June 19, 2009
Utopria develops new custom solutions

Utopria begins development on new interactive custom platform for organization outside of the Real Estate industry.

“It simply makes sense,” said Marty Lachance, President of Utopria. “Other industries have noticed how powerful this type of communication can be with clients and consumers. We are developing custom solutions and plug-ins for sites in executive recruiting, online dating and others”

The unique marketing platforms merge telephony with the Internet and pull together the hottest platforms on the market. Blogs, RSS, audio, video, instant communications, social and business networking and more.

“Our advanced platforms will continue to serve the North American Real Estate industry,but we’re now able to respond to other industries looking for a similar advantage.” added Lachance.

For more information, visit www.utopria.com or e-mail info@utopria.com.

There has been much hype about Real Estate video…oh for the past 3 years. There are some that say if you are not doing video then you die a horrible death…or something along those lines.

Video is ahhh ok. The problem is that 99% of Realtors haven’t figured out how to use it and the other 1% haven’t figured out how to monetize it.

So first off, let’s clarify what I mean with ‘Real Estate video’. It actually can mean a few things. Let’s deal with the two obvious: Real Estate property video and Realtor video.

Realtor Video

This is a tough one. The idea here is to create compelling videos that allow you to stand out in the crowd.

Some Realtors create videos like blogs (it’s even got a name – video blogging). The challenge is to first come up with the compelling message. Then you need to have the video edited and uploaded somewhere that is in a place that is easily accessible/found. The other challenge is to represent yourself as an expert in the field.

Most Realtors who shoot video choose to use humour to build a following. This is a good method as it’s difficult to be an expert in the field for things like economic trends, mortage information, etc….there are so many sources already on the Internet (ie. Google, MLS).

Property video

Shooting property videos is not new, it has been at least 5 years since we’ve seen them start to appear. Why not mass adoption? Cost primarily. Oh I know I’ll hear from a dozen companies who say it’s the cheapest and best way to promote a property. I can also show you dozens of buyers who will say that property photos are all they need to make a decision on booking an appointment.

The advice I will offer with property video goes out to 99.9% of Realtors. Don’t shoot it yourself. If you can’t shoot and edit the video before you place it somewhere…then don’t bother. It just doesn’t do anything for the property or yourself. The other difficulty with property video is where to host it. Many video hosting companies are no longer allowing Real Estate videos to be hosted on their platforms.

Many Realtors want to upload and store the video for free. We agree, all services should be free. But some companies are finding it difficult to stay in business with this model. My prediction is that this technology is one that becomes less favoured in the next few years. Cost, time and the inability to host it anywhere are becoming important issues.

The correct solution is to host Realtor and property videos on a Realtor’s MLS platform but I can’t see this happening either. MLS providers realize that it’s an expensive undertaking. They will not be able to raise fees since 95% (my guess) of Realtors won’t adopt video. They won’t be able to recoup the added expense with advertising dollars either. Hence…they won’t be getting into the game anytime soon.

So if you’re not using video….relax, you have more time to spend time with your clients.

Utopria Inc.

I wish I could just let people post articles without getting my knickers in a knot. I often read poorly written articles from Realtors, gurus and such. The topics vary, but quite often they write about what is currently getting a lot of buzz in the industry. They normally promote it and talk about it at a very high level in order to experience what I call the “Guru Effect” in Real Estate.

The “Guru Effect” is something very interesting in human nature. The way it works is quite simple. If people believe they can improve their standing in the eyes of their audience, they will make every effort to do so with outlandish statements.

Realtors are famous for demonstrating the Guru Effect. I often ask Realtors about technology. Things like, “Do you use Twitter or Facebook?”, “Do you blog?”. Many times I hear them say, “Yes absolutely, it’s been my number one money maker” or “It has connected me to buyers and sellers all over the globe”.

I’ll ask another group about bus benches or fridge magnets and surprisingly I’ll get similiar answers. Nobody wants to say, “I’ve blogged for 3 years and haven’t made a dime” or “I send 20 tweets a day and nobody ever asks me about my new listings.”

The point here is to do more than listen to someone’s answer, ask for qualitative proof and think about a motive for their answer. If they can’t qualify their success, then likely you are seeing the “Guru Effect”.

I’ve been in the technology world for 15 years. I’ve worked with some of the largest telecommunication companies in the world. Utopria has created interactive media-based portal for Realtors across North America. I’ve personally seen some great ideas and I’ve seen my fair share of failures. I can usually spot the time/effort wasters.

So let me share something with you…Twitter is NOT the next big thing in Real Estate.

