Each Friday, Robbie Briggs, CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, writes about luxury, trends, business and more in the advertising pages of the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal. Below is his letter of May 20, 2022.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE
Has technology changed real estate?
Absolutely. And not at all.
The way a potential buyer first sees homes has completely changed. The search begins online, where buyers pore over photographs and details before they ever reach out to one of our agents. Our agents are using more tech, too, not only to streamline what they do but also to give our clients up-to-the-minute information — an advantage that is beyond valuable now.
That’s why we continue to invest in technology that changes the game for everyone. Just three of our latest tools?
BF Boost: Our buyers live on social media. That’s why we meet them there with automatically created Instagram and Facebook ads for every new listing, which then bring interested buyers directly to those listings on briggsfreeman.com. BF Boost uses special artificial intelligence to reach high-intent buyers — which means our social media ads help generate more inquiries, showings and offers.
BF Exclusives: This tool gives our agents the opportunity to search, upload and share exclusive and off-market listings with their clients. The system is web-based and easy to use — and it’s yet another differentiator we offer. (I can tell you that it has been very advantageous in this competitive market.)
Videos made easy: Did you know that social media posts with videos drive 12 times more engagement than those without? Video marketing is the future — and we’re already there. We have partnered with the developers of a new video-making app designed especially for agents. It's called Vuse, and it has transformed their phones into sales tools they are using to shoot, edit and publish quality videos — with no video skills required. It’s easy to use, too, and it walks our would-be Scorceses through every step of making fun, quick videos about houses, neighborhoods, you name it.
All of this is pretty amazing. But even though we’re out in front with tech, no amount of hardware, software, pixels and coding will ever compare to a passionate, professional real estate agent, who can find, advise, facilitate and sell like nobody’s business.
I know about 400 of them who prove that every day.
Robbie Briggs
CEO
Footer Social Links