Category: Uncategorized

Social Media Content Hacks for Real Estate Agents

by Charlotte C.

You’re a good estate agent. You work for a decent agency. Built a rep for yourself. Bank a respectable commission cheque each month.

You’ve even got a decent presence on social media. Found yourself a catchy account handle.

You look good on camera. You post; a lot. You get a few hits. A handful of likes. Usually from friends or colleagues.

But you’re not crushing it. Not really getting traction with the people you want traction from.

So what’s holding you back?…

CONTENT!

We’ve all had writer’s block. When it’s on the tip of our tongue but we don’t know how to articulate it. Or worse. When our mind goes blank, suddenly having no clue about the kind of content our potential clients might find interesting.

So we’ve made things easy for you.

Here are 6 of the most trending real estate agent blog ideas, that’ll guarantee to deliver high-quality content to your readers and blow up your online following.

#1 Mind Your Business

Do you know what effect inflation’s going to have on home prices? What will an increase in tax rates do to demand?

Irrespective whether you are in leasing or sales, a great place to start with informative content is to talk about topics such as the latest behavioural trends, interest rates, regulatory policies, or the interplay between demand and supply. If you don’t understand the basic rules of real estate economics, you can’t give your audience quality advice. That makes you obsolete.

Be relevant instead. Educate yourself, in order to educate your clients. It’s all about adding value.

#2 What’s On

Get miles of traction discussing local events. Keep your blog updated with What’s On in your local community. From charity golf tournaments to festivals, to new development or off plan property launches, your readers would love to know the goings-on in their locality. 

#3 What’s Hot and What’s Not

Do you know a great place to hang out with friends and have a yummy burger? Or, perhaps the best coffee shop? You also might know the go-to happy hour spot. Your audience will not only love the list of cool places to check out but also appreciate your insights.

Keep your content up-to-date and consistent

#4 Pet-Lover’s Paradise

It is often difficult for pet parents to find the best places to take their furry friends. Whether it is a pet groomer or a pet-friendly restaurant you talk about, this is a great topic to engage with your pet-loving readers. So, grab a list of places that let felines, canines, and any other nines, in and add those recommendations to your blog. 

#5 Kid-Friendly Zone

Residents usually love exclusive information about places that are great for kids. Be it a perfect pizza joint or a school with all the amenities, giving parents the themed information is an excellent way of marketing your website. The content is likely to be shared on social media platforms as well. 

#6 Get Personal

Who said real estate agent website content couldn’t be personal? You can share your story of how you grew into an agent. Why should people trust you? How did your journey in the real estate arena get started? What have you learned in your years as a real estate agent, an entrepreneur, and an investor? 

Create an online relationship with clients and build credibility

A real estate blog is one of the most effective ways of creating an online relationship with your clients, building credibility with informative content, and generating potential new leads. The more useful the content, the more people will return, engage and share your content.

So if you’re looking for inspiration that’ll take your next (or first) post up a few notches, this is your starting point.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

About overwrite.ai

If you’ve searched for a property to buy or rent online in the MENA region, chances are you’ve read adverts created by overwrite.ai.

overwrite is a real estate themed generative AI. 

It is a pioneering proprietary Foundation Language Model that allows real estate industry agencies and technologies to create marketing content, instantly and efficiently. 

We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon. 

overwrite.ai joins NVIDIA Inception for Startups

by Charlotte C.

Dubai, Middle East—13 March, 2023— overwrite.ai today announced it has joined NVIDIA Inception, a program that nurtures startups revolutionizing industries with technology advancements.

overwrite.ai is focused on generative AI for the real estate industry. It supports real estate professionals in producing localised, outcome-oriented property marketing content through a proprietary themed language model. 

NVIDIA Inception will allow overwrite.ai to gain invaluable access to the latest technical tools to accelerate its AI product, along with expert training for its core development team. The program will also offer overwrite the opportunity to collaborate with industry-leading experts and other AI-driven organizations.


“We’re excited to join NVIDIA Inception, which gives us access to bleeding-edge resources with which we can grow rapidly.”

– Ayman Alashkar, Founder & CEO, overwrite.ai

NVIDIA Inception helps startups during critical stages of product development, prototyping and deployment. Every Inception member gets a custom set of ongoing benefits, such as NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute credits, marketing support and technology assistance, which provides startups with the fundamental tools to help them grow.

About overwrite.ai

If you’ve searched for a property to buy or rent online in the MENA region, chances are you’ve read adverts created by overwrite.ai.

overwrite is a real estate themed generative AI. 

It is a pioneering and proprietary Foundation Language Model that allows real estate industry agencies and technologies to create marketing content, instantly and efficiently. 

We create the outcome-oriented marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon. 

Uber cancels ChatGPT-written ad campaign after San Francisco locals mock it

by Charlotte C.

As Uber is publicly mocked for inaccurate local references, it’s clear that “local real estate content, needs local real estate knowledge.” – Ayman Alashkar, Founder and CEO overwrite.ai

In terms of oblivious advertising, Uber’s latest San Francisco campaign may have bested the time the Giants released those “SAN FRAN” tees or when Gwyneth Paltrow called it the “Golden City.” 

According to a Reddit post shared last Wednesday, titled “Uber has put up ads at SFO that were written by someone who’s never set foot in San Francisco,” the ride-hailing company has debuted a set of new ads at SFO that feel like they were written by ChatGPT. 

“See you in Marina District,” the first proclaims. 

The dropping of the definite article here is just bizarre — and not even the worst thing about the ad.

No one has ever said those words out loud, in that order, and if they have, they should be forced to spend 24 hours in the city’s only Applebee’s.

The Marina ad also features a pretty sunset view of … Sausalito, a town 8 miles from the Marina and far outside the San Francisco city limits, above the words: “Go anywhere in San Francisco.” 

Could it be, as one commenter speculated, that a hasty stock image search for “Marina” dropped the “a” and returned photos of Marin? 

It’s hard to imagine any Uber employee who knows San Francisco saw the photo of the iconic houseboats across the Golden Gate Bridge and greenlighted the ad. It’s also hard to imagine why, of all the wonderful neighborhoods our city has to offer, anyone would choose the Marina, but that’s a different issue. 

The next ad is marginally less egregious. Another romantic photo is shown, this time of a place actually in San Francisco — the little lamp-lit wooden dock at Pier 7. 

“See you at Embarcadero,” the ad proudly states. Uber has again neglected the “the” here. Also, good luck trying to get an Uber to the end of the pedestrian-only fishing dock. 

The final ad, promoting a ride to the Mission, is also somehow worded in a way that would make you squirm if you ever heard it out loud: “See you at the Mission.” 

Unless you’re meeting pals at the historic Misión San Francisco de Asís adobe building on Dolores Street, the phrasing is begging for an “in” over an “at.”

Reddit comments

Reddit posters were quick to note the uncanny incongruities in the ads. 

“See you at the mission made me break out in hives,” one commented. 

