- If real estate is so location based, why are maps so infrequently used as marketing tools?
Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our real estate technology expert? Email Craig Rowe.
Mapme is a custom, interactive map creation tool.
Platform(s): Browser-based, agnostic
Ideal for: Agents who want to use content-rich maps and location-based marketing to differentiate listings
Top selling points
- Strong visuals
- Ease of use
- Array of use cases
Things to consider
You may not think about maps as more than an image box next to an address, but as real estate decisions grow more based on lifestyle and highly specific locales, buyers will increasingly want to explore the areas around a potential home. Maps offer a valuable untapped resource for this kind of marketing.
Full review
I’m a fool for maps. I have map prints on my office walls, collect national park maps like our grandfathers did baseball cards, and will eschew a GPS every time in favor of the paper-based insight of a talented cartographer.
Since real estate is all about location, it surprises me agents don’t use maps more often as lead-generating marketing tools.
Maybe it’s because a tool like Mapme hasn’t been around.
Mapme lets users create layered, labeled and highly interactive map presentations. It’s as much content delivery tool as it is a way to find places.
Maps are easily custom colored and branded to any user’s need. I really dig its extensive library of icons that can help apply visual comprehension to everything from a school to a skateboard shop.
To start, type in a location and map title. You then add icons, colors, and start placing pins. And that’s where it gets fun.
Every pin, such as a listing, can have its own story.
You can add text descriptions, a website and a gallery.
This allows a map to serve as powerful location-based listing search, where users can see more than a pin and address.
In fact, because property searches are so geographically specific, one can argue a map is a more effective jumping-off point than price or size-based search. Maps are also much more visual.
Visitors to your map filter views, meaning that the more descriptive you can be, the better.
This allows a map to serve as powerful location-based listing search.
Pin descriptions can be further detailed by a long list of available fields to be turned on or off, dependent on their relevancy to your map. Any listing videos can be linked via the YouTube video field that’s available.
When a visitor hovers a listing’s pin, they’ll see a great summary of details as well as the ability to scroll through the gallery of images.
Probably the most unique feature of Mapme is its “story” mode. This enables a creator to build out lengthier descriptions of the pins and map highlights. Luxury agents may find this aspect of the tool especially helpful. (As would journalists and other online story tellers.)
Each map has a Feed to which you can add links, videos, or a general update about events or items associated with your map. In essence, a blog for your map.
Customers can subscribe to your map and choose to be alerted when new pins and posts are added. Events can be promoted, too, such as open houses or buyer seminars.
Mapme allows others to add pins and content to your maps. I like this feature, but it’s probably best suited for less controlled marketing environments than real estate.
Mapme has built a WordPress plugin for those agents who handle their own content management.
The maps look great. Icons stand out, menus slide from obscurity when you need them, and each feature’s purpose is clear from its name and visual. Little training is need, if any.
Even if you didn’t want to use Mapme as a listing tool, it’s ideal as community highlight tool for parks, restaurants, and other points of interest.
I’ve used Google maps for this sort of customization before and found it more challenging to assemble and hard to maintain. I was bombarded with any array of existing Google content that I couldn’t control. Mapme lets you pull from and link to any source you choose.
The software is somewhat early in its launch, but is plenty capable and ready for use. If you come across a bug or two, let them know.
Mapme is free.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe
