On today’s show, we talk to Brandi Snowden, Director of Member & Consumer Survey Research at the National Association of REALTORS®, regarding NAR’s recent survey about what agents want from their technology. Not surprisingly, the pandemic had a big impact on the tools that agents use and value most. eSignature, lockboxes, videoconferencing and social media topped the list of agent must-haves. We discuss whether the need for these tools is here to stay, as well as what’s on the horizon
Links Mentioned:
National Association of REALTORS®: Real Estate In A Digital Age – September 2021
National Association of REALTORS®: 2021 Technology Survey
You can listen to this episode here, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
Gayle Weiswasser:
Welcome to the Homesnap Snapshot, a podcast about digital marketing for real estate agents. I’m Gayle, the host of the show. In each episode we talk to agents just like you who are successfully using some type of digital marketing to build their brands. When it’s over, you’ll walk away with concrete ideas that you can use in your own marketing to help grow your business. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe using whatever app or platform you use to listen to podcasts. And I’d really appreciate it if you take a minute to rate and review the show. It helps us get new listeners. Now let’s get to today’s guest.
Today’s guest on The Snapshot is Brandi Snowden, who is NAR’s Director for Member and Consumer Survey Research. Brandi, welcome to the show!
Brandi Snowden:
Thank you for having me today!
Gayle Weiswasser:
Oh, we’re excited to have you! This is a little bit of a different show than usual. Usually we take, in each episode, some sort of a digital marketing strategy and we break it down. Whether it’s something like Instagram or TikTok or search engine marketing, or some use of technology, like drones or something like that. And this is different because what we’re going to do today is talking to Brandi about some recent research that she’s done through NAR about what agents want. The tools that agents find valuable, and we’re talking of course about technology, the tools that they’re finding valuable, the tools they want from their brokers, where they’re spending their money, and things like that.
So, I thought that for this audience, which is made up of agents, they might find it interesting to hear what other agents had to say about technology and how they’re using it. And of course, how the pandemic has changed everything. So, we’re going to jump into that. Before we do that, Brandi, why don’t you just take a minute and tell everyone a little bit about yourself and what you do at NAR?
Brandi Snowden:
Sure. So my team at NAR, we oversee the creation of many of our public facing survey reports. So, such as The Technology Survey throughout the year. We’re releasing many surveys that are going to our members and also some of them that are going to consumers who might have been recent home buyers and recent home sellers, or have even recently completed a home renovation project. So yeah, just through all of those surveys throughout the year, we have a couple that are bigger that some of our listeners might have heard of, or … Yeah, so just a wide range of topics throughout all of those reports.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Okay. Got it. All right. So over the last 12 months you have … well, you’ve surveyed agents. Why don’t you talk a little bit about this survey specifically and what it is that you asked and the timeframe under which you asked the questions?
Brandi Snowden:
Sure. So, in some of our other surveys, we also ask about technology, but this technology survey really takes a comprehensive look at some of the technology tools that are most valuable to our members, what they see as emerging technology trends. Also some technology that they are being provided from either their broker or maybe from their MLS and yeah, just seeing how their satisfaction with all of those are. And for this survey, we surveyed our members back in June. So yeah, we’re really excited to see these results because we hadn’t completed this report in a few years. So, it’s always interesting to see how things have been changing.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Right. All right. Well, the world has been changing tremendously as we know over the last 18 months. So, one of the most interesting things that you reported was just looking at the tools that agents find most valuable in their businesses over like the last year or so.
So, the ones that came up, the top five, were e-signature, their local MLS app, social media, lock boxes, and video conferencing. So, if you look at those, they’re obviously telling a story that’s very clear about the need to either conduct business remotely, schedule or look at homes remotely so that you don’t have contact, you’re not overlapping, meeting remotely through video conferencing, all of that. And I think we all know how important social media is. We talk about that on the show all the time. But over the last year and a half social media became arguably even more important because people were spending so much time on those platforms. So, my question for you is do you think that this list is here to stay and how different is this list from if you had done the survey maybe two or three years ago?