“This is like when someone says ‘The Bart,’” wrote another. 

Another summed it up well: “Nothing seems human about those ads.”

Being displayed at the airport, the ads are likely targeted at tourists over local residents. But Uber is headquartered in San Francisco, so it seems unlikely a city resident wouldn’t have reviewed the campaign before sending it to print.

Or maybe Uber got exactly what it wanted from the campaign. “This ad did its job,” one Redditor pointed out. “By purposely being bad so that it gets everyone talking.”

Uber told SFGATE on Thursday that the campaign has since been canceled.

“We’re glad people are paying attention to our ads!” a spokesperson wrote over email. “And while we’re happy we didn’t refer to our home city as ‘Frisco,’ we agree these ads, which are in the process of being removed, could have been better.” 

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Andrew Chamings writes for SFG.

This story has been published from an article in SFG published on 9th February 2023.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | Real Estate Themed Generative AI

Top Reads for Aspiring Real Estate Agents

by Charlotte C.

There’s been a tidal wave of new estate agents joining the industry looking for a slice of the pie, and to be the next top million-dollar agent.

But these new kids on the block are often without any real estate experience. And learning the ropes can be a minefield. 

However, you’ll be surprised at just how many simple “tips and tricks” will have you saving time, avoiding tyre-kickers, or knowing when to spot a deal breaker.

Getting a grip, early on, of real estate principles, finance and law will undoubtedly create a solid foundation for success. Investing time in learning the practical aspects of being a “real life” estate agent, can mean the difference between success and failure. 

We’re bringing you the top 5 best-selling books for aspiring real estate agents, all of which provide an insider’s perspective on becoming a successful real estate agent, and help them hone their skills.

#1 The Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents

There’s something to be said about starting every day on the right foot and Hal Elrod is all about this. The Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents will talk you through the exact morning routines of the industry’s top players. Certain habits may seem trivial, but carried out consistency over time will reap rewards.

#2 The Millionaire Real Estate Agent

Gary Keller’s The Millionaire Real Estate Agent is about taking your real estate career to the next level. But it’s an important read early in your real estate career because it forces you to see the big picture and think long-term.

This book will give you a millionaire agent mindset. First you’ll learn how to think like a millionaire. Then you’ll learn how to become one through real estate sales.

#3 The Book of Yes

No one likes to cold call. But if you’ve ever had to make these, you’ll probably know that it helps to have a script in mind. Author and multi-million dollar real estate agent, Kevin Ward swears by the belief that real estate sales is largely about scripts. He’s spent his career perfecting them. 

The Book of YES: The Ultimate Real Estate Agent Conversation Guide will teach you exactly what to say in order to nail that ice-cold sales call.

#4 The Honest Real Estate Agent

Mario Jannatpour’s The Honest Real Estate Agent is a perfect introduction to the real estate industry. From topics like networking, negotiations, time management, basic marketing and professional integrity, this title covers a lot of ground in attempting to explain what the real estate profession is all about. 

The Honest Real Estate Agent explains what’s required to be successful in the industry. And you can use that information to confirm that real estate is the right career move for you.

#5 The Million Dollar Listing Social Media

Many of today’s new agents are surprised at just how much business is done online via social media. Whilst you needn’t be a “social media expert” it is fast becoming part of the job description for real estate agents. Buyers and sellers are online. So you need an online presence that will engage them.

Check out Sebastian Acosta’s The Million Dollar Listing Social Media: The Ultimate Social Media Marketing Guide for Real Estate Professionals. It’s probably the most comprehensive book on the topic but there’s no harm in getting comfortable with this minefield, even before you’re officially licensed. 

Habits for life

Many of these habits, designed to make agents better at their jobs, will actually set you up for success in every area of your life. Because even for agents, life is about more than just real estate.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite.ai | real estate themed generative AI

Real estate agents can’t imagine working without ChatGPT now

by Charlotte C.

If you came across a four bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home listed for sale recently on a quiet cul-de-sac in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, you might not think twice about the online listing. It included typical real estate descriptions like “ideal for entertaining” and “ample space for relaxation.”

But JJ Johannes, the realtor for the home, created the description in less than five seconds by typing a few keywords into ChatGPT, a viral new AI chatbot tool that can generate elaborate responses to user prompts.

It’s a task, he said, that would otherwise have taken him an hour or more to write on his own.

“It saved me so much time,” Johannes told CNN, noting he made a few tweaks and edits to ChatGPT’s work before publishing it.

“It’s not perfect but it was a great starting point. My background is in technology and writing something eloquent takes time. This made it so much easier.”

Johannes is among the real estate agents experimenting with ChatGPT since it was released publicly in late November. Some residential and commercial agents told CNN it has already changed the way they work, from writing listings and social media posts to drafting legal documents. It could also be used to automate repetitive tasks such as answering frequently asked questions and doing complex calculations.

This live real estate listing was created, using overwrite.ai, real estate themed #genAI tool, by a Dubai real estate agent. The property is currently for sale on real estate portal Property Finder. But online chat GPT used by Johannes, this listing is created using overwrite.ai’ proprietary software. Overwrite is a proprietary AI. It has built its own proprietary datasets. And it’s own domain specific corpus. So it’s capable of generating localised, fit-for-purpose property descriptions.

ChatGPT is trained on vast amounts of online data in order to generate responses to user prompts. It has written original essays, stories, song lyrics and research paper abstracts that fooled some scientists. Some CEOs have used it to write emails or do accounting work. It even passed an exam at an Ivy League school. (It has, however, raised concerns among some for its potential to enable cheating and for its inaccuracies.)

In less than two months, ChatGPT has sparked discussions around its potential to disrupt various industries, from publishing to law. But it’s already having a tangible impact on how a number of real estate agents around the country do their jobs – where much of the written work can be formulaic and time consuming – to the extent that some can no longer imagine working without it. 

“I’ve been using it for more than a month, and I can’t remember the last time something has wowed me this much,” said Andres Asion, a broker from the Miami Real Estate Group.

‘As soon as I tried it out, I was sold” 

Recently, a client reached out to Asion with a problem: the woman had moved into a pre-construction home and couldn’t open her windows. She had attempted to contact the developer for months with no response. Asion ran a copy of one of her emails through ChatGPT, asking it to rewrite it with an emphasis on the liability implications. 

“ChatGPT wrote it as a legal issue and all of a sudden, the developer showed up at her house,” he said. 

Asion has also used the tool to draft legally binding addendums and other documents, and sent them to lawyers for approval. “I fine-tune all kinds of drafts with ChatGPT,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll tell it to make it shorter or funnier, and it gives you so many samples to pick and edit from.”

ChatGPT is free for now, but OpenAI, the company behind it, is reportedly considering a monthly charge of $42. Asion said “it’s not even a question” he would pay for access. “I would easily pay $100 or $200 a year for something like this,” he said. “I’d be crazy not to.”

