Aggregate, Filter, Rinse and Repeat
There is an issue in the real estate industry right now that we need to face head on. Most Realtors are not currently and will never create new, relevant or shareable content. There I said it.
So now the million dollar question: Why not? I am going to channel Ray Cook and Family Feud by providing the top 3 reasons that I get in my daily interactions with agents…Survey says!
#3. I am not “Tech Savvy” like you and have no idea where to begin or what buttons to press
#2. It is a waste of time because real estate is a relationship game
#1. I do not have time to blog
As opposed to arguing those points which I do everyday until my blood pressure rises to unhealthy levels with this post I am just going to concede. Those of you that feel that way are right and you win, at least for today.
So as much as it kills me I am going to help the agents who fall into one of those 3 aforementioned mindsets by suggesting another strategy I am calling Aggregate, Filter, Rinse and Repeat.
The theory behind this strategy comes from the amount of information that is being thrust at us daily. Just take a look at your Facebook wall and look at how many options there are to that link away to a blog post or news article read. There is NO WAY to consume all of the content and still get any work done. Remember we are consumers so if it is overwhelming for us it is also overwhelming to others. If you are not going to create content then you need to get really good, really quickly at aggregating and filtering content for your sphere. As is my typical style I am not just here to preach theory I want to give you guys some tips and tools to make this process easier and time efficient so here we go…
Aggregate
Really just a fancy word for pulling together content from around the web, in fact if I didn’t have spell check I wouldn’t even be sure I was spelling it right! The best tools that I have found to aggregate content are as follows and in no particular order:
Google Alerts – By putting in keywords related to your market i.e. “Miami Events” or “Austin, TX Sports” you will get updates delivered to your inbox daily and not have to spend hours browsing the web. Keeping it simple the content comes to you in email format as opposed to you seeking out the content (don’t forget we will get to the filtering part in a minute).
NOTE: I did not say set up keywords about real estate or your companies name, for this strategy to work you must be willing to face the fact that no one cares about real estate as much as we do so the content you aggregate shouldn’t always be real estate specific.
Feed Readers – I have been considering writing a post called “WTF is RSS” for a while now, my politically correct side has kept me from using that title. That being said I know for a fact that most real estate agents do not know what an RSS feed is, do not use feed readers or how to leverage them both to make there web life easier. In plain english a feed reader will organize all of the posts from the blogs and sites that you tell it to. So if you have a lot of sports fans in your sphere you may want to subscribe to ESPN, right wingers Fox News, car enthusiasts Motor Trend, etc…
Instead of having to visit all of those sites individually each day you can open up your feed reader and all of the newest content will be waiting for you. The feed reader I recommend using is Google Reader and the best part is there is virtually zero learning curve. Shameless plug if you have not subscribed to our site at this point you are crazy but I forgive you and you can do so now by clicking here. Just be sure to read the rest of the post after you subscribe the filtering part is critical.
HootSuite/TweetDeck – Believe it or not there is arguably better content flying around Twitter (pun intended) than in Facebook. Why? The average Twitter user in my opinion is a bit more tech savvy than the average Facebooker which causes those of us Tweeting consistently to bring our A game when we share articles and info. 
By setting up a columns in Twitter using either HootSuite or TweetDeck (I use HootSuite) that are dedicated to industry leaders, local search terms and dare I say “gurus”, there will be another resource for you to quickly check to find new, fresh and quality information.
These 3 tools alone should be enough to secure the aggregation element. Yes there are others, these are the ones that work the best for me, are easy to use and best of all completely free.
Filter
So now that you have a lot of content to choose from by leveraging your shiny new aggregation tools it isn’t quite as simple as sending mails or hitting share and retweet a lot, filtering the content is king. Remember that you are not creating any content yourself because you either didn’t have the skills, belief or time to do. So instead you will need to spend some time sifting though this content fo13r your sphere. How you ask? Simple: read, watch or listen to it. If you truly want to become a source of great information without actually creating any original information it is going to be extremely important that you only share the best of the best from the web (kinda like this post if I do say so). If an article does not solicit emotion from you then do not share it with your peeps. 
I would also suggest that if a post or video is not poignant enough to cause you to want to leave a comment then again do not share it with your tribe. Seems like a fair deal to me. You don’t have to write or record, just read and watch. Please do not underestimate the importance of being a reliable filter, there is way too much crap being slung around Facebook and Twitter by Realtors so it should be fairly easy to differentiate yourself quickly.
