CAMPBELL, Calif., Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While technology
continues to evolve the way people buy and sell properties, real
estate transactions remain largely based on relationships and trust
between agents and clients. To help them connect through online
networks and communities, Realtor.com® announces the beta roll out
of its mobile-enabled HyperSocial™ agent search tools.
Realtor.com, the #1 homes for sale web site, is operated by Move,
Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE), the leader in online real estate.
The first two HyperSocial™ agent search tools are now in beta
and include HyperSocial™ Agent Profile Pages and HyperSocial™ Agent
Recommendations. They will be integrated into the Realtor.com
Find a Realtor® (FAR) directory at the beginning of the 2012 home
buying season, and accessible on the Realtor.com desktop FAR and
Showcase Listing Enhancement iPhone, iPad and Android mobile app
experiences.
Now available in beta for registration by Realtors® with a valid
NRDS number at http://www.socialbios.com, these HyperSocial™ agent
search tools will initially span Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter,
Google and FourSquare. Information on how to register in
seconds can be found at:
http://lockbox.realtor.com/realtor-technology/how-to-set-up-a-socialbios-account/.
HyperSocial™ Agent Profile Pages are mobile-enabled pages
viewable from desktops and most mobile devices. Through social
graphing technology, the HyperSocial™ Agent Profiles surface mutual
connections, extended relationships, and shared interests by
layering the social networks of agents and consumers. These
agent profiles, which serve as safe places for agents to direct
their clients for all relevant contact information in one
convenient location.
HyperSocial™ Agent Recommendations live within each
HyperSocial™ Agent Profile as an agent branded URL and is an easy
way for clients to share a recommendation an agent has earned
without any registration requirements. Recommendations are
reviewed and approved for display by each agent, and can be
manually or automatically broadcasted to the agent's online network
from one central hub with one easy click. When the recommendation
URL is emailed or texted, users are directed back to the agent's
HyperSocial™ Agent Profile featuring other key agent
information.
To view a Realtor® profile live in the HyperSocial™ Agent
Profile Page beta experience, click the following links, and then
log in with Facebook to view mutual connections, affiliations and
networks.
http://beta.realtor.com/realestateagents/Nicole-Winsauer_Denver_CO_297699
"For years Realtors® have built very successful businesses by
networking within their local communities. The relationships
and trust that develops from networking often delivers the highest
quality client connections to a Realtor®'s door step," says
Errol Samuelson, president of
Realtor.com. "Today, approximately eight in ten agents and brokers
are in charge of marketing their listings, and 56% consider social
media important for generating connections with prospective
clients.(1) By developing our recently acquired SocialBios
technology into a scalable search tool to find Realtors®, millions
of people can quickly find a Realtor® based on common connections,
interests, and groups. Realtors® can also use our new HyperSocial™
search tools to manage their online social reputations and proudly
broadcast recommendations across the web as they're transitioning
their networking talents into the online world."
Today, almost all agents (93%) and brokers (90%) use social
media to market their brands and listings, with Facebook, LinkedIn
and YouTube as the most used social media tools followed by
Twitter.(2) Through Realtor.com's HyperSocial™ Agent
Recommendations hub, Realtors® can broadcast client recommendations
featuring fresh and timely content across most social media
platforms.
"Recommendations are one of the most important pieces of
unstructured content on the web for attracting and engaging new
customers," says Move's SocialBios General Manager, Ernie Graham. "Until now, most
recommendation solutions for real estate focus on a destination
website, not the agent or broker. Our HyperSocial™ Agent
Recommendations hub puts the agent in control of this content and
provides a convenient platform for distributing it to multiple
websites and networks with one click. We're very excited to deliver
an easy-to-use social reputation management tool Realtors® can use
to capture higher quality connections with prospective
clients."
When combined with the Realtor.com Ask a Realtor question and
answer platform
http://www.realtor.com/blogs/ask-a-realtor-application/, the
Realtor.com Facebook business pages
http://support.realtor.com/training/facebook/facebook-business-page/menu-id-114,
and the Social Connections app from Realtor.com
http://marketing.realtor.com/cmp/NAR/ba/fbapp/120111/,
Realtors® can take advantage of Move's acceleration into the
development of social media tools that connect them with buyers and
sellers interested in property transactions. All Realtor.com
branded mobile apps integrate social media into the search
experience, and enable users to instantly find and share homes for
sale or rent with others within their online communities and
networks.
Move, Inc. acquired the award-winning SocialBios technology and
talent in July 2011. In just six short months, Move developed
the SocialBios technology into the HyperSocial™ line of search
tools to create high-quality connections between Realtors and
buyers or sellers. SocialBios was a 2011 Best Tech Startup
winner at the Inman Connect event in New
York City, and won 'Most Innovative Startup 2011' at Inman
Connect later that year in San
Francisco.
ABOUT MOVE, INC.
Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE) is the leader in online real estate with
20.6 million visitors(3) to its online network of websites within
the Realtor.com Real Estate Network. Move, Inc. operates:
Move.com, a leading destination for information on new homes and
rental listings, moving, home and garden and home finance;
REALTOR.com®, the official website of the National Association of
REALTORS®; Moving.com; SeniorHousingNet; ListHub; and TOP PRODUCER
Systems. Move, Inc. is based in Campbell,
California.
ABOUT REALTOR.COM®
REALTOR.com®, where the world shops for real estate online,
is operated by Move, Inc., (NASDAQ: MOVE) and is the official Web
site of the National Association of REALTORS®. Ranked as the #1
homes-for-sale site, REALTOR.com® currently offers potential home
buyers access to over three million property listings, as well as
the most brokers and agents. It also provides REALTORS® and the
home sellers they represent with the Internet's largest real estate
marketplace, reaching more than 10.5 million consumers in
November 2011(4). Agents and
companies have the power to customize REALTOR.com® resources to
maximize their brand and productivity.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements,
including information about management's view of Move's future
expectations, plans and prospects, within the safe harbor
provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the results of
Move, its subsidiaries, divisions and concepts to be materially
different than those expressed or implied in such statements.
These risk factors and others are included from time to time
in documents Move files with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including but not limited to, its Form 10-Ks, Form
10-Qs and Form 8-Ks. Other unknown or unpredictable factors
also could have material adverse effects on Move's future results.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are made only as of the date hereof. Move cannot guarantee future
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. Finally, Move expressly disclaims
any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements
to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
(1) 2011 NAR Technology Survey Results -
http://www.realtor.org/technology/crt_web/crtsurvey
(2) 2011 NAR Technology Survey Results -
http://www.realtor.org/technology/crt_web/crtsurvey
(3) comScore Media Metrix, Key Measures Report, November 2011
(4) comScore Media Metrix, Key Measures Report, November 2011
SOURCE Move, Inc.