Social Media Revolution Video: Must watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

“Social Showing”: How Apple’s Video Nano Will Change Social Media and Real Estate Marketing

Posted by Greg Herder on Sep 25th, 2009



Without even realizing it, Apple has unleashed massive changes in the way realtors are both showing and promoting homes.
Within a few days of its release, a 30-something couple had their iPod Nano with them when their agent showed them a home that had a kitchen they loved. They pulled out their Nano and took some video of the kitchen. They proceeded to record each of the homes they previewed. That evening they posted what they shot on Facebook so their friends and family could see what they had been doing that day. Instantly they starting getting feedback, comments and suggestions and, fortunately, their agent was in their Facebook network and was able to join in the conversation as friends and family members posted their thoughts.
The next day the couple made a post on Facebook, thanking everyone who had made suggestions and comments. They said they greatly valued the input they received and had decided to make on offer on the home with the great kitchen. They then called their agent to write up the offer. They told their agent they felt a lot more confident moving ahead because both of their parents thought they were doing the right thing. They also loved keeping their network current on what they were up too.
A new era of real estate has been born! For lack of better terminology, I have decided to call it “Social Showing.” It might not be for everyone, but today the Facebook generation loves getting everyone involved as well as getting comments, suggestions and feedback, especially for major purchases like appliances, cars and homes. You had better get used to it, because it is going viral and it’s going fast. The smart agents are headed to the Apple store today, and they are suggesting that their clients shoot video of the homes at each showing. The agents then post the video on YouTube and send the clients a link and also ask the clients to post the video on their Facebook page. This gives them two ways to get feedback from the people they know.
The Nano was designed from the ground up to shoot video and post it on the web. It is so easy that even the most tech-phobic agents can do it. This is going to move video marketing of homes into the mainstream faster than agents can image. Want to promote your broker open house? Take a quick video of the food you are serving so agents can see what to expect when they arrive there. Record a video update on what is happening in the market and post on Twitter, Facebook and your web site.
At the closing, pull out your Nano and record a video testimonial from your clients and post it on your Facebook page, and ask them to make a comment so it posts to their network as well. This is the ultimate in social marketing, and the agents who lead the way will generate a huge advantage. It won’t be long until agents are adding little professionally branded clips at the beginning and end of these videos that pulls all of their traditional brand identity into the social media world. Now is the time to lead the way and be seen as an innovator in real estate marketing.

Riding the Wave of Change in Your Real Estate Business

By: Brandi Cummings

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" This is what many agents felt when people started looking on the Internet for their next home. "The end is near!" This was the response by many when the MLS was made available to anybody with an Internet connection. Technology, the Internet specifically, has forever changed the way people buy and sell their homes.

The real estate market has changed so quickly and completely that there are many real estate agents at a loss for what to do now. Experienced agents that never had a problem attracting new clients through traditional advertising are now finding out that they need to rethink their marketing strategy. New agents are finding themselves in an industry that is in the middle of a transformation. They have been finding that the rules that they just learned about building a successful real estate business are being rewritten before they even have a chance to apply them.

Old Rule: As a real estate agent you have exclusive access to the list where your prospect will find the home of their dreams. Your sellers rely on you to put their house on this list of dreams.
New Rule: Anyone with an Internet connection can search the MLS listing. FSBO's can add their home to the list through any number of sources.

Old Rule: You hold Open Houses so that interested home buyers can see the inside of your seller's home without an appointment. This is also a good way to prospect for buyers.
New Rule: Interested home buyers view digital pictures and virtual tours of homes at their convenience, without an appointment, at anytime of day.

These new rules do change the real estate industry in a fundamental way. They do not, however, mean that the end is near or that the sky is falling. As long as you understand that the new rules exist and what it means for your business, you will be able to ride the tides of change all the way to the bank.

If buyers and sellers do not need real estate agents for the MLS or for viewing houses, what do they need them for? How can agents get prospects to come to them?