Frank Trelles, a commercial real estate agent at State Street Realty in Miami, said he’d also pay to keep using the tool, which has already impacted the way he does business. “As soon as I tried it out, I was sold,” he said. “I went to sign up for a package, thinking it would be at least $100 a month, and was blown away that it was free. Nothing in this world is free though – and that made me a bit nervous.”

Trelles said he uses ChatGPT to look up the permitted uses for certain land and zones in Miami-Dade County, and calculate what mortgage payments or return on investment might be for a client, which typically involve formulas and mortgage calculators. 

“I can be in a car with a client when they ask me what their mortgage payments might be,” said Trelles. “I can ask ChatGPT what a mortgage payment would be on a $14 million purchase at a 7.2% interest rate amortized over 25 years with two origination points at closing, and in two seconds, it gives me that information. It also explains how it got the answer. It’s amazing.”

Lots of potential, and some limitations

There are some limitations, however. The tool has, for example, struggled with some basic math before. Trelles said it’s helpful for approximations on the go, not for exact numbers.

Serge Reda, a commercial real estate executive and adjunct professor at the Fordham Real Estate Institute, said some use cases for ChatGPT are better than others. ChatGPT may help save brokers time when writing listings or responses, but automating client responses may not be the best tactic because generating leads and closing transactions typically requires a personalized approach.

“It’s accessible to everyone right now because it’s free and they can get a taste of how this powerful tool can work. But there are definitely significant limitations,” he said.

While ChatGPT has generated a wave of interest among realtors, incorporating artificial intelligence in the real estate market isn’t entirely new. Listing site Zillow, for example, has used AI for 3D mapping, creating automatic floor plans and for its Zestimate tool, which can scan pictures to see if a home has hardwood floors or stainless steel appliances so its price estimation better reflects market conditions. Earlier this week, Zillow rolled out an AI-feature that lets potential buyers conduct searches in a more natural language (something that’s long been mastered by Google). 

Matt Kreamer, a spokesperson for Zillow, said the real estate industry has been slower to innovate, but “I think we’ll be seeing much bigger strides very soon.” He said Zillow sees no clear concerns with agents using ChatGPT to help streamline the work they already do and save time.

“We aren’t promoting or wary of ChatGPT but are interested in how it’s being used and watching it,” he said.

Although it’s too early to say if the tool will become a mainstay in real estate, realtor Johannes believes AI in general will transform his industry and others.

“It may not be with ChatGPT,” he said, “but I believe some form of artificial intelligence like this will become a big part of how we work and live our lives.”

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Samantha Murphy Kelly writes for CNN.

This story has been published from an article in CNN published on 28th January 2022.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

Estate Agents: The Survival of the Fittest

by Charlotte C.

Like a pride of lions, your reputation, and that of your Agency, are intertwined. And in the Real Estate Animal Kingdom, only the strongest survive. 

It’s no secret. Your industry is more challenging now, than ever. The potential for massive earnings and the low barriers to entry, are leading to increasing competition. 

Greater compliance oversight. Rising portal charges. Interest rate hikes. These are all very real challenges that demand your continuous evolution. 

Here’s the bottom line. Estate Agents are pack animals, not lone wolves. Every Agent is bound to an Agency, and must work together to market themselves and their properties. 

But what if your marketing department is failing YOU?

Hunting Together

To survive, indeed to thrive, you must hunt together. You will only ever be as strong as the brand you represent. How that brand markets itself, and markets you, is critical to your success. So ask yourself, “Is the brand I work for doing everything possible to support me?” 

Continuous evolution. I said it before. I’ll say it again. If your agency’s marketing team aren’t doing enough to have your back in this cut-throat animal kingdom, you die. If they stand still, falling prey to the complacency of how they do things, you die. If they are not leveraging the latest technologies, guess what? You die. 

Your marketing team has got to be top-notch. If they’re scrimping on budgets, or out of touch with tech, they’re no good to you. A weak link in your chain. Impeding your earning potential.

Animal Rights

It’s your right to query anything that could impede or enhance your income. If they’re not on their game, they’re taking you down a road to nowhere. Pure and simple. 

You need to know where your marketing department’s budget is being spent. And what that’s getting you in return.

Here are 5 questions that all Estate Agents must be asking their marketing departments in 2023:

  1. What international and local best practices are baked into your marketing strategy? 
  2. Are you originating tactics to distinguish you from competition, or just copying what others do?
  3. Do you consciously try to drive traffic to our website, and not just portals? How? What are the results?
  4. How do you ensure that the quality of content we, and our brand, publicly associate our names with, is always of the highest standard?
  5. For each marketing dollar you spend, what is our ROI? (Tip: Nothing less than 300% should suffice)

A Fighting Chance

overwrite.ai is a real estate domain-specific generative AI tool. This means that it generates accurate, localised real estate content based on specific data sets. The content is designed for customised property marketing listings and helps agents sell more homes.

A Little Tip

The easiest way to know whether your marketing team’s thinking of your best interest, is if they’ve subscribed to overwrite.ai for you. If not, get them to without further delay. Only then will you understand what you’ve been missing.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

AI Tools Helping Leaders Make Time To Be Human

by Charlotte C.

When OpenAI launched the AI chatbot at the end of November, it instantly attracted millions of users, with breathless predictions of its potential to disrupt business models and jobs.

It certainly promises to deliver on a prediction I made in 2019 in my book The Human Edge, which explores the skills needed in a world of artificial intelligence and digitization. I forecasted: “…AI can offer us more free time by automating the stupid stuff we currently have to do, thereby reducing our cognitive burden.”

The prize is clear for leaders.

Use ChatGPT to liberate hours spent on simple tasks each week. Then divert this time towards high-impact skills more suited to human beings. Activities such as:

  • Asking curious questions
  • Communicating purpose, vision, strategy, and values
  • Supporting collaboration
  • Catalyzing learning
  • Encouraging creative thinking and innovation
AI can help busy leaders make time to become more human

The Emergence of ChatGPT

ChatGPT is not a revolution. However, it is a significant evolution. This free online resource does the same job as previous AI assistants like Siri, Cortana, and Alexa, just better. Crucially, the bot remembers earlier answers in the same conversation. This allows it to adapt and respond more usefully to follow-up questions. The result is eerily like an intelligent, emergent dialogue.

The old cliché states leadership is a lonely place. For time-stressed managers, this AI means they have access to a free, confidential, and well-informed advisor. Over time, ChatGPT will evolve to support the work of functional departments such as HR, communications, and marketing. In the long run, it may spell the end of many executive assistant roles

Leadership Gains

Leadership use cases include faster research and brainstorming to generate ideas for team learning, business development, and strategy. Many will use it to speed up the creation of content they need every day: emails, talking points, and presentations. The AI supports the entire writing process: outlining, editing, proofreading, and summarizing. Wise leaders will use the saved time to engage on a human level with colleagues and customers.

A Tool, Not a Replacement

I would not advise using ChatGPT without judgment and discretion. Blindly outsourcing your emails and meetings to ChatGPT is an accident waiting to happen. It’s also crucial for leaders need to weave their authentic style into all their communication.

