His brokerage's phone number is being held for ransom A hacker has taken down the phone line for Xpand Realty in Las Vegas, which the company used for 13 years. Broker Randy Hatada tells Drive With NAR how he's scrambling to recover from this cyber threat, forcing him to change all of his brokerage's marketing materials. Listen now. Full Story: REALTOR® Magazine/Drive With NAR (10/7)
Business-to-business blog writers spend more time crafting content that's longer than their consumer counterparts, according to a report by Orbit Media. The research found that blogs that take six hours or more to create experience the strongest results. Full Story: MarketingProfs (free registration) (10/4)
Is it time to enlist a meme creator? Bud Light, Dunkin', Netflix and MTV are among the brands tapping meme creators to engage audiences with a unique creative spin. While some marketers question the brand benefit from the tactic, We Are Social's Katie McDonald says, "Creators and influencers can share messages that [brands] are not able in-house to land and do things that are a little more zeitgeist." Full Story: Adweek (10/5)
Is the rise of smart appliances coming? Retailers say yes. Connected appliances that communicate with smartphones and each other are heavily marketed by retailers but still only make up a small percentage of the overall market. Some believe this will change as owners "increasingly expect all their major household products to integrate with other smart devices and to feature onboard technology that helps them perform tasks more efficiently," says Paul Roth of AVB BrandSource. Full Story: TWICE (10/6)
Business Wellness
Headline: #FeelGoodFriday: Her cause is your favorite There were 130,000 votes cast for the Good Neighbor Web Choice Winner this year. The most went to REALTOR® Kathy Opperman, who creates safe spaces for members of her community to find support. Find out why your peers gave her top billing. Full Story: REALTOR® Magazine (9/1)
Fair & Equitable Housing
Los Angeles plans largest Black-led development in US Two Los Angeles towers, one of which will rise 63 stories, will form the tallest and largest development by Black developers in the country. The Peebles Corp. and MacFarlane Partners are teaming for the Angels Landing project, which will include condominiums, affordable housing and an adjacent park. Full Story: ArchDaily (10/4)
Legislation & Regulation
Strategies for gifting real estate Gifting real estate "requires careful navigation of estate and gift tax rules," but it may be an appropriate step for some clients, writes attorney Leslie Wood Bradenham. Bradenham discusses a number of techniques, including those involving LLCs, spousal lifetime access trusts and qualified personal residence trusts. Full Story: Mondaq (free registration) (10/6)
Editor's Note
SmartBrief will not publish Oct. 10 In observance of Columbus Day in the US and in recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day, SmartBrief will not publish Monday, Oct. 10.
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The National Association of REALTORS® is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. REALTOR® Magazine is the official magazine of NAR, bringing expert insight to real estate trends, tools, and business strategies.
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