Real Estate Technology Toolkit

by Rich Schiffer, Weichert Realtors

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday by an email from a fellow REALTOR and Active Rain member, Nick Vandekar congratulating me on getting a mention in the May issue of REALTOR Magazine.  I remember having been interviewed, but I was not aware of when the piece was going to be produced.  As soon as I safely could, I retrieved my copy from the office delivery bundle.  (I apologize to any of my officemates whose copy may have gotten out of alphabetical order -- in my excitement, I dropped a few while searching for mine.)

I leaped immediately to the table of contents, which in REALTOR magazine is actually on page 2.  (In some of my wife's "Jane" magazines, you might have to flip past 10 or more pages of frilly, somewhat tantalizing ad copy before finding out what page the interview with Angelina Jolie is actually on. -- Not that I ever actually read Jane magazine, mind you, but I heard from a friend who knows someone who once read an issue by accident while sitting in the bathroom...yeah that's it...a friend...ok ok ok!  I admit it!  I actually did read Jane.  Once.  But I didn't inhale -- and given where I was sitting at the time, that is probably a good thing!)

But I digress...

Thanks to only one ad by Pillar to Post Professional Home Inspections, I found the Table of Contents, and immediately found that the article I was looking for, titled, "3 Budgets, 3 Plans" was featured on page 42.  I flipped to page 42, and was surprised to see my name practically jumping off the page at me.  The next thing that jumped out at me was the prominent mention that activerain.com and localism.com each got. 

I am not sure which excited me more:  The name exposure it created for me, or the growth spurt it might bring for ActiveRain.  (A part of me wishes that the article could have had my referral link, instead of just the home page, but that is my greedy, self-serving side speaking out.  Don't worry -- the greedy self-serving side of me is usually silenced by a trip to Cold Stone Creamery, and doesn't interfere with my business...except perhaps when ice-cream makes my fingers sticky, and my mouse gets messy.

But I digress...again...

For those of you who don't want to click through to read the whole article, here is the excerpt which mentions ActiveRain and yours truly:

• "3 budgets, 3 great plans"
  
  Whether you can invest $1,000, $10,000, or $100,000 to build your business, we'll show you how to get the biggest bang for your marketing buck.
  
  BY MELISSA DITTMANN TRACEY
  
  A good rule of thumb for real estate practitioners is that marketing budgets should equal about 10 percent of their commission income, says Jerry Rossi, e-PRO®, GRI, author of Dog Eat Dog & Vice Versa: 9 Secrets to Put the Bite Into Your Marketing (Charter Publishing, 2006).
  
  But percentages tell only part of the story. When you're just getting started-like Richard Schiffer, a sales associate with Weichert, REALTORS®, in West Chester, Pa., who got his real estate license in August 2006-coming up with even $1,000 to promote yourself can be tough. That's why Schiffer is using the oldest, least-expensive marketing strategy in the book-networking.
  
  He relies on free social sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, to reach his target market of first-time home buyers. He also blogs three to five times a week on the free ActiveRain Real Estate Network to establish his expertise with the site's other real estate professionals. His blog entries will soon be carried by ActiveRain's new sister consumer real estate site,www.localism.com. The marketing budget: Schiffer's time and energy. The result: In one week alone, he received three phone calls and one e-mail from prospects who read his blog posts. His Facebook prospecting helped him land an exclusive agency contract with a buyer seeking investment properties.
  

For the full article, click here.

Now I know that having this type of mention in a national publication is what might be called "exposure." 

What I am wondering, for those of you gathered around this cyber-water-cooler called a blog, is this: What do I do with this exposure?  If any of you were in my place, how would you capitalize on this type of exposure?  I know the leads I have already begun to generate with Active Rain, MySpace and Facebook are starting to increase (now averaging 2 contacts a week from the three sites combined.)  Is there some way I can use this to improve that?  Do any of you have any suggestions as to what to do with this?  Do I simply frame it, and hang it on my office wall?  Do I share it with my prospects..."Look, I didn't even have to spend any money to attract your business!"  Or do I simply sit on it and see what happens...oops -- I guess that option is out the window, since I am blogging about it publicly...