This tool can accelerate the start of a thinking process, even if it is soon out of its depth. ChatGPT has yet to learn of world events after 2021, which was the last time it received training information. Like most chatbots, it also occasionally generates weird and incorrect responses. However, if it can provide such credible material for a delicate performance review, it must be helpful in automating more mundane, day-to-day communication.

Empowering the Creatives

Social media is ablaze with amazingly creative uses for this AI, including writing rap lyrics, generating food recipes, and creating new brand names.

For busy leaders, the clock is always ticking. ChatGPT helps with the heavy lifting at the start of a project, process and even a tricky personnel issue. But it’s not a replacement for thought, just the latest AI tool to make us more productive – so we can find the time to be more human.

AI in Proptech

Overwrite is a domain-specific generative AI tool for real estate. This means that it generates accurate, localised real estate content based on specific data sets. Overwrite uses its own natural language machine learning technology together with the data inputted by the real estate agent. The content is designed for customised property marketing listings and helps agents sell more homes.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Greg Orme writes for Forbes.

This story is from an article in Forbes published 11th February 2023.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

Quick Guide to Speaking in Emoji

by Charlotte C.

Emojis are relevant as ever. If used correctly, a brand can become instantly relatable to its target audience.

A Linkedin post. An Instagram caption. An email campaign subject title.

Make no mistake – execute “emoji marketing” well, and it can have a huge impact on your marketing efforts.

But there’s a whole language behind the pretty pictures. And if you want to 1) make your content pop, 2) appear relatable and 3) reveal the “human” behind your brand, (without making any embarrassing blunders along the way), you must follow certain rules.

Your Guide to Emoji Marketing

1. Context is 🔑

It’s crucial to be mindful of cultural differences. Regardless if it’s a one-sentence tweet, or a lengthier Linkedin post. What’s a normal emoji to you could carry a different cultural connotation in another country. The linguistic context emojis carry across cultures and generations mustn’t be underestimated. Avoiding any unintentional insults or inappropriate connotations is vital.

2. A 🍑 isn’t a peach 

Always look up possible risqué connotations for emojis before using them to sell your products. They can hold very different meanings. For example, a peach isn’t a peach. An eggplant isn’t an eggplant. Save yourself from getting caught up in a potentially embarrassing social media crisis, that could’ve easily been avoided with a simple Google search.

3. There is a 🕐 and 📍 for emoji use

Sometimes emojis can completely change the meaning (and tone) of a message. Some customers might feel that the use (or overuse) of emojis is frivolous or lacks professionalism. They also risk diluting the impact of your message, especially if it’s intended to be serious. Know when not to use them.

4. Test, test, and test 📝

Do your emoji-laden tweets get more engagement than text only ones? Do emojis on LinkedIn drive more clicks to articles you share? Do your followers swipe up more when you include emojis in your Instagram Stories? Test different use cases and learn from the results.

5. Research your audience 🧐

Understand your audience to see what will fly with them. Monitor their emojis and emotions to target your emoji marketing campaign and understand their sentiment towards your brand.

6. Minimal is chic ✨

Just because emojis boost engagement, you shouldn’t stuff your social post with emojis. Aside from being an aesthetic nightmare, an emoji-filled post will fetch you a one-way ticket to being trolled mercilessly online. Rightfully so. You need to know when enough is enough.

7. Beware of formatting blunders 😖

Emojis do not always look similar across different mobile devices. What’s formatted correctly on an iPhone may have weird line breaks when you check the same tweet on the desktop. Always keep this in mind while crafting content that’s dependent on a well-located emoji – it could completely ruin all your hard work and make your clients *cringe (enter appropriate *cringe emoji).

8. The Mindful Emoji user 😇

It’s not just cultures you must be aware of while using emojis. Generational differences matter as well. In essence, the next time you’re crafting content and want to use emojis, be mindful of the different connotations emojis carry across generations, as well as cultures.

Emojis are here to stay 🙏

Love them or hate them, they’re not going anywhere fast. In fact, the number of emojis available across multiple platforms and devices, seems to be ever-expanding. Understandable given the evidence that a single, cleverly placed emoji can add significant emotional cues to marketing content.

But too much of a good thing is never advisable. So use with caution. Know when enough is enough. Be mindful of your audience. Do your research. And, if you want results, it pays to be consistent, stick with what works, build momentum, and have fun along the way.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

The Biggest Opportunity In Generative AI Is Language, Not Images

by Charlotte C.

The buzz around generative AI today is deafening. No topic in the world of technology is attracting more attention and hype right now.

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence that can generate novel content, rather than simply analyzing or acting on existing data. 

The white-hot epicenter of today’s generative AI craze has been text-to-image AI.

It was the sudden emergence of these text-to-image AI models over the summer that catalyzed today’s generative AI frenzy: billion-dollar funding rounds for nascent startups, nonstop media coverage, and waves of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists hastily rebranding themselves as AI-focused.

It makes sense that text-to-image AI, more than any other area of artificial intelligence, has so captivated the public’s imagination. Images are aesthetically appealing, easy to consume, fun to share, ideally suited to go viral.

The AI Avatar trend went viral in late 2022

Text-to-image AI is incredibly powerful technology

And to be sure, text-to-image AI is incredibly powerful technology. The images that these models can produce are breathtaking in their originality and sophistication. Image-generating AI will transform industries including advertising, gaming and filmmaking.

Reimagining Albert Einstein, through Generative AI

But make no mistake: current buzz notwithstanding, AI-powered text generation will create many orders of magnitude more value than will AI-powered image generation in the years ahead. 

Machines’ ability to generate language—to write and speak—will prove to be far more transformative than their ability to generate visual content.

The Power of the Written Word

Language is humanity’s single most important invention. More than anything else, it is what sets us apart from every other species on the planet. 

Almost nothing about modern civilization would be possible without language.

To illustrate the depth and breadth of the coming transformation, let’s walk through some example applications.

From Sales to Science

The first true “killer application” for generative text, in terms of commercial adoption, has proven to be copywriting: that is, AI-generated website copy, social media posts, blog posts and other marketing-related written content.

AI-powered copywriting has seen stunning revenue growth over the past year. 

Jasper, one of the leading startups in this category, launched a mere 18 months ago and will reportedly do $75 million in revenue this year, making it one of the fastest-growing software startups ever. Jasper just announced a $125 million fundraise valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Unsurprisingly, a raft of competitors has emerged to chase this market.

Copywriting is just the beginning

Generative AI will transform the world of customer service and call centers, across industries: from hospitality to ecommerce, from healthcare to financial services. The same goes for internal IT and HR helpdesks.

Language models (like overwrite.ai) can already automate much of the work that happens before, during and after customer service conversations, including in-call agent coaching and after-call documentation and summarization.

Soon, paired with generative text-to-speech technology, they will be able to handle most customer service engagements end-to-end, with no human needed—not in the stilted, brittle, rules-based way that automated call centers have worked for years, but in fluid natural language that is effectively indistinguishable from a human agent.

