Preferred Success Society Blog

Building AI Foundations for the Future - Real Estate

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:41:47 GMT

Building AI Foundations for the Future - Real Estate

Part 1: AI Tools That Will Save You Time as a Real Estate Agent (AI 101)

Intro: Let's be honest. Most real estate agents didn't get into the business because they love paperwork, marketing tasks, or spending hours drafting emails. You got into it because you love people, properties, and building a business. The good news? AI tools can now take a lot of the heavy lifting off your plate.

Here's the reality: AI is moving fast. Really fast. What seemed cutting-edge six months ago is now standard, and new tools are launching every week. But here's what you need to know right now. Don't try to use everything. Pick a few tools, get comfortable with them, and integrate them into your actual workflow. That's where the magic happens.

Here are the essential tools we've tested (sometimes side by side in the same meeting!) and how you can use them to reclaim your time.

Never Take Meeting Notes Again: Whispr Flow

Imagine never scrambling for notes after a showing or client call. Whispr Flow captures your conversations in real-time and organizes them automatically. No more forgetting key details about what the buyer mentioned or what repairs the seller wants addressed.

Pro Tip: Use Whispr Flow during property tours to capture client reactions and preferences on the spot. Later, you'll have everything you need to follow up with personalized recommendations without relying on memory.

Your AI Writing Assistant: Claude or Gemini

Need to draft a compelling listing description? Respond to a detailed client question? Claude and Gemini are your go-to writing assistants. Claude excels at longer, more nuanced responses, while Gemini is lightning-fast for quick answers and can pull real-time information.

Real-World Example: A client asks about school districts, crime stats, and commute times for three different neighborhoods. Instead of spending an hour researching, you ask Claude or Gemini to compile a comparison. You have a polished, professional response in minutes.

Pro Tip: Use these tools to draft email templates for common scenarios (new listing alerts, open house invitations, post-closing thank yous), then personalize them with specific details for each client. AI gives you the framework; you add the heart.

Research Without the Rabbit Holes: Perplexity and Comet Browser

Perplexity is a research powerhouse. Need to dive deep into zoning laws, HOA restrictions, or investment property analysis? Perplexity doesn't just give you answers, it shows you sources so you can verify and share credible information with clients.

Comet Browser takes it further by integrating AI directly into your browsing experience, making research seamless as you navigate listing sites, county records, or market reports.

Pro Tip: Before listing a unique or complex property (historic homes, commercial spaces, land), use Perplexity to research comparable sales and positioning strategies. You'll walk into the listing appointment fully prepared.

Turn Your Knowledge Into Content: NotebookLM

NotebookLM is perfect for agents who want to create educational content, neighborhood guides, or buyer/seller resources. Upload your notes, market data, or past client questions, and NotebookLM helps you turn that raw information into polished blog posts, FAQs, or social media content.

Real-World Example: You've been asked the same first-time homebuyer questions a dozen times. Upload those conversations into NotebookLM, and it'll help you create a comprehensive "First-Time Buyer Guide" you can share with future clients, positioning you as the expert.

Pro Tip: Use NotebookLM to repurpose one piece of content multiple ways. A single client consultation can become a blog post, an Instagram carousel, and an email newsletter, all with AI assistance.

Professional Video in Minutes: Google Vids

Google Vids is changing the game for video marketing. Create listing videos, client testimonials, market updates, or explainer videos using AI-generated scripts, voiceovers, and even avatars. No expensive equipment or video editing skills required.

Pro Tip: Use Google Vids to create personalized video messages for clients. A 60-second "thank you for choosing me" video after a closing goes further than any text message ever could.

Start Simple, Scale Smart

AI is powerful, but it doesn't replace the strategy and consistency needed to grow your brand. Start with one or two tools. Master them. Then add more as you get comfortable. The agents winning right now aren't using every tool available. They're using the right tools consistently.

Need help actually putting these tools to work? Preferred Success Marketing helps agents set up AI systems that actually deliver. Most agents don’t want more tools — they want more leads and less work. That’s where we come in. Whether you want a steady stream of leads through paid ad campaigns and listing promotion or prefer done-for-you newsletter email and content creation , we make it happen so you can stay focused on selling homes. Reach out to Shannon Hill , Director of Marketing & Growth at Preferred Success Marketing.

