Contemporary tech can make running a real estate business more efficient and rewarding, so here are just a few of the tools you should embrace if you want to improve performance across the board.
It is important to note that these are just a few small suggestions for valuable tech tools your real estate firm can use. Be sure to seek out other tools and suggestions to better supplement the information provided here.
Social media marketing solutions
Spreading the word about your real estate firm is simpler than ever thanks to social media, but if you are not an Instagram expert or a Twitter natural, making the most of this state of affairs can be a challenge.
Luckily with the right software on your side, you can spruce up your social media marketing efforts significantly. One excellent option is Canva, a design tool that is attuned to the needs of businesses and individuals that want to take their content to the next level. It lets you design images that will boost your brand recognition and earn organic shares without taking you hours to make something beautiful and compelling.
You should also invest in a service that allows you to manage your social media presence for the purposes of lead generation and customer support alike. This is because you will likely aim to run accounts across several popular platforms, which can feel a bit like spinning plates if you are unprepared.
One of the biggest names in social media management for businesses is Hootsuite. It includes a parade of appealing features, allowing you to set a schedule for your posts so that you can automate publishing and keep your audience engaged without the hassle of handling this manually. Compatible across all the major platforms including YouTube, LinkedIn and beyond, it can take your social media game to the next level.
Brokerage management software
There are a number of holistic software solutions designed from the ground up to suit the needs of real estate organizations.
With the right brokerage management software for real estate on your side, you will be able to streamline everything from agent recruitment and commission calculations to transaction management and beyond. The power of automation will save you a lot of time and money, while you will also be able to boost customer satisfaction and increase loyalty to help make a difference to your business in the long term.
Virtual property tour apps
While in-person property visits are still one of the best ways to seal the deal on a real estate transaction, sometimes this is just not practical for every prospective client.
That is where software which allows you to take people on a virtual tour of the properties in your portfolio comes into play.
There are a number of competing solutions to consider, including premium services like Matterport that allow you to generate believable three dimensional representations of physical places that are available from virtually any location or device.
Cloud storage services
Data is incredibly valuable to real estate firms, and you are likely to generate a never-ending stream of information in the normal course of your daily activities.
Being able to store this data securely while also making it easy to access and use requires the harnessing of a cloud-based storage service.
There are plenty of well known, business-focused solutions to consider, with DropBox being one of the best known and most widely integrated of the bunch. From documents and customer data to video files and photos, a good cloud storage package will serve your business well for years.
Accounting software
If you balance your books in-house, being able to keep track of your business’ finance through software that is flexible and effective is a major plus point.
This is something that can be achieved using a top accounting software solution, of which there are several to consider. Freshbooks is a respected platform in this respect, and you can take it for a test drive to see if it is the right fit for your firm.
Scheduling solutions
Being able to keep clients happy has a lot to do with ensuring that they can book viewings with ease and see when you and your team are available to help them at a glance.
This is where a tool designed to wrangle your schedule in conjunction with your calendar can be a real boon.
A good example of this type of service is Calendly, which is tailored to any organization that is eager to avoid the need for a flurry of emails in the prelude to any meeting or appointment. You can create unique, shareable links that are easy to email to clients, who can then select a time on your schedule based on your availability.
All of the best scheduling solutions will offer integration with other commonly used tech solutions, such as Outlook, Google Suite, iCloud, and others besides.
Instant messaging ecosystems
Making sure that your team of agents can communicate with each other efficiently and effectively is just as important as any client-facing applications that you adopt. A range of instant messaging platforms have emerged to facilitate this, with Slack being arguably the most influential and trend-setting solution on the market at the moment.
As well as allowing colleagues to chat with one another individually or as a group, Slack is also focused around file-sharing and offers extensive integration with services such as Google Drive to make this as seamless as possible.
A well-chosen messaging service can effectively become a small-scale social network for your business, not only handling important discussions but also hosting off-topic chats and creating more of a sense of camaraderie among your staff.
Email marketing services
While social media marketing may get all of the attention in the modern era, email marketing is still a hugely relevant area for real estate firms to focus their efforts on.
Planning out marketing campaigns, keeping up with existing clients and chasing leads to uncover new prospects can all be made possible with the right email marketing tool. Dominating this segment at the moment is Mailchimp, a solution that speeds up message creation by offering up a wide range of templates that will make your emails to clients look better than ever with minimal effort.
Like all the best tech tools for real estate firms, this is also a platform that embraces aspects of automation, ensuring that the right ads are sent to the right people at the right time. It may require some elbow grease during the setup process, but it will pay dividends in the long run.
Video conferencing software
In an ever-changing world, it makes sense to prepare for every eventuality and make use of technology to allow team members to work remotely as well as from the office.
Video conferencing software gives you even more flexibility, with virtual meeting platforms like Zoom rising to prominence recently to meet growing demand for this kind of solution.
From hosting small meetings with a handful of participants to hosting presentations with hundreds of people watching along, anything is possible!
What do you think? What are some of the tech tools you use in your real estate business? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