To put it simply: nearly all of the interactions that you as a consumer will need to have with a brand or company, on any topic, can and will be automated.

For some lower-stakes use cases—say, writing outbound sales emails or website copy—the technology will soon be advanced and robust enough that users motivated by the potential productivity gains will feel comfortable automating the application end-to-end, with no human in the loop at all.

At the other end of the spectrum, some safety-critical use cases—say, using generative models to diagnose and propose treatments for individual patients—will for the foreseeable future require a human in the loop to review and approve the models’ output before any real action is taken.

But make no mistake: generative language technology is improving fast—almost unbelievably fast. 

Within months, expect industry leaders like OpenAI and Cohere to release new models that represent dramatic, step-change improvements in language capabilities compared to today’s models (which themselves are already breathtakingly powerful).

Over the longer term, the trend will be decisive and inevitable: as these models get better, and as the products built on top of them become easier to use and more deeply embedded in existing workflows, we will hand over more responsibility for more of society’s day-to-day functions to AI, with little or no human oversight. More and more of the use cases described above will be carried out end-to-end, in a closed-loop manner, by language models that we have empowered to decide and act.

This may sound startling, even terrifying, to readers today. But we will increasingly acclimate to the reality that machines can carry out many of these functions more effectively, more quickly, more affordably and more reliably than humans could.

Massive disruption, vast value creation, painful job dislocation and many new multi-billion-dollar AI-first companies are around the corner.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Rob Toews writes for Forbes.

This story has been published from an article in Forbes published on 6th November 2022.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

Five digital transformation strategies to navigate change in 2023

by Charlotte C.

Even if you aren’t actively working on digital transformation (DX), you’re probably thinking about it or hearing others talk about it.

Driven by the pandemic and emphasised by the rising economic instability,  DX adoption has exploded in the past few months.

According to a McKinsey study, nine out of 10 businesses think that their business model needs to change in 2023 and over half believe that they need to build new digital businesses to remain economically viable. 

It’s not only the uncertainty and rising living costs making businesses rethink their digital strategy. Shifts in consumer expectations and a focus on sustainability have put further pressure on companies to innovate, and act as advocates for change.

Digital transformation has created a scenario where companies that are fast and agile stand to outlive those that aren’t.

But with so many competing priorities, how does one decide where to begin? Experts say, start with the basics. 

Dust off your data

Before you even start to look at bringing in new technology, you need to inform your decision-making by gathering the right data. Many companies still struggle with disjointed or incomplete data and that can lead DX efforts astray.

Start by taking stock of the data you have. You might be collecting a lot of data from different sources that you haven’t brought together, haven’t interpreted and, therefore, you don’t know how to create value out of it. Also look at external sources. In some cases, combining data between organisations across the sector can provide insights on consumer trends that you might not otherwise have had.

Decide which tech (such as AI) can best tackle specific issues

Once you have clean and sufficient data you can think about which technologies, such as machine learning and AI, will best use it to tackle specific issues.

Invest in core capabilities

Inflationary spikes and a looming recession are making companies think about how to achieve more with less, both in terms of their labour and digital capabilities. Improvements in workforce scheduling, for example, can mitigate issues with labour shortages while automating manual tasks can increase productivity.

Ruben Schaubroeck is senior partner and leader of McKinsey’s digital practice in the UK, Ireland and Israel. He recommends taking an incremental approach, where small changes can lead to big results. “The best organisations take a domain-specific view of data, for instance customer service or digital sales, and think about how they can take an end-to-end view of that use case to show a clear impact on customers and employees.” 

We often talk about digital and data teams and reskilling top management, but you also have to think about how you can retrain your workforce more broadly.

On the other hand, companies need to exercise caution about how they build their technical capabilities. While many companies oscillate between buying a single enterprise solution or building a custom solution from standalone tools, the most agile businesses usually do both. They buy into a modern enterprise solution and then use it as the foundation for all the other bolt-on pieces.

Focus on customer experience

While digital innovation occurs across sectors, B2B organisations often lag behind B2C vendors in customer experience. This needs to change. 

Experience matters regardless of the type of business you run. Consumers, especially newer generations, can be unforgiving about engaging with brands if the experience isn’t enjoyable and more likely to turn away than to stay. Customers often move between different touch-points, from customer services to sales or sales to in-store, and in-store to online.

One way you can build this single customer view is to capitalise on data. Customer loyalty programmes are helping to drive this digital shift. Provided you have the necessary data, you can start thinking about how you can personalise each touchpoint to drive upsells and increase brand loyalty.

Embed digital in your corporate DNA

Digital transformation is often more about the people than the technology behind it. It’s about how you respond to risks and opportunities.

Resistance to change is the most common reason she sees DX projects fail, so it’s important to have the right talent in place. Change management is an underestimated factor in digital transformation and it needs to be a priority.

Where some businesses hire in chief technology officers to manage digital transformation, others are introducing roles such as a chief of data to manage the overall data analytics infrastructure. 

Looking beyond hiring, it is vital to invest in upgrading the digital competencies of your overall workforce, at scale. 

Practise good digital hygiene

Sustainability, resilience, cybersecurity and risk management are often afterthoughts in the process of implementing new digital solutions. But these elements need to be included at the beginning to build a lasting digital solution. 

Does your solution allow you to be more agile in times of uncertainty? Do you have a disaster recovery plan should one of your data centres fail? Do you have a good data governance policy in place which informs your employees how to collect and use data? If the answer is no to most of these questions, you still have some ground-level work to do. 

Living and breathing digital evolution

It is vital to invest in upgrading the digital competencies of your overall workforce, at scale. 

Digital business transformation is a holistic approach to changing the way an organisation thinks, organises, operates and behaves. The digital strategy, in this sense, should be a living, breathing thing that evolves alongside the business.

But embarking on the DX journey requires caution. Trying to do too much too fast or doing nothing at all can both cost dearly.

Instead, examine the overall business goal to see what emerging technology, whatever your industry, can help achieve it.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Natasha Serafimovska writes for Raconteur.

This story has been published from an article in Raconteur published on 29th November 2022.

For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

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Open House Do’s & Don’ts Over Holiday Season

by Charlotte C.

Make your open houses zing with holiday cheer. 🎄
Follow these handy Do’s and Don’ts!

1. DO: Make an entrance

Whatever the climate, make sure the entrance to the property is presentable. If your clients live in a cold climate, all walkways and stairs must be free of ice and snow. If you’re based in the desert (Dubai Brokers out there!), a quick sweep up of sandy doorsteps will go a long way.

2. DO: Control the temperature

Make sure the AC is turned up or heating turned on, when it’s time for the open house. If buyers are uncomfortable due to the temperature of the room, they are less likely to enjoy their viewing.

3. DO: Track the weather

If there’s a sandstorm or heatwave forecast to hit, it may be best to reschedule the open house. Make sure to keep an eye on upcoming weather warnings and be prepared with a new date.

