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The Miami Association of Realtors has hired a software company that specializes in artificial intelligence-based marketing to assist its members in gaining exposure and capturing leads for their sellers’ homes, Inman has learned.

The company, Infinityy, uses existing listing assets to build out graphically enriched and interactive browser-based “Rooms” for presenting properties in either the residential, multifamily or commercial real estate environments.

The onboard AI is designed to converse with website visitors, earn their interest and turn over their information to the appropriate agent.

Infinityy can build out its presentations using 3D tours, video walk-throughs, imagery, and floor plans and be active 24/7 to answer questions in the hope of capturing new business.

“Every Miami Realtor now has access to a free, AI-powered Infinityy tour — unlocking the ability to reach buyers earlier, faster and more effectively than ever before,” said Teresa King Kinney, the association’s CEO. “Infinityy’s award-winning technology isn’t just saving our members time — it can elevate their service, driving more sales, and giving them a powerful edge in today’s competitive market.”

The company’s website explains an Infinityy Room as an interactive virtual environment for an individual property, which could be a freestanding home, vacant apartment or office space.

“Your Infinityy Room is uniquely your own, allowing all parties to communicate together in real-time, all while sharing the same experience in the same space, even while miles apart. Invite anyone you choose to share your Infinityy Room experience with and simplify the decision-making process, together,” the company states.

Infinityy Rooms can be shared on their own or embedded into websites and landing pages. It supports video conferencing so an agent and prospect can jointly tour and discuss the assets and content within the experience. Agents can be alerted when a Room is being toured to interject or request a call, and, when not available, the AI agent can assume the role.

The software also provides visitor and engagement statistics, nice tools to have when discussing marketing updates with sellers and stakeholders.

Miami Association of Realtors is one of three organizations attempting to untangle from the web of Remine, a long-troubled software company that was swallowed by a group of MLSs in an attempt to turn around its technology on behalf of their collective memberships. Joining Miami was Austin Board of Realtors’ Unlock MLS, First MLS and Heartland MLS. The groups were incorporated under MLS Technology Holdings in 2021.

Miami will make a formal announcement of its latest technology partnership and presentation on Friday, April 25 at the South Florida Real Estate Summit.

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Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the power of the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

Marketing software company Rechat has rolled out a significant update to its list of product features, a solution to the complicated process of running online display ads, according to an April 23 statement sent to Inman.

Rechat Digital Ads will give users the ability to create and manage sophisticated retargeting campaigns for lead capture, nurture and conversion. It adds value to email campaigns, landing pages and other digital marketing efforts. Meta platforms are built especially to capitalize on such technology, a long-proven system for real estate agents given the browsing habits of buyers and sellers.

“Rechat Digital Ads represents a major leap forward in real estate marketing,” said Shayan Hamidi, CEO of Rechat, in the press release. “By integrating ad campaigns directly within our platform, we’re enabling agents to effortlessly promote their listings, strengthen their brand, and generate high-quality leads — all in one place.”

While retargeting is hardly new to the industry, there is additional benefit to having it integrated with an existing software package, allowing for better data collection, performance valuation and creative control. It also prevents agents from having to hire and manage third-party vendors in the digital ad space.

Inman reviewed Rechat in 2023, citing as a highlight its ability to intuitively consolidate tools and tactics that typically require multiple partnerships working together to achieve marketing success.

“Rechat does a lot of what a lot of other apps do separately. It can consolidate a tech stack for tech-savvy brokers wanting to provide a single-point solution for lead nurture, brand-building, sales support and lightweight deal management,” the review stated.

Rechat flattens the ad creation process for marketing staff, as well as agents, by repurposing existing marketing assets for campaign use. The process is largely automated and can be strategized in minutes, according to the company. Budgets and geographic targets are made easy to manage.

“Agents can connect and manage their Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns without leaving the platform. Campaigns are fully customizable, with adjustable duration, budget, audience radius, and messaging to align with marketing goals,” the press release stated.

Rechat is part of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World’spreferred partner program. The application is also fully mobile to give agents and their teams the ability to adjust marketing efforts as soon as response data and creative feedback determines a better direction, among other benefits.

Rechat Digital Ads compliments a range of other digital marketing systems and business tools, such as a personal CRM, a CMA builder, website creation and management, social media and video content creation, and a robust email marketing campaign platform.

Email Craig Rowe

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the power of the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

Real estate software company Lofty has developed a new product to assist agents with hands-off lead generation called Lofty Bloom, Inman has learned.

The company said in an April 14 statement that Bloom silos email and print outreach, market-specific community content, display ad re-targeting and sequenced follow-up powered by artificial intelligence.

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This kind of multi-channel vertical alignment helps messaging stay consistent because each action and form of content remains linked. Agents don’t need to record an email, manually strategize and create a response, and then record each action in their CRM — Bloom does it for them. It also helps ensure communications are timely and contextual.

