last minute as possible.
In addition, people are often making multiple sets of plans, all at the same time, and choosing which to attend based on how and where others are going and the surrounding circumstances of the evening. As Ashley Wick, founder of Wick & Co. put it, "Offline rules of etiquette no longer seem to apply ... people hide behind e-mail or text messages to cancel appointments or do things that feel uncomfortable to do in person."
Unfortunately for those who despise last minute cancellations and take pride in social etiquette, this phenomenon is poised to only get worse with the growing shift to mobile devices. According to eMarketer, the time spent on mobile devices for activities such as internet, apps, gaming, and music has more than doubled in the past two years here in the US.
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Apple Unveils iPad Mini
Apple Inc.'s new iPad is small in size but not low in price — and that's got consumers grumbling and Wall Street worried.
By launching a 7.9-inch iPad Mini that is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, Apple threw itself into the market for smaller tablets currently ruled by its rivals.
But with a higher-than-expected price for the device, the technology giant may run into difficulty stealing customers away from Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire HD or Google Inc.'s Nexus 7. The iPad mini starts at $329. Many analysts and consumers had hoped to see a starting price of $250.
Investors appeared to be disappointed, sending Apple's shares down $20.67, or 3.3 percent, to $613.36 on Tuesday after the company announced the new tablet at an invitation-only media event held at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose. Apple's stock has now fallen about 12 percent since it released the iPhone 5 on Sept. 21.
Apple, which in the past had resisted making a smaller iPad, sought to emphasize that the Mini was not inferior to its 9.7-inch device, which was unveiled in 2010 and has since dominated the tablet market.
"It is every inch an iPad," Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told the crowd moments after introducing the long-rumored device.
"The full iPad experience. There's less of it, but no less to it," the company later reiterated.
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Monday Morning Mobile: Market Penetration
Each time I attend a real estate event, it becomes more and more obvious that the mobile revolution is upon us and in full swing. While many have never questioned this for Generation Y, the jury was still out on Baby Boomers and Generation X.
However, last week I had the opportunity to attend the 2012 MLSLI Tech Fair and I was thoroughly impressed by the genuine interest in and excitement about the new mobile tools (phones and tablets) and the access to information they provide, by let's face it, an audience who is predominantly not Generation Y.
My father is perfect example of this demographic--a relatively recent smartphone adopter who didn't truly appreciate the power of his device until recently. After blowing his back out and quickly becoming bored with staring straight up at the ceiling, he found solace in downloading Netflix and HBO GO apps, and being able to stream movies and TV shows to take his mind off the pain. This is a good unintended consequence of an otherwise unpleasant experience; an awakening to what these devices can do and the access to information and content they can offer.
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Broker Strategies: Is Your Website Equipped for the Mobile Real Estate Revolution?
Did you know that every minute, the mobile web receives 217 new users? Did you realize that for some large real estate websites like HomeFinder.com and Zillow.com, more than one-third of visitors on weekends browse from a mobile device? When potential clients visit your website, do they see a mobile-friendly site? If not, below are six important tips to remember to be sure your potential and current clients can access your site and listings on-the-go.
1. Know what your website looks like on all mobile devices: To get started, see what your website looks like on a wide array of mobile devices. Head to CrossBrowserTesting.com, a great service that will generate screenshots of your website on any browser and device you choose.
2. Use a clear layout and no Flash content: When mobile-optimizing your site, use clear, concise text. Be sure to keep the scrolling function simple, reduce visual clutter, make your search functions both abundant and easy, and keep your brand's most important message at the top of the page. Additionally, do not include any Flash content on your site, as iOS devices (iPads, iPhones, iPods) do not support Flash.
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Monday Morning Mobile: Google Changes = Broker Opportunity
Last week I had the good fortune to attend RISMedia's Real Estate CEO Exchange and, as always, their team led by John Featherston put together an absolutely phenomenal event! From start to finish, the day-and-a-half agenda kept all those in attendance fully engaged, offering countless insights and takeaways from industry leaders.
Among the many great sessions, one in particular left the biggest impression, as it relates to today's mobile technology, which we focus on here at Monday Morning Mobile. John Lim, President and CEO of Mobile Real Estate ID, LLC, fresh off a twenty city Google "Adsense in Your City" tour, shared the details and corresponding opportunities that are being created for brokers right now due to changes taking place with Google mobile.
