See a Better (And More Profitable) Future Through Periscope

"We're only as good as our technical development allows us to be." George Orwell.

Close to 20 years ago everyone was screaming that Realtors needed to adopt this new thing called the Internet. And if they didn't, they'd be left behind. I'm guessing you could count on one hand the Realtors you know who don't use the Internet in some way today. If they don't, I'd wager they will probably be going out of business very soon.

As we've all clearly seen, the Internet has greased the collective skids of business in many industries, and real estate is no exception. In particular, the add-ons such as websites, e-mail and social media continue to make bringing buyers and sellers together much easier for Realtors.

As I travel around the country and meet with both agents and brokers, I've noticed the top producers have lassoed the latest technology and tamed it to work for them -- adding both effectiveness and efficiency to their daily duties.

I'd like to draw your attention to another piece of technology that's proving to be an asset to Realtors. It's an app called Periscope, and it lets you live-stream video over the Internet.

Think of FaceTime or Skype. But instead of you communicating with one person, you can potentially talk and share video with the world -- anyone with an Internet connection. Lights, camera, action for the globe! Anyone tuned in can see and hear what you're broadcasting. Congratulations - you just became NBC. Or are you a CBS person? ABC? You get the point.

So let's say you get Periscope on your phone. Then you get followers (just like you would on social media such as Facebook or Twitter). Next you send a message that describes what you're sharing via Periscope (you can also share it in your live Twitter feed and on YouTube afterwards). Those viewing your video can comment or ask questions.

Specifically, how can Periscope help you in your job? Here a few ways:

1. Host open houses - We know consumers love convenience. What's more convenient for your prospective buyers than "attending" an open house by sitting on their own couches? When prospective buyers can't make an open house, no problem. Live stream it with Periscope. Set a time for your broadcast and promote with teasers via your social media outlets to generate interest. Then simply broadcast and answer questions about your listing in real time.

2. Repost and repurpose on Facebook and other social media - A Periscope video replays for 24 hours after a live broadcast ends, then it disappears. But you can save the video for as long as you want and repost it on Facebook and other social media outlets. So in essence, Periscope extends the reach of your listings. More eyeballs can mean more sales.

3. Broadcast webinars - Use Periscope to host live webinars about your services for buyers and sellers. They can submit questions just like a real-life seminar. I read recently about one real estate company that sent out a companywide email to its 50,000 newsletter subscribers to experiment with Periscope. It generated 83 viewers, some of which used the comment-question feature to talk with the listing agent.

The company also reposted the video to Facebook and targeted a specific audience who would be most interested in the property.

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