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How Facebook changed real estate marketing for better or worse
By Tiana Baur
Facebook is definitely not everyone’s favorite topic right now, especially when it comes to politics. That may not be our scene, but the Book has affected the real estate industry fairly heavily as well. It has changed the way we look at digital marketing and the way brokerages and agents alike view social media as a business tool.
In our industry, there are now specific tasks that are expected. Creating a business page and implementing property ads to your marketing campaigns are now the status quo. If you’re not doing them, you’re falling behind, and if you don’t at least update your page 2-4 times a week, you’re not doing nearly enough.
It has also become one of the hot topics to write about – every update, newsfeed changes, ad creation, features, etc. There are millions of blogs and articles giving tips of how to use the channel to its fullest (we have quite a few in our repertoire as well). It’s all due to the fact that Facebook has become the ultimate channel across all forms of social media – it’s where the world hangs out… or at least 2 billion people do. Therefore, it’s where all your prospects and clients are hanging out. So, whether we like it or not, the Book is still king, and therefore is a channel no one can ignore. Not the agents, or the brokerages, or even companies like Moxi. We’re all slaves to the Facebook Machine.
It’s also why we completely transformed our Moxi Marketing suite. Although agents know they need to be active on it, they don’t necessarily know where to start, or how to effectively advertise their listings or themselves. With over two billion active people on Facebook, we felt it was important, no, vital for agents to showcase themselves and their business on the channel in every way possible. Plus, we also wanted to take some of the pain out of Facebook, so agents can spend more time focusing on their precious spheres.
Our Facebook Ad tools, Advertise Your Listings and Advertise Your Services, are some of our absolute favorites. We’re especially excited about Advertise Your Services, the latest installment of the Moxi Marketing suite, since it has all the juicy goodness that is Advertise Your Listings, only this time it’s for agents’ personal brand and business. Like previously done in Advertise Your Listing, you can link to your personal Facebook Business Page, and if you don’t have one you can still use it. Even if you have no personal profile, even if you never ever want to have to type facebook.com into your navigation bar, you can use Advertise Your Services (and Advertise Your Listing). Talk about leveraging the Book with very little effort!
We try to not only focus on trends, but what we’re hearing from our clients. That’s why Moxi Marketing was created and why we’re rooting it on and celebrating its successes. If we can put just a few more hours back into an agent’s week – we’re happy. At Moxi, we’re only as good as our tools and we stand by calling them the best-in-class. Try these time-saving tools out today – won’t regret it.
Bitcoin or Bust: Buying homes & paying rent with digital currency
By Tiana Baur
“Bitcoin accepted.” A not-so-strange note to see anymore. Digital currency, or cryptocurrency, is hot and some of those in real estate are now using it to appeal to young renters. That means saying goodbye to mailing checks and hello to using an API that converts a digital currency payment into U.S. dollars. Yes, there are existing apps out there doing this. For instance, the app Coinbase, uses “the platform to manage relationships with their tenants,” by converting the cryptocurrencies and handling the middle man work.
Not only that, but sellers are intrigued by cryptocurrencies as well, giving an option to pay a piece of the pie with Bitcoin or other digital currencies. Some will even go so far as to only accept Bitcoin. That’s right – cash offers might even take a backseat in some unique situations. Fortune.com recently came out with a list of what the tangible value is for Bitcoin versus value amount in dollars. For instance, in Seattle (where MoxiWorks is based), 51.6 Bitcoin is the equivalent of $725,000. This varies by city and my state. We should add that, yes, there have already been closings involving digital currencies across the States.
And yet…
Digital currencies like Bitcoin are getting major backlash because they’re A.) hard to regulate and B.) get hacked more often than not. Recently, tech giants Facebook and Google banned any ads related to cryptocurrencies. And although Twitter, Snap, and Microsoft still allow them, they might be jumping on the bandwagon soon as well. These announcements were extremely damaging to cryptocurrencies, causing prices to plummet, but some experts are saying that it might help them in the long run since these policies are a step towards legitimacy. The jury is still out on it.
The problem is, unless you’re an investor or are independently wealthy and open to taking on great financial risk, or are extremely mesmerized by the crypto movement, few sellers are going to accept it in replacement of cash and putting money in the bank. As with anything, there are early adopters, but there’s no way to tell if Bitcoin will succeed or bust and since home buying and selling are some of the largest transactions in someone’s lifetime, the risk is often not worth the reward.