I find it quite comical when the experts talk about how wonderful Twitter is, they often quote about how useful it is in delivering breaking news. Do you know why this is? Because it is useful in delivering breaking news. Sadly Real Estate is not breaking news. Your new listing does not carry quite the same impact as an earthquake in Japan. Your news about doing a listing presentation at 3pm today is spam. This hurts I know, try not to take it personally, but it’s true.

You can’t say, “Well just don’t post spam to twitter, engage in dialogue”. It’s Twitter, 140 characters remember? Most of it is spam and most of it goes unread.

We’ve had almost all of our subscribers at Utopria get onboard with Twitter. We’ve even integrated Twitter with their listings. After 4 months, none of the original group is using twitter actively. There are better ways to keep people connected to information that they find value in. One of these is with RSS.

[In fact I would be willing to bet that the next big thing in Real Estate is RSS, but we'll save that for a future article.]

The other comment we hear from the gurus is that you, “have to stick with it”, “it takes some time to understand Twitter”. Au contraire, our Realtors had it figured out within two days, there is just not much substance to it in the Real Estate world.

Why are we so down on Twitter? We’re not. We think everyone should try it. For all you know, we could be showing you our own “Guru Effect” here. So please do question our motives. In the meantime, don’t waste much time with Twitter technology as a sales tool in Real Estate

Interview with Marty Lachance, President and founder of Utopria Inc.
By Bill Sanderson

I stumbled across a small company a few years back after doing some research on high tech Real Estate services. Utopria was a relatively small company based in Canada that was thinking outside the box. I thought I’d follow up with them this year and see how they were progressing in a tough market.

I recently sat down with Marty Lachance, President and founder of Utopria. Here is an excerpt of our conversation.

I see that you’ve come a long way in the past two years. How is Utopria doing in this tough Real Estate market?

“In some ways it’s worse for Utopria, but in many ways it’s actually been better. Realtors are looking for ways to stand out. If you don’t have relationship building tools as a Realtor, you will find it difficult to stay in the business. We’ve always been about creating tools that allow Realtors to grow their business network.”

How has it become worse for Utopria?

“The only area that Realtors have a problem is with cost. We’ve tried many price points, but the majority of Realtors can’t afford $20/month. There are companies in the marketplace who offer parts of our service (IVR – curb side hotline) for $60+ per month. We decided that we were going to listen to the market, if they can’t afford to pay, we don’t want to eliminate them from participating. We’ve recently launched a free service for those Realtors who are struggling. They now have an opportunity to participate with tools that were previously out-of-reach.”

Is the free service a smaller version of Utopria’s technology or trial-based?

“No, it’s a free version of our entire suite. We still have a paid model for those who want training or to list many properties, but they can use the system as long as they want at no cost.”

I first noticed Utopria when they launched their iPhone platform. You had a different approach to mobile Real Estate. How have Realtors accepted this?

“Mobile Real Estate is ahead of the curve – period. Many companies who have designed mobile platforms simply treat it as another form of online marketing. In reality, these devices can offer much more.

This is why we’ve designed our platform to benefit everyone in the Real Estate process…by using all of the devices features. Our iPhone platform uses audio, video, content, mapping, curb side viewing requests and more. The buyer gets great information, the Realtor is able to make a personal introduction from the curb and the seller gets great marketing exposure.

It’s a different concept, but different is the name of the game in Real Estate.”

What are your thoughts on the many other iPhone apps on the market?

“We chose to go web-based with the iPhone. We felt that consumers would simply not download multiple Real Estate apps for their home search. We’ve designed our platform to work with every iPhone application that’s been written. We are simply a link, similar to a virtual tour link that gets embedded with third-party companies. This is the way we work online as well.

Our multimedia listings can be found on Trulia, Zillow, every MLS and on Realtor websites.”

I see that you’ve recently launched a Business Network for Realtors. Tell me about this.

“We saw another opportunity to help Realtors grow their business. If you look at all the free companies in the market, they take Realtors’ listings and use them to generate advertising dollars. The Realtor doesn’t seem to mind since they gain more exposure. But in reality, these companies take the most important part of a Realtors marketing campaign and earn revenue with it.

Property listings are paired with advertisers who the Realtor really doesn’t know or recommend. We decided it was time for change. We launched our Business Network in January and now allow Realtors to invite their own preferred lenders, inspectors, stagers etc. to their listings. It’s a win-win-win situation.

Realtors can showcase known and respected industry professionals. These professionals in turn, get great exposure to a captive audience of buyers and sellers. Buyers get access to recommended industry professionals.”

The Realtor’s partners place ads on their listings? What’s different here?

