Entegral Blog

The word “marketing” conjure up images of complicated strategies and pricey campaigns - however, there is a way you can market your real estate business without spending a dime! We take a look at our top choices in our latest blog post. Video marketing You would be losing out on a large audience if you ignore the proliferation of video over the past few years. Jump on the bandwagon and start engaging in some video marketing. Begin by setting up a YouTube channel. You don’t have to create Hollywood-esque movies – just a simple video blog will do. If you’ve got something useful to say, then say it on video. It also makes for highly shareable, marketable content – put it on your website, push it out on social, and include it in your emails (more about email marketing later) Post to Facebook It goes without saying that social media is one of the most valuable marketing tools out there. And it’s free. This doesn’t mean you should sign up for every platform but rather focus on ...

A recent firmware upgrade to Matterport 's existing technology has reduced the amount of time it takes to capture footage when creating an immersive 3D listing tour. The firmware update increases the speed at which the camera rotates, allowing more square footage to be scanned in less time. The company published a comparison video that shows a new Matterport scan finishing 50 percent faster than it did prior to the upgrade. Matterport vice president, Mark Tepper, told Inman in an email that "real estate agents who own a camera and choose to do their own scanning can now save time, getting in and out of a property listing in a fraction of the time it would have taken previously.” He added that customers using Matterport Pro2 and an iPad Pro should also be able to capture a space in half the time it previously took. Customers wanting to try the update can register on Matterport’s website. The update is free for current customers and requires no new equipment. Tepper ...

At the latest Apple event, the launch of ‘Animojis’ is more than just a new fun way to communicate, it is yet another definitive sign that brands (and real estate agents) should get serious about augmented and virtual reality. “Augmented reality mobile content will go beyond gaming, as we have seen before and offers new ways to visualize content and personalise mobile experiences, expanding to industries such as retail, sports, and entertainment,” predicted Roman Taranov, CEO of RGK Mobile. “Advertising will follow suit, taking on new formats and offering an immersive user experience.” Such a scenario is getting easier and easier to imagine. The International Data Corporation predicted in February that total spending on AR and virtual reality will reach nearly $14 billion by the end of 2017. “The possibilities are endless and range from Minority Report-style programmatic outdoor advertising to superimposing sporting events and concerts on top of consumers’ living rooms,” added ...

Video is making bigger and bigger waves in content marketing - the latest statistics show that 82 percent of all web traffic will come from video by 2020. Clearly now is the time to delve into video marketing and we show you how by turning blogs into videos. A common misconception is that video marketing has to be a costly and time-consuming investment. The simplest approach is using blog posts for your video marketing. Picking Blog Posts A great starting off point for your video marketing is to convert blog posts into videos. Borrow elements from your already established content marketing strategy to create your first videos. Analyze your blog metrics for this year and previous years, single out the highest performing blogs articles that generated the most views and conversion rates. Check the length of each of these and choose the posts that are short enough to fit into a video, which should generally last less than 5 minutes. Video Presentation Once you have chosen a...

With more than half of the year already in the rearview mirror, we take a look at some of the marketing trends that have dominated in the real estate industry this year and how you can take advantage of it before the end of 2017. Lights, camera, action! Live streaming and video marketing continue to make headway into every industry and real estate is no different. By adding real estate video marketing to your digital marketing strategy, you are making your site a valuable commodity for those looking to buy or sell property which will keep them coming back for more and even refer leads to you. If you are into live-streaming then have a look at Facebook and Instagram’s live-streaming offerings. Read more about video marketing at the links below. Video marketing for real estate - here is what you need to know   |  5 Little-known Instagram features you should be using for your real estate brand  Content is King (but you knew that) Content marketing has a...

We have already spoken about the increase in popularity of videos on Facebook and how you can livestream for marketing purposes . But how about real estate videos for your real estate website? Here is what you need to know before hitting record. By adding real estate video marketing to your digital marketing strategy, you are making your site a valuable commodity for those looking to buy or sell property which will keep them coming back for more and even refer leads to you. Before you rush out and invest a huge amount of money into expensive video equipment, you will need to answer a few questions first regarding your video strategy. Who or what will be featured in your videos? How long will each of your videos be? Will you employ the services of a professional videographer or do it yourself? Once you have answered these questions you can start by planning your videos. A good place to start is by filming an introduction - you can describe why you are passionate ab...