Rinse and Repeat
Oh I bet at this point you can guess what this step entails. Aggregate and filter everyday, 7 days a week. Again, there is so much information flying around that being consistently present (some would call it top of mind) is no longer optional. If you get steps one and two right but are only putting content out weekly or monthly you will fail and be lost in the shuffle. Also, Facebook leverages something called Edge Rank when deciding where to put your status updates.
If they make the Top News feed you will be seen and engagement will ensue. If not your updates will be a part of the arrely used Live Feed and will be lost in an even bigger shuffle. Rinse and Repeat can be done in less than 10 minutes a day if done properly
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good job, I tell agents all the time.
Become a geek or learn to work for one. Your choice.
Great post as always Chris! Its amazing what will happen to your business once you start creating “usable” content!
Chris,
Great post, and SO spot-on in terms of providing practical, valuable advice to today’s agent.
As I write this comment, I am doing EXACTLY what it is that you are suggesting here: I am aggregating relevant content (for a really cool new blog I’ve been invited to guest post on about a specific brand of computer), filtering out what I don’t think is that meaningful to my target audience, and then packaging that content in an original fashion that is unique to me.
The basic searching capabilities of the web allow me to do this SO EASILY I almost feel guilty!
Thanks for sharing! And keep bringing tech to the masses!
Best,
Michael
(1) I guess I’m not like “Most Realtors”. I try to blog daily, if not I try very hard to do it every other day. (2) I believe blogging will help me get noticed as a local area expert and increase my business. (3) I believe I am tech savy as that was my business for 17 years prior to becoming a Realtor. So I work hard to combine both skills. I also feel it is important to help other “seasoned realtors” that are timid when it comes to technology, or they don’t have time.
Quick, easy, actionable plan of attack, Chris.
Well done!
I (am) an agent, but I also handle lead gen for my team and several real estate agents throughout US.
If you don’t mind, I must add a crucial piece to your rinse-repeat formula:
***Don’t just regurgitate information (content). Make your voice known. Respond to the content you’re syndicating (recommending).***
Do agents really think visitors (read: “potential” commissions) visiting their websites gain value from regurgitated reports/articles, etc?
Where’s the agent’s voice…local market authority in some other person’s article?
Further, why would I ever want to send a potential customer to some other website…unless I own/control it?
With that said, I am NOT big on Twitter for real estate.
Mike
This is why I love your advice. I’m a Baby Boomer (yes that means old) trying to thrive in this world. Your advice is practical, logical and doable. Thank you.
Great stuff, as always, Chris! These tips will help fill in the days that I’m struggling for content – thanks. My simple question: What is Edge Rank?
Loved the flavor of this post! You not only shared a great concept… but you did it in a very interesting and entertaining way… bravo, Chris!
BTW… your topic is very ‘near and dear’ to my heart… I LOVE ‘sifting through the sand to find that little nugget of gold’ … research is fascinating to me.
I am completely on board with everything you said except for the part about it only requiring 10 minutes of my time daily. How is that humanly possible even with the tools you mentioned? Please elaborate.
It CAN take 10 minutes at first it will take more. Also I think it is time well spent so don’t feel pressure to do it quickly but feel pressure to do something. As you use the tools you will see how quick you can do it!
Debbie Edge Rank is how Facebook determines what shows up on our News Feed when we log in.
Mike Payne read the intro man I 100% agree with you just that our industry is not adapting and need solutions that can help.
Susan G THANK YOU for being the way you are!
Wendy I am actually really starting to enjoy writing…only took me a year
Denise you are welcome you know I have your back!
Mike McClure you are funny we are going to Crush It with our Commadore 64 blog fo sho
Rob and Rob Thanks and Thanks
I like your use of “rinse and repeat.” That can probably be applied to most of what we agents should be doing daily to best serve our clients and grow our business. Great article!
Another fantastic Tech Savvy post! Great job Chris! You made it easy to understand for all. Becoming a great Content Aggregator is an easy way for Realtors to establish authority and begin to attract a following.
[...] If you have come to the conclusion that you are not a blogger now and never will be but you would still like to take part in the Social Media revolution, check out this great post from Tech Savvy Agent on aggregating, filtering and distributing relevant information to leverage yourself as the expert in your personal network. Aggregate, Filter, Rinse and Repeat [...]