And if you're looking for a brokerage that's already ahead of the curve with built-in AI automations through Max Center and BoldTrail, RE/MAX Preferred has quickly become the go-to choice in South Central Wisconsin.

The world of real estate is changing fast, but you don't have to be left behind or feel overwhelmed. Embracing these tools is the key to working smarter, not harder.

Don’t worry about figuring this out alone. Eirik Rorvig from Think in Prompts is hosting a live webinar walking through exactly how to use these tools in your daily workflow. Register Here

See you there!

5 ways to increase your online presence

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 15:45:02 GMT

Online presence is, and isn’t, exactly what you may think. Here are 5 tips we wanted to share with you

Guys, we spend eight hours a day doing digital activities. That’s more than half the day. More than most of us sleep. And we have different identities online—we’re hobbyists (gaming), alter egos (Reddit), social butterflies (Facebook), professionals (LinkedIn), and consumers (what we’re focusing on in this post). So whether you’re a service-based, brick-and-mortar, or online business, a strong online presence is everything today.

1. Modernize your website
Consumers have high expectations these days—to the point where if you don’t have a good website, you’re almost better off not having one at all. In fact, 75% of consumers have admitted to judging a company’s credibility based on their website design. And truth be told, We would highly suggest hiring an expert to set up your website. DIY builders are awesome in theory, people end up spending hours on them and experiencing endless glitches—oftentimes to the point of eventually spending more to hire someone. Having a lead-generating website that looks and functions exactly the way you want it to without losing hours of your time or hairs on your head is, to us, worth every penny.

2. Limit the number of platforms to only what you can
Online presence is about quality, not quantity. Choose the platforms that your audience is using, and limit the number you choose based on your bandwidth. Having just one or two accounts with solid engagement is better than having several accounts with weak activity.

Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube
Pinterest
Snapchat
TikTok

3. Think audience, not followers
Your online presence doesn’t improve with more followers. Rather, your following improves with a stronger presence. So work on cultivating a quality, niche audience of individuals who are interested in and can benefit from what you have to offer. This will translate into more likes and comments with your posts and more user-generated content. And if you didn’t already know, marketing campaigns with user-generated content result in 29% higher conversations than campaigns or without it.

It’s better to have fewer followers with a vibrant page than to have lots of followers and not much value to offer.

4. Have a proactive review strategy
Reviews have perhaps the most powerful influence over how high you show up in directory results. Not to mention the fact that they are one of the top ranking factors for Google local search. Simply providing review-worthy service will not do it. You need to have a proactive strategy in place to keep a steady stream of reviews coming in.

5.Use Guest posting to reach more potential customers

Do you know of any complementary businesses or local media outlets that have a strong online presence? See if they’ll accept a guest post from you. Not only can you get your business in front of their audience, but a link to your site from theirs can help to improve your SEO.

You can also accept guest posts on your own blog. Writers are always eager to share their publications with their audiences.

4 Tips for a Small Business Taking on TikTok

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 18:45:03 GMT

Are you trying to join the fast pace movement of TikTok but unsure how to be successful on the app? With TikTok rapidly growing in popularity, making it extremely important for a small business looking for creative ways to connect with customers. Preferred Success is here to help share 4 tips for developing a strategy for a small business on TikTok!

The first step to success would be to create authentic, relevant, and informative videos. Users of TikTok are always interested in discovering new trends and creators. The "For You" page by an algorithm that factors in user information and video details like hashtags and captions. TikTok is a unique platform that brings lesser-known creators into its feed, so businesses just starting on TikTok have the ability to reach their target audience.

Some small businesses have seen success with videos like behind-the-scenes footage or expert tips and tricks related to their industries. Whatever your approach is, the key to success on TikTok is authenticity.

The second step would be sharing user-generated content. TikTok offers its users the ability to "stitch" and "duet" user videos, TikTok is designed for sharing personal content. It's beneficial to use TikTok's sharing abilities to make your audience part of your brand experience.

The third step to success would be doing research and using the right hashtags. Not all popular hashtags relate to your business, and chasing the possibility of going viral isn't necessarily a viable social media strategy. Instead, a better idea would be to pay attention to the hashtags your target audience uses and engages with. TikTok will provide suggestions for keywords and phrases for your videos.