4. DO: Deck the halls

Get into the spirit of the season. Take advantage of the holiday period by encouraging sellers to incorporate holiday décor into their open house. Twinkling Christmas lights or a scented holiday candle can welcome buyers and lift spirits.

5. DO: Write a powerful listing description

Listing descriptions these days are more than just point form lists. You need a powerful listing description! You want to engage your clients to feel excited about the home — especially about what the joy of purchasing a new home during the holidays will mean for them. Try to capture the excitement of the holidays to drive interest. Don’t have time to think of engaging words and carefully constructed sentences? This can easily be achieved using an AI writing assistant, specialised for real estate marketing.

Don’ts for holiday open houses

There are some things you definitely want to be careful of over the holidays when it comes to open houses.

1. DON’T: Overdo the holiday spirit 

Holiday decorations will create a cozier atmosphere in the home, but you don’t want to overdo it. It can have the opposite effect. Anything that may distract from the home’s curb appeal – giant Santa and Rudolph inflatables, for example—should be put away until after the showing.

2. DON’T: Forget to declutter

Try not to go overboard and keep clutter to a minimum. Put away personal items, such as family photos, as they tend to distract potential buyers.

3. DON’T: Emphasize religion too heavily 

Remember not everyone celebrates Christmas. There are many religions that don’t celebrate this time of year. Going overboard on religious symbols can be off-putting to some, so remind your clients to keep it tasteful despite their personal convictions.

4. DON’T: Leave presents out in the open

‘Tis the season of giving, but not to potential buyers. Make sure you pack expensive gifts and treasures away. Not only do many presents clutter the home, but they can be awkwardly personal for a new family trying to imagine their own future memories in the home.

Yes, you can sell homes over the holidays

The bottom line is, the work doesn’t stop just because the holidays are here! Use this time of year to brighten your home opens, not as an excuse to give up.

Remember, some buyers and tenants specifically look to this time of year to shop for a new property, and you might have just the one for them.

For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | the AI writing assistant for real estate | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.

Dubai cashing in on FIFA’s world cup in Qatar

by Charlotte C.

Qatar isn’t the only country getting a giant boom in tourism thanks to its hosting of the 2022 World Cup.

The neighbouring United Arab Emirates is also set to benefit, with Dubai expected to see an estimated 1 million additional visitors during the course of the soccer tournament, according to the Dubai 6 Sports Council.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, in August called Dubai “the major gateway” to the World Cup and predicted it would see more tourists than Qatar itself.

And the city is pulling out all the stops, leveraging its reputation as a hyper-modern city more liberal and built-out than Qatar and advertising the extravagant tourist attractions it’s developed a reputation for. 

Dubai “the major gateway” to the World Cup

Dubai is known for over-the-top and outlandish experiences — like its indoor ski slope complex in the desert, to the world’s tallest building and largest Ferris wheel.

With superyacht rentals, private jets and a soccer-themed hotel – Dubai is ready for the party.

It’s now added specific World Cup-themed experiences, simultaneously taking advantage of the fact that Qatar, a tiny country of 3 million people, is struggling to accommodate all its expected tourists and many of them will opt to lodge in Dubai for the matches instead. 

This has been made possible by “match day air shuttles” being operated by Qatar Airlines and Dubai-based low-cost carrier FlyDubai– allowing travelers to book same-day round-trip flights from Dubai or nearby Oman to attend a match in Qatar and return in less than 24 hours.   

“Only an hour away from Qatar by flight, Dubai is a familiar destination for global travelers,” Taufiq Rahim, a research fellow at the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government, told CNBC. “Its tourism infrastructure and straightforward entry requirements make it a convenient base for World Cup fans.”

Qatar is expected to have delivered 45,000 hotel rooms in total by the start of November, according to Cushman & Wakefield Qatar, with tournament accommodation “bolstered by cruise ships, camping facilities, apartments and villas.”

Dubai, meanwhile, as a city has more than 140,000 hotel rooms, according to hotel data firm STR. 

Around the UAE’s different emirates, 43 fan zones for watching matches have been set up, with some of the biggest – like Budweiser’s official BudX fan zone in Dubai Harbor – big enough to host 10,000 fans daily with matches aired on enormous 3,552 square-foot screens.

There’s even a soccer-themed hotel on Dubai’s man-made Palm archipelago, where the most dedicated fans can stay while being shuttled in and out of Doha for daily matches.

A $20,000 per night match viewing experience

Dubai’s revenue won’t just be coming from hotel stays and restaurants. Visitors to the emirate can rent superyachts running in the tens of thousands of dollars per night to watch matches while sailing through the Persian Gulf.

Xclusive Yachts, the UAE’s largest private charter yacht company, offers its most opulent seaborne experience at $20,000 per night on a trip-deck super yacht complete with a skydeck, onboard bar, skylounge, five cabins and a Michelin-starred chef serving gourmet meals. 

“We are expecting a more than 300% [rise] in yacht bookings in November and December mainly due to visitors for the World Cup and Qatar who are also looking for leisure activities in Dubai,” Managing Director Amit Patel told Doha News in October.

Flight traffic is also shooting up — Dubai Airports in mid-November announced that a whopping 120 shuttle flights will fly in and out of the Dubai World Central airport each day between the tournament’s start and end dates of Nov. 20 and Dec. 18. 

CEO of Flydubai, Ghaith Al Ghaith, said that nearly all of the airline’s match-day shuttle flights to Doha were at full capacity. 

“This is a pattern that looks set to continue over the next couple of days and weeks,” Al Ghaith said.

Flydubai and Qatar Airways will be jointly running the match day shuttle flights between DWC and Doha. With the addition of flights from Dubai’s main airport, Dubai International (DXB), travelers can catch a flight every 30 to 50 minutes. 

Private jet demand booms

Private jet charter companies have also seen a boom in business, with some fans willing to pay eye-watering sums to get to matches.

“We certainly see a great increase in traffic between Dubai and Doha over the coming month,” Oleg Kafarov, portfolio development and communications director at Dubai-based private charter jet company Jetex, told CNBC. 

Prices for some private jet service packages run for 29,000 dirhams ($7,895) a seat. The flight time between Dubai and Doha is roughly an hour. 

Party time

Like everything in Dubai, there’s a luxury option if you have the cash to spend. And given its reputation, we wouldn’t expect anything less as neighbours to the World Cup host.

So whether you’re partying on the ground, or taking to the skies for a taste of the live action in Qatar, it seems there’s no escaping World Cup fever and Dubai is ever-ready to get you in the spirit of the world sporting celebrations.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Natasha Turak writes for CNBC.

This story has been published from an article on 24th November 2022. The headline and imagery has been changed.

For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite.ai | the AI writing assistant for real estate | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.

Dubai’s New Real Estate Rental Index: Vigilance or Overkill?

by Charlotte C.

Dubai’s property rent review regulations are to be shaken up. But is it for the better?