Google, who essentially controls the consumer search experience, has made a major change in the way in which search results are presented on your desktop compared to your mobile device. Now, on mobile, local results are of much greater importance than they have ever been. For example, if you were to search for "homes for sale Tarrytown, NY" on your mobile device, you will see one paid ad--the top organic result--and then results for local real estate firms in Tarrytown listed through Google Places.
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5 Reasons Why a Cloud-Based Realtor CRM is The Way to Go
Should you use a REALTOR® CRM "in the cloud" or are you better off sticking with a standalone system? This blog post will explain why a cloud-based REALTOR® CRM is your best option.
A cloud-based system, also known as "web-based," is one that you access through the internet. A standalone system, on the other hand, is one you download to your computer's hard drive.
Here's why you should be using a REALTOR® CRM on the cloud (one that's hosted online):
1. You don't have to worry about losing your data to viruses or computer crashes. When you use a web-based system, all your data gets stored on secure data centers with very highly advanced security and privacy protection – security far more developed then what you could ever have on your PC. Moreover, when your system is cloud-based, it's often backed up on a daily basis or even several times a day.
2. Better long-term investment. Although cloud-based REALTOR® CRMs involve an ongoing monthly fee (versus a one-time charge), you're saving money in the long-term because product upgrades and customer support is often included. With standalone real estate software, there are typically hefty fees you have to pay each time you call customer support or download the latest upgrade/version of the software.
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Monday Morning Mobile: Stick the Landing…Page
In any mobile initiative, the adjustment to the instant, direct nature of a mobile user is a key determinant in the success or failure of the campaign. While these behavioral factors need to be included into every aspect of the mobile mix, it is most important to execute them in the first destination for users--the mobile landing page.
As the first entry point to the brand, product, and information, the mobile landing page is equivalent to a billboard, magazine spread, or powerful TV spot--except it also carries the capability for an interactive experience after the initial view.
Jason Wells, CEO of ContactPoint, recently outlined "6 steps to mobile landing page optimization," which include brief tips to enhance the potential of your landing page to garner further brand and product participation. All six steps can be applied to mobile in general, but three steps have even more direct correlations to the real estate industry, and individual mobile property pages.
1. Simplify your call to action
While the Mobile landing page acts as a gatekeeper to the rest of your brand, the call to action can actually make or break your mobile campaign.
Keeping it simple is the best policy. Make it easy for users to send a text message, scan a QR code, or enter a short URL to get property information. From here, your mobile landing page will encourage the participation and content that you and the buyer are looking for.
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Monday Morning Mobile: The Crown Jewel of Direct Marketing
Once upon a time, a single media campaign was distributed to the general public through mail, catalogs, and other forms of mass marketing. As consumer information became more accessible, companies began to re-align their marketing focus and budget to accomplish the ultimate goal of reaching the right audience, at the right time and place. As technology progressed, many of these scatter-bomb campaigns evolved into finely tuned messages that could reach an incredibly focused group of consumers.
Mobile marketing has progressed the definition of direct marketing at an unprecedented pace allowing companies to harness all that the technology has to offer. Jewelry retailer Pandora already has an established, comprehensive mobile presence, implementing campaigns that show they understand and that allow them to push the limit on how direct their marketing can be.
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Monday Morning Mobile: Nourishing your Mobile Habits
Taking in nourishment, as we all know, is one of the few things humans MUST do to stay alive. However, how we obtain our nourishment is changing rapidly these days and it will probably come as no surprise that it, as with many things these days, is going mobile quickly.
While it seems that daily goods and services are turning to mobile to accommodate the overwhelming consumer demand to have everything at their fingertips, there are seemingly many ways in which this is also happening in the food industry. Mobile is impacting the way we shop for groceries, both on and off premise. In New York City and many other metropolitan areas around the country, the food truck culture is growing rapidly. Mobile restaurants are serving a variety of fare that you can locate based on day/time through apps on your Smartphone, such as Facebook and Twitter. Certain stores, like Stop & Shop in New York, have created their own proprietary mobile scanners that consumers can use to while shopping to save time and money.
According to MyWebGrocer, the number of grocery retailers with a mobile presence increased 110 percent in the first half of 2012. "There's been huge growth this year in grocery retailers building a mobile presence for the first time," said Rebecca Roose, Senior Product Marketing Manager at MyWebGrocer.
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