If This, Then That (abbreviated as (IFTTT) is an absolutely fantastic free tool that you can use to improve your productivity. It works by connecting different apps and services with each other so that when something happens in one app something else automatically happens in a different one.
You can use IFTTT to automate a lot of things which can really save you time.
IFTTT uses what are called recipes which are sets of instructions that tell the service when a specific thing happens with one app do another specific thing in another.
Currently you can build your own recipes using 367 different apps and services or select from a massive library of recipes created by others.
Here’s a few of our favourite recipes that should be quite useful for real estate agents and realtors.
Craigslist real estate leads to your email inbox
With this recipe you can set up a search on craigslist for a term like “wanted properties”, “wanted homes” etc. and when someone makes a post with these terms you’ll receive an email.
Add a Google Calendar reminder when you miss a call
This recipe will automatically add an event to your Google calendar that will remind you to call people back if you’re using an Android phone.
Email me if I miss a phone call
This is a similar recipe that will send you an email if you miss a call on your Android phone so you don’t forget.
Keep a log of all your phone calls
This recipe will automatically keep a log of all the phone calls you receive on your Android phone in a Google Spreadsheet.
Automatically send a text if you miss a call
If you’re working with an important client?you can automatically send a text if you miss their call telling them you got their call and will get back to them soon, or whatever you want. This cal also work great with bosses and family members.
Sync new iOS contacts to a Google Spreadsheet
With this recipe every time you add a new contact in iOS their information will automatically be synced to a Google Spreadsheet that you can easily go through later to add any new contact information to a CMS or organize however you’d like.
Note to self
If you ever have a great thought that you can’t really write down you can call IFTTT, record a message and IFTTT will email you a transcript and an mp3!
Text to escape
If you ever need to get out of a situation you can send a quick text to IFTTT and you’ll get a call back which you can pretend is something urgent so you can escape.
Track new real estate listings using Evernote
With this recipe you can set up a search on any site like Zillow or Remax for a certain location and any time there’s a new listing posted on the site it will be added to Evernote. You could also tweak this recipe to instead send you an email, post to a Google Spreadsheet or whatever you prefer.
Automatically post blog posts to social media
If you have a WordPress blog and you also have multiple social media accounts set up you can use recipes to automatically post any new blog posts to most social media sites. Here are a few recipes to get you started.
Cross post on social media
If you have multiple social media accounts that you post to and you don’t want to have to log into each one to post the same thing then you can create a recipe that will automatically take your posts from one network and post them on another. Here are a few examples.
Search Twitter for leads
With this recipe you can set up a search on Twitter for any hashtag or keywords you want and add these to a Google Spreadsheet. If someone is tweeting about getting help selling their home for example you can follow up with them.
If you use IFTTT let us know some of your favourite recipes in the comments below.
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