A few months ago I was fortunate enough to stumble onto a company called RealBird. As a real estate agent trying to embrace the vast new world of online marketing I was admittedly lost, not knowing where to begin. What RealBird did for me was provide a one-stop place for me to get my listings seen all over the web. I used the tools they provided, added a few ideas of my own, and took off running. The results were fairly immediate with new leads coming in from places I had never even imagined posting listing information. Since that time I have used those same tools to easily obtain new listings I was competing for as well as build an almost overnight huge web presence. I won't go into all the details and features of their system here (but please go check out their website and AR blog!!!) because what I really want to share with you is a real life example of the power their product provides....

This past week I went out on a listing appointment. I didn't know going in if I would be competing for the listing or if it was a slam dunk, so I came prepared. After about 30 minutes of touring the home and conversation I knew the listing was mine. I had barely explained the online marketing I was doing and how their home would have its own personalized website and next thing I knew we were signing listing paperwork.

What happened next is where the magic kicked in....

We weren't going to be officially listing it in the MLS for a few days so I asked their permission to go ahead with some online marketing to create some excitement about the home in hopes of producing a quick sale. I submitted the listing info and created a listing page on RealBird for the home. I followed my usual routine of posting the listing to craigslist, Facebook, my blog, etc. as well as all the sites RealBird automatically syndicates to.

The results were astounding! I had over 200 hits to the listing website within the first few days. Phone calls and emails began rolling in within hours. What topped it all off though, was when I got a phone call from a fellow local agent. This agent explained to me that her clients had found my listing online and were very excited but the agent couldn't seem to find it in the MLS. The implications of this hit me hard....in terms of reaching consumers online, the MLS is no longer the only game in town! Obviously the value of the MLS is still great, due to the data shared amongst brokers. However, the old model for real estate agents of simply having a website with an MLS search function may not be enough in the near future.

The need to spread your online presence to multiple outlets and link it all together is growing rapidly, and RealBird provides that service in a very user-friendly interface. Do yourself a favor and check them out if you haven't already. You can sign up for free on a trial basis and market up to 3 of your listings. Experience the results for yourself!