Special report: 'Best of Real Estate Connect'

Tips for using mobile, social media, blogging to connect with consumers
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A collection of news and views from Inman News’ recent Real Estate Connect and Agent Reboot conferences in San Francisco is now available as a 31-page special report to Inman Members.

The collection of articles and columns by Inman News writers includes links to videos and slide presentations given during the event.

Topics include the rise of consumer-centric real estate, real estate recruiting, managing your online reputation, paperless transactions, the "magic of mobile," virtual offices, the shift to rentals, barriers to MLS innovation, and creating content for consumers.

Kevin Levent, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, talked about how the Atlanta-based brokerage is working to achieve its goal of cutting office space to 30 square feet per agent.

A collection of news and views from Inman News’ recent Real Estate Connect and Agent Reboot conferences in San Francisco is now available as a 31-page special report to Inman Members.

The collection of articles and columns by Inman News writers includes links to videos and slide presentations given during the event.

Topics include the rise of consumer-centric real estate, real estate recruiting, managing your online reputation, paperless transactions, the “magic of mobile,” virtual offices, the shift to rentals, barriers to MLS innovation, and creating content for consumers.

Kevin Levent, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, talked about how the Atlanta-based brokerage is working to achieve its goal of cutting office space to 30 square feet per agent.

Beverly Thorne, chief marketing officer for Century 21 Real Estate LLC, shared the franchisor’s experience in rolling out consumer-facing mobile apps across multiple platforms to assist in home searches, and an app for agents that allows for personal branding.

Tom Flanagan, director of information technology at Residential Properties Ltd. in Providence, R.I., discussed how to keep websites accessible to mobile devices like the iPhone by replacing Flash with HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.

Porter Gale, vice president of marketing for Virgin America, provided insight into the airline’s approach to customer service and marketing.

Consultants Marilyn Wilson of the WAV Group and Brian Boero of 1000Watt Consulting proposed overhauling the management structure of multiple listing services with an end goal of providing better service to consumers.

Roost CEO Alex Chang and Todd Carpenter, director of digital engagement for the National Association of Realtors, talked about ways to get the most out of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Copyblogger founder Brian Clark spoke at both Real Estate Connect and Agent Reboot, advising agents to look at local media producers instead of other real estate professionals as their competition in the blogosphere.

After the conferences, San Diego broker and blogger Kris Berg summed up her takeaways from the presentations and the informal “LobbyCon” discussions that take place between events.

“I sensed an undercurrent of ‘back to business’ at my own LobbyCon sessions,” Berg wrote, along with an “overarching idea of portability.”

“Consumers are getting their information and their advice to go,” Berg recapped. “They are empowered with unlimited information and choices. They are empowered in real time, which breeds impatience, and our new drive-thru mentality dictates that we deliver with increasing speed.”

The Best of Real Estate Connect SF 2011,” provides insight that real estate brokers, agents and the companies that serve them can put to use in achieving that goal.

The report also includes a roundup on the winners of the 2011 Inman News Innovator Awards, which honor real estate companies, technologies, services and individuals who pushed the real estate industry forward.

Early-bird registration closes Aug. 15 for the upcoming Agent Reboot and Real Estate Connect New York City conferences, which take place Jan. 10-13, 2012.