If you want to make updating your social network more efficient, then IFTTT is a cool tool for you.
In this episode of KISS RE, The RE Coach talks about IFTTT (which is short for “IF This, Then That”), a very versatile site which you can use to, for example, automatically send a tweet whenever you post something new on your blog, or have your LinkedIn updates automatically posted to your Facebook wall, or thank each new twitter follower, or….. As The Coach puts it, “it saves you unbelievable amounts of time.”
And IFTTT is not just for social networking. You can also, for example, have it send you an email whenever someone posts a new FSBO on your local Craigslist, or even have it call you about an “urgent appointment” whenever you text it (a great trick for escaping that person who just won’t stop talking…). You can even have it email you whenever @benutech tweets about a new ReboReports video! The possibilities are endless, so dive in and have fun!
I hope you’ve been with us for the whole series. We’ve had a lot of fun. We talked about the blog, we talked about social networks. Last video, I gave you a really cool tool called Buffer, and that’s what helps you keep it simple, stupid; that’s the whole purpose behind KISS-RE, to keep it simple, stupid.
Today, cool tool #2. You are going to love this. Look, whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced, if you haven’t seen IFTTT, you don’t know what you’re missing. It stands for “If This, Then That.” And basically it’s an app that programs and codes for you. In the old days, you’d have to hire a geek for thousands of dollars to do this for you. Now you, you just sign up at IFTTT.com, and do it yourself.
Here’s what it does. You’re going to write a blog post. When you write that blog post, you’re going to want to share that blog post with everyone possible through your social networks. A lot more than that, maybe even through email or text messaging, yes, it does all of this crazy stuff. So, in the old days, what’d you do? You wrote the blog, you copied the URL, and you put it into all these places one by one. Took you an hour. Took you two hours.
Here’s what IFTTT does. You sign up for your account, you put in your blog, you put in your social networks or whatever you want to do, then you create what’s called a “recipe.” Here’s where that name comes in. If This, Then That. What you’re going to tell it, “If I write a blog post, Then I want you to send that blog post to my social network.” Sounds confusing, right? Basically, I write a blog. With IFTTT programmed, the blog post gets published, I’m done. It goes to Facebook, it goes to Twitter, it goes to email. Set up an email list with it. It’s gone. You never have to worry about having to do it anymore.
It saves you unbelievable amounts of time. Can you see what I’m saving here? If I write a blog, do all the work for me. That’s what IFTTT does for you.
By the way, if you get into IFTTT, you’re going to realize the recipes are endless. You can send back and forth, through any two internet destinations. Any two internet destinations, you can program information to go back and forth.
Once you get into it, a friend of mine, Lani Rosales, has a Facebook page called IFTTT for Real Estate. I highly suggest you find that page, join that group, and follow what other real estate agents are finding out about IFTTT. It will save you time. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced or anyone in between. I urge you to check it out and make it a part of your online outline.
Now that we’ve got some things in place, we’ve got ‘em talking to each other. I’m going to teach you how to create a good solid blog post. Understanding the basics, the 5 basic steps of a good blog post, is vital as you move forward. You’re going to use it for the rest of your blogging life in real estate. And remember, going all the way back to video #1, the blog is the center of your universe. This is where you’re going to communicate with people. So let’s just learn how to write a really good solid blog post. That’s what’s happening on the next video.
If you you’d like more information about what we talked about today, or anything else, give The Coach a call, 562-646-6710, or TheRECoach@gmail.com. And if you’re a broker or an office manager, and I can come to your office and do a sales meeting or a training, get ahold of me, I would love to do it.
I’ll see you next time.