The final tip would be to consider paid advertising. With TikTok being newer, it's a less competitive environment for paid advertising. When you feel comfortable enough to make your business stand out more, TopView ads - videos that play as soon as users open the app - are very effective at holding interest and creating conversions. TikTok also offers ads that encourage customer participation, branded hashtag challenges, and branded effects. This allows users to have fun on the app and create brand recognition.

If you are interested in learning more about being successful on TikTok reach out to info@preferredsuccess.com today!

3 Marketing Tips For Beginners

marketing@preferredsuccess.com (REMAX Preferred) — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 14:54:27 GMT

Marketing Tips For Beginners

Put Time Into Your Product Strategy

Product strategy is extremely important, especially if you are starting a new business. Building a solid product strategy helps decide the exact steps to be taken in any event to make the product/business successful. It prepares the company for response by competitors or towards the changing market conditions. Developing the product strategy also helps the company decide the target market and target penetration.

2. Be As Consistent As Possible

Many factors contribute to a brand's success, but marketing consistency is one of the most valuable. From social media and blogging to responding to customer reviews and replying to emails, your content needs to maintain a consistent voice, tone and style.

3. Collaborate With Others Often

Collaborative marketing can widen a business' reach, add authenticity to a brand and create a pool of recommended and trusted businesses. For businesses just starting out, building up trust and long-term advocacy is essential for growth!

For more information reach out to info@preferredsuccess.com!

Community Spotlight - Pizza Brutta

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 16:03:33 GMT

The City of Madison’s Very Own Pizza Brutta

Pizza Brutta started fifteen years ago in 2007. Pizza Brutta is unique by cooking all of their pizzas in a wood-fired oven using just stone, wood and fire. They make pizzas in the Neapolitan tradition, which is simple ingredients, made fresh and fast. They use local ingredients when available and even make their own mozzarella by hand everyday!

Pizza Brutta sees their business growing to more locations and doing more and more catering events with their mobile oven. This year, Pizza Brutta participated in an event with RE/MAX Preferred which raised over two thousand dollars for Carbone Cancer in Madison.

Go check out Pizza Brutta's fall menu that includes roasted brussels sprouts, bacon and calabrians chile pizza, as well as broccoli and sausage pizza. If you are looking for a stocking stuffer for your upcoming holidays check out their gift card options! > https://pizzabrutta.com/

#communityspotlight #pizzabrutta #preferredsuccess

4 Quick Facebook Tips to Remember

marketing@preferredsuccess.com (REMAX Preferred) — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 00:07:14 GMT

Four Useful Tips For Posting On Facebook

Engage Before and After Posting

When posting on Facebook it’s important to not skip the engagement step. By interacting with posts on your feed, it shows viewers you are active and exposes your posts to your audience’s extended network. It also helps boost your news feed placement based on the Facebook algorithm.

2. Post Educational Content

This is where you could post content that addresses questions you commonly get asked. If your inbox is full of the same question this allows you to answer multiple people at the same time. This also opens up the discussion to get different opinions on the topic.

3. Engage In Facebook Live

Facebook Live is the highest performing content and the more you do it the easier it gets. It generates the most likes, comments and interactions that tends to spark a conversation. Viewers can feel the authenticity in a video while helping you stand out.

4. Focus on Local Interests

Many people want to know what is going on within their community, especially people who are new to the area. Post about the community and what you love about your city specifically. Post about local charity events or highlight a popular local business, post anything you feel the community would find interesting. Doing this can simulate likes and comments.

#preferredsuccesssociety #socialmediamarketing #facebook #whatsyourbrandstory #preferredsuccess #marketing #advertising #blog

"Broker" License Plate Silent Auction

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 19:51:55 GMT

Calling all Wisconsin BROKERS:

RE/MAX Preferred Realtors co-owner Daniel Bertelso n is kicking off a silent auction starting today to benefit the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals .

Bid on a unique "BROKER" license plate for yourself or for anyone who works as a Wisconsin broker (in any industry). Make a positive change in a child's life and own on a one-of-kind item!

In addition to bragging rights, this vanity plate would look great in social media pics. You could even use it in your marketing!

