Flash Briefing Skills by Amazon Alexa are being utilized by real estate agents across the country
By Scott Mason
Finding the next big way to reach potential buyers should always be on the mind of a motivated and successful real estate agent. With our society moving more and more into the digital world, new avenues for marketing are opening up every day. And with consumers’ interest in smart speakers comes a golden opportunity.
Through the Amazon Alexa app, available via the Amazon Echo smart speaker, people can produce their own audible news tickers with an Alexa Skill called Flash Briefings. The concept is almost like Twitter for the ears, creating short bursts of information, either daily or weekly, to attract attention to your brand or business.
What You’ll Need to Make a Flash Briefing of Your Own
You’ll need to have proper sound recording equipment in place to ensure your Flash Briefing sounds professional. Consider the equipment and items on this list before you make your first recording:
- Microphone
- Headphones
- Sound recording software
- RSS hosting software (many of which are free to use)
- Quiet place to record
One out of 6 Americans own a smart speaker—about 39 million people. Almost 75 percent of those people are using an Amazon Echo, so the potential audience is vast.
But how can agents effectively harness this new marketing tool to fit their needs in both their local real estate market and their community?
Best Uses
Of course, there is a learning curve with any new wave of technology. Figuring out the best way to implement this Alexa Skill and customize it to fit your target audience is important. That’s where Matthew Rathbun, CRS, executive vice president at Coldwell Banker Elite in Fredericksburg, Virginia, comes in. Rathbun is a CRS Certified Instructor who has been teaching about trends in real estate for 16 years.
Rathbun explains that Flash Briefings are a great way to set up a cheap, basic line of communication between you and your potential client base. “All you have to do is log in to Amazon and set up an account,” Rathbun explains. “Also, you will need to have an external hosting account for the feed, like you would for a podcast. Buzzsprout.com is a good example of a free system you can use—you’ll need to submit an example of your Flash Briefing to them for approval, but that’s all there is to it. The process is incredibly simple and inexpensive.”
Content is Key
Once you’re ready to produce your Flash Briefing, the focus shifts to the content. Rathbun suggests concentrating more on what’s going on in your community, rather than your current listings. “My recommendation is to talk about things that are hyperlocal, which may be contrary to what some [agents] are actually using Flash Briefings for,” he explains. “For actual listings, I think the process for buyers is still extremely visual, and a Flash Briefing doesn’t really get the message across as well as a video or photos.”
“When people get their news briefings, they want to hear about things that are current and what could potentially impact them. Lifestyle material and events happening in the community are ways to drive interest to your Flash Briefing, and in turn, to your business,” Rathbun says.
Rathbun also notes that your broadcast should be short and sweet. “Only broadcast something that takes under 30 seconds to listen to. Remember, you’re one of several stacked briefings that day—you’re not the only one talking to that individual. Your message will be lost unless it’s relevant,” he says.
Future Outlook
How do Flash Briefings fit in with the marketing strategies of real estate agents in the future? Rathbun says that while the trend is hot now, there’s no guarantee that any one form of marketing will stick in the long run.
“Almost all marketing technology has a shelf life. I think most agents understand that there’s only a certain amount of time that any trend or style is unique, and it’s important to constantly evolve with advancements in technology,” Rathbun says.
Another Alexa Avenue
Not every real estate agent uses the same marketing tools. However, when versatile technologies such as smart speakers are available, innovative REALTORS® will use them to their advantage.
Lillian Montalto, CRS, owner/broker at Lillian Montalto Signature Properties International in Andover, Massachusetts, has reprogrammed the Amazon Echo to create an in-home showing assistant that her clients want and need.
With the help of her IT and marketing director, Luciano Schipelliti, they have transformed the experience of viewing a property for a potential buyer and added an innovative layer of customer service for their sellers.
“We dabbled with the idea of a Flash Briefing almost a year ago, but we were so far ahead of the industry that there was not enough demand to make it worth our while,” Schipelliti says. “Once [Flash Briefings] become more popular, we will resume where we left off, but we decided to focus on the other features until that day comes.”
Montalto explains how they’ve transformed their home touring experience by using Alexa as a home information database. “We programmed an Echo to place in homes that we’re listing, to answer any question a buyer may have while taking a tour,” she says. “We identified the most popular questions that potential buyers ask and made sure to have the answers programmed and ready.”
The list of programmed answers is vast for Montalto. Some of the information you can get from Alexa while touring one of her listings is basic, like the price and square footage. However, you can also learn less obvious information, including:
- Assessed value of the home
- Taxes you would pay upon ownership
- Water and sewer information
- Flood zone and town betterment information
- Home features the sellers love
- Any improvements that were made
Montalto and Schipelliti have even programmed the Public Remarks, which is the description of the property. “We created a flyer that we place around the home that informs potential buyers that they can simply utter the magic phrase to ask a question and the Amazon Echo will provide answers,” Montalto says.
Such innovation is what sets agents like Montalto apart from the rest of the pack—and little tweaks to your standard marketing routine could truly boost your business for the better.
For more insights on leveraging technology, join us for our “Time Saving Tech—Automate More, Live More” webinar with Matthew Rathbun, CRS, at 1 p.m. Central on June 5.
