Improve Your Listings With These Apps and Tools

Nothing is more important than your listings. They’re your single-biggest marketing tool as a real estate agent — not to mention your first impression with buyers.

And while a vivid description and stellar listing photos are a great start, they’re often not enough for today’s digitally-savvy homebuyers — particularly those buying from afar. 

If you want to impress this cohort of the real estate market — or just better market your properties in general, then your listings need to go a bit further than that.

Fortunately, adding that extra wow factor doesn’t take a lot of work. Thanks to a few handy technologies, you can easily schedule showings, stage a home, map out its floor plan, or even create entire websites dedicated to a property that will be sure to wow any potential buyer — all in a matter of minutes.

Do you want to improve your listings and help your sellers fetch top-dollar for their homes? These apps and tools can help you do it.

1. 3D Virtual Tours:

• Matterport: Creates high-quality, immersive 3D models of properties that allow viewers to virtually walk through every room and get a true sense of the layout, flow, and space. Perfect for out-of-town buyers or those with busy schedules. Paid plans start as low as $9.99/mo and there’s a free option.
• Zillow 3D Home: Easy-to-use option for creating basic 3D tours. Integrates seamlessly with Zillow listings, reaching a wider audience. Download the app and upload tours to as many listings as you want — it costs nothing.
• Animoto: Create captivating videos showcasing stunning property visuals, virtual tours, and engaging narratives. Attract and connect with potential buyers through emotional storytelling. They even have a free plan!

2. Professional Photography and Videography:

• Canva: User-friendly platform for basic photo editing and design, ideal for enhancing existing photos or creating graphics for your listings. Perfect for adding text overlays, adjusting brightness and contrast, or creating visual elements like social media posts and flyers.
• DroneBase: Network of professional drone pilots who can capture stunning aerial footage of properties, showcasing unique features and surrounding landscapes. Excellent for highlighting luxury listings or properties with scenic views.

3. Interactive Floor Plans:

• iStaging: Enables creation of detailed and realistic floor plans with furniture, decor, and even paint options. Allows buyers to envision the potential of a vacant space and understand the layout. Offers pre-designed templates and customization options.
• Floorplanner: Simple and user-friendly platform for creating 2D and 3D floor plans. Offers a free version with basic features and paid plans with additional functionalities like virtual staging and 360° views.

4. Social Media Marketing:

• Sprout Social: All-in-one platform for managing multiple social media accounts, scheduling posts, tracking engagement, and analyzing results. Provides insights to optimize your social media strategy and reach more potential buyers.
• Buffer: Easy-to-use tool for scheduling and publishing social media posts across platforms. Offers a queue scheduling feature to ensure consistent content distribution. Helps manage your social media presence efficiently.

5. Email Marketing:

• Mailchimp: Popular platform for creating and sending visually appealing email newsletters. Offers easy-to-use templates, drag-and-drop functionality, and audience segmentation tools. Effective for nurturing leads and keeping potential buyers informed about new listings and market updates.
• Constant Contact: Another well-established option for email marketing with similar features to Mailchimp. Includes email automation tools and landing page creation capabilities. Can be helpful for building targeted email campaigns and generating leads.

6. Virtual Staging:

• Vpix: AI-powered virtual staging platform that allows you to upload photos of empty rooms and instantly add furniture, decor, and personal touches. Offers a variety of pre-designed styles and customization options. Fast and affordable solution for virtually staging any property.
• Box Brownie: Budget-friendly option with quick turnaround times. Ideal for agents seeking a cost-effective way to enhance empty spaces without sacrificing quality.

7. Building Property Websites:

• Wix: Drag-and-drop simplicity with beautiful templates, mobile-friendliness, SEO tools, and affordable plans.
• Squarespace: Sleek and modern designs, strong image galleries, powerful analytics, and e-commerce options.
• Real Geeks: Industry-specific with integrated property search, automatic IDX feed, lead capture forms, and CRM integration.

8. Scheduling Showings:

• Calendly: User-friendly interface, calendar integration, customizable options, and automatic notifications.
• ShowMojo: Tailored for real estate with lead management, feedback collection, lockbox integration, real-time tracking, and mobile app.
• Boost Showings: AI-powered assistant that qualifies leads, automates appointments, and integrates seamlessly with calendars and listings.
• ShowingTime: Industry-leading platform with extensive MLS integration, comprehensive scheduling tools, and features like feedback collection, agent safety options, and lockbox management for a holistic showing experience.

9. Fielding Questions:

• Boost Chatbot: 24/7 availability, handles common inquiries, qualifies leads, integrates with various real estate chat bot platforms, and offers multilingual support.
• LiveChat: Real-time chat with agents, builds trust, provides immediate assistance, and offers analytics.
• ManyChat: Powerful chatbot builder for social media with automated sequences, targeted campaigns, virtual tours, and property brochures.
• Box Brownie: Affordable virtual staging service with fast turnaround times, ideal for budget-conscious agents.

Take your listings to the next level

In today’s competitive market using every tool available is important as a real estate professional. Beefing up your listings with videos, walkthroughs, floor plans, social media marketing, and built-in schedulers can be a great way to capture this audience and instill more confidence.

Want more help boosting your business? Try these handy marketing ideas or consider choosing a niche.