Brandi Snowden:
So, I definitely think that this list is here to stay, especially during the pandemic. We saw that our members were forced to do their business oftentimes remotely and heavily rely on technology just to communicate with their customers and also to remain competitive in their marketplace. And we also ask about the predicted technology use in the next 12 months and we see that a lot of these same technology tools are on the list and some even higher or predicted to be even more useful, especially you mentioned about customer relation management, that also increased. So yeah, I think that a lot of these are here to stay.
Gayle Weiswasser:
All right. So, the top of this list is e-signature and this led the list of most valuable tools. So, do you think that this industry, which has been relatively slow to adapt, is finally waking up to the need to modernize the process of buying the home?
Brandi Snowden:
I think that this survey definitely showed with that. So, we see that it’s the top technology tool and also continues to be for predicted use at the top. So, I think this shows just how much e-signature was utilized during the pandemic. And I think that our members are seeing that it will continue to be utilized.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Okay. So, which services are least in demand and did you find it surprising?
Brandi Snowden:
So, some of the least valuable tools that we found were augmented reality, virtual reality, and also voice assistant. So, similarly we see that even in the future, these tools are predicted to slightly increase. So, I think that just because they’re at the bottom of the list doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not being used or that our members think that they might not use them in the future. I think that all of these technology tools are still being utilized by our members.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Well, and why do you think that is? Augmented reality, are people intimidated by it? Do they just find there’s no need for it? Why do you think that they are at the bottom of the list?
Brandi Snowden:
I’m not exactly sure, but it could be just that they are utilizing some of the other technology tools in our list. Such as home showing and open house software, which might be slightly similar, but maybe they’re using a more specific software for that or specifically video conferencing. So, it might be that they are using similar forms of this technology.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Got it. Okay. All right. So, let’s talk about social media, which of course is the bread and butter of this podcast. How did the pandemic impact the use of social media or the importance of social media according to the results that you found?
Brandi Snowden:
We saw that actually, when we look at where our members are getting their highest number of quality leads, that social media was at the top at 52%. So, we’re seeing that even looking at the main reasons that our members are using social media is that they might think that they’re expected to have a presence on social media, but also we see that our members are using this to build and maintain relationships with their clients, also to meet new clients and to also promote their listings through social media.
Gayle Weiswasser:
And did guys get into the different platforms of social media or did you lump social media altogether?
Brandi Snowden:
So, we do actually ask about specific social media networks that our members might be using. And we see that Facebook is at the top of the list with 90%. Also, our members are using Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, also Twitter. And, like you’ve mentioned earlier, we’ve seen that a growing share is using TikTok and also Snapchat.
Gayle Weiswasser:
What did you find to be the biggest surprise when you were getting the results or looking at the first round of analysis? What made you sit at your desk and go, “Hmm, that’s not what I expected”?
Brandi Snowden:
So, actually the social media aspect. So, we do ask some questions about it in our larger member profile survey. Just about which social media networks our members are using either for professional or for personal use. So, it was slightly more surprising to see just how they’re using social media in their own businesses.
Gayle Weiswasser:
So, you didn’t expect people to be using it as much as they did or was it a surprise of which platforms they were actually using?
Brandi Snowden:
Actually just that they’re really utilizing it for promoting their listings, just for networking. Also we see a share of our members that actually just use it because they’re enjoying it. So, even though they might think that they’re just expected to have a presence, we see that if they have these social media networks for their own personal use, that that might be an easy transition over to professional use.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Hmm. That’s interesting. One of the things I had wanted to ask you about as I was looking at the results was whether you thought that there was a genuine enthusiasm for social media, or whether you thought that people did it because they felt like they had to do it. And the obligation, it’s like, “Oh, this is a must have for business, so I’m going to have to go do my Facebook thing.” Or you think this is such a popular way to spend time in personal life that people enjoy the translation over to their jobs?
