By Matthew Rathbun, CRS
I think there are a few things that agents should keep an eye on as emerging technologies.
1. VR and AR
The first is virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR). These technologies have been on the radar for a while, but with the need to remain at home and limit interacting with people due to COVID-19, homebuyers are looking at homes through virtual reality more than ever. Matterport has an app on Oculus, which is now a huge seller for gaming and VR systems. Matterport has released a few homes, but as the technology increases in popularity, more people will put on their VR headsets to check out houses. Of course, consumers can also use their phones and computers for less immersive experiences.
Augmented reality will help consumers and agents interact with their environment and see the potential for a property more clearly. Everything from placing new furniture to repainting walls can be done through augmented reality.
A few apps to check out would be iScapeFree, Ikea Place, Google Cardboard and Matterport, which now has a free version that you can record using your iPhone.
2. Touchless tech
Also, as we move into touchless tech, it’ll be time to brush off those old QR codes again to give clients the ability to scan homes and download digital home books to their mobile phones instead of touching anything at the home they are seeing. QR Code Monkey is a free QR code creation site that is easy to use.
Another tool in touchless tech is the Dot digital business card. Using a credit card-sized device or “dot” affixed to your own phone, you can tap any mobile device with your Dot card and the phone will take the user right to your contact page containing all of your contact information. This is a great way to quickly give your client your contact and social links without having to touch business cards or take the time to manually enter the information.
3. Time Management
As the world is seemingly harder to control than it used to be, I am hearing from a lot of agents that time management and organizing their life is becoming a bigger priority. I love Notion for this. It’s great for managing your marketing, life, clients and business. Some good apps for managing an agent’s marketing are Planoly, Analytics Pro, MindMup for mind mapping and Hootsuite.
4. Video and Content Creation
I have two new favorite tools that are centered around video and content creation. Descript for video creation and editing, and Lumen5 for creating quick videos for social media marketing.
A new webinar from Matthew Rathbun, CRS, called iOS Apps for Mobile Marketing Warriors, is coming up Feb. 9, 2021, at 1 p.m. CST. Learn a new suite of tools to manage your creative time and execute on your brand marketing. Visit CRS.com/catalogsearch.
Photo: Matterport
