Prior to my adventures as a Florida real estate Broker, I spent my time developing software for a company I started 20 years earlier, and eventually sold. Real estate has been a good fit for me because the steady stream of emerging technologies continues to provide exciting opportunities in real estate marketing.
Eighteen months ago, I accepted The Sun‘s invitation to increase my column submissions from bi-monthly to weekly. Writing for The Sun continues to be a wonderful experience for me because I enjoy writing and sharing what I know with you.
A side-effect of having more frequent publication dates is that I currently receive four to six questions via phone or email from our readers. I do my best to help whenever I can, although there are weeks where this requires more time than writing the column.
As we know, there are never quite enough hours to accomplish everything we want in a day.
Beginning this week, you will notice some format changes in The Sun. It is exciting to be associated with The Sun, as they too are focused on emerging technologies like the recent addition of real-time news to the electronic editions.
With The Sun‘s blessing, I will be altering the publication schedule of my columns to coincide with the new format enhancements. Rather than submitting a column every week, I sill submit them “as time permits.”
This will allow me to devote more time to better master new technologies that are powerful marketing tools, but complex. Real estate videos are a good example. There is widespread consensus they are highly effective. Yet, how often do you see a professional-grade video linked to a listing?
Taking it to another level, how many times does the video include drone footage flying over the surrounding neighborhood? How frequently do you see drone photos attached to listings where the photo shows dozens or hundreds of homes, yet there are no post-production markings on the photo indicating which property is the listing?
When you do see a video attached to a listing, is it a real video? Or is it just a camera slowing zooming in and out of a still video?
If it is a real video, is it hosted on a professional platform devoid of commercials? YouTube is branded, which would likely violate MLS rules.
Is the video hosted on a platform that will automatically recognize the device you are viewing it on so that the platform can optimize the delivery of the video to your device?
For example, if the video is shot in 4K (Ultra-HD) resolution, and hosted on a platform capable of the resolution-recognition above, the video will play equally well on your iPhone, PC monitor, or 85-inch 4K TV.
These questions highlight that emerging technologies have a lot to offer but implementing them properly can be complex and time-consuming.
With the extra time I will have by adjusting my publication schedule, I also hope to brainstorm some ideas with my editor, Chris. For example, the front page of the real estate section routinely features three listings. Each includes a photo and listing details.
What if, in the lower corner of each photo, there was a small QR code? Scanning the QR code with your smart phone or device would bring that photo to life by launching a video or photo gallery of the home on your device.
Please excuse me for the tangent. I’m a real estate broker by day, but still an excitable technology nerd at heart. And if you don’t see my column here next week, please know I’m not going anywhere.
Brett Slattery is a Realtor and broker/owner of Brett Slattery Realty llc. Brett and his wife, Deb, specialize in residential home sales and listings. Brett is also an experienced expert witness, and FAA-certified drone pilot. Reach him via 941-468-1430, Brett@BrettSlattery.com, or www.BrettSlattery.com.