Are portals becoming a bit boring?

It's that time of year, Rightmove will deliver on their shareholders' promise, higher revenue per agent, the letters are no doubt on their way. Zoopla are putting their fees up as well whilst claiming to be more than just a portal. Boomin, the latest portal challenger are apparently now not a portal at all and On The Market are...well they're On The Market.

Agents are taking control of modern social media channels

There's a smart minority of agents that don't really care about portals anymore, particularly Rightmove where it's largely a level playing field anyway so there's not much discrimination and as much as 'say no to Rightmove' has a certain ring to it and occasionally picks up some momentum, it simply hasn't happened.

Why don't they care? Apart from the fact they can't do anything about it, the smart minority are one step ahead and are taking control of social media channels with excellent content, adding variety and gaining eyeballs well away from the once relied-upon portals.

The hostages themselves may be in possession of a more powerful weapon

So much so that in a short space of time competing agents will wonder what's hit them, the slow-to-react corporates in particular, will be in a whole world of pain and the once powerful agent hostage-taker Rightmove could start to feel uncomfortable knowing that the hostages themselves may be in possession of a more powerful weapon.

At FIACON last week our audience were treated to keynotes from the likes of Andrew Dickinson (Oakwood Homes), Mike Nettleton (Nock Deighton), Spencer Gilbert and Perry Rose (Gilbert & Rose) and not once did Rightmove (or in fact any of the portals) come up in positive conversation, no, this was about controlling their own content, data, website traffic and audiences with professional video marketing, automated technology and the facilitation of the likes of Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok (yes doubters, do your TikTok homework!). They even spoke of the Metaverse, a whole other subject!

High quality content marketing and data management isn't just about selling properties of course, it's about brand awareness, winning new listings and tapping into various income streams, it's working a treat and I've seen it first-hand.

I'm not suggesting that portals are dying, Rightmove is still a place where the public loves to browse, but it's certainly not the only place. The game's changing and estate agency is entering a glorious, exciting new era that might, just might make the portals look a bit boring sooner rather than later.