Click here to visit the live auction side: https://BROKER.givesmart.com

#childrensmiraclenetwork #weareremax #preferredsuccess #wisconsincharities #WInonprofits

Meet the Team: Social Media Specialist Ashley Alloway Starts a New Chapter

marketing@preferredsuccess.com (REMAX Preferred) — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 15:42:28 GMT

Hi I’m Ashley Alloway!

I was born in Rockford, IL but moved to Spring Green, Wisconsin at a young age. I still live in Spring Green right next to the Wisconsin River with my family and our three dogs. In my free time I love to be outdoors whether it’s walking my dog named Jake, taking the bikes out or going fishing up North.

In the Winter, I love being able to go skiing so I’m very excited for that to be right around the corner. I’m also glad football season is back because my family and I do a giant fantasy football league, so it gets very competitive at family functions this time of year as you could imagine.

I recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW-W) this past May with a degree in marketing with an emphasis in experiential sports marketing. At Whitewater I was heavily involved with the American Marketing Association (AMA). Being a part of AMA was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.

I was able to work with and make an impact for real life clients. I was also able to compete in individual and team collegiate competitions. UW-W's AMA chapter has been incredibly successful over the years and won Chapter of the Year 10 years in a row.

But now as I just closed one chapter of my life, I’m ready to open this next chapter and continue my success with all of you here at Preferred Success!

#preferredsuccesssociety #socialmediamarketing #whatsyourbrandstory

RE/MAX Preferred Agent Tonya Nye: Should you hold an open house? [Guest Blogger]

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 19:27:29 GMT

The Internet is definitely changing how homes are sold (and marketed)

By Tonya Nye

RE/MAX Preferred Monona

Find Tonya on Social Media

Tonya Nye is an award-winning REALTOR with over 17 years of experience. An agent with RE/MAX Preferred in Monona , Wisconsin, She specialized in existing homes, new construction homes, condos, and vacant throughout Dane County and surrounding areas. She lives with her husband and rescue dog, Nala, in a home she custom-designed.

#TonyaNye #REMAXPreferred #RealEstateMarketing #OpenHouses #DaneCountyRealEstate #DaneCountyREMAX #DaneCountyOpenHouses #HomesforSaleDaneCounty #OpenHouseTips

Impressions and Reach: Metrics to Watch

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 21:10:15 GMT

On any given social media day, you see all kinds of content. But you only click what you find interesting.

This standard pattern of digital behavior ties directly to marketing metrics, two of which are impressions and reach. So when you create, say, a Facebook or Google Ad, you target based on demographic, geographic, and psychographic (lifestyles and predictive behaviors) in order to reach your intended audience.

Impressions are like exposure—measuring the number of times your ad was displayed to your target audience.

Reach is synonymous with engagement—measuring the number of users who were exposed to your content because they chose to click or complete the desired call-to-action. In simplest terms, reach is the number of times a user has seen your ad or content.

For example, if your ad was displayed 400 times and 150 people clicked on it:

Impressions are 400
Reach is 150

We often ask: What's your brand story? But it's also important to understand what are your brand metrics.

For more information, contact Marc at strategy@preferredsuccess.com

#marketing #metrics #reach #impression #mediaanalytics #preferredsuccess #whatsyourbrandstory

Mirroring Metrics: What businesses can learn from news metrics (and visa versa)

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 15:31:43 GMT

What can news organizations learn from the marketing?

Bounce and exit rates

News organizations could borrow from the advertising/public relations metrics of bounce rates and exit rates on the digital versions of individual stories. Bounce rates could help news organizations pinpoint gaps in traffic sources, content relevancy, and bad targeting. Exit rates could identify reader drop-off points, where readers left the site entirely, and provide editors with data to study. For example, if readers over time continue to exit the site while reading stories about a certain topic or content areas, then leadership could brainstorm ways to keep people engaged (more graphics, charts, or polls).

This process presupposes that editors create a dashboard to include news, sport, features, op/ed, entertainment, et al. to create content areas. Within each area, desk editors could drill down to more specific story types. These examples are the same for the digital channels of newspapers, cable news, and local news sites.

