Here are some interesting facts we learned at Inman Real Estate Connect that I think you can use to help grow your business in the next one to two years. The main buzzwords being MOBILE and VIDEO.
MOBILE:
- only 30 percent of consumers have smartphones
- by 2013 more people will own a mobile device that will access the web than those that own a
computer - the top two smartphones devices in terms of applications are I-Phone and Android (Blackberry is third) ... after that no else is even close
- in the real estate field (and any field), applications are becoming more and more important
- the average teenager texts 3,339 a month (crazy, huh ?)
- Some of the top applications include:
- Google Maps
- HooteSuite - Social media management
- Evernote - New "post it" note
- Dropbox - Welcome to the cloud - anywhere you go, your documents go with you
- Docusign - Sign without paper
- Realtor.com or any other sleek mobile search property mobile application
- Slydial - anybody you do not want to talk to, goes righ to there voice mail
(Shout out to @Techsavvyagent for giving a wonderful presentation on the above )
VIDEO:
- Youtube - 2 billion views a day, nearly double prime time audience of all 3 major networks
combined - Average person spends nearly 15 minutes a day on Youtube
- By using VIDEO, you have a 50X better chance of ranking on page 1 of GOOGLE
- 73 percent of homeowners would more likely to list with someone using VIDEO
- ONLY .8 percent of Realtors are using VIDEO !
- Reason so few Realtors are using it is fear (fear of unknown, fear of camera, or fear of doing work)
- Equipment is inexpensive (Flip video or Kodak playtouch - both about $150) or smartphone or webcam)
- Get client testimonials on camera/video
- Skype/Talkbox/Eyejot = videoemail
Thus, a good stragegy for 2011 is to integrate Mobile and Video into Your Business ! And if you are already doing it, think about doing it more !
Think about Mobile and Video for 2011 - some beginning tips:
1. Upgrade your phone either to an Android device or an I-Phone (or a Blackberry) if you have not done so already.
2. Get an IPAD and develop listing presentations with video - be different ! Some agents are saying that by simply having an IPAD at their listing appointments has increased their closing ratio.
3. Get a flip video or kodak playtouch and begin to incorporate video into your marketing, advertising, website, blog and social media platform.
4. Update your email server to Gmail from hotmail, aol, etc...
For the more advanced agent that is already doing video, we would suggest to stay consistent and be creative. Find more innovative ways to incorporate video into your business and have fun with it ! We will talk about this topic in future blogs or perhaps in a video so stay tuned !
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Excellent Post Christopher and Stephanie! And I think TechSavvyAgent will appreciate the acknowledgement. I've incorporated all your suggestions or those recommended at Inman Real Estate Connect, even though I've not attended an event, I follow the conversations via twitter and blogs.
I think your observations are totally corect, it's fear keeping the majority of agents from incorporating video and mobile technologies. Similar to the advent of utilizing the internet.
Martin - You can learn so much just by following the conversations on Twitter and reading the blogs. Congrats by incorporating a lot of these things from staying ahead of the curve from that !
What I found most amazing is the stat " Only .8 percent of Realtors are using Video " . There is a big opportunity there for folks to grow their business just by integrating video into their business ! ~ Chris
Christopher and Stephanie, thanks for sharing this important information. I need to hop to it when it comes to video. I have the tools and just have not grasp the idea.
Good stuff. I know I need to use video more. That is definitely something I'll be doing more of this year. And having a mobile web site is crucial and will become more so over the next few years. Email is fading fast. Texting is in. Communicating via facebook and twitter is also HUGE!!
Frank - Hop on it or just do it is probably the best way to get started, especially when you already have the tools !!! I think once you start doing it, it will become pretty easy and natural. The cool thing about it is you can then use those videos in your blog and website which will help your SEO and Google rank as well so it is a win win all the way around. Every conference I go to, I keep hearing, Google loves video ! I guess it is pretty common sense as Google owns You Tube : ) .
Either way, I think we will start to see it more and more everywhere. So it is a good opportunity for all of us to be the "early pioneers" in our markets to be ahead of the curve.
Christopher and Stephanie, I admire how you always stay in the forefront of technology and social media. I've begun to use the iPad for listing presentations and I find that it really does provide an advantage in two ways: (1) it demonstrates that you are in the forefront of technology (try explaining to a client that you are more tech savvy than the listing agent who used an iPad) and (2) it's less obtrusive than a laptop (I carry it in my pocketbook and just pull it out and put it on the coffee table to show them a few things about the market that they may not have known about and before you know it they are asking so many questions that it leads naturally into giving them a listing presentation).
Chris and Steph... i Love doing Video blogs Looks like I may be getting much more competition this year..
What do you think??
HelpfulHannah
thanks for such wonderful information!