Rent reviews are currently linked to a geographically segmented rental price index. Reviews are capped in line with the average for a property’s location. 

The Dubai Lands Department is rolling out a new index, said to factor specific building quality and amenities.

At first glance this looks like great news.

Vigilant. Proactive. Data-driven governance. But on reflection, could this be interventionist overkill?

Data Overload

An index comprised of such granular data becomes a mammoth task to maintain, even with the use of modern technology. Very possible that it falls on its own sword over time.

Example: A building’s owner spends millions today, completely upgrading its lift systems. How long until that Capex is reflected in the index? In real time? A month later? A year? 

(More detail on how the index will be constructed and updated would help).

A Healthier Alternative?

Could we instead rely on market economics to determine rent reviews. At most, the regulator can set a cap and collar in place to protect against tenant and landlord exploitation.

Wouldn’t that be:

Less labour (and tech) intensive? Less subjective? More efficient? 

All Systems Go

At the end of the day, property investment yields are a correlation between price and income. When the former is determined by free market economics, and the latter is controlled, the result is high price volatility. 

The precise opposite of what a stable, healthy real estate economy needs. 

Is this proposed change vigilance, or overkill?

Share your vote below 👇

For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite.ai | the AI writing assistant for real estate | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.

10 Ways to Recession-proof your Real Estate Business in 2022

by Charlotte C.

Inflation is hitting everyone hard. Interest rates are higher than they’ve been in years. Home prices have continued to rise, and buyers have cooled on buying homes in the short term.

But there are some things that real estate agents can do now to survive, and grow business during the coming downturn.

Savvy real estate agents are preparing for the slowdown. Doing everything they can to pick up momentum and come out on the other side a leader in their market.

Looking for ways to ride out the recession?

Here’s some tips to recession-proof your business.

1. Expand your Territory

When the housing market shifts, it rarely shifts all at once and all in the same direction. Typically, a cooling off in prices and demand for homes in one sector, means an increase in another. If your local market is quiet, start by expanding your reach a little outside of your everyday transactions.

Look outside your normal geographic area and outside your normal price ranges. Find where people are still buying and selling.

You might even consider a completely different niche—like divorce leads. Done right, this can be a generous source of qualified leads that can fill your pipeline indefinitely. Visit DivorceThisHouse.com and learn the secrets to tapping into this often overlooked lead-gen source.

2. Level up your Personal Branding

Now is definitely not the time to become a secret agent. The last thing you want is to drop off the radar in your market.

Focus your marketing efforts on brand awareness and social media marketing. You want your prospects to know who you are and what you stand for. That way, when they’re ready to pull the trigger on a purchase or sale, you’ll be the person they think of.

3. Healthcheck your CRM

Let the CRM do the heavy lifting.

Your customer relationship management (CRM) should “work” your database for you. Setting up your CRM to keep track of your prospects, clients, and leads in today’s real estate space is essential. 

Focus your marketing efforts on people who will need your services three, six, or even 12 months from now. That will help fill your pipeline with clients and keep your business healthy. 

The CRM will act as an assistant, reminding you of important facts about your clients, what you discussed in your last conversation, and when you need to follow up. Let the technology do the heavy lifting.

4. Maintain Existing Clients

When the economy changes due to uncertain conditions, changing your approach to servicing your buyers and sellers may be necessary. Your client relationships are key at this time of transition, so showing them that you can still help them in whatever market we find ourselves in is important.

Even when the market isn’t in your client’s favour at the moment, it’s important to maintain your relationship because the market will always change, and your clients will remember loyalty.

5. Keep ahead of the (Economic) Times

It’s important to understand how an economic downturn impacts housing. If things in the real estate market go south for a little while, we likely won’t be alone. Many sectors of the economy will also contract, and it’s essential to understand the housing market in the context of the overall financial picture. Not all sectors of your market may slow down.

Companies like Keeping Current Matters provide graphics, charts, and infographics that you can add to your branding and post online. Posting relevant market insights positions you as an expert to your sphere and helps inform your community about current market conditions.

6. Connect as a Real Person

Recessions are challenging for everyone. That’s why it’s important to connect with your clients as a human who cares about them (and not just a real estate agent who wants to help with a transaction).

Inflation is high, prices for consumer good are rising astronomically and the world seems a pretty unstable place right now.

A phone call or a text checking in can go a long way. Plus, you’ll stay top of mind when those market questions come up.

If all you care about is getting their commission fee, this will soon become obvious to your clients. Genuine agents will gain the trust of clients. They’re likely to remain loyal and turn to you for unbiased advice, even if the outcome is not in their favour.

7. Focus Your Attention on Your Sphere of Influence

Switch your marketing efforts to your personal sphere of influence and develop a stronger referral base. These are people who already know and trust you; you don’t have to win them over for business—all you have to do is be present at the right time.

Spend time reaching out to them, supporting their endeavors, especially in a social setting, such as advertising for their kids’ sports programs and sponsoring events. Those relationships are key when there is a recession, and the market is slow.

Establish yourself as the hyperlocal leader of your community, allowing you to give back in a positive and productive way.

8. Make the Switch to a Nearly All-digital Operation

If you haven’t done so already, an economic slowdown is a great time to get your business caught up to the 21st century.

Take your business confidently online so that you are able to conduct business much more efficiently, in a digital space, without you having to be at the helm constantly.

If you’re lacking in certain areas, sign up for some courses to acquire these skills quickly, or talk to a colleague in your office who you know may be comfortable with these technologies.

Try streamlining processing that ordinarily take up valuable time, using technology to improve their efficiency.

For example, boring tasks such as writing listing descriptions can now be generated using AI writing assistant technology. This saves significant time as well as improving lead generation.

9. Market Your Current Listings More Aggressively

If you’ve got listings on the market when a recession hits, the race is on to move those properties before buyers retreat. With unrealistic expectations over the past several months, it’s even more important to price homes to move quickly.

By ramping up your marketing with new social postings, and unique language, can make a huge difference. Well written descriptions will entice potential buyers to view your listings, and make you stand out online.

You can also refresh your current listings instantly using overwrite.ai which allows you to regenerate property writeups, if the property is taking a while to shift.

Your pricing strategy is going to need to change too: prioritize speed to close over the final sale price. Of course, you still want to get the most you can for your sellers, but the longer a property sits on the market during lean times, the harder it becomes to sell at any price.

10. Join a Team

As a solo agent, you reap all the benefits of your hard work. On the other hand, you also shoulder all the risks if things go quiet. Joining a real estate team can provide you with a source of leads, some useful tech, a greater sphere of influence, and the financial support you may need to make it through particularly tough patches.

Over to You

Come out on the other side of the recession ahead of the game. Savvy recession-proofing strategies can set proactive real estate agents up for major success. 

A financial recession and its negative consequences can have some unexpected benefits for upstart real estate agents. 

Your job now is to find creative ways to demonstrate value to your sphere. Keep communicating with people, create conversations, be as visible as possible, and stay authentically human.