[...] buddy Chris reminded me about this (or maybe I reminded him about it?) in his post the other day, and I figured it be great to share with you. Check it out and let me know what you [...]
#2!! I hear it all the time – people, online relationships are just as important as face to face, like it or not
“There is an issue in the real estate industry right now that we need to face head on. Most Realtors are not currently and will never create new, relevant or shareable content. There I said it.”
Deciding what content and information to divulge is tough. We work in a smaller type town, still loads of farmland and a lot of agents don’t want to put their knowledge out there for everyone, we think knowledge is power and providing the community with this ads to our profession and its validity.
I’m new to your blog and quickly becoming a big fan. Thanks for all the great advice, and bringing us up to speed.
Chris, I would also add Diigo into the mix, so that you can bookmark awesome blogs like this to comment on.
This is absolutely supurb.
Great post! I am a blogger and frankly quite happy a majority of Realtors out there are not. Thanks for keeping it Real and simple!!
For the aggregation stage, I highly recommend Instapaper — the site as well as the iPad app. Like Google Alerts and Google Reader, the service is intuitive, simple & effective.
Including a “read later” bookmarklet in your browser’s toolbar allows you to save articles for — you guessed it — reading later.
I find this method a bit slicker & useful than just “favorite”-ing tweets, which can be hit-or-miss if you haven’t actually read the tweet yet.
Thanks Chris!
Great advice, Chris! Even though I prefer to create my own unique content (I try to blog pretty regularly) rather than send my readers to someone else’s site, I relish the opportunity to learn how to be a better aggregator of information — for my own selfish reasons. It’s overwhelming sometimes how much information we all have access to in this day and age!
Great advice!
Ray Cook? What about the original host, the kissable Richard Dawson? I guess I’m just old.
Lets Bring Geeky Back!! as Ben would say………….
Great stuff to live by as usual Chris!
Content is king, and the semantic web is the people’s revolution. Have you seen this video about Web 3.0 (being dubbed the Semantic Web) yet?
http://vimeo.com/11529540
Thank you for sharing all this valuable, current and applicable information.
Lynda Real Estate Assistant
Ironically, I just set up a system similar to what you describe to be in addition to my (somewhat) regular blogging. Your article was perfectly timed to help me tweek that set up. Thank you!
Quick question, do you recommend a narrow focus for an agent’s social media? I find myself interested in so many different things (green real estate, envirnomental issues, local happenings, urbanism, & more). I am trying to “specialize” by addressing these interests only on a local geographic level, but still find myself (on FaceBook and Twitter) commenting on national and international issues. Am I shooting myself in the foot by doing this?
Good stuff. Yeah, it’s hard. Yeah, it takes extra time, effort, commitment, imagination, energy, patience, brain cells, moxie, caffeine, sweat, tears, etc. But hey, if you want to WIN in a crowded sea of same, you gotta rise up and pay the price. No shortcuts, except the time saved by using smart tech tool. Cheers and thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing, very relavent info. As a wise old man once told me, “Son, only the lead mule get’s a change of scenery!” So you have to do whatever it takes to stay in front of the crowd.
Chris – How about Evernote for aggregating – another great tool – I like diigo (being a refugee from the great delicious takeover)
But the number 2 item you mention – real estate being a relationship business? That’s what this is all about building relationships with your online community – at keast that is what we teach in the e-Pro course –
Michael – I’m looking forward to the Commodore 64 blog post fo sho also, but where’s the Vic-20 love?
(local trivia – Commodore was based in the Philly area)
Great post as always Chris! I’ve been telling agents for a long time now to consolidate your on line information into RSS feeds and Google Alerts. This stuff isn’t rocket science. Looking forward to the WTF is RSS post. Keep that title!
As an emerging and only somewhat technically savvy agent, I do know the difference between ‘there’ and ‘their’ and ‘sense’ and ‘since’ (thank you Michael McClure). It’s a slow process. Maybe one day I’ll ramp up to hashtags and beta testing. Keep evangelizing, pastor.
Great post. Though I try and think about blogging more frequently, my schedule does not cooperate with me.
I find Google alerts a great venue that keeps me informed and allows me to share and comment on content .
I’ll have to add the rest of your suggestions !
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