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 <kgarner@crt.realtors.org> - Managing Director • Ian Smith <ismith@realtors.org> - Senior Technical Analyst • Chris McKeever <cgmckeever@crt.realtors.org> - Strategic Architect • Erika Luba <eluba@realtors.org> Communication Coordinator • Andrew Tillman <atillman@crt.realtors.org> - Senior Developer

8. Member Resource • At your disposal • http://www.crt.realtors.org • Info@crt.realtors.org • http://blog.realtors.org/crt/ • AskATech@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 it’s done • Website • Online business card • eFlyers/announcements • Stay connected • Listing Search and Alerts • Digital ‘black book’ • Bring Consumers to you

13. Umm…How’s 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. What’s 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 • Q&A 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/contributors.html) • Proximity Search • Metra, Starbucks, etc • What’s 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@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. Where’d 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 • Don’t just pay to play • Monitor ROI • Merge strategies • Don’t fall victim

45. Ask Away…….Q&A Chris McKeever <cgmckeever@crt.realtors.org> • http://www.crt.realtors.org • Info@crt.realtors.org • http://blog.realtors.org/crt/ • AskATech@crt.realtors.org