Interactivity and brand sentiment

Additionally, interactivity and brand sentiment are metrics that easily translate to news. Interactivity can be achieved through comments sections could prove helpful to news organizations. Operating in an era of the “citizen journalism”—where consumers of journalism generate their own content—editors should borrow digital interactivity strategies and invite reader to continue the conversation on a blog or on social media (Rogers, 2019, p. 1.). Anyone with a keyboard and computer can offer their opinion or add perspective. So, the idea of an op/ed page could be incorporated into comments sections. This provides a voice for the people and creates a personalized, persuasive forum in which readers feel immersed with the brand—increasing the likelihood for electronic word of mouth and social media sharing and liking. Interactivity and brand sentiment align perfectly in the tried-and-true consumer survey.

Editors could create surveys for subscribers and non-subscribers (identified from social media commenters) that ask readers about content preferences, coverage balance, likelihood to read articles to the end, likelihood to recommend the organization, satisfaction with graphics to explain ideas, or many more. The survey not only would help editors gain sentiment, but also update the database based on demographics (gender, age, income, geography, education, married status, education, etc.) and device usage (smartphone, tablet, computer). With these demographics, editors could run queries that match a combination of demographics with content areas.

Staffing and freelancers

I had another thought too, with regards to staffing. Grieco (2020) states that newsrooms are shrinking, and many staff newspaper jobs have shrunk by twenty-three percent between 2009 and 2019. Newspapers could learn from advertising by signing more contract writers and editors. By keeping a list of available freelancers, news organizations could delegate editorial tasks like weekly calendar updates, police blotter research/reporting, and headlines/cutline writing to freelancers. This process could free time for staff writers to tackle larger, long-term stories that could create added value to readers and create a competitive advantage for the organization (while avoiding any issues with newspaper unions).

What can marketing learn from news organizations?

Strategic storytelling

Advertising and public relations professionals can learn and employ a fundamental aspect of news: public service obligations. This can be accomplished through original content and strategic storytelling. People- and personality-focused content can accompany the traditional advertising and public relations campaigns and initiatives; thus, a story promoting a new online therapy service, for example, could also feature a feature on the company CEO or founder explaining mission, vision, and values statements in a personalized way. Advertising and public relations staff can post articles on social media—complete with photos and compelling graphics—and jump to the company website or blog. This increases social media and website analytics and, ideally, encourages audiences to explore more of the website while visiting.

Thus, borrowing from a reporter’s natural curiosity, advertising and public relations professionals can employ the WWWWW and H approach to create original, dynamic content with a cohesive, consistent narrative that serves as owned media and as branding material (Da Costa, 2019).

Training and education

Some journalists tend to ignore data about their stories—focusing more on interviewing, writing, end editing than on the "tsunami of numbers" surrounding metrics (O'Donovan & Kramer, 2019; Ha, 2020, p. 3). Metrics and analytics, on the other side, typically are the purview and in-house property of the marketing, advertising, and public relations departments. The latter industries could take a page from newspaper leadership and educate/train the entire company about metrics and and analytics. Employees may feel more connected to the company and valued through training, and the company can view this step as an investment in human capital.

A constantly updated dashboard could feature prominently on a company's intranet, so everyone in the company can see snapshots of digital performance. Double as team building and morale initiatives, training and education about metrics may encourage staffers to engage more with the brand's social media and website—fostering a culture where metrics-savvy employees are more likely to engage as brand ambassadors.

How do you measure metrics in your organization?

Contact us with your thoughts!

#MediaAnalytics #SocialMed ia # SmallBusiness #Marketing

References

Da Costa, C. (2019, January 31). 3 reasons why brand storytelling is the future of marketing. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/celinnedacosta/2019/01/31/3-reasons-why-brand-storytelling-is-the-future-of-marketing/?sh=523576a755ff

Grieco, E. (2020, April 20). U.S. newspapers have shed half of their newsroom employees since 2008. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/20/u-s-newsroom-employment-has-dropped-by-a-quarter-since-2008/

Ha, A. (2020, June 24).Google updates its analytics tools for newsrooms. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/24/google-updates-its-analytics-tools-for-newsrooms

O'Donovan, B., & Kramer, M. (2019, March 13). How to build a metrics-savvy newsroom. American Press Institute.

https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/how-to-build-a-metrics-savvy-newsroom/

Rogers, T. (2019, January 15). Understanding citizen journalism. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-citizen-journalism-2073663