Pushing The Envelope

1
Pushing The Envelope

• Differentiating Your Digital Presence
• Chris McKeever
• Center for REALTOR Technology
• National Association of REALTORS

2
The Journey Begins

• The secret NAR department
• Traditional Digital Marketing
• Getting Personal
• Web Reborn (2.0)
• Responsiveness
• Competitive Threats

3
The Center for REALTOR Technology

• CRT we like acronyms
• ... serves REALTORS and REALTOR associations as
  an industry advocate, implementation consultant
  and technology information resource
• CRT is a member resource!

4
Advocacy

• Helping the industry, while advancing it.
• Technology Speaker Series
• Standards
• RETS Real Estate Transaction Standard
• Data Policies
• IDX/VOW

5
Implementation

• Proof-of-concept to Production Ready.
• RETS
• Variman MLS Data Exchange
• ezRETS MS-EXCEL Data Plug-in
• REALTOR Secure Security Audit
• Messenger VoIP Message Server
• Many, Many More.
• http//www.crt.realtors.org/crtprojects.html

6
Information

• What we discover, we give back to you.
• Website/Blog
• Whitepapers online
• Convention Tech Sessions
• Blogger/Wireless
• facilities and discussions

7
Who we are

• Small dedicated staff with a member serving
  technology focus
• Keith Garner -
  Managing Director
• Ian Smith - Senior
  Technical Analyst
• Chris McKeever -
  Strategic Architect
• Erika Luba Communication
  Coordinator
• Andrew Tillman -
  Senior Developer

8
Member Resource

• At your disposal
• http//www.crt.realtors.org
• Info_at_crt.realtors.org
• http//blog.realtors.org/crt/
• AskATech_at_crt.realtors.org

9
Digitizing Yourself

• From Traditional to Radical

10
Who Searches online?

• 84 first time buyers
• 79 repeat buyers
• 2006 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Survey

11
Digital Identity

• Defines who you are
• Personality
• Expertise
• Contact information
• Maintain relationships
• Foster new relationships

12
The way its done

• Website
• Online business card
• eFlyers/announcements
• Stay connected
• Listing Search and Alerts
• Digital black book
• Bring Consumers to you

13
UmmHows that different?
14
New Paradigm Think Open

• Match your own online expectations.
• Feeling of control
• No sales pitch
• Full inventory
• No restrictions, let them drive the search
• Create a desire to register
• Subscription Daily/Weekly/Hotsheet
• Customizable Search
• Agent View/Recommend Mode

15
Whats My Role Again?

• Never Capture Every Visitor
• Its about exposure
• Selling you and your service
• Value Added
• Building/Unit Knowledge
• Area Information
• Process know-how
• Increase their efficiency
• Reduce the let-down

16
Getting Exposure

• Website and Email Everywhere
• Advertising
• Business Cards
• Voicemail
• Meet and Greet
• Cold Calls
• Let them come to you

17
Competing for the Inbox

• Push verse Pull
• Shot Gun Approach
• No defined audience
• Flagged as SPAM
• Reduced effectiveness
• Need a better way to stand out

18
Time to Get Personal

• Blogging
• Real Time Communication
• Social Networks

19
Blogs

• A Web Log, a journal that is frequently updated
  and is intended for general public consumption.
  Blogs generally represent the personality of the
  author.
• Authoritative voice
• Relatable viewpoints/concerns
• Services
• REALTOR.com
• ActiveRain.com
• Blogger.com
• Wordpress.com

20
Communication

• Real Time Assistance Online
• Plugoo.com / meebo.com / userplane.com
• Call Center/Admin
• Direct to an agent
• Stay Connected
• Micro-blogging
• jaiku.com / twitter.com

21
Social Networks

• Online Sphere
• MySpace
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Fatdoor.com
• QA Services
• TruliaVoices (trulia.com)
• Homethinking.com
• Flippingpad.com

22
Web 2.0

• a second generation of services available on
  the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate
  and share information online - Wikipedia

23

• Perpetual Beta always evolving
• Fast, interactive experience
• User-generated content
• collective intelligence
• radical trust - community self-edits
• Feedback via ratings and votes
• Syndication and Remixing (mash-ups)
• Taxonomy
• Detailed categorization (tagging)