Brandi Snowden:
I think it’s definitely becoming more popular. Even if it is that our members think that they’re expected, I think that as technology keeps evolving, we see that also members think that they’re … Or we as consumers might expect that our agents, our brokers, our brokerages have a website. So, I think that as things are evolving and people get more comfortable with using them that we’ll see social media being incorporated even more.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Okay. So, let’s look to the future. So, your study finds that over the next two years, the most impactful emerging technologies are going to be drones, cybersecurity, 5G, and virtual reality. So, that would suggest to me that people are sort of depending on new technologies, like drones, for example, to create even more dramatic and eye-catching video stuff. And that with cybersecurity, people are worried about the integrity of their data and their client information and all of that. Do you have any sort of general takeaways about why you think these particular technologies have been identified as the most impactful ones to emerge?
Brandi Snowden:
Yeah. So, I think you definitely highlighted it with the drones. So, as we’re seeing more agents using virtual tours or also more advanced home showings that are virtual, that drones may show to emerge within the near future. Also with 5G, especially during the pandemic. I know that we are all on our phones constantly. So, that was also not too surprising. And also in our survey, we do ask about use of a VPN or also anti-virus protection for their laptops or desktop computers. So, we’re seeing that a lot of our members are choosing to use anti-virus software, but also that a smaller share are using VPN. So, it might be something that they’re becoming aware of and want to protect themselves in the future.
Gayle Weiswasser:
I guess one thing that would make sense is that agents have always been very mobile and work from home and work from their cars and work from all over the place. But there has also been, I think, always that option to go to an office if they want to, go to the broker’s office. And probably during the pandemic, that option went away. So they were more than ever very dependent, just like really the rest of the working world, they were dependent on their own technology to facilitate their jobs and let them do what they need to do from whatever device. So, that would explain why something like 5G is so important and also why cyber security is so important. Because these are things you would maybe ordinarily depend on an employer for, and you can’t if you’re working out of your living room or whatever.
Brandi Snowden:
Yeah, definitely.
Gayle Weiswasser:
All right. Let’s talk about spending money. So, one of the things that you looked at was where agents are spending their money when it comes to technology. So, that’s a little different from what technology they’re actually using, because then sometimes the technology they’re using may be free, like social media, or provided by a broker. But where are they spending their own marketing dollars? Can you classify whether they’re investing in the tools that they’re using or whether they’re spending money on generating leads?
Brandi Snowden:
So, we ask about the average monthly spending of our members within the past 12 months on both technology tools and also lead generation. And we see that the larger share of money spent was on technology tools over the past 12 months. So, we’re seeing that on average, between $50 to $250, 36% of our members stated that they were spending that amount on technology tools. Whereas on lead generation, 29% said that they were spending less than $50. So, they could be, like we mentioned, utilizing social media for their lead generation. So yeah, really putting their money towards new technology tools.
Gayle Weiswasser:
And where do they feel that they’re underserved when it comes to technology?
Brandi Snowden:
So, we ask about some of the technology tools that are currently not being provided by their broker, but that they feel that should be provided. So, at the top of the list was cybersecurity. Yeah, we’re still seeing that cybersecurity trend. Also lead generation, E-notary, and customer relationship management were at the top of the list of tools that they believe should be provided by their brokerage.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Okay. So, it’s not that those tools don’t exist in some satisfactory way in the market, it’s just that they think that they should be getting those tools from their broker?
Brandi Snowden:
Yes. Yep. So, they might be utilizing them on their own with their own money, but these are just some that they think should be provided.
Gayle Weiswasser:
So, do you think that agents tend to get most of their technology from their broker or do they also get it from their MLS?