“Not quite ads, but they are business profiles. They showcase what the business delivers to the consumer. We’ve taken it to an entirely different level by incorporating the business partners in with our IVR platform. A home inspector can pick up the phone and talk about his/her company to a large online home buying audience.”

Who else has adopted this Business Network concept?

“To date, it’s just Utopria.”

What’s the biggest challenge for Utopria?

“It’s the same as it has always been. It’s a competitive business. Our services do not spread by word-of-mouth. In fact, many of our customers will protect their secret and downplay their results. We hear it through the grapevine. It drives our marketing costs higher since we have to reach out and touch every Realtor individually.

Some have never heard about Utopria. It’s always interesting to watch their reaction when we tell them that their colleagues in the office have been using Utopria for years.”

On a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult are your services to use?

“I’d say a 4. Realtors who don’t use the Internet are not able to benefit from Utopria’s services. We’re always honest with our potential customers. If you don’t use e-mail and are not sure how to upload a photo, then traditional marketing methods would be better suited.

It takes less time to create a multimedia listing with Utopria than it does to create a newspaper advertisement. It also brings much better value. Listings on Utopria allow Realtors to introduce themselves, track listeners and share information with the home sellers. Having said that, we still see a large number of Realtors still focussed on newsprint advertising.

We always encourage them to stay where they feel comfortable, but now since our services are free, if they want to branch out into technology, we’re here to help.”

What I found most interesting about Utopria is their concept of business building rather than being singularly focussed on any one aspect of Real Estate. They have seemed to have created a platform that encompasses all the hot topics on the market. Mobile, video, audio, blogging, multimedia, IVR, communication, partner integration and social networking.

It’s one of the most innovative platforms I’ve seen in years. Realtors who want to learn more about Utopria can go to www.utopria.com.

It appears that Realtors who shunned the adoption of technology tools may be getting a welcomed resurgence in newsprint advertising.

Many industry gurus regularly tout print advertising as a dying marketing outlet. However recent polls show that many Realtors who are unable to learn the latest online and social media outlets are turning back to print. Many are spending a large portion of their marketing budgets on newspaper and magazine ads.

“We never argue with results,” said Marty Lachance, President of high-tech Real Estate marketing company Utopria. “If a Realtor can produce results by advertising in print, we encourage it. Our customers would never go back to print, but we hear from Realtors at tradeshows who tell us they make fortunes advertising in their local papers.”

Print advertising is the least cost-effective and produces low visibility for a short period of time. The average Realtor who provides listings in print can spend $500-$1000/month. To reach and equal audience online it’s estimated that costs range from $0-$100/month.

We’ve heard for many years that Realtors and Brokers want our services for free. Utopria has developed the most impressive integrated multimedia platforms in the industry. IVR 2.0, online audio, video, blog, twitter, partner integration and more…

We are happy to be launching our first entirely FREE platform with ALL of our key features included. Yes even our IVR platform. The first IVR platform in North America entirely FREE.

Register at register.utopria.com beginning Tuesday April 14, 2009!
Here’s what our customers say about Utopria:
“As a subscriber to Utopria I can honestly say that this is cutting edge tecnhology. In the past 30 days I have won 100% of my listings, 7 in all, and I am convinced that this software platform gave me the edge to do so. If you don’t believe me check out my website at www.willmansour.com and point to the listings section. The other amazing quality of this easy to use software platform is the support you receive from the people at Utopria. If you are looking to differentiate yourself, this is definately one of the ways to do it!” - May 2009

Will Mansour, Royal LePage, Mississauga Ontario

“I am amazed by the continued improvements to Utopria! I have more listings than I have ever had, due in part to this site. Now I’m working on building my ‘Preferred Business Directory’ on my Utopria Interactive Website. What an FANTASTIC tool!! Great reason to contact my Book Of Business as well! Thanks Utopria!!! Love it!” - April 2009

Missy Aaron, Coldwell Banker, Batesville Arkansas

If you read industry blogs, you’ll notice frequent discussions about monetizing various marketing tools. You’ll find that many Realtors are looking for ways to monetize Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, blogs etc. The truth is…it’s tough. Many have already given up. Here’s a good article on this very topic:

http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/the_real_estate_tomato/2009/03/the-death-of-a-real-estate-blog.html

Realtors have been looking for years on ways to monetize their listings. 3rd party companies like Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo have figured it out. They ‘borrow’ your listings and embed advertisers. They generate revenue from your listings.

Why can’t you do this? The reason is partly because you can’t generate enough traffic to make it worthwhile. The other reason is that using Google to provide advertisers is not a good solution. Placing random ads on your site/listings is often a bad idea as you often end up advertising other Realtors or companies who you don’t know/trust. This is why Utopria has tackled the issue head on.

