Known also as Generation Y, Generation Me, and Generation Selfie, millennials comprise the largest generation in American history. And according to recent data from Nationwide Mortgages, 66.1% of millennials are expected to purchase their first homes within the next five years.

According to a poll conducted by Pew Research Center, roughly 70 percent of Americans use social media regularly to virtually connect with one another.

In the business world, employees are typically expected to pay for client’s meals with their company’s funds. However, in the real estate industry, often the employee isn’t being reimbursed by their company and while it’s not a requirement that real estate agents pay for client’s lunches while house hunting, or even that they drive clients in their own car, it is considered common courtesy by many brokerages that agents take care of their clients. Other agents find clients should take care of their own expenses. We’ve outlined considerations agents should make in regard to whether or not they should be taking care of their client’s meals.

As an agent, your email signature is your trademark. As a small business owner, agents have more flexibility with signature choices. A lot can be told from an agent’s email signature. Leads will be analyzing your signature to get a feel of your personal branding and style. Whether you are a new or veteran agent, use our list of do’s and don’ts to see if your email address is up to par. 

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again - Real estate is a referral based business. Your success depends entirely on how you conduct yourself, your brand and your business. With so many agents trying to vie for clients, it is easy to get overlooked by prospects - unless you do something to stand out. Thanks to the internet, you have the power to market yourself online. Focus on inbound marketing by creating an online presence with social media marketing and blogging while directing leads back to your own personal agent website.

Since Snapchat was launched in 2011, more than 100 million people have become daily active users. Why should you care? Snapchat is one of the most popular apps that allow you to send pictures or videos. While the images self destruct after a few seconds, you can utilize Snapchats filters, doodle tool, or captions to make the picture your own. Real estate is a business that thrives on the visual representation of homes, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of such a popular tool?

For some agents, the hardest part about blogging or social media is figuring out how to use each individual platform. For other agents, however, the hardest part of blogging or posting on social media is coming up with content that will help to get leads to engage with them. Without content that relates to your audience, it doesn't matter how well you know how to use each platform because no one will be engaging with you anyways, right? Coming up with compelling content helps get your name and brand known in the industry and market as a real estate expert. How does your content creation stack up to the rest of the industry?

Email is one of the most prominent forms of communication used today. Email allows you to communicate with clients and coworkers at the touch of your fingertips, without having to worry about getting your schedules to align for in person or phone discussion. As a busy real estate agent, email also allows you to market yourself and your business to current clients and potential clients at a low cost. Great, right? Well it would be a great way to market yourself if you knew what mistakes to avoid.

What makes Pinterest such a valuable tool for real estate agents? It’s simple - Pinterest is all about visualization… which is what sells a home. Having a successful Pinterest account isn’t just about pinning as many images as you can. The key to success on Pinterest is making sure that you are able to be relevant and engaging with your audience. Here are some tips to get your Pinterest account started.