At the same time the Internet was changing the way people buy and sell their homes, it was also contributing to a more fundamental change in people as consumers. People are hungry for information and they want that information at their fingertips at all times. A savvy real estate agent will take advantage of this demand for knowledge and information by becoming the source that buyers and sellers come to.

Agents can establish themselves as an expert there to help. By offering reports such as "Ten Things You Must Know Before Selling Your Home" or "3 Mistakes You Don't Want To Make When Buying A New Home" your prospects will come to you. An important aspect of this new marketing strategy is going to be capturing the information of prospects requesting your reports. Whether it be name, address, phone number, email or in the best case scenario all 4 points of contact, make sure you are able to follow up with them.

Here are just some of the benefits of becoming an information source for people that are starting the process of buying or selling a home.

*An agent can start to build a relationship with potential clients based on trust and respect.
*Buyers and sellers seek out the agent instead of the agent seeking out the prospects.
*There is no better quality of lead than one that raises its hand and says, "I would like information about selling my home."
*Agents can set themselves apart from their competition by using non-traditional advertising.
*By establishing a good rapport and helping potential clients find the information they need, they will come to you when they are ready to make their move.

The real estate industry has been undergoing a fundamental change. Some agents may have a doomsday view of these changes and at this point real estate agents have two choices. They can simply wait for the end to come or they can adapt with this evolving market and ride the wave of change all the way to the bank.

Recruiting a Younger Generataion

Recruiting Gen x Gen Y Professionals

A great article from Lore Magazine:

Recruiting a Younger Generataion

Tips for hiring Gen-X and Gen-Y

Recruiting is hard work. “You can occasionally pluck the seasoned, successful sales associate from a different company but there has to be a reason for that person to leave,” says John Downey, executive vice president of Coco Early Associates in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In addition, the ever-changing market is requiring sales associates to be more and more tech savvy in order to meet the needs of the next buying generation.

That’s why Downey’s brokerage decided to make a shift to recruiting younger professionals, in addition to seasoned agents. The company currently has six 20-something sales associates. “This is the best possible time to become a real estate professional as you’re forced to work hard and truly build a network that will keep you going,” says Downey.

That said, “We know the data—the average age of a sales associate is 54—and we don’t look down on that. We’re not bringing in new 45 year olds to take the place of 55 year olds,” says Downey. “We’re bringing in younger agents for a mutually beneficial relationship with veteran agents.” Younger agents can help train the older agents in social networking and technology while the older agents can serve as mentors to teach the business.

Another interesting thought: When a person in their mid to late 30’s, 40s and 50s go on Facebook, they reconnect with old friends. A 25-year old never has to reconnect, he or she has been in contact with friends since college. “It’s a whole different world,” says Downey.
Here’s what he does to reach the younger generation.

1.    Post to Job Boards. Coco Early Associates post job listings on local online college boards. “We post to all the surrounding schools and some that are a bit of a distance since many potential agents may live here but go to school a little ways away.” Downey also posts to Craigslist.org and Indeed.com, which feeds sites such as Monster.com and LinkedIn.com.

2.    Consider family. “I’m 54 and my own kids are in their mid-20s. If the average age of a Realtor today is 54, then we want to get the message out to our agents to talk to their kids about a career in real estate,” says Downey. “What are your kids doing and what are their friends doing? Let’s take advantage of the bad job market and recruit those right out of college.”

3.    Use the viral effect. “One of our top agents is Vincent. He’s 26, and he helped to recruit one or two people,” says Downey. Offer incentive to younger agents to recruit others who have the same ambitious attitude as your top young sales associate. And, understand that they do business differently than you do. If it works, then don’t mess with it. “I sit about 15 feet from Vinny, and I didn’t realize so many people were named “Dude,” says Downey with a laugh. “But these are his customers, and they’re buying $250,000 plus homes.”