Brandi Snowden:
We see that some of the technology tools are provided from their agents. So, such as websites are largely provided by their agent, but also we see that there are some technology tools being provided by their MLS, such as comps, automated emails to their clients or prospective clients, also the access to property data and history, and public record search. So, it might be different technology tools than their own brokerage could be providing.
Gayle Weiswasser:
All right. So, the top three tools that your report lists for driving leads. And so that’s different from necessarily just getting their work done. But driving leads, social media at 52%, CRM at 31%, and the MLS at 28%. So, those are even higher than email, which I found really surprising, because I would think that the use of email seems to be, maybe not that flashy, but it’s certainly very common and the stalwart of digital marketing. Were you surprised to see social media where it is and do you think that that is going to stay there?
Brandi Snowden:
Uh I was a little surprised, but I mean I think it definitely makes sense since we looked at the past 12 months and we’re seeing that a lot of our agents are utilizing social media for their business use. So, we’re seeing that our members are using their accounts to build and maintain these relationships, promote their listings, also research team, we are active on social media. So, sharing our own work and we see that some agents or members, they’re also sharing our contents as a way to, I guess, either promote their own listings or promote their own businesses. So, we do see that.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Got it. Are there any other insights you’d like to share about the study that you think that our audience would find interesting?
Brandi Snowden:
I think we have covered a lot, but there is even more left in the report. So, I just would suggest that they take a look through the full report if they have a chance. It gets very interesting data and yeah, I’m excited to see how it progresses in the future.
Gayle Weiswasser:
I will link to it, but do you want to tell people where they can go ahead and find it?
Brandi Snowden:
Sure. So, you can find it on the nar.realtor website under research and statistics and you can find the technology report under our reports page as well as all of the other surveys that we’ve been working on.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Okay, great. Well, I’ll be sure to link to that. And before I let you go, can you answer my trademark Homesnap Snapshot question, which is I ask people who come on the show to tell me about some apps that they’re using. It can be something you’re using for fun or for productivity or relaxation, maybe something that our audience hasn’t heard of before. Anything you’d like to share?
Brandi Snowden:
So, for our own work, our team is using Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to share our work with our members. But personally I have been using TikTok quite a lot in the last year, as I’m sure many other people are.
Gayle Weiswasser:
It’s a very addictive little app to spend time on.
Brandi Snowden:
It really is!
Gayle Weiswasser:
And I find with TikTok, you can end up in various niches. I have somehow ended up following a lot of accounts of people who find furniture by the side of the road and then they re-finish it and resell it. And of course I’m very big into dog rescue TikTok. Do you have any little niches of TikTok that you have found showing up on your “For You” page a lot?
Brandi Snowden:
So, I definitely find a lot of recipes on TikTok. So, I definitely get a lot of those. So yeah, those and lots of restaurant suggestions. So, I think they know what I’m interested in.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Got it. I think that the TikTok algorithm is maybe one of the smartest pieces of technology I’ve ever seen, because it seems to know me really well. All right, well Brandy, thank you so much for coming on the show today! Let people know how they could get a hold of you if they wanted to get more information about this.
Brandi Snowden:
Sure! So, could look me up on LinkedIn. Just my name, Brandi Snowden, with the National Association of REALTORS®. Also if you have any questions and you want to email me, you could email me at [email protected].
Gayle Weiswasser:
Okay, great! I will be sure to link to that. Link to your LinkedIn page and also to the survey so that people can find it quickly. So Brandi, thank you so much for coming on the show today, it was really interesting to hear about this!
Brandi Snowden:
Yeah! Thank you so much for having me today!
Gayle Weiswasser:
Great. Thank you!
Gayle Weiswasser:
Thanks for listening to another episode of the Snapshot. I hope that you enjoyed what you heard today. If you have a moment, please leave us a review. It really helps us get new listeners. This podcast is part of Industry Syndicate, a curated media network containing the highest-rated real estate and mortgage podcasts. Find other excellent real estate content at industrysyndicate.com, home of real estate’s first media network.