The Targeted and Viral Impact of Mobile Marketing

When it comes to real estate, one of the best reasons to use mobile marketing is its power to facilitate direct collaboration between homebuyers and agents. As a real estate agent, you can share properties on mobile with each buyer according to their particular needs rather than solely relying on listing ads to catch their eye.

A real estate mobile app is the ultimate tool to share properties with homebuyers and sellers, and for them to then share it with family and friends. In this way, the app makes it easier to carry out targeted viral marketing to interested parties. This wins you more clients in the long term, and lets potential clients know that you are tech-savvy and able to make their listings go viral. Let's take a look at the following example of how this would play out:

Timothy Townsend is a potential homebuyer. He has a long checklist of features for the home he wants to live in. He wants all of this in a certain price range:

• A townhouse
• Three bedrooms
• Lots of light
• A fireplace

You have the perfect listing for him. Instead of hoping he sees your ad among several others in the newspaper, you can share the listing directly with him through a mobile app. Timothy is happy with all the homes that have been sent him through the app, but the one you had in mind for him checked off all the items on his checklist. You have now helped Timothy find his ideal home!

He has an aunt, Katherine Townsend, who is also looking for a home. She wants a home close to her work with the following features:

• A brick home
• A big backyard for her children
• Four bedrooms
• 3+ car parking

He sees the perfect property on your app and sends it to Katherine who then contacts you through the app. Congratulations, you've won yourself another client!

Here are two real world examples of agents who benefited from the viral and targeted nature of real estate apps:

John Davis Jr. of Century21 Cedarcrest had this experience: "I texted my app to a friend at church using the 'Share this App' function. They used my app to find the house they were looking for and called me directly."

Another agent, Mike Jurecka of DFW Fine Properties in Southlake, Texas had an unexpected result that made him some money: "I had a client who sent my app to his co-worker. The co-worker found the house he was interested in via the app and called me about it. Since the house was outside of my area I was able to place him with another agent and collect a referral fee."

According to Google, 21% of consumers are likely to use an app again just because their family and friends have started to use it. When your business comes with the potential for targeted viral marketing, the number of referrals coming your way can only go up!

Listing presentations, open houses and general advertising of your listings can all be enhanced greatly with the addition of mobile marketing. Mobile apps in particular have great potential for consumer engagement and sharing – Nielsen's data tells us that people are now spending about 30 hours per month using them!

The rule with real estate mobile marketing: the more easily shareable, the better.

To view the original article, visit the Smarter Agent blog.

Further Reading

• 3 Apps for First-Time Home Buyers
• RPR Mobile Tips and Tricks for New Users
• Top 15 Apps and Tools for Your Business this Spring
• Mobile Use is Increasing: Why This Matters for Real Estate