Tool Shed

Guide to Real Estate Marketing Technology and Tools

On this page, I’ve described some of the better content management systems, analytical tools, social networking tools and listing tools available for real estate professionals. Nonetheless, the technologies are always changing so I expect this to be a work in progress. If you know of a great online marketing tool I’m missing, feel free to recommend it in the comments.

Content Management Systems (CMS)

These are technologies that power the backend of your website!   And thanks to the many benefits of blog platforms over standard real estate websites in terms of ease-of-use, cost, consumer engagement, and ease-of-ranking well within search engines, many agents are now opting for blogs and that is the only CMS I’m going to focus on here.

In terms of a platform for hosting real estate websites, WordPress is my personal favorite. there are two flavors of Wordpress… The hosted version, WordPress.com and the self-hosted version: WordPress.org. If you’re not sure which way to go, then choose the hosted version where they manage all the hosting details for you (it’s free!). It’s pretty trivial to move your site over to a self-hosted environment (where you’ll have more flexibility) when you’re ready.

And when you are ready to choose a self-hosted option, consider the MediaTemple’s hosting environment. I’m using them for 4realz.net, HomeSyn and all my client websites. At the low-end, they’re a bit more expensive (plans start at around $20/month) than some of the pure blogging platforms, but they offer much better stability and the ability to handle spikes in traffic than any other host I’ve ever worked with anywhere near their price points.

If you really want to pay for a hosted blog platform similar (but arguably less feature rich) to WordPress, some real estate agents use TypePad.

Also, if you’re new to blogging in real estate, check out ActiveRain. They have a ridiculously active community of real estate professionals… many of whom are eager to get you started down the right path!

Of course, if you really want a to have a unique look and feel to your blog, then there are more than a few real estate specific vendors. Feel free to reach out to me if you want a custom recommendation for a website vendor.

Website Analytics and Tracking

Google Analytics is by far the most widely used tool among real estate professionals for analyzing websites… and best of all, the incredibly functionality of the tool is available for free from Google.  It is quite easy to install on most websites adn it can be used to track how visitors get to, interact on and take calls-to-action on your website.

Others analytic tools you should consider include: SiteScan, Woopra, CrazyEgg, 4Q, Feedburner, ClickTale, GetClicky, Keyword Envy, SEOQuake

For background on each of these tools (and more), check out this podcast on tracking and analytics for real estate professionals.

Social Networking

There are a number of social networking site developed specifically to engage real estate professionals.  Some of the social networks designed to help real estate agents network with other real estate professionals and consumers include:  MyDealBook, RealSeekr, PropertyQube, and Zolve.

For a discussion on how agents are using social networks to add value to their business, check out this roundtable discussion.

Also, to see how I’ve been pushing the boundaries a bit with Facebook Pages, check out my HomeSyn Page and the Dustin Luther Page.

Tools to Help Sellers

Some of the tools that were mentioned in our conversation of tools that help agents help sellers included Docusign (a religious experience), Point2Agent (Robust listing syndication),  Altos (Great reports to engage sellers), Transaction Point (Great tool), eFax (Couldn’t live without), Real Estate Shows (Great tool for demonstrating traffic)