Any and all advice will be most appreciated, whether you are a Realtor, Broker, Loan Officer, Stager, Inspector, Appraiser, Investor, Butcher, Baker, or Candlestick Maker.  Anyone out there might have just the right point of view I need...

Recently, I read an article in Realtor Magazine, FRONT LINES: Real and Unreal Estate -- The New Land Rush

It talked about something I had never even considered a possibility:  Making money selling virtual real estate.

If you have never heard of Second Life, you would be amazed at what they are doing.  They are creating an entire virtual world.  The idea behind it is one that could change the face how we browse the internet forever.

Essentially, you view the cyberspace environment as a 3D rendered world.  If you want to browse shops in Anytown, USA, you would actually see a 3d model of the town.  You could click on the buildings, businesses, etc that you wanted to visit, and you would see them on screen in a 3d image.  You could approach the counter, look at a menu, and order a pizza that would be delivered to your real world address.  Then, you could "jump" to the studios at Paramount in California, enter a virtual theater, and watch their latest release.

Curiousity about this sort of thing is irresistable to me, so I had to check them out.  I joined (it's free, and you start with $200 to "spend" online -- you can choose to purchase more of their "Linden Dollars" if you want, but it is completely usable with no money out of pocket.

You start with a basic avatar, which you can customize in many, many ways.  At first I decided to make my persona look really buff, but then I decided I would be better off trying to look as much like my goofy self as possible.  Your "inworld" name can be just about anything, but you must select from a list of last names.  My persona is named Richibal Boa (my tribute to Rocky Balboa)

There is an engaging tutorial to begin with, to teach you the basics of navigating this new world.  It is a bit like some of the 3d Multiplayer Online Games, like World of Warcraft, or Everquest.  But everything is designed to mimic reality very closely.  I haven't explored much yet, but it does hold a lot of promise.  In fact, here are some of their stats:

Read the article, create your own Second Life account, and report back here.  I am really interested to see what everyone has to say about this.

If you think virtual tours with "slideshow" type media help market a home.  Imagine what being able to check things out in a completely interactive way would be like...stagers could do 3d models of their staged homes as a way to "test" different designs...a Realtor could set up a "virtual office" to compliment their website...the possibilities seem wide open:  In an imaginary world, who sets the boundaries?

Realtor Magazine recently ran an article: Zillow Search Site Adds Home Q&A, Profile Page

Active Rain has had their Ask a Real Estate Professional feature up and running for some time now.

The two features are both designed for consumers ot ask questions and get responses directly form professionals which I think is a gret service.  However, there are some key differences that I want to point out:

ActiveRain's Q&A feature is targeted to a professionals in a local region (state, city) and the consumer is often offered multiple responses, from multiple points of view.  (Realtor, Appraiser, Mortgage Banker, Home Inspector, etc.)  This allows the consumer to get objective advice before making a very important decision.  It also allows them to see multiple points of view, which is a great benefit to anyone evaluating their options.

Zillow's Q&A feature is more narrowly focussed.  The consumer asks questions directly of the listing agent of a particular property.  My concern is that while this may be a great way to get facts about a particular property, the person answering the question, since they are answering as a respresentative of the Seller, well, let's just say their objectivity is compromised.  Does Zillow have practices in place to render any legal required Consumer Notice?  Is this really service to the consumer, or is it simply set up as a lead generator for the listing agents?  (Which could lead inadvertantly to claims of undisclosed dual agency.)  How are the ethics issues addressed?

I encourage the Staff and Members of ActiveRain, and the General Public to check out the new Zillow Home Q&A and comment here about your experience, your impressions, and your own comparisons of how you feel it compares to ActiveRain's Ask a Real Estate Professional feature.