What other ways are you recession-proofing your real estate business? Let us know in the comments, and let’s keep the conversation going.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Chris Linsell writes for The Close.

This story has been published from an article on 20th July 2022.

For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite.ai | the AI writing assistant for real estate | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.

What went wrong with Snap, Netflix and Uber?

by Charlotte C.

Despite superficial differences, digital darlings’ business models rest on the same shaky pillars.

When evan spiegel, boss of Snap, wrote in a leaked memo that the social-media company had been “punched in the face hard by 2022’s new economic reality”, he might as well have been describing America’s digital darlings as a whole.

After a multi-year bull run, the sector is suffering a sharp correction. 

The nasdaq index, home to many consumer-internet firms, has fallen by nearly 30% in the past 12 months; the Dow Jones Industrial Average, made up of less techie firms, is down by less than 10%. Crunchbase, a data provider, estimates that American tech firms have already shed more than 45,000 jobs this year.

Macroeconomics is partly to blame. Soaring inflation and rising mortgage repayments are leading consumers to cut back on discretionary spending—and most digital offerings are discretionary.

Even the industry’s trillion-dollar giants have not been spared, despite continuing to rake in handsome profits. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft have collectively lost $2trn in market value over the past 12 months.

The movers, the streamers and the creepers

If you think big tech has it bad, spare a thought for the not-so-big tech. In particular, three business models embraced by firms born after the dotcom crash of 2001—and subsequently by investors—are losing steam: the movers (which shuttle people or things around cities), the streamers (which offer music and tv online) and the creepers (which make money by watching their users and selling eerily well-targeted ads). Over the past year, the firms that epitomise these business models—Uber and DoorDash; Netflix and Spotify; and Snap and Meta (which has tumbled spectacularly out of the trillion-dollar club)—have shed two-thirds of their market capitalisation on average.

And things could get worse. Despite being the global leader in ride-hailing, Uber on November 1st reported yet another quarterly loss. In its 13-year life it has torched a cumulative $25bn of cash, equivalent to roughly half its current market value. DoorDash, the leader in food delivery, also remains lossmaking. So do Spotify (despite decent revenue growth) and Snap (in addition to sharply slowing sales).

Netflix—a child of the 1990s but a streamer only since 2007—turns a profit but its revenue growth was down to 6% year on year in the third quarter, compared with a historical average of more than 20%. Meta’s revenues have now shrunk for two consecutive quarters.

On the surface, the movers, streamers and creepers—and thus their problems—look distinct. On closer inspection, though, their businesses all turn out to face the same main pitfalls: a misplaced faith in network effects, low barriers to entry and a dependence on someone else’s platform.

The network effects

Start with network effects, or “flywheels” in Silicon Valley speak—the idea that a product’s value to a user rises with the number of users. Once the user base passes a certain threshold, the argument goes, the flywheel powers a self-perpetuating cycle of growth. It also explains why so many startups seek growth at all cost, spending millions acquiring ever more customers to get the flywheel spinning.

Network effects are real. But they also have their limits. Uber believed that its headstart in ride-hailing gave it a ticket to riches, as more riders and drivers would mean less idle time for both, drawing ever more users into an unstoppable vortex. Instead, it encountered diminishing returns to scale: reducing average wait times from two minutes to one would require twice as many drivers, even though most riders would barely notice the difference. DoorDash’s hungry consumers likewise only require so many alternative Indian restaurants to choose from. And what network effects the movers enjoy are local; a user in New York cares little about the popularity of the app in Los Angeles.

The Netflix Movie scored a rare 0% audience rating
on Rotten Tomatoes

Spotify and Netflix also tried to capitalise on network effects, as oodles of data on the listening and viewing habits of similar users promised to deliver an unbeatable product. Belief that Netflix’s trove of user information would give it a winning edge in creating content has been shattered by flops like “True Memoirs of an International Assassin”, which scored a rare 0% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a review website. For the creepers—whose social networks are a network-effects business par excellence—the worry is what happens if the flywheels start spinning in reverse. Meta had a scare in the fourth quarter of 2021, when it lost 1m users. That loss did not turn into a stampede; the company has added users since. Next time it may not be so lucky.

From Boon to Bane

The second problem—low barriers to entry—also looks like a supposed boon that turned into a bane. Advances in technology, from smartphones to cloud computing, allowed all manner of startups, including the movers, streamers and creepers, to build consumer software cheaply and quickly. But that also meant that copycats soon emerged, and easy money allowed them to offer generous discounts to quickly build the minimum necessary scale.

Fending off the rivals

Although Uber faces only one real ride-hailing rival, Lyft, in its home market, its global expansion almost immediately ran up against local rivals such as Didi in China or Grab and Gojek in South-East Asia.

The combination of relatively simple products and free-of-charge user experience means a new twist on social media can be enough for a new challenger to gain momentum: just try to pry a teenager from TikTok.

The barriers to entry for the streamers are higher—Netflix and Spotify spend a lot of money making or licensing content. But they are not insurmountable, especially for deep-pocketed rivals. To fend off the challenge from Disney, which is spending a total of $30bn a year on content, Netflix has to keep splurging, too, to the tune of around $17bn a year. Like customer-acquisition costs for the movers, content costs eat into streamers’ profits. Disney’s streaming services lost $1.1bn in the second quarter of this year and the company has said that its Disney+ platform expects to lose money until 2024. Heavy investment explains why Netflix’s free cashflow (the money companies generate after subtracting capital investments) is equal to only 6% of revenue.

Is the clock ticking for TikTok?

The third flaw common to the three wobbly business models is their reliance on distribution platforms that are not their own. Uber and DoorDash pay a handsome fee to advertise on the iPhone and Alphabet’s Android app stores. Spotify forks over a 15% commission on subscriptions purchased on iPhones—a tax so annoying that it has filed a complaint against Apple over it. Netflix avoids the commission by forcing users to subscribe through their web browser, shifting the irritation to the customer—and quite possibly missing out on subscriptions.

Worst affected by the lack of their own rails are the creepers. Their dependence on the iPhone-Android duopoly is an existential threat. Apple’s newish requirement that users give iPhone apps permission to track their activity across other apps and websites, a move since replicated by Alphabet, may this year cost Meta an estimated $10bn in forgone revenue. Parler, a creeper favoured by the far right for its liberal attitude to speech norms, was temporarily suspended by both Apple and Android. If American national-security hawks worried about TikTok’s Chinese ownership get their way and force Apple and Alphabet to expel it from their app stores, the rising star of social media could find itself similarly thwacked.

The different business models do not face an equal balance of challenges. The movers would be in better nick if the industry had meaningful barriers to entry. The streamers may have been able to bat away new entrants if network effects had been stronger. And the creepers were in reasonable shape until Apple and Alphabet spoiled their party. One shaky pillar is problematic enough. Three of them is a disaster waiting to happen.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

This story has been repurposed from an article published online in The Economist on 31st October 2022, without modifications to the text.

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