Top 10 Posts from July

We're continuing a new tradition here at RE Technology. As we stated in last month's inaugural post, we publish so much content during the course of a month, it's easy for great articles to get lost in the shuffle. That's why we're going to take a monthly look back and revisit the top 10 most popular articles (based on number of pageviews). Here are the top 10 for the month of July – with a short teaser from each.

1) Making the Right Impression: iPad Listing Presentations That Dazzle – by Karli Larson of ePropertySites.com

You know what they say: you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. While this saying may not hold true in all situations, it's certainly something to keep in mind when you want to prepare a good listing presentation. Here are three tips for creating impressive presentations that will make you look like a star!

2) Six Apps Every Homebuyer Needs When Buying a House – by HomeFinder.com

Regardless of how attentive your REALTOR® is, there are still many aspects of the home buying process that require you to take matters into your own hands. Aside from using online home searching tools for the initial search, there are a multitude of apps that will aid you in organizing your home search and help lessen the chaos buying a new home often brings. We've compiled the top six apps to help you navigate through the home buying process.

3) 5 More Habits of Highly Productive Real Estate Agents – by RISMedia

In our post "5 Habits of Highly Productive Real Estate Agents," we explored techniques designed to improve your efficiency and boost your productivity. That article was so wildly popular that we decided to put together five additional productivity tips. With the many distractions that plague our day, I often wonder how real estate agents are productive at all. Creating habits that produce consistent results will allow you to focus on those top priorities and money making activities.

4) Top-Ranking Smartphones from Consumer Reports – by Emily Williams

Picking up the August 2012 issue of Consumer Reports was like Christmas for me; it features rankings for some of the gadgets that matter most to real estate agents (and thus to me). The tech tools ranked included tablets, Smartphones, and cameras. We've been publishing a series of articles to summarize Consumer Reports' findings, helping agents who have not made these important purchases yet or who are looking to upgrade their device.

5) Selling on the Go: Top 5 Smartphone Features for Agents – by HomeFinder.com

If you're like 72% of REALTORS® who use smartphones, working on the go comes with the territory. Owning a reliable smartphone is a crucial component to staying connected with your clients, replying immediately to new leads, and serving as a GPS device, a personal assistant and a photographer. Below are the top five smartphone features every REALTOR® should have.

6) Top-Ranking Tablets from Consumer Reports – by Emily Williams

The August 2012 issue of Consumer Reports ranks some important real estate technology tools: Smartphones, laptops, cameras and (our subject today) tablets. We'll be dripping out some of their key findings to help those of you who haven't made these important purchases yet or are looking to upgrade. Let's talk tablets! With our upcoming webinar, "WOW Your Clients with Your iPad," we've had tablets on the brain. So we were particularly interested in seeing which brands and models Consumer Reports recommended.

7) Your Holiday Greeting Sucks – by Celeste Grupman of Happy Grasshopper

Maybe you've never sent a holiday greeting at all. While I commend you for not using the holiday as a way to blatantly ask for referrals, you're missing out on a great opportunity to connect with your friends and family and stay top of mind. Follow these steps and your holiday message will have more impact than you ever imagined.

8) 5 Top SEO Tips for Real Estate – by Emily Williams and Tribus

"Search engine optimization" (or "SEO") is a phrase that can strike fear into the heart of even the most tech-savvy real estate professional. That's why we're always on the lookout for resources that boil down this important concept to its most essential points. We discovered one such resource in the Tribus whitepaper, "Search Engine Optimization: Top Ten Tips for Real Estate Professionals." We're going to share five of their tips here; the full whitepaper can be downloaded for free at TribusGroup.com.

9) Real Estate Pros on Facebook – 5 Best Practices – by Homes.com

Social media is arguably taking control of how we communicate with friends, family, and now with advertising opportunities and business pages on Facebook, this social network is by far one of the top to be involved in. If you haven't started your Facebook fan page for your business, then you should today. Tips from our research, including this article, incorporate the most popular practices for enhancing your brand on Facebook.

10) Product Review: Cloud CMA – by RET Staff

If you're in the market for a CMA product, you've likely heard of Cloud CMA. It's gaining buzz as a fast, easy, and aesthetically pleasing tool for sharing reports with buyers and sellers. In today's product review, we'll look at the report sets available within Cloud CMA, some key features of the product, and guide you through your next steps.