At the recent Social Media Marketing World event in San Diego, United States it was revealed that one of the top emerging trends in social media marketing is leveraging live streaming as a tool for your business. But as a real estate agent how do you do this and does it even matter? According to We Are Social , Facebook generates 8 billion daily video views, this is a massive 700% increase from just 3 years ago and people are three times more inclined to watch a live video than a prerecorded video. Clearly, video matters and live videos matter, even more, even Facebook acknowledges this as they adjusted their algorithm so that live videos are more likely to appear higher in news feeds than those that are not. Another staggering statistic is that video posts on Facebook have a 135% greater organic reach than photos. This is quite something in a world where organic reach is becoming something of the past. But how do you as a real estate agent use live video to your advantage? Th...

Virtual Reality (VR) is poised to take marketing by storm in 2017 - and while you might not think that it has a role to play in real estate marketing, we beg to differ. The Stats Gone are the days where only tech geeks with deep pockets could afford VR technology, with the latest advancements it has become accessible to the masses. The latest statistics reveal that 30% of Forbes Global 2000 consumer-facing companies will experiment with augmented and virtual reality this year. Companies such as Matterport uses 3D Showcase to "bring listings to life" - their 360° panoramic tours lets buyers actually move through a property as if they were really there. With this technology at your fingertips, you are creating an on show day for visitors to your listings without them having to leave their sofas. This is the perfect solution for home buyers from out-of-town or even from another country that cannot attend a show day easily. Peter Lorimer of PLG Estates , recently...

Have a real estate website? Improve your SEO rankings with the new MyProperty Youtube service. This service will automatically create Youtube videos from your property listing photos and insert the description and link to YOUR website. This provides you with better ranking in search engines with external backlinks from Youtube to your properties (and the added benefit of additional Youtube exposure!). Search for property in your area, there is then a chance that people will find an additional Youtube search engine optimized link in the search results, as can be shown here on page 2 of Google’s results for a search. Clicking on the link will showcase your listing, with an additional link to your website, pretty clever! A video is created within 5 to 120 minutes after capturing the listing and a link automatically inserted on the listing. Here is a sample of what it looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl0kDhYYuz0 1 - Note the link here is to MyProperty but if you o...

Instagram introduced video for their mobile app and it is now available for iPhones (and should be available on Android phones later). Read more here: http://blog.instagram.com/post/53448889009/video-on-instagram This opens up a new marketing opportunity for estate agents. For a start, it is very easy to record up to 15 seconds of video with Instagram and then post it to your social media accounts including Twitter and Facebook. You can also share the video through email and on your Tumblr blog. The trick is not to record the whole home overview in one shoot, you need to segment it and record all the rooms. This can be done easilly by just tapping on the Instagram record button to pause it. Here is a sample we've done and embedded on our blog using the Embed.ly service.  You can easily do this for your next listing mandate.        How to use Instagram to market a home? For Entegral OMS clients , you can also easily share your instagram vi...

In September 2009 we’ve posted a video with some fascinating facts about the internet . Now, in 2010, check out the latest ‘Social Media Revolution’ video from Erik Qualman: Social Media is slowly changing the way customers interact with estate agents. Printed advertising is no longer the #1 referral source for most agents with the web taking over that role. Now social media presents another opportunity for estate agents to connect with clients through Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Forums, Video and other media. Don’t know what all the fuzz is about Social Media, check out the following slideshow that explains everything in more detail. I just love the slide on ‘18% of tv ad campaigns generate positive ROI’ . I bet it is even lower for printed advertising… What The F**K is Social Media? Estate Agents who are still pushing all their earnings into print are just plain stupid – they will simply become a statistic on the number of declining estate agents we are seeing. Watch the...

We are proud to announce the launch of the Entegral Video Channel on Youtube. We’ll post some interesting real estate technology related videos on a regular basis. Visit our channel at the following link: www.youtube.com/entegralsa Check out our first two posts about the iSearch and Driving Directions features on MyProperty South Africa . Tip: create your own video channel on YouTube.com, simply create an account (its free) and configure your channel. You can upload video tours of all your homes, and posts the links on your properties listed in the OMS! A great way to gain extra exposure and get mandates.