4.    Offer a unique, tech-oriented service. Coco Early Associates offers an online auction service for all of its listings. At www.cocoearlyassociates.com/bid-a-home/index.php, interested buyers can place a non-binding bid on a Coco Early listing. “We have close to 500 listings and as a rider to every sign, we let prospective buyers know they can make a bid online.” He says that many people, especially first-time homebuyers, are afraid to make an offer because it’s so official. This gives buyers a non-threatening way to get conversation going, which is Downey’s goal. “We just want to get two sides talking. Younger agents love this tech-savvy service.”

Coco Early Associates also has an online yard sale function. “When we list a home, we’ll sell homeowners unwanted items online. We have 300-400 items for sale on our website.”

Overall, Downey says he’s pleased with the recruiting campaign. “We’re a mentoring company. We assign these new folks to an experienced agent, who helps train the sales associate on the basics of relationship building. Then, the experienced person learns from them about the online aspect of the business,” he says.

One side benefit-- “If we hire a 26-year-old, how old are his or her parents? They’re generally mid 50s and beginning the process of downsizing. So, we’re tapping into two markets— first-time homebuyers and almost retirees,” he says. “We’ve hit a homerun.”

Business Planning Time!

A great video posted by Lore magazine.

A Day in the Life of a Gen X Real Estate Professional

I have been inspired by the number of young people pursuing Real Estate as their profession of choice. The stereotypical real estate agent is a 55 year old woman, working part time. Quickly, this stereotype is changing at the hands of Gen X Gen Y professionals, graduating college and choosing Real estate as their first and only career.

I just happen to be one of those young people: smack dab in between Generation X and Generation Y. I chose Real Estate as my profession when I was 26 years old: recently off active duty from the Navy, recently married, and weeks after moving to a town where I knew two people: my new husband and my REALTOR. I have been proud to develop my business as a thriving, stable business over the years and I am excited about where it is heading. I am one that needs to be challenged, and with all these other young people coming into the business, I am finally challenged. I love getting together with them to talk about what we are doing, how we are doing it and how things are evolving. Our industry will have an entirely different feel in less than 5 years.

I firmly believe that the future of real estate exists in a huge generation gap. The movers and the shakers in the industry are usually the ones with the most experience. Quickly, the movers and the shakers in the industry are now the ones with the most innovative ideas. Many of these people are the Gen X, Gen Y agents. They bring to the picture lightning fast communications, innovative perspectives and criteria for rating properties, valuable tools for themselves and their clients, plus, the personal touch that many have been lead away from.

I would love to have an office with a great balance of Baby Boomers as well as Gen X Gen Y. I think we all have a lot we can learn from one another, but I also think this will bring some challenge over the next few years as the "standards" of the industry evolve.

I read an article from Lore Magazine this morning that sparked my interest in this subject today. I have included a link to it and a copy of it below.

Where do you see the industry moving?

From http://www.loremagazine.com/go/?blog_id=101:

