Oh Snap! Look who is on Snapchat now

Snapchat, according to GaryVee, is a platform you need to be on. So I will attempt to answer that question. Do you need to be on Snapchat for real estate?

Watch this … ????? https://t.co/2nvt5O0hwW

— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) January 8, 2016

I have been a early adopter of most social media platforms. Most of the time I have no interest or intention of using the platform, but I want to save my username @DeanOuellette just incase the newest “Facebook killer” “Twitter Killer” actually does take off.

Most of the time, it doesn’t.

Earlier this year I went in pretty hard with Periscope, a live video platform. Personally I loved it. I still do actually, but the data usage killed me. Yes, I know, I can use it on wi-fi, and I sometimes do, but I was using it mostly in the field while in houses, and Verizon doesn’t have cheap data.

Snapchat for real estate?

One thing I have had for a few years is a Snapchat account. Over the last three or so years I have watched maybe two Snaps and sent a grand total of about none. Gary Vaynerchuk talked about it early so I watched a few of his Snaps, and then said “this is not for me” and deleted it from my phone.

Well here we are a few years later. Guess who did their first Snap story yesterday, yup, this guy. There are some things I really like about Snapchat for real estate.

Let’s face it, the millennials are starting to be a much larger segment of the buying population. Also they are using Snapchat. This could be a great tool for communicating with them about the process. How… Let’s walk through how Snapchat for real estate could be a good tool for communicating with them.

A 28 year old who just landed a promotion at Intel in Chandler decides now is the time to buy a house. We will call her Paula. So, Paula heads over to Google and type in “Phoenix Real Estate Agent.” Of course Phoenix Real Estate Guy comes up near the very top of organic searches, so they head over to our Home Search to see whats available in Chandler.

After finding out that the house of her dreams is available, Paula calls me and we set up a time to see it. We walk around the property for 10 minutes and Paula quickly realizes that the pictures she saw on the Internet were dated and the house was not quite as pristine as the 2013 photos made it look.

We talk about what Paula is looking for, I explain to her that a buyer agent is not going to cost her any money and I work for her and look out for her best interest. While she may buyer or sell 3-4 houses in the course of her lifetime, I likely will do that this month. She tells me what she is looking for and I agree to help her find it.

The next day I am showing Jeff some houses in Carino Estates and I run across a house that matches exactly what Paula is looking for, but it not for Jeff. I snap her a couple of quick videos and ask her to rate the house. She responds back 10!!! “When Can I see it?”

We go under contract on the house and the real work begins. I can shoot her a quick Snap video every few days to give her an update of what is going on. It could be a great way to communicate with someone who is already using the platform.

Another way it can be beneficial is to show you as someone who is really plugged into their community. I spend a lot of time in Chandler. What if I shot a quick 5-10 second video 2-3 times a day about my favorite people and places of Chandler. This is much like what I would do on Periscope, but with a fraction of the data usage.

So, do you need to be on Snapchat if you are a real estate agent? Of course not. There are many great agents in this business, who will take care of their clients just fine, who will never even have a Snapchat or Periscope or Twitter account.

But if you are on Snapchat, give me a follow!

And let me know ways that you have found to use Snapchat for real estate or how  you would like to see an agent use it.

Homes near the two Chandler Intel plants.