Point2 Newsletter Feb. 2012

Greetings!

More good news for the real estate market, more optimism, and the year has only just begun.

Before we get into the newsletter, please let us know if you will be at the Clareity MLS Workshop in Scottsdale this week. If so, do drop us a note at feedback@point2.com. We're there, we're proud sponsors, and we'd love to meet with you.

In this month's AE Newsletter, please join us in welcoming several new MLSs and Associations to Point2. As well, read about how to stake your claim of the massive residual revenue Point2 is sharing with our MLS and Association partners, learn about our new broker and agent education roadshow, get a heads up on our next photo contest on Facebook, and enjoy reading up on marketing to the Google generation.

Cheers for a great first quarter!

MLS and Association Services

Point2

Welcome To Our Newest Clients

Nearly 300 real estate organizations nationwide and across the continent now enable syndication for their members through Point2's state-of-the-art Listing Rights Management™ (LRM™) data distribution platform. This month join us as we welcome:

- Cave Run Association of REALTORS� (Kentucky)

- Mountain Home MLS (Arkansas)

- Jersey Shore MLS (New Jersey)

More Events, Value and Revenue Opportunity

Stake your claim. Point2 has paid over $800,000 in residual revenue to our MLS and Association partners. We're now adding a roadshow/live seminar tour to our plans and continue to expand our product offerings, which includes a compelling revenue share component for Point2 broker and agent product sales generated through any events organized jointly with you. So there is more opportunity than ever before for increased non-dues revenues for your organization, as you deliver higher education, success tools and value to your members.

Please contact your account executive soon to ensure your area is on the calendar.

Facebook Photo Contest - An Encore

We're hosting the second round of our Association Photo Contest on our Facebook page! It runs from March 6th - March 20th. This is a great opportunity for you to see different Associations from across the U.S., without having to travel. You even have a chance to win an Amazon gift card, if you participate. Contest details are outlined here.

Marketing to the Google Generation:

How to use Real Estate Marketing Technology Effectively (Part 1)

By: Jacquelyn Bauer, Director, Point2 Customer Care

Today, my 70-year-old grandmother has an iPad. Most pre-teens own a smartphone. And the term "cloud-computing" is recognized and understood by a vast majority of the population. Technology is such a ubiquitous part of our lives that most cannot comprehend or remember how to function without it.

Technology plays a comparably significant role for home buyers and sellers, who use the Internet, email, SMS, social networking, mobile computing - and many other technologies to improve both their lives - and the process of buying or selling a home.

Every consumer has some basic demands:

Speed
Convenience
Choice
Value Added
Quality
Service
Discounts
Information

Buyers expect a quick response from real estate professionals and quick access to listings of interest. Sellers expect to know that their listing is online as soon as they have signed the papers. Both buyers and sellers expect access to information quickly and easily.

Buyers want access to listings from the convenience of their computer or mobile phone while sellers want to be able to access their listing information and view any reports generated from it whenever and wherever they want.

Buyers want to be able to find listings from a website of their choosing, be that Zillow, Trulia, Google, etc. Just as not everyone chooses the same flavor of ice-cream, not everyone searches for listings using the same website(s).

Virtual tours, downloadable listing brochures, and CMAs, are all pieces that add value to a listing from the buyer's perspective. Sellers see value added when their listings are distributed to as many places as possible.

Buyers want access to quality listing data, just as sellers want their home to be advertised in the best, most accurate manner possible. This also ties in to 'information'. Consumers want access to feature-rich sites, and with as many details about a listing as possible. Listings that display a single, grainy photo, with virtually no additional information are quickly passed over, regardless of their relevance to the consumer.

Based on those demands, how does technology fit into what the typical consumer expects from a real estate professional today?

In an age when 'technology' means everything, and keeping up with the times simply means staying competitive, real estate professionals cannot settle for just 'okay'.

So how does technology change your game plan?

We'll expand on the subject further, in next month's follow on article.

Syndication Partner Updates

Here is the updated Point2 Syndication Network, as at February 16, 2012:

Live Partners

Adicio.com
Backpage.com (manual partner)
Builders Digital Experience
CLR Search
Clickable Directories, Inc.
Craigslist (manual partner)
DataSphere (LandWatch.com and ResortScape.com)
eBay (manual partner)
eBay.ca (manual partner)
Foreclosure.com
FrontDoor.com
Google - Adwords options available
HarmonHomes.com
Homefinder.ca (Canada Only)
Homefinder.com
HomeGain.com
HomeHippo.com
HotPads.com
HouseHitz.com
Househunting.ca
HousingBlock.com
Real-Buzz.com by Immobel.com
JunoDomains.com
Kazork
LakeHomesUSA.com
Mitula (Canada, US, France, Mexico, Portugal)
MilitaryFSBO
MoveThatBlock.com
New York Times (Paid placement)
NicheInvestments/MHBay.com
Oodle
Ovlix.com
Point2Homes.com
PCS Real Estate Services
PropertyFeast.com
PropertyShark.com
Proxio (Subscription Service)
RE605.com (Specific to area code 605)
Real Estate Active
RealEstateChannel.ca
RealTown
RealtyShowcase.tv
RealtyPin.com (Formerly known as YourNewHome.com)
RealtyStore.com/Ultraforeclosures.com
Relocation.com
RentCompass.com
StreetSeed.com (Canada Only)
Trader Corporation (homeTRADER.ca)
Trovit.S.L. (United States, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Columbia)
Trulia.com
Vast
Zillow / Yahoo! Real Estate
Zoocasa (Canada plus launching into US markets with New York now launched)

Shout it Out!

Have you come across a great property portal that made you scream

"Our Listings Need to be HERE!"?

Tell us about it! We would love to see what we can do. Please contact your Account Executive or email us at feedback@point2.com with your suggestions.

Humor of the Month!

FebruaryMLSComic

Point2 Wants To Advertise In Your Publications

Have a great member publication or internal website Point2 can sponsor and advertise in? We'd love to discuss the opportunity.

Additionally, if you are looking for custom content or materials on syndication or online marketing for distribution to your members, we would be more than happy to work with you and your organization to provide relevant, high impact handouts.

Just let your Account Executive know.

About Point2
Point2 (www.Point2.com) provides real estate marketing and lead management software to brokers and agents in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa, as well as listing data aggregation and syndication solutions to real estate MLSs (Multiple Listing Service), Boards and Associations across the U.S. and Canada.

Point2's solutions also include the consumer real estate listings portal, Point2 Homes, as well as end-to-end property management software for small to medium size organizations managing up to 1000 units. Point2 is a Yardi Systems Inc. (www.yardi.com) brand.

IN THIS ISSUE

Newest Clients

More Events, More Non Dues Revenue

Facebook Photo Contest Encore

Reaching the Google Generation

Syndication Partner Updates

Humor of the Month!

Your Publications

PLEASE NOTE

This newsletter is only emailed to MLS/Association Staff and Executives to keep you abreast of the continuous developments at Point2.

Should you wish to inform your members of the various updates, a Newsletter Archive page has been set up for convenient, easy access.

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