Blackberry—check. Texting furiously—check. Mobile office—check. Welcome to the world of the Gen X and Gen Y real estate professional.The young professionals are rarely seen without a Blackberry Smartphone in hand. They have an office, but spend most of their days on the move. Grounded in technology, they communicate with hundreds of other 20- and 30-somethings every day via text messages. They use virtual faxes and the Internet to negotiate contracts. They are the new breed of real estate professionals and they specifically entered real estate with one goal—turning it into a lifetime career.While the average age of Realtor® is 54 and female, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), the young men with Coco, Early & Associates are part of a new trend in an industry that’s seen tremendous change in the past few years. Facebook, MySpace, Linked In, blogs and even Twitter are their information highways. They maintain access to their clients 24-hours a day, 7-days-a-week because that’s how their generation works. One or two young males any realty firm is not noteworthy, but when six young men, with college degrees, recently took on the role of professional sales associates at the Massachusetts-based Coco, Early & Associates real estate firm, people began to notice. “They bring a youthful enthusiasm and technical savvy to our firm,” says Blaise Coco, co-owner. “That mixes perfectly with our more experienced professionals, [who are] wonderful mentors to these younger [sales associates], while these young guys can certainly teach us all about the ways in which their generation communicates and works.”Starting Early“I was attracted to the professional because it’s really self motivating,” explains Vinny Forzese, age 26. “It’s not a 9-to-5 desk job, and I get great satisfaction when I place someone in their new home. Matthew Trudel, age 29, has found that many friends in his age group are searching for their first home. He’s had success in connecting members of his generation to homes because he balances the human touch with the technology. He regularly sends out blanket text messages to 200 or so of his “closest” friends. He uses Facebook to highlight new properties for sale and even blogs. “In college we all texted each other and had Facebook pages. It seems perfectly natural for us to communicate this way,” says Trudel. “It’s not time consuming, I keep my messages brief. What’s most important is keeping up regular contact with your friends. So, when I have a new listing or hear about a great property, I use instant communication and Facebook to get the word out.”Their generation is also very mobile. Friends from college may now live anywhere in the country. Technology has made the whole world feel smaller and these young professionals embrace this technology when it comes to helping a customer relocate. They make the most of the buyer’s time and resources sending out virtual tours across the country and across the world.The Next WaveUnderstanding the X-Y generation makes these young men great assets to their firm. “Our generation does not wait for a [sales associate] to tell them about a neighborhood and they don’t drive by a potential property,” says Doug Early, age 25. “Our generation heads right to Google Earth. They type in the address and get a view of the house, neighborhood and even commuter routes. They use the Internet to look up similar sales and home values. They do a lot of the research that the [sales associates] do. They are informed buyers.”However, warns one young professional, “You can get good information from the Internet,” says Jeff Fragala, age 26, “but not complete information. Pictures and virtual tours often don’t do a property justice. Information online may not be up-to-date and often a potential buyer will have to spend hours on the Web using several sites and still see only a partial list of properties available in their market and price range. We can work with them through the Multiple Listing Service to get them all the listings, the new listings and then provide them with the personal service they need. Buying a home is a big decision and one that comes with stress. I work with people to guide them through the process and advise them on their options along the way.”“I am very focused on my work and take this opportunity seriously,” concludes Angel Boria, age 24. “For me, this a dream career and one that’s rewarding on many levels. It’s very satisfying to know you helped some realize the dream of owning their own home.”

Avoid MRIS Fines: Do's and Don'ts to help you with your Short Sales.

From www.Mris.com:

Compensation:
• Do enter Compensation as a percentage of the gross or net sales amount or enter a dollar amount.
• Do make an unconditional offer of cooperation and compensation.

• Don’t enter a compensation amount or indicate in the remarks that compensation depends or is contingent upon third party approval.

Status:
• Do update listing status to Contingent upon acceptance/ratification of an offer.
• Do update the status of a listing pending third party approval to Contingent Contract.

• Don’t keep a property in ACTIVE status after accepting/ratifying an offer because the seller or any third party requests that the status remain active.

Listings:
• Do enter all property information accurately.
• Do make all status changes and other updates within 48 hours, weekends and holidays excluded.
• Do update Contingency Expiration Dates or Settlement dates when the dates change or have passed.
• Do use the Tax ID Autofill feature when entering listings.

• Don’t try to manipulate Days on Market, using tax and address information.
• Don’t enter two or more active listings for the same property unless the property is both for rent and for sale.

Remarks:
Internet (Public):
• Do include information about the property only.

• Don’t include any of the following information: commissions, showing contacts, agent or broker names, phone or fax numbers, web site or email addresses, virtual tours, alarm codes, lockbox codes or other security measures.
• Don’t include any links, active or animated content, or other comments containing HTML or programming code.

General (Agent) /Farm:
• Do enter information intended for cooperating brokers, such as special showing instructions, contacts or phone numbers, special contract information, special compensation information, properly excluded prospects, virtual tours, broker or agent web sites and email addresses. Foreclosure or Auction listings may reference a third party web site (such as HUD, VA) where contracts must be registered.

• Don’t include any Lockbox codes or other security system information without Seller’s permission.

A copy of the Rules and Regulations as well as other information on MRIS Compliance policies may be found at:
www.mris.com/compliance