Real Time Real Estate! Ok, it’s been two weeks since our return from Inman Connect Conference — the debates over the next killer app have started to calm down and the realization has set in that there is not one application that is going to change it all, but a series of technologies that are emerging to create a new user experience.

In the past two weeks we haven’t agreed on much, but we all agree on one thing: the game has changed. The thing that hasn’t changed is the reality that we still only have one chance to make a first impression when it comes to attracting new customers.

So, when someone walks through your front door, calls your office or visits your website, you only have one chance to make a first impression in this tight market. Combine this with an era where consumers demand instant communication and instant gratification and what do you have? Real Time Real Estate!

What are the new rules for Real Time Real Estate? Instant Access to….

• Property data
• Videos of the property
• Neighborhood Videos
• VirtualTours
• Answers regarding the property
• School Information
• Demographic information
• Maps and neighborhood information
• A local expert
• Automated Property Valuations
• 30 min response times to all e-mail communication

Why do consumers need all this information in real time? Because they can.

Welcome to Real Estate in Real Time.

- John Sable

Active Website launched a new campaign today – you might find it in your mailbox in the next few days.  A mysterious white box, open it and you will find a sweet reward - CAFFEINE - in the form of a fully-charged Starbucks card.  We also threw in a cool red travel mug, an SEO report that tells you where your company currently ranks in the major Searches, and an invitation to join The Enterprise Network.  We’re awake, and we’ve come to tell you, it feels fantastic.

The Real Estate industry has reached the fork in the road.  If you are a market leader, if you are independently owned and operated, if you want to survive the Mortgage Crisis of 07…you’ve got to Wake Up!  And we thought a shot of espresso or a cold, lovely Frappuccino might help.

So, once you’ve returned from Starubucks, and you’re fully aware and ready to hear what we’ve got to say, give us a call or fill out this form.  We will demo our video, blogging, mapping, and property messaging solutions.  We’ll tell you how all of these things will grow your business. We’ll tell you how to use features like Open House Listings and Featured Home Directories and Individual Agent Websites to offset your technology fees. We’ll tell you where the industry is headed, and we’ll help you get there ahead of the pack.

 Wake Up!

- Stacie

BTW, if you didn’t receive your Wake Up kit, let me know!

At R/E Connect in San Francisco, we all got caught up in the Blogging Frenzy — we heard from several bloggers who generate more business than they can handle from their blogs.  Some also earn revenue by selling ad space on their blog.  They said that their leads were hot and qualified - and they were through making cold calls.  It sounded great. 

The reality is, blogging takes time and effort, and you really need to set aside time each day or every other day to write and post, as well as consider every conversation, every experience, every piece of research or industry related news that you come across as possible blog topics.  Whew!  It’s sort of exhausting just thinking about it.

But, we asked our Enterprise Network clients in a survey earlier this week if they would blog if they KNEW that it would improve their Google ranking, and every single respondent said yes.

According to every speaker in San Francisco, blogging DOES improve your Search Engine Placement, because fresh daily content is the most effective Google Juice.

So, if you must do it, how do you start?  You set up your blog account at WordPress or ActiveRain or Blogger, and then you are staring at the blank “Write Post” section — what now?

Just start writing.  Get past the block.  Talk about what’s going on in your neighborhood and community.  Relay your take on the Real Estate industry and how it’s changing your business.  Take some cool pictures of your listings and the area that surrounds them, and provide links to nearby organizations and businesses.  Jump in.  Get your feet wet.  It feels good.  Blogging is almost therapeutic - you can write like no one is reading, because, let’s face it, it takes a while to build up traffic to your blog.

But then, it happens.  Someone leaves a comment.  Someone else asks a question about a picture on your blog.  Someone emails you and wants you to find them a house.  And there it is, the payback, the ROI.  And suddenly blogging doesn’t seem so difficult, after all!

Blogging tips from the Inman experts:

- Give a voice to your professional personality.

- Write about things that interest you.

- Be passionate about your topics - readers can tell when you are just cranking out content.

- Address local issues and interests. 

- Remember, Google picks up content from all of your posts every time you update your blog, not just the most recent posts, so you might write something in August that brings you business in December.  How cool is that?!

- Answer questions from clients in your blog - other people are probably looking for the same answers.

- Provide unscrubbed facts and your analysis of them.

- Encourage commenting by asking open-ended questions.

Need some inspiration?  Check out these R/E blogs:

Rain City Guide - this is an example of a fantastic team blog.

St. Paul Real Estate - Teresa Boardman is number one if you Google “St. Paul Real Estate” or related search terms because of her fantastic blog!

And, last but certainly not least, check out Gaping Void.  Hugh MacLeod is a blogger and artist who spoke in SF, and he woke up the crowd (they should have had him speak first, not last!) he has a lot to say about…well, everything.  Once everyone got over the shock, I think they realized how powerful the message was!

Good luck, and happy blogging!

- Stacie

R/E Connect was information overload central - 3 days packed with 2.0 frenzy - and why the Real Estate industry needs to get on board. 

The Active Website team compiled a ton of notes, which we will be posting as we organize them, but most importantly, we confirmed this fast track The Enterprise Network Team is on - moving our clients in the 2.0 direction while maintaining their core goals is what we have been focused on since launch.  Encouraging Market Leaders to adopt new technologies hasn’t always been easy, but last week we heard it over and over again - if you don’t have map-based search, if you don’t have some means for user communication, if you’re not SEO efficient and Social Network enabled, you’re going to get left behind.

Wow, did we feel miles ahead of the pack.  Having just introduced Active Comments, which allows buyers, sellers and agents to communicate online about specific properties - and with the recent launch of Active Video Solutions - providing Community, Lifestyle, Property, and Agent Vanity Videos, we were on top of everything that the experts were pushing!

And, upon our return, we put Active Blog into Development.  A branded, customized blogging solution, our clients will have the opportunity to take advantage of the exposure and SEO afforded by individual and team blogs.

So we bruised a liver or two in San Francisco, we have loads of catching up to do, and we could really use a few more hours of sleep - it’s all worth it to know that we’re not only on the right track, we’re driving the train! 

-Stacie 

After a week at Real Estate Connect in San Francisco, we realized quickly that we are missing a vital tool that will serve not only our target market, but also our current clients and the industry in general. 

By Wednesday afternoon, I thought that I would jump from my 5th floor Palace Hotel room window if I heard the word “blog” one more time.  But I also agree with the importance of giving your work, your experiences, your knowledge, and your business a voice - how lucky are we to live in a time when we can publish without an editor, without a printing press, without even a wait-time? 

At Active Website, we are constantly processing information, news, technology offerings, trends and statistics in an effort to serve our clients and make our products and services the best in the R/E biz.  We thrive on keeping our clients on top, we really do.  And now, you can follow along as we team-blog (because, seriously, none of us has time to do this every day, but we can hit it once or twice a week with the information that we think is the most important, the most valuable, or even just the most entertaining.) 

One buzz word at Inman was COMMUNITAITE.  That’s our goal here.  And to kick it off, here’s our favorite group picture with the Rock Star of the Real Estate World: Brad Inman!!  We caught him walking out of the Pied Piper, signing autographs and waving to cheering fans….

 Brad Inman, center, with members of The Enterprise Network and Active Website’s team - thanks for a great conference, Brad!