“This advancement will enable real estate professionals to dominate key zip codes by offering guaranteed exclusivity and positioning agents as the “go-to” local neighborhood expert,” Lofty said in the release. “Each ZIP Code comes with guaranteed exclusivity, allowing teams to dominate their local area and help sellers get top dollar for their property.”

Marketing automation is becoming a common and powerful value contributor for agents and brokerages who want to shrink operations and create efficiencies (not necessarily the same thing) with software.

Brokerage tech-stacks are often redundant or fragmented and sometimes both, meaning one agent uses Mailchimp for email and Salesforce for contact management, and a colleague of theirs works with a local print house to send flyers and Hootsuite to manage social media content.

While each product and vendor is good at what it does, they collectively compound multiple risks, such as losing data between actions, eliminating the benefits of immediacy or sending out-of-context messages. Also, users have multiple channels of support and training to which to adhere. Vertically integrating each step can execute a marketing effort with more consistency in cadence and overall offers a higher chance of success.

In one use case, a postcard sent via Bloom will use a QR code to offer the recipient a home valuation. In turn, the user is tagged in the database, triggers an email sequence and is then targeted on Facebook with location-specific display ads. Such efforts can be set up to collect buyer interest, promote open houses and for general brokerage branding, among other uses.

“Lofty Bloom is the most dynamic, end-to-end digital farming tool, seamlessly combining postcards, digital marketing, AI-powered nurture, and follow-up for exclusive ZIP Code targeting. Designed to engage homeowners and sellers, it maximizes exposure and ensures agents stand out in their most targeted markets,” said Dave Carter, vice president at Lofty, in the statement.

Lofty announced an internal initiative last summer to accommodate the needs of “modern brokerages.” It involved a number of product updates to appeal to larger teams and enterprise operations. Many of the updates rolled out in the fall, Inman reported.

Email Craig Rowe

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the power of the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

Zillow is giving Listing Showcase an update that will provide users with a series of metrics for determining a property’s performance on the portal, an April 15 statement from the portal said.

Available to agents whose sellers’ properties are leveraging Showcase, the insights dashboard is designed with transparency in mind, allowing agents to unravel what home features may be leading to more online attention specific to location, for greater market-by-market accuracy.

“Now, agents have a clear picture of how their Showcase listing is performing over time with detailed insights, including page views, saves and shares, compared to similar non-Showcase listings on Zillow located in the same area,” Zillow said.

Showcase is an advanced service offered by Zillow that includes a suite of elevated marketing features, such as high-end photography and digital tours, interactive floor plans, prominent listing agent branding and other agency-grade benefits. The service was announced in 2023 in limited markets under the ShowingTime+ wing of Zillow, the consolidated offspring of its many marketing-focused acquisitions, including ShowingTime.

Upon its rollout, Mike Lane, vice president of ShowingTime+, described the tool in a statement as creating an “unmatched listing experience for agents and sellers.”

Zillow said it’s found listings enriched with Showcase sell for more money, to the tune of 2 percent. Its data also found that agents who use it in pitches to win business land the listing 20 percent more often than non-users.

Todd Chapman is a licensed real estate agent and the chief operating officer with Delhougne Realty Group in St. Louis, Missouri. He said in the Zillow statement that clients “love” seeing the statistics associated with their listing.

“We have more than a marketing tool,” Chapman said. “We have a way to bring more traffic to the home, which for us is turning into more showings, more offers and better outcomes for our sellers, and that is winning us more business.”

Website traffic statistics are powerful drivers of marketing decisions when used correctly. Most website content management systems (CMS) offer them down to the page level, and countless third-party software providers can do the same. It’s a big part of search engine marketing and website optimization. However, implementing such tools is commonly an afterthought, and a lot of sellers don’t think to ask about it, either.

Zillow’s advantage in this case is its vertical integration, not specifically the innovation. The fact that it’s included with what agents buy under the Showcase brand means a user can benchmark hard numbers against their marketing investment and also use the insights when working with stubborn or anxious sellers, as reports are downloadable.

“Showcase is all about helping agents deliver exceptional experiences to sellers and buyers. In doing so, agents build their own brand — which leads to winning more listings and growing their businesses,” said Cynthia Taylor, Zillow’s senior vice president of Agent Software & Advertising, in the release. “We’re integrating more insights and solutions into the tools agents use every day to make agents more efficient and ultimately more successful.”

Zillow’s impact on how listings are marketed is the industry’s hottest topic. The company has thrust itself into the now industry-wide Clear Cooperation melee by stating it will withhold properties from its website unless they are publicly marketed from the outset.

The decision, considered a gamble by many and a strong show of support by others, has been part of an inferno of hot takes, commentary and related moves, such as Washington-based Northwest MLS temporarily shutting down its IDX feed to Compass amid an ongoing conflict over private listings.

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