Inman

‘Nudge’ real estate marketing tool now incorporates photos

Nudge, the Web-based app from real estate marketing firm 1000watt Consulting that allows real estate pros to create clear, straightforward ads in a short amount of time, now incorporates photos.

The app was designed to be a streamlined, simple real estate marketing alternative to the sometimes difficult-to-relate-to marketing reports full of text, charts and graphs, said 1000watt partner Marc Davison, who helped design the app.

With the release of Nudge 2.0, users can now update photos directly from Instagram, or from their desktop, and create straightforward ads akin to those from big-brand ads like Groupon, Davison said.

The first iteration of the app, released in April, had 10 clip art-like interactive images that users could modify to indicate broad market conditions such as whether inventory was up or down.

Users would adjust the art in its predetermined settings, give it a title, include some text (450-character max) and then send it out over email, embed it on their website or share it via social media.

Now, while retaining many of the app’s former characteristics, Nudge allows real estate pros to add their own images and includes a streamlined design, Davison said. In a nutshell, he said, it’s now become a marketing tool that allows users to create a marketing piece with "a nice image, simple text and a call to action."

"Marketing should have a soft touch," Davison said. "A Groupon comes every day for one cool thing," and Nudge makes it easy for real estate pros do to the same thing, he said.


Screen shot of part of a Nudge piece made by Fort Worth, Texas-based Fischer Real Estate Services. See the full version here.

"(N)udge makes digital marketing easier," wrote Jack Miller, the chief technology officer of the Austin, Texas, real estate firm The GoodLife Team, in a Facebook comment posted today. "We did some tests with it in the earlier version, and I’m very excited about the creative possibilities with it now with the photo tools. Cool stuff."

Nikki Beauchamp, an agent with Warburg Realty Partnership Ltd., indicated that she was excited by Nudge’s ability to allow her to market differently than she usually does. "I like sharing my photos various places," she said in a Facebook comment today. "But very exciting to be able to use as a more general marketing touch other than ‘here’s new data.’"

1000watt charges individual agents $149 per year for access to platform. Brokerages, regardless of the number of agents they have, can purchase the service for a flat fee of $1,000 per month.