The real estate industry has finally gotten the message. The consumer wants information fast, furious at the speed of . . . your email, text, facebook app or twitter app. According to the 2009 NAR Report on Technology tools used by REALTORS® 45% of us have now adopted and email enabled phone.

Congratulations! First is becoming “more valuable” than “best.” NAR in their profile of Homebuyers and HomeSellers (available for a free download from Right Tools, Right Now on Realtor.org) says that 60-80% of consumers work with the first agent who responds to them. So being able to reach and communicate with a consumer when they are interested in learning about real estate is important. Calling them back then they have gone on to other things will not help them as much. So we need to be connected!

Now the next step. Which applications can we use to make this science of staying connected more fun and engaging? Here are a few of my favorites.

Using your device as a Tethered Modem for your laptop Blackberry requires a call to your provider to unlock the port. They software is on your laptop. Using your sync cord to connect your BB to your laptop, use the software to dial your laptop on to the internet. For all other devices, they let you use the data contract with your phone. Check out a website called uneFabrics.com. They have software to download for almost every model. Their software makes it easier to connect.

Texting For those of you who like to text but would rather use voice to text consider using Jott.com or ReQall.com Both programs convert your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments. Not only can you use your VOICE to TEXT but every text message or email that you send is documented in your email. All you do is sign up for an account, add all the people you want to send messages to. Call the phone number supplied and JOTT recognizes your cell phone number and asks you who you want to JOTT. You can JOTT to your email to leave yourself messages, set reminders and do blog posts and twitter posts.

 

Handango.com is a great site for any device to find an application for anything you are looking for.

Apps to Consider:

• Dictionary of Terms

• Mortgage Calculator

• Voice notes and MMS/SMS messaging

• Instant Messaging

• GPS

• Real Estate Search

• Calculator

Real Estate Search

Realtor.com, Trulia and Zillow have mobile apps to search for properties. Of course the new Zillow Iphone App is  available. Consider SmarterAgent.com for a great search program for all other phones.

Last but not least, visit the mobile page on Google at m.Google.com they have lots of great free tools that you can add to your phone to make your business a little bit easier and your life just a bit more fun.

Facebook is one of the popular web service/platforms right now. Many people have already found Facebook to be a valuable addition to their web marketing strategy. Why? Because Facebook social networking can effectively connect you with potential clients, past customers and friends, with no cost and minimal effort. Buyers & Sellers are interested in their “Micro-market”, where they live and work. Your goal is to give them information they can’t get anywhere else and they will be hooked. Other than your all important status updates, adding applications selectively can help your business grow. Right now, there are over 2000 apps you can add to your Facebook profile. The temptation may be to try them all. Click on this link to see the full list of applications. Pick apps that won’t waste your time when you visit your Facebook home page, so avoid those that involve playing games, throwing things and just plain silliness. Read the app description carefully and know exactly what you’re getting, and what the privacy settings are before you go. It helps to see how your contacts are using the app first. But remember, if you add it, you can remove it. If you don't want to add applications that other people send to you, hit the IGNORE button. (They will never know.) Think of your apps in two ways

1. What do you want to see (that will appear on your Facebook home page)
2. What do I want the world to see (that will appear on your profile)?

While it might seem like a small part of why you would want to set up a presence on Facebook, Applications can actually dramatically enhance your ability to manage your content and provide a compelling experience. Some examples: Memorable Web address for Facebook - create a short easy to remember facebook link to your profile. Include it in your email signature. Slideshare - Share your PDFs and Powerpoints with potential clients. How about a prelisting presentation? Why work with a buyer agent? The real story behind buying a foreclosure. You get the idea. Google Calendar – Share your calendar of events Birthday and Social Calendars – choose one to keep on tops of friends birthdays Blognetworks – Promote other blogs that you read Free Conference call nice and easy to use program Facebook Video Facebook Video provides a high-quality video platform for people and pages on Facebook. With Video, you can upload video files, send video from your mobile phone, and record video messages to your friends. Business Card With this application, you can: * create a Business Card and customize it * attach your Business Card to Facebook messages * browse other cards and read comments RSS Reader Applications These enable you to leverage the content updates you are probably already doing on your main online presence. Why bother cutting and pasting when RSS can do the work of syndicating the content on your Facebook Page? My 12minutetechbyte for this is: Pick one application, add, it use it see if you like it. And then selectively add others that you like.