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Leverage, through apps and technology tools, has never been more readily available for real estate agents. If there is an area of your business that is difficult or you struggle with, odds are there’s an app for that. In this article, I’m going to share fifteen apps every agent should be utilizing right now.
1. Manychat
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, posted a few months ago that the engagement of your Posts or Reels is more important than your follower count. But how do you create engagement that cues the algorithm to push your content out to more and new people? This is where Manychat can help.
Manychat is a chatbot app that allows you to automate responses, increasing the comments, DMs, and ultimately the engagement of your posts in a way that expands the reach of your Instagram or Facebook profile. Have you ever seen a post where the person says, comment (or whatever word they choose) in the comments below, and we will send you (whatever they will send)? That’s Manychat. Here is how it works.
Manychat allows you to set up a simple process where if someone comments your preset “trigger word” for a specific post then it will start a chain of actions that prime your engagement for that post. This is the example of this green screen video I did two weeks ago that led to over 50,000 views, over 650 comments, and over 550 likes for an Instagram Reel when I only have a little over 8,300 followers on Instagram.
I started the process by talking about the potential for a post-presidential surge that real estate agents could see in the coming year. I also said in the video and in the description of the Reel that anyone who typed “David Childers” in the comments would get a copy of the slides Keeping Current Matters provided, the video interview with David Childers, and a copy of the article I wrote for Inman.
I then utilized Manychat to automate a reply to anyone who commented “David Childers” with “I just sent it to your DM!” This means I now have two comments, which are great for engagement. I then had Manychat automate a DM to the commenter the details on how they can receive the information. If you add a request for the person to let you know that they received it, then you now will have a two-way DM communication that feeds the algorithm engagement details as well.
Utilize Manychat for information prospective buyers or sellers want. Make sure you follow your local MLS rules, but here are a few examples you might utilize:
For a list of “off-market” listings that can’t be found on the MLS, comment “Secret Listings” in the comments below, and I’ll send them your way
I’ve got a listing I am working on in a very desirable neighborhood in [Your City] with four bedrooms and a fenced backyard. If you’d like to know about it as soon as I get the listing agreement signed, comment “New Listing” in the comments, and I will send the details to you as soon as the listing agreement is signed.
If you’d like to receive my weekly deal of the week email with the hottest properties available in [Your City], comment “Deal of the Week” in the comments, and I’ll DM you the details.
You can check out the Instagram Reel I mentioned above if you would like to see how I did it exactly.
2. Homebot
Homebot provides a monthly email to homeowners with a detailed breakdown of the value of their home, along with amazing details and insights that are delivered with your personal branding. Homebot provides one of the most detailed breakdowns I’ve seen for an electronic valuation. It also provides insights on the equity the homeowner has, refinance options, cash-out equity line options, and even a rental analysis for the homeowner to review if they are considering renting their home out and buying another home.
This is a great tool to utilize for your past buyers, prospective future listings, and anyone in your sphere of influence who owns a home. If you’re looking for a way to provide consistent value to homeowners, Hombot is an app you will definitely want to check out.
3. Rocket Money
We all have subscriptions or monthly things we pay toward that we’ve forgotten about or that we know we should cancel. The problem is identifying what they are and actually taking the time to cancel them. This is where the Rocket Money app comes in handy.
They identify and show you all your recurring subscriptions in one place, and their concierge will cancel any unwanted subscriptions for you so you don’t have to. This is a great way for every agent to gain control over unwanted or unneeded expenses.
4. BombBomb
BombBomb is an app that helps personalize your email communication by embedding video messages in emails. I’ve utilized this to give weekly video listing updates to sellers and video updates on the closing process for buyers and sellers, and I’ve utilized the screen record portion to provide unsolicited CMAS.
If you’d like more details on how I utilize it for unsolicited video CMAs, check out this article: Here’s how I generated $11M in listings in 3 months
5. TruthFinder
Safety first is a rule all agents should live by. TruthFinder provides a criminal background check on prospective clients ensuring an agent has a good understanding of who they may be meeting with prior to their first showing appointment.
It provides phone numbers and possible email addresses that can be helpful when circle prospecting. The social media profiles and educational history give you an opportunity to find common connection points with the prospect as well.
6. SendOutCards
SendOutCards is a great way to automate your gratitude and take your client appreciation efforts to another level. They have a handwriting sample form that once you send it in with your signature, they create a personalized font and signature for any cards you send.
The card customization is easy, and the ability to schedule future communications along with a selected gift item from their catalog makes past client follow-up easy to schedule and automate.
7. BoxBrownie
BoxBrownie offers professional photo editing, virtual staging, floor plan redraws, and renderings at unbeatable prices. Looking for an image enhancement, to change a photo from daylighting to dusk lighting, item removal from a cluttered room photo, or a 360-degree tour of a room? BoxBrownie is the tool for this and so much more.
8. Open Home Pro
Open Home Pro is the best open house software we’ve utilized. It provides the ability to have open house visitors sign in electronically with questions like: Are you working with an agent or do you have a house to sell?
At the end of the open house, you can set up automated emails thanking the visitors for stopping by the open house. It will also segment your hot prospects by giving you a list of visitors who are not working with agents and also the visitors who have a house to sell.
9. CapCut
CapCut is a free video editor app with stock video assets and practical AI tools that give you the ability to edit videos like never before. Features like background remover, AI color correction, and speech-to-text formatting make CapCut a go-to video editor app for agents.
10. RoboKiller
As agents, we hate to not answer a call or text that comes through because it might be a hot prospect trying to reach an agent immediately. The problem is how many spam calls and texts we all receive. RoboKiller is the solution.
Their website boasts that they block 99 percent of all spam calls and texts. This frees you up to answer calls without the concern of it being another call or text that wastes your time.
11. Repurpose.io
Repurpose.io allows you to automate content distribution across all platforms with a single click, eliminating the need to manually share on each platform separately. It provides you with the ability to easily set up a template-based scheduler that allows you to publish on multiple platforms when and how you prefer.
12. Captions
Captions is another online video editor that has specific additional features that help agents create engaging video content at a never-before-seen level. The background noise remover cleans up audio for a professional sound with one click. The AI Eye Contact feature can shift eyes looking aware from the camera to direct eye contact, increasing connection with any video viewers.
The Video Translator feature gives agents the ability to convert their videos into another language in just a few seconds. The automatic captions, easy-to-use video editor, and video trimmer feature are just a few of the features that set Captions apart from other video editor options.
13. MileIQ
Tracking your business mileage can lead to large tax savings, but keeping up with the mileage and filing the proper reports has always been a hassle. MileIQ solves this problem by tracking your drives and giving you the ability to easily classify the drive as personal by swiping left or business mileage by swiping right. The app then provides tax-compliant mileage reports with a simple tap.
14. Grammarly
Grammarly was originally a great tool to make sure any communication you were sending out or publishing had proper grammar. It still does that, but now it offers so much more. The AI writing partner feature now has the ability to help you with that email for which you can’t find the right words. Grammarly was a great product before, but its value has been dramatically increased with the AI integrations.
15. ChatGPT
I mean, come on, how could ChatGPT not be on this list? It is transforming the efficiency and effectiveness of agents in a way that is hard to remember. Lean into ChatGPT and you will see improvements in your business.
As technology continues to advance and new apps are being released each day it is hard to notice every app that can help agents. If you have apps that you utilize that I missed, share them in the comments below so that we can all benefit.
