Task and project management
1. Trello
For real estate teams, there are many different aspects to keep track of and as the team leader, it’s your job to make sure everyone is on the same page. Trello can help you manage tasks more efficiently by using a system similar to a Kanban board. Kanban is essentially a simple and visual way to track work in progress and identify any areas that are causing delays.
With a board structure, you can see the structure of projects at a glance, and easily identify what the next steps are for each task. This break-up of tasks into stages is essential for productivity.
Pricing
Trello’s standard pricing is $10 per month when charged annually. There is a free package that can be used forever, which would be great for learning how to use the app.
Tip
One of the key ideas behind Kanban is that having too many things in progress at once slows down the whole system. So, whether you’re working as part of a team or on your own, it’s a good idea to limit the number of projects you’re working on at any one time.
2. ClickUp
If you are looking for a productivity app to help keep you organized, ClickUp or Trello would be a good choice. ClickUp offers more features than Trello and is a favorite for industries like real estate because it is simple to use.
You can use this tool to assign projects or tasks to people on a daily basis, just like other popular project management tools. These statuses are customizable, so you can organize them however you want. For example, you could have statuses for different stages of a project, like ‘lead generation’, ‘in contract’, ‘sold’, or ‘follow up’. There are three viewing modes – list, box, and board – which can help you filter information and find what you’re looking for more easily.
Pricing
Clickup is a free project management software. The Business plan starts at $5 per user per month, which is billed annually.
Tip
You can assign a task to anyone on your team by creating an assigned comment within any existing comment.
3. Zoom
To real estate businesses, Zoom is a collaboration tool, a teleconferencing tool, a meeting tool, a quick chat tool, or just a tool for conducting training sessions. Its versatility is probably the reason why the company saw a lot of growth in 2020. With Zoom, real estate businesses can conduct showings, client or team meetings, or just leverage Zoom chat for assigning tasks.
You can limit the ability to post in a chat to executive leadership or your PR team by typing #[channel name]. This will create a direct link to that chat group.
Pricing
The most basic level of Zoom is free to use, but if you want more features like recording and transcriptions, you need to pay for Zoom Pro. This costs $14.99 per host per month. If you need even more features for your business, you can get Zoom Business, which costs $19.99 per host per month.
Tip
You can improve your appearance on Zoom by touching up your appearance in the settings, or by getting a ring light for less than $40. Lighting is very important for making good videos.
Website Management
An agent’s website is one of the most important tools they have for finding new clients. A website management system makes it easier for an agent to maintain their own website without any specialized knowledge. This is important because potential clients are increasingly looking for agents online.
4. Propertybase
Propertybase is a real estate platform that helps you build your web presence and manage your communications. It functions as a website, CRM, and lead generation suite.
Highlights:
- Advanced features like MLS integration and lead generation.
- Designed specifically for real estate professionals.
- Intuitive and easy to use.
5. WordPress
WordPress is a popular CRM solution that can be easily customized for real estate lead generation. It is frequently used by real estate agents looking to maintain a web presence.
Highlights:
- Can be easily customized with both templates and add-ons.
- One of the fastest ways to launch a website.
- Extremely affordable and well-supported.
6. Placester
Placester provides a WYSIWYG editor that makes it possible to design a perfect real estate website without any code.
Highlights:
- No knowledge of web design is needed.
- Built-in marketing and lead generation features.
- Tiered pricing for independent agents, teams, and brokers.
Lead Generation Tools
Finding potential buyers and sellers is the key to success in the real estate market. The right marketing software can make it easier to find these prospects, making it a vital tool for anyone in the business.
7. PostcardMania
There is no doubt that direct mail marketing is still an effective way to reach potential customers. PostcardMania makes it easy to target specific prospects with physical mailers that can be integrated with Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Realtors can use this service to send out hundreds or even thousands of postcards to people in their area.
Highlights:
- Sync your postcard campaign with Google, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Send out large volumes of mailers at once.
- Access over 1,120 designs rather than designing them yourself.
8. Promo
Use Promo to develop engaging video ads for your commercial real estate marketing campaign or individual listings. Video is the overall most engaging form of media.
Highlights:
- Develop high-quality video ads in just a few minutes.
- Use 3,000 templates to create your ads from scratch.
- Free to try before committing.
9. Zillow
Zillow’s Premier Agent service is a way for you to connect with individuals who are looking to buy in your area, even though Zillow may not provide the most well-qualified leads.
Highlights:
- Access to one of the largest real estate resources in the world.
- Recognition for agents who perform their best.
- Calls from Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy, and Hotpads.
Visual Marketing
What it is: A visual designer is someone who designs your business cards, flyers, and Instagram posts. Why you need it: A visual designer can help make your marketing plan more effective by creating visually appealing materials that will grab attention and communicate your message more effectively.
10. Canva
Canva is a visual studio that provides templates and resources for creating flyers, door hangers, business cards, and more. You can use Canva to easily design an advertisement that looks sleek and professional, often for just a few cents.
Highlights:
- Puts you in control of your visual media.
- Provides all the templates and materials you need.
- Easy to use in addition to being affordable.
11. Fiverr
You can hire an outsourced professional on Fiverr to create your media for a very low price. Just make a request and pay a few dollars, and you’ll have your flyers or ads available within 72 hours.
Highlights:
- Produces work between 24 and 72 hours after purchase.
- Doesn’t require you to create your own media.
- An extremely affordable platform.
12. Upwork
If you use Upwork, you can hire an outsourced professional to do your graphic design work, while still maintaining some freedom and flexibility in the relationship.
Highlights:
- Post jobs and find freelancers willing to work with you.
- Get your media done without any work on your behalf.
- Create a relationship with a freelancer.
Social Media Management
An automated service can help with your social media marketing so that you don’t have to do it all on your own. Automated services can help you manage your social media accounts, post content, and engage with your audience.
13. Buffer
buffer is an app that lets you manage your social media posts and analytics all in one place.
Highlights:
- Schedule your social media posts.
- Integrate with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
- Analyze your engagement with potential clients.
14. HootSuite
HootSuite provides a platform that enables users to manage all aspects of their social media campaigns from a centralised location. This includes features such as the ability to schedule posts in advance, monitor activity and engagement levels, and track progress and performance metrics. Additionally, users can also use the HootSuite platform to connect with potential buyers and sellers, and to create and publish content on their real estate website.
Highlights:
- Reduce your marketing effort by combining your social media platforms.
- Explore activity and mentions for new marketing ideas.
- Grow brand awareness with scheduled and managed posts.
15. Tailwind
Tailwind is great for people in the real estate business as it helps them to schedule posts on Pinterest and Instagram, which are both very visual platforms that work well for advertising properties.
Highlights:
- Automate your Pinterest and Instagram posts.
- Analyze the performance of your real estate marketing ideas.
- Make sure you’re connecting with your target audience.
Digital Photo Staging
Why you need digital photo staging: If you’re a realtor, then you know that selling a home isn’t just about finding the right buyer. It’s also about making the home look its best so that potential buyers can see its full potential. One way to do this is by staging the photos of the home in an attractive way. This used to mean moving furniture and design elements around yourself, but now there are digital photo staging utilities that make the process much easier.
16. BoxBrownie
BoxBrownie is a platform that you can upload photos onto. A team of digital professionals will edit the photos into what you need. You can use BoxBrownie to stage your most important properties, or even all of them.
Highlights:
- Erase clutter and restage already taken photographs.
- Enhance images that may be too dark or too grainy.
- Create compelling images for residential and commercial real estate.
17. Virtual Staging Solutions
With Virtual Staging Solutions, you can make a property look empty and new, without having to do any of the work in person, to encourage a real estate buyer.
Highlights:
- Perform basic remodeling like removing or adding walls.
- Use digital furniture to digitally stage a property.
- Turnaround time of under two days.
18. Visual Stager
Would you like to decorate the property yourself? Then try using Visual Stager. This app makes it possible for you to see what the property would look like virtually, without having to actually do anything. While Visual Stager may not be entirely realistic, it gives potential buyers or real estate investors a good idea of what the property could look like.
Highlights:
- Complete digital staging on your own.
- Pay only a low fee for all your digital staging needs.
- Make your listings look crisper and cleaner.
19. Roomvu
Roomvu creates videos for real estate marketing that can be customized with your branding and unique templates. They offer video emails, a content calendar, real estate social media automation, landing pages and more. Each video created in the platform is automatically customized with the agent’s headshot and contact details.
Pricing
The former comes with more automation features plus reporting, while the latter is designed for agencies and offers features like team collaboration. There’s a free plan that provides social media automation for Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The pro plan costs $25 a month, billed yearly. It provides access to ready-made videos and news content, as well as other lead generation features. It allows you to automate social media content on five platforms—Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Premium and Platinum plans cost $60 and $110 respectively. The former comes with more automation features plus reporting, while the latter is designed for agencies and provides features like team collaboration.
Tip
The videos that Roomvu offers are typically for generating leads through social media. To make the videos more appealing to your target demographic, try editing them to include hyperlocal data. Roomvu has a video editor that can be used for this purpose.
Chatbots
A chatbot is a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users. Many real estate websites use chatbots to generate leads and provide customer service. Chatbots are most effective when they are part of a broader content marketing campaign.
20. Structurely
An AI assistant named Structurely can answer basic questions about your services, schedule meetings and showings with prospective clients, and even handle some basic tasks related to mortgage services, real estate, and leasing.
Highlights:
- Reduce the time you spend managing online communications.
- Used by over 5,000 representatives in North America.
- Connects to your CRM or lead management tools.
21. Chatfuel
Chatfuel is a world-leading chat system designed primarily for Facebook. It makes it possible to automate your marketing through the FB platform and always respond to messages on time.
Highlights:
- Ensure that you don’t miss leads when you’re away.
- Improve your Facebook response ratings.
- Get better engagement.
22. Realty Chatbot
This chatbot is designed to help busy real estate agents by providing answers to basic questions that they may not be able to answer if they are not online.
Highlights:
- Automates your lead generation.
- Can be integrated with a social media platform like Facebook messenger.
- Powered by artificial intelligence to provide a more life-like experience.
Which real estate marketing tool will you try next?
The real estate industry is ever-changing and extremely competitive. In order to be successful, you need to be up-to-date with the latest trends and terminology. With so much information available, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and make decisions that are not in the best interest of your business.
If you are a real estate agent, you should use this guide to select the right tools to improve your business. If you have a suggestion for a tool that should be included in this list, please leave a comment below.