24
Real Estate 2.0

• Focus on the consumer
• Overnight competitive sites
• Aggregate useful content
• Taxes, crime, listings, points of interest
• Accessible Data
• Shared via different mediums
• Gadgets / Widgets / Mash-ups
• Social Web/Bookmarking

25
Social web

• open global distributed data sharing network
  similar to today's World Wide Web, except instead
  of linking documents, the Social Web will link
  people, organizations, and concepts.
• Tagging
• West Clay, sauna, roof top
• Collaboration
• Contact Managers (partner/admin)
• Property Recommendation/Feedback
• Documents
• User Feedback
• Agent / Property Feedback
• ZipRealty property comments

26
Data Aggregation

• Geo(graphically)-Aware
• Google / Yahoo / Microsoft Maps
• Crime data
• www.ChicagoCrime.org
• http//imaps.indygov.org/cvc/
• Campaign Contributions
• (http//www.cs.indiana.edu/markane/i590/contribut
  ors.html)
• Proximity Search
• Metra, Starbucks, etc
• Whats Your WalkScore (walkscore.com)
• School Data

27
Data Accessibility

• Painless Access
• Someone else will do it (better or not)
• Syndication of inventory
• GoogleBase, Trulia, Zillow
• RSS Listing Feed
• Search criteria
• New Listings
• Price Reductions

28
Gadgets Galore

• Mash-Ups
• Distributable
• Embeddable
• Start Pages
• Pull Technology
• Lower IT Barrier

29
Gadgets and more gadgets
Drop right in web pages
HousingWidgets.com
30
Cell Phone Listings

• SMS listing information
• Real Time Leads
• Call back and show now
• House4Cell.com
• CellSigns.com

31
Video Tours

• The ultimate gadget
• YouTube
• Wellcomemat.com
• Rich Media Presentations
• http//www.tedtruit.com
• Dazzle Them With Zazzle!

32
And Beyond

• The MetaVerse
• Virtual World where relationships are formed and
  Real Estate is sold
• Millions of Dollars in Virtual Property

33
You got them, now what?

• Components of Digital Identity
• Exposure
• Email / Website
• Services for the consumer
• Fostering Relationships

34
Hello? Are you there?

• Average email response over a day
• Phone Email?
• Email Alerts
• Mobile Listing Info

35
Mobile Messaging

• More powerful than the auto responder
• Faster than getting to the office
• With you at all times
• Cell Phone/PDA Email
• Filter Emails Instant Notification
• 3125551212_at_cingularme.com

36
Are You Digitized

• Find your voice
• Not Every Technology Applies
• Offline principles have online compliments
• Leverage what you are good at offline and bring
  it online
• Its all about communication

37
Competitive Threats

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• Why?
• When NOW

38
The Players
39
The New Breed

• Lead Generators
• Data Aggregators
• 84 of buyers searched for a home online
• The monolith is dead
• Exploit the net (Web 2.0)
• Their value is gained from your content.
• Use your content to get in front of you.

40
Whered They Come From?

• 2nd rule of Physics
• Without artificial constraints, all things tend
  to disarray
• Rudolf Clausius, German Physicist
• Consumer Rights
• Consumers have rights and reaching them needs a
  new Paradigm
• Steve Gillmor, Author
• Technology
• Efforts to promote Social good are ineffectual
  compared to unbridled market forces
• Adam Smith, Economist
• Expectations
• Generation X The accelerated Culture
• Douglas Coupland, Author
• The Product
• The value of goods are derived from its Utility
  to the user, not the labor spent in producing it
• Jean Baptist-Say, Economist

41
The Industry is lagging

• Misunderstanding the audience
• Consumers go unheard
• Technology initiatives minimal
• Control of data too extreme

42
Friend or Foe?

• Each is different
• Value can be derived from each
• Depends on how it is used/leveraged
• No single answer

43
Question Everyone

• Keep abreast of Technology
• Speak with your MLS and Association
• Understand their technology growth plan
• Work with them in defining objectives
• Exploit The Enemy

44
Leverage Resources

• Resistance is futile
• Alternative marketing mediums
• Googlebase, Trulia, Craigslist
• Understand the pay model
• Dont just pay to play
• Monitor ROI
• Merge strategies
• Dont fall victim

45
Ask Away.QA

• Chris McKeever
• http//www.crt.realtors.org
• Info_at_crt.realtors.org
• http//blog.realtors.org/crt/
• AskATech_at_crt.realtors.org