Bryant - Definitely ! The cool part about all of it is that it can be fun too. You would be great on video ! And not just yourself, but areas of interest, client testimonials, questions and answers, short sale updates and the like ! Will look forward to your videos ! And you are right, a mobile web site will be critical in the next year or so ! Facebook and twitter mobile updates are also getting bigger and bigger.
Gail - So true ! It just looks cool ! And it is different at the same time. Sleek and powerful !
Terrific post. I am working on one about the cost for buyers when their agent isn't tech savvy.
Agreed! Terrific post! Mobile and Video are the hottest trends! Are you in the VBloggers group? You need to be! =)
Great post and very interesting information. Thanks!
Hi Christopher and Stephanie~ I need to do videos and I really want an iPad. Just having a hard time justifying spending the money on it right now.
Interesting that only .8% of Realtors are using video. It is definitely cutting edge to do so. Great information. I appreciate your research!
Christopher and Stephanie,
Awesome post and information. Keep in mind though, to not totally abandon the traditional methods of posting on all your online presence. While smartphones are the rave, there are still a lot of surfers sitting in front of desktops at their desks, in their homes.
Also, make sure what you put on the sites is cross platform compatible; ie Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome, at minimum.
Christopher and Stephanie,
Great info. I am amazed at how much technology is changing our business. We are just starting to get into video. Have taken more video tours recently to show off homes, even executive home leases.
Thanks for the call to action to subscribe, I somehow missed subscribing earlier.
I definitely want an iPad soon, waiting for iPad 2!
All the best, Michelle
Christopher and Stephanie,
Thanks for sharing what you learned at Inman Real Estate Connect. As someone who has all the software (editing) and hardware (camera) tools, I have no excuse for not laying out a strategy to implement more videos. Clients (especially potential ones) are ravenous for information in this tech savvy and tech dependent world
Howard
Christopher and Stephanie,
Thank you for sharing these statistics. It's always very interesting to me how quick technology affects different industries as well as ours.
I loved the post. I wonder if there is anything out there that tracks the percentage of agents that have a mobile website? I think that is something that we will all have in the upcoming years, and none of us have now.
Thanks for the great information..I have been going to get a "round-to-it"...Video's that is..
Your post has inspired me to get on board in 2011...
Excellent tips and Chris rocks. Congrats on another well deserved feature.
Bravo Bravo Bravo ! I wish I coukld reblog this but the function is not working ! ... I'm going to link to it !
Bring on the video-age !
Great post and good advice all in one place, I am going to pass this on to every agent in my office
We're boldly going where no other agents are...here's to video and technology to help our real estate business.
Mobile and video are going to be, for some people, replacement for the internet. We must stay up with technology.
Wow sometimes I feel like my head's going to blow off with all the tech info! So amazing! Thanks for posting. I think i figured out why sometimes I have a voice message and I never heard my phone ring. I always thought it was because I was on the other line, but maybe I've been slydialed. :) I'll try and keep up!
Our company just wrote individualized search apps for all our agents and it's great! Definitely this is the year of the mobile and video. We have been doing videos of houses for a couple of years now - need to branch out into us in front of the camera or at least talking about neighborhoods, etc.
Chris.... I did buy the Kodak Zi8 and need to get into more video blogging. Of course I won't be doing listings.. but those are some staggering numbers rearding video.. and that it's big on SEO... the number of text messagers per teenager? wow... thanks for the info all together...
When true real fast 4G mobile speeds are a reality and the devices go with that, it will be world changing.
Nice post. I do a lot of video, all the time you might say.
one thing I will note is that the next gen sony point&shoots coming in march will have solid video, hdr and wide angle lenses... something yo keep in mind.
Today I handed the brand new business card, with r code to a visitor... he promptly scanned, watched the video intro... then proceeded to load my vcard on his phone.
Should I mention he was impressed?
Hi Christopher and Stephanie - Thanks for sharing what you learned at Inman with those of us who were not able to attend.
Chris and Stephanie, you guys just always seem to be on the cutting edge. Thanks for giving us all a kick in the pants to get us moving with implementing video for 2011.
Christopher and Stephanie, thanks for writing such an eye-opening post about the "mobile" and "video" buzzwords of 2011! I'm bookmarking this post to keep the information handy...and it also serves as a sort of "to-do" list. :)
Leilani
And those texting teenagers will soon be home-buyer adults. A side-note to that is they're texting with parents as well as friends, so parents of teenagers are comfortable texting in a real estate transaction.
I'm glad I made a resolution to use more videos on my sites and blogs in 2010 . .I'm on my 125th video already!