For real estate, you might be able to use it in a few circumstances, but there’s a long road ahead before the industry accepts cryptocurrencies as the “norm,” with open arms and little suspicion. With skeptical daily chatter and constant negativity in the headlines, one thing’s for certain: cryptocurrencies need more time to mature to be taken seriously in our market and beyond.
Goal-Setting 101: Set Yourself Up for Success This Year
By Maddie Jostol
2018 is your year to not only reach, but to exceed your business goals. If you either a) didn’t set goals for 2018, or b) have already lost track of them, making you think that maybe you didn’t go about goal-setting in the best way, then this guide is for you. Goal-setting gives you direction. It ensures all of the work you’re doing serves a purpose. There is no one thing that you are doing to make your business reach its goals. There is no silver bullet for real estate agents. In reality, it’s an accumulation of things, which is why having goals in place is so important. It means all of those little things can map to something bigger and add up to success.
Make that money.
At the end of the day, you’re working to make money. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for how much a real estate agent (or anyone, for that matter) should make. Think about how much you need to make in order for this year’s work to be worth it. What is your time worth? How much time and effort are you planning to give? What pieces of your life do you need to fund and how much will you need to make in order to do that?
Once you take those questions into consideration, begin to form your financial goal for the year. Next, calculate your GCI (Gross Commissionable Income) goal. This is important as it’s directly relatable to the day-to-day progress you’re making. Each time you complete a transaction, you can see exactly where you are on your path towards your annual goal. If you’re a Moxi Engage user, be sure to input your GCI goal in your Moxi account. This way, you can easily see your goal reflected on your Moxi dashboard, as well as the progress you’re making towards it.
Get real.
It’s really important to make your goals realistic and achievable. Of course, we encourage you to stretch yourself and reach for the stars, but make sure your goals are within reach. The last thing you want is to get discouraged and leave your goals behind altogether.
Follow through.
We’re all too familiar with the new year’s resolutions that fizzle out after a month or two. We’re hitting that point in the year when the gym is quieting down drastically after being packed for the last few months. Why? Because without a plan, it’s inherently difficult to follow through on your goals.
When goal-setting, consider the steps you’ll need to take to reach said goals. Write them down – even if it’s a rough list. This will not only help you gauge whether or not the goals you’re setting are realistic, but it will give you direction and get you on the right track as you set out to reach those goals.
Get your ducks in a row.
When your business runs smoothly, you’re better prepared to reach your goals. Part of goal setting should be getting the right systems in place for you to surpass those goals. As an agent, you are running your own business, which means accounting and tax filing take up time you could be using to close more deals. As independent contractors, most agents struggle with proper accounting since keeping your business finances sorted is such a pain. When it comes time to file taxes, you’re left sifting through a box of crumpled receipts and losing out on deductions because you didn’t have time to record and categorize everything.
QuickBooks Self-Employed helps independent contractors keep track of their finances all year, saving time and stress. When it comes time to file taxes, all of your expenses are auto-categorized to match your Schedule C and the average user saves $4,340 on taxes. With a snapshot of your business income vs. expenses, available on your app in real time, you always have a view of how your business is performing to ensure your goals are on track. Get a reliable system in place now! We’re offering 50% off your first year – check it out here.
Inman News: Real estate hires and promotions
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE Real estate technology startup MoxiWorks has welcomed Jim Tarte as chief financial officer and Marc Chouaniere as the new vice president of marketing.
The company is an open platform system for larger residential real estate brokerages that has grown exponentially, quadrupling their revenue and doubling their headcount in the past five years.
MoxiWorks hires industry veterans for tech startup
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE Real estate tech startup Moxiworks has swiftly become a full open platform in a short amount of time. As they continue to grow, the company has hired Marc Chouaniere as VP of Marketing and Jim Tarte as CFO.
This tool is revolutionizing the way managers recruit
By Tiana Baur
We recently announced the launch of Moxi Talent, our new tool for managers and recruiters, to help them do their jobs more efficiently, providing them with much more information right at their fingertips. It’s designed to execute based on goal-setting, automation, and a consistent methodology to attract and hire agents.
