Must-have Tech Tools for Real Estate Agents

Part of being successful with social media is having the right tools.  (After all, a five-star chef doesn’t stir his pots with splintered wooden spoons.)  This year, the two must-have tech tools for social media success are the iPad and a Smartphone (like an iPhone or Droid).

iPad

The iPad combines the best of a laptop computer and the best of a Smartphone (minus the phone call capability, of course). People say this touch screen gadget is very easy to use, and really the best way to experience the web. Plus, importantly, the iPad is small, thin, and lightweight so it’s easy to take on the road. 

The other day I went on a “ride-along” with one of our new real estate agent clients to get a sense of how he interacted with his buyers and sellers, where his expertise was, how we could brand him in the crowded marketplace.  We met at the local Starbucks, where he was on his iPad making a few updates to his contact database.  He then pulled up the Map app to find directions for where we were meeting the first prospect of the day.

After that first prospect meeting, the agent had a listing presentation.  He had a nicely packaged book of materials to leave behind, but conducted the bulk of the presentation on his iPad, showing an example of the micro-website he could create for the sellers’ home and walking them through their market snapshot.

Clearly, the iPad was a big advantage for this agent, allowing him to do everything he would have done on his laptop, but in a much more compact, quick to power-up, user-friendly package.

iPad pros:

• 10-hour battery life
• Awesome apps for agents
• Great for letting clients preview homes on the go
• Lightweight/thin
• Built-in speaker and microphone
• User-friendly for reading newspapers, eBooks, magazines
• Wi-Fi connection
• Holds and organizes contacts
• Calendar, notes, folders
•  iTunes, maps
• Spotlight search
• Accessibility
• Multitasking
• Game center

“There’s an app for that!”

•          Safari is the top browser for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Mac. Having this app allows you to browse the web at lightning speed (and that’s important because, hey, time is money).
•          Dropbox is an organization site that allows you to connect all your files so you don’t have to save documents on a flash drive or email them to yourself. Once you upload a file on to Dropbox it downloads to wherever you have Dropbox connected – your iPad, Smartphone, laptop, or desktop.
•          Keynote is a powerful presentation app through which agents can create just about anything from market charts to listing presentations.

Smartphones

In general, cell phone calls and texting is how the new generation prefers to communicate –mostly because of fast pace we live at. Smartphones are really the first generation of cell phones that were developed to keep pace with our lives in the fast lane.  In addition to the typical cell phone features (talk and text), Smartphones offer advanced capabilities similar to a computer, including:

1.        PDA (Personal Digital Assistance)
2.        Internet
3.        Navigation/GPS
4.        Camera (even higher-res than the digital camera I bought just three years ago!) – for both still shots and video
5.        Voice recorder
6.        Media player
7.        Bluetooth
8.        Email
9.        Texting
10.     Apps galore (if you can think it, there’s probably “an app for that”)

Having all these capabilities at your fingertips (literally!) makes for an easier day as an agent. Let your Smartphone video camera record your next vlog, then upload it to your YouTube channel, post a link on Twitter, and add it to your Facebook page.  Instead of fussing with the clunky car GPS, use your phone to direct you and your prospects to the homes they want to see.  (And, of course, take phone calls on the road with your Bluetooth earpiece.)

”There’s an app for that, too”

•          Dragon: Speak into your phone and this app will type out your text for you, in email form or as simple text. Get your message written up to 5 times faster than typing it yourself.
•          RECalc is a mortgage calculator –a great tool for agents to have on hand.
•          Adobe Photoshop Express allows you to upload pictures on the go. This is great for snapping quick shots of homes you have on the market and uploading them instantly to the web.
•          Dropbox – see above, works on your Smartphone too.

For more information on Smartphones check out our blog Which Smartphone Should You Buy? here.