Wow !! Glad to see this featured today as I believe this is a critical topic for agents this year and of course in the years to come. But most importantly, the agents that embrace and implement the technology now will be that much more ahead of the curve and ahead of their competition and thus, attracting more clients - buyers and sellers. ~ Chris
Christopher and Stephanie, you've given me something to seriously think about. I need to put my BlackBerry to better use. Thanks for the info and update.
Hannah - Yes, I would not say competition, but yes, I would think there would be more video blogs and the like coming out there. You were certainly one of the first ones doing video blogs which is great.
Peggy - You are welcome !
Cindy - Cool, we will keep an eye out for that post or send us a tweet when you it is out.
Nyssa - Thanks ! Which group is that ? Am in one group but perhaps not that one. Can you send us an invite ? Will search for us as well.
Bob - You are welcome !
Vickie - I hear you ! It is tough but I think the return will come to you pretty quickly on the investment.
The most up to date stats that I saw said that by Christmas 2011 50% of cell phone users in the US would have smart phones. They are expecting that big of a jump during this year as providers phase out their non-smart phone offerings and providers start rolling out better data technology to manage the load.
As far as the above...Think about Mobile and Video for 2011...I've taken care of 1,3,&4 but no iPad as of yet. May be something I need to consider purchasing in order to spruce up the ol' listing presentation!
You have inspired me to dust off that FLIP and do more video! I have had excellent results so need to get on the stick...
Great report from the Inman Connect. It's exciting simply reading it. Imagine what making a few of those changes will do.
Sharon - It is an amazing (and sad) stat ! But we all can use that to our advantage - those of that are reading this !
Don - Good point. Internet Marketing still covers all platforms, not just mobile. Mobile of course is just growing and is becoming another computer in addition to a desktop.
Michelle- Congrats on your video content and thank you for subscribing ! Right now we have one Ipad and are looking to get one more since there are 2 of us !
Howard - Yes, since you have all the tools, there is no excuse for you to start pumping out the video content ! Send us a link or two once you begin : )
Sergio - Very interesting indeed. It is amazing to see the changes every year and every quarter !
I recommend the Kodak Zi8 instead of the Flip or kodak play touch.(both cost about the same) However the reason to chose the zi8 would be audio and price. The Zi8 has external mic capabilities and for the price I bought my Zi8 you can now get the camera and a stereo mic.
Here are some links to reference.
Kodak Zi8
Sony mic for Zi8
Audio Technica Lavalier mic (I own one of these and use it with my Zi8 and iPhone 4)
Here's the link to the Group And I sent you an invite. http://activerain.com/groups/VBloggers
Christopher and Stephanie -- I knew the percentage of agents using video was low, but .8%?? Wow, that is certainly an incentive to jump in and get going full speed. Thanks for sharing the programs you learned about. I know a lot of them, but now I have a few more to check out.
Christopher - We too have to dig out our camera's and get on with it already.... Thanks for the inspirational post ... for me at least... maybe this will kick my butt out to do some vids... Thanks
I like windows movie maker! User friendly! Althought not Mac friendly
This job constitutes of going going going after the forefront of technology, doesn't it?
Laura, if you think windows movie maker is friendly you would love imovie. (and Garageband for audio)
For iPad users ReelDirector is the app to make videos on the iPad. You just need the adapter kit and a sd card from your camera.
I found this post to be right on and encouraging for my business. My partner and I work for a real estate agent in Panama as his Video Crew. For his listings we make professional video tours for no cost up front and receive a small percentage of his commission once it's sold.
He is able to invest with no upfront costs, obtain high end listings, satisfy his clients, and make more money! We're looking to move back to the states and possibly set up this same type of deal with multiple agents in either the New York City, CT, or Boston area. Please let us know if you are interested. You can sample our video tours at http://panamalens.com/portfolio-panama-real-estate-sale-rent-virtual-tour/.
The year of video is hear, I'm learning as much as I can and will be doing more,
Thanks Chris and Stephanie for the great tips. I just bought a Kodak Playtouch and need to get more comforatable with it. Up till now I'm not really impressed with the quality of the video!
I somehow missed this when it was featured the other day, but I think it's a GREAT "Must Do" list for every agent who is practicing real estate in 2011! I'm using my Flip 10x more this year than I did ALL of last year!
Oh my...I bought the flip video last year and have yet to get going with it. This blog has shown me I need to get off my duff and get going. Thanks for all the info and the motivation. :0)
Christopher, Stephanie - thanks for letting us know that Chris from Tech Savvy Agent's presentation!We're flattered and delighted! Did you know that we provide a number of resources, including the DocuSign Community if you have questions or want to share information with us and other DocuSign users?
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why is updating your email to gmail better. I have yahoo and heard that is the best but im always open. tell me why u think gmail is better
Well i must check out gooogle mail now because most people are using it.