HomeGain has released the results of their survey regarding the marketing preferences and plans for real estate professionals, the complete results of which are listed below.

The leading effective marketing strategy, referrals, is also the one in which most are devoting their time and plans for 2010. While social media is becoming more popular and used, traditional mailers and email campaigns are holding more weight.

The results are based on two surveys, conducted in December 2009 and February 2010, with responses from about 1,300 real estate agents and brokers. Respondents also indicated that they will be less likely to invest their marketing dollars and time on Twitter (3.4), outdoor advertising (2.7), banner ads (2.5), pay-per-click advertising (2.5) and MySpace (2.5).

Top 10 Effective Marketing Strategies for Realtors
(Cumulative Average Scores, 1 = Least Effective / 10 = Most Effective)

• Referrals (8.7)
• Featured Listings (4.8)
• Email Campaigns (4.7)
• Postcards/Mailers (4.6)
• Blogging (4.1)
• Online Lead Generation Services (4.0)
• Facebook (4.0) * LinkedIn (3.6)
• Outdoor Ads (3.6)
• Print Ads (3.6)

Top 10 Marketing Objectives for Realtors in 2010
(Cumulative Average Scores, 1 = Least Likely to Use / 10 = Most Likely to Use)

• Referrals (8.9)
• Email Campaigns (5.7)
• Postcards/Mailers (5.4)
• Featured Listings (5.2)
• Facebook (4.9)
• Print Ads (4.3)
• Blogging (4.2)
• LinkedIn (4.1)
• Online Lead Generation Services (4.0)
• YouTube (3.5)

Read more on the HomeGain Blog and Inman News.

Posted in Internet Marketing, Traditional Marketing, Blogging, Real Estate Industry, Real Estate Industry Trends, Lead Generation, Web 2.0 Marketing, National News

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services has launched a collaborative, virtual research and development laboratory dubbed PRECIPT, the Prudential Real Estate Collaborative Innovation Partnership.

The non-traditional lab is a combination of three facets: innovation, research and development, and collaboration between IT experts and real estate professionals. This virtual lab will focus on four areas: video gaming and sensory spaces, social networking and media sharing, mobile computing, and the application of semantic Web search engines research.

Prudential is partnering with virtual world developer Immersive Design Studio to create one of its top priorities, an immersive virtual tour.

"This is actually 'Avatar' meets real estate. We demonstrated ... how (two people) could both be in different rooms at opposite ends of the country and be holographically next to each other. Buyers can start to experience homes and what they would do with (a home) even before they actually see it," chairman and CEO Jim Mallozzi said.

In addition, the Prudential Real Estate Network is unveiling other tools and resources: a media center to help real estate professionals create listings presentations quickly and easily from one spot, a rent-to-own calculator for consumers, upgrades to the company's proprietary Online Seller Advantage(SM) customer-contact platform, including direct interface with more than 200 social media sites, and their mobile solution, PruRE.com.

Read more from Inman News or in the press release.

Posted in Internet Marketing, Real Estate Industry Trends, Lead Generation, Technology And YOU, Web 2.0 Marketing, National News

The use of smartphone apps to find real estate information is booming with home buyers.

Realtors and brokerages are using free apps to help their current and potential customers find listings and data about homes on the market or just sold, as well as geo-mapping information, as GPS is used more and more on mobile platforms.

Zillow's free app has been downloaded 970,000 times, with users looking up two million homes a month. With so much useage, it's no wonder why more and more companies are building apps for home buyers.

Read more in the Wall Street Journal online.

photo credit: Nimbuzz

Posted in Real Estate Industry Trends, Lead Generation, Technology And YOU, Web 2.0 Marketing

As more and more consumers are shifting to mobile technologies, and as geo-related technology is increasingly utilized by mobile users, the future of real estate marketing can be powerful for those who can harness the two.

Chris Thorman at Software Advice imagines the scenario with buyers who are automatically notified of listings nearby that match their needs, making it so all they had to do was make a note of their preferences and let the system handle the rest.

"Geofences" have been used in GPS technology for a while now and are virtual boundaries surrounding geographic locations, and has been traditionally used to alert users when they're exiting an area. But what about entering an area, and what if brokerage firms could set geofences around their properties and alert potential buyers?

Read more in Thorman's post at Software Advice.

Posted in Real Estate Industry, Real Estate Industry Trends, Lead Generation, Technology And YOU, Web 2.0 Marketing

Real estate technology company Roost has launched a free beta version of its new Facebook application, Social Real Estate℠.

With the app, real estate agents and brokers can now place a "Real Estate" tab on their Facebook page that displays city-specific housing from Altos Research, school information from Education.com and walkability data from Walk Score™.

In coming months, the full version of the app will be released and will include MLS, plus lead generation and drip marketing tools for agents and brokers.

"Facebook has passed 400 million users and is arguably second only to Google in mass consumer engagement, but most real estate brokers and agents struggle to use the platform effectively. Our application solves that problem by delivering content consumers want and engagement tools real estate agents need within Facebook itself," said Alex Chang, CEO of Roost.

Read more in the press release from Roost.com.

photo credit: CoreyHarris

Posted in Internet Marketing, MLS, Real Estate Industry, Lead Generation, Technology And YOU, Web 2.0 Marketing