Built on Moxi Engage
Moxi Talent guides recruiters and managers through the recruiting process not unlike a CRM. In fact, Moxi Talent was built on the core of Moxi Engage, our CRM and productivity tool. Moxi Talent requires managers and recruiters to set their goals before taking any other action. The goals are used by the system to keep managers focused on a disciplined methodology, despite the noise of daily office life, especially for those with an open-door policy.
Engage, it’s foundation, increases agent production by an average of 38%, so the outlook for Moxi Talent is extremely promising. The task manager helps managers and recruiters take the correct action at the correct time. The tasks include anything from posting to the target agent’s LinkedIn profile or taking the time to attend a few more broker’s opens each month. For users that also have Moxi Present, it might suggest sending the agent an interactive CMA to show them the power of the tools your agents have access to, to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.
Identify who to recruit
Not only does Talent walk you through successfully getting an all-star agent into your office, but it also tells you who these agents are, and which ones will help you reach your goals. It also prioritizes your tasks, so you’re focusing on the ones that could really count vs. ones you’d like to have in the fold.
And in the very near future, you can get even better insights. Let’s say you have a goal of $1M more in sales volume this year for your office. You’ll be able to see sales volume for the agents you’re going after, making it obvious who will get the job done.
Retain your existing agents
Recruiting is important, but it’s only a piece of the puzzle. Retention is just as important (as you know) for your brokerage as recruiting is. Moxi Talent will help you connect with all of your existing agents, making sure they’re happy and not looking elsewhere.
Although Moxi Talent is currently in Beta, you can get your brokerage signed up to be part of the early bird program here.
3 Marketing Trends to Watch Right Now
By Maddie Jostol
The real estate world is moving quickly, and it can be difficult to know the best ways for you to keep up. As a real estate agent, marketing can be a burden – but it doesn’t have to be if you choose your marketing initiatives wisely. Here, we have three marketing trends that every agent should be watching and participating in. Ready to take your marketing to the next level? Here’s what you need to do.
1. Video
Video is taking over the world of marketing. It’s the new preferred content type due to its sharability. How does video fit into an agent’s marketing strategy? Everywhere, really. Try home tour videos, open house videos, client testimonial videos, and neighborhood tour videos. Showcase your expertise in an engaging and eye-catching way. Our friends at iTour Media are doing some really cool things when it comes to video and online ads. iTour give agents the ability to create listing videos at the drop of a hat. With the listing information from the MLS, iTour Media quickly creates an engaging video for you to share and promote. iTour is an integrated partner of MoxiWorks – talk to your brokerage if you’re interested in using iTour Media.
Live video is gaining popularity by the day. Videos posted using Facebook Live are shown on news feeds at significantly higher rates than normal posted videos. If you have an active Facebook page for your business, try out Facebook Live!
2. Social media marketing
We know, everyone has been talking about the importance of social media for years and you might be a little tired of hearing about it. We aren’t going to tell you how you need to be posting on Facebook more than twice a week, however. Sure, your presence on social media is certainly important, but this time, we’re here to tell you to leverage Facebook to set your marketing on autopilot with online ads. Get an ad (for your business or a listing) set up, set your budget, and let it run. The beauty of it all is that you can get concise reports to impress your client by showing them the effort you’re putting in.
Online ads can feel daunting because of how time consuming it is to get them set up. The truth is, you don’t need to be a digital marketing expert to participate in this trend – you just need to use the right tools. If you haven’t used Moxi Marketing, now is the time. You can have Facebook ads up and running in just five minutes by following three easy steps directly from within your MoxiWorks account. Advertise a listing (all MLS data and images are auto-filled!) or advertise your services to gain exposure and generate leads. Click here to try it out!
3. Hyper-local marketing
Bring your marketing tactics home by targeting the exact neighborhoods you operate in. Rather than marketing at the state, metropolitan area, or even city level, hyper-local marketing focuses on targeting specific neighborhoods. Position yourself as THE real estate expert in your area, attracting the highest quality leads. Your specialized knowledge of the local neighborhoods will set you apart and help you grow your business.
MoxiWorks Adds Two Executives to Team
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE MoxiWorks has added two executives to its team: Marc Chouaniere, named vice president of Marketing, and Jim Tarte, named CFO.
Chouaniere has 20 years of experience in management, including with Microsoft, Intellectual Ventures, Vertafore and Icertis, while Tarte, a CPA, has more than 25 years of experience in public and private accounting, including with Scout Media, Prepared Response, X10 Wireless, CFO Selections and Moss Adams.