The problem: Lost revenue/Lost opportunities for Realtors
The solution: An integrated Business Network for Realtors

And that’s exactly what we’ve create at Utopria. The first truly incorporate network that includes Realtors, Sellers, Buyers and Business Partners.

Embed your business partners directly with your listings on Utopria and start generating revenue and building relationships.

Ask us how…it’s simple!

Utopria Inc.
(888) 453-6504
info@utopria.com
http://www.utopria.com

For those of you who understand the value of Search Enging placement, you may also see how the future of search engine rankings is taking shape.

No longer can an individual put up a website and expect to land anywhere near 1st page Google rankings in a competitive market. Real estate is a competitve category with thousands of sites existing in similar areas with similar content. It makes sense that only the big players (service companies/Realtors) are increasingly owning the top search engine rankings. It takes a fair amount of skill and/or investment to get and stay highly ranked. But for those who understand the value, it is very profitable!

For those Realtors who believe that their website or MLS provides enough online exposure, we will show you what we see every day on our servers. Many Realtors ignore a very large group of online shoppers who are using search engines to seek out targeted real estate related content.

This Search Engine crowd should be considered if you’re looking to cover all of your bases in online marketing. Here are some of entries that we’ve seen in the last 24 hours in the cities where we operate our Utopria-Fwicki Search Engine plugin.

- Houses for sale Windsor Ontario
- house for sale close to heartland center mississauga
- applewood heights homes for sale mississauga
- homes in ottawa near carleton for rent
- homes for sale in cambridge, ontario
- ottawa carleton real estate
- cambridge ontario real estate
- windsor ontario housing for sale
- many more….

All results of the above searches are from real online shoppers from around the globe. They were all presented on Google page 1.

Utopria announced the latest addition to its Real Estate marketing platforms. The Prestige Business Directory allows Realtors to extend their business connections to their preferred partners.

“The Prestige Business Directory is an entirely new concept is Real Estate marketing,” said Marty Lachance, President of Utopria. “The best source of marketing for Realtors is their listing. Listings bring an enormous and valuable viewing audience. Utopria allows Realtors to leverage the exposure of their listings to build stronger relationships with their partners…and potentially earn revenue.”

Home inspectors, lenders, lawyers and more can benefit from placement with their Realtor’s marketing platforms at Utopria. The Prestige Business Directory is by Realtor-invite-only and offers a unique marketing experience for the business. Their business is granted access to Utopria’s IVR platforms…at no charge. Creating business profiles that have a personal audio introduction is unlike any promotional outlet in the Real Estate industry.

“Realtors only invite businesses that they know, recommend and trust,” added Lachance. “The feature is included free with all of our packages and it’s up to the Realtors if they choose to seek participation fees from their business partners.”

Utopria provides interactive marketing and media services to Realtors across North America. The company provides the most comprehensive media platforms in the Real Estate industry. By allowing all parties (buyers, sellers, Realtors, business partners) to share one platform, Utopria has created a platform for building stronger business relationships.

Utopria Inc.
www.utopria.com
888-453-6504

Utopria has been providing Interactive media services to the North American Real Estate market for over four years. Our latest product enhancement is already generating buzz in the industry.

We’ve recently launched a syndication engine around our popular MediaPod and IVR platforms. This means that Realtors can now easily incorporate live RSS feeds of their audio, video and property content into their website or popular social networking websites.

Realtors can create multiple feeds – one for their entire listing portfolio and also for each individual property listing. Home buyers/sellers who subscribe to these live feeds are able to monitor all activity for the Realtor’s portfolio.

If there is a price reduction or new Open House date the buyer will be instantly notified. Additionally these live feeds contain blog entries made by the Realtor or the public who are seeking more information. This innovation effectively makes each property a self-contained social network.

Utopria has extended the live RSS feed concept to the curb over its RealMobility Network. Home buyers are able to access full multimedia information (audio, video, virtual tours, text content) from devices like the Apple iPhone. Curb shoppers are given the opportunity to make an instant connection with the Realtor (e-mail or direct call) but something new is the ability to instantly place a ‘watch’ on the property. They can do this by simple pressing a button on their mobile device.

“This is going to be a very popular feature. One that opens up lines of communication with buyers and sellers even further,” said Marty Lachance, President of Utopria. “It’s a great tool for buyers who are not quite ready to make the call. The live feed aspect will reduce the Realtor’s workload considerably. They can enter their feeds on any site they choose and never again have to sign on to each site to make listing changes.”

For more information on Utopria’s RSS platform and integration points, you can reach us (888) 453-6504 or info@utopria.com.

Utopria Inc.
www.utopria.com