This week in Social Juice, I’m going a bit app crazy! I talk about two iPhone apps that will help you enhance your mobile marketing and also get into a big (and long overdue) Facebook announcement. Keep reading below for details!
UScape.it
Another interesting name for another interesting app. From what I can tell, UScape.it is Google Street View with a bit of a twist. The iPhone app allows you to stitch together 360 images (what UScape.it calls “scapes”) you take with your smartphone camera to create a guided tour of anything, including a home! I talked about a cool photo app in a prior Social Juice post which also allowed you to take panoramic images, but, if you didn’t already catch it, UScape.it differs because of the stitching capability.
Once you have completed stitching together your scapes, you can add in guided arrows, much like you would see in Google Street View. So, for example, once you have stitched together an image of the kitchen and you’re ready to move onto the living room, simply pop in a guided arrow that would follow the pathway from one room to the next.
Now, many of you rely on pricey virtual tours to create a video layout of a home. And you probably also have those tours on your website, which is wonderful. However, this app is mobile optimized, which is important as an increasingly large number of consumers are trending towards smartphone usage for their home search.
Once you’re done scape-ing, share to facebook or email to your sphere with the click of a button. Easy, fast and pretty darn good. To download the app, visit their page on iTunes. Once you do so, you can also check out some of the demo scapes available to give you a better idea of what you can put together. There is even one of an apartment that shows you just how powerful the app is for real estate agents.
Heard of Zosh?
While it may sound more like the name of a figure from ancient Greek mythology, Zosh is actually a free new iPhone an iPad app that allows you to complete and sign documents with a couple screen touches. Zosh was recently acquired by a company you may have heard of, specializing in digital content delivery, YouSendIt.
What makes this app supercool is the fact that you can complete signatures with your finger, as opposed to complicated steps involved with other e-signature tools. Zosh breaks the need for the traditional fax solution and is arguably simpler to use than other e-signature devices available in the digital services market.
Once you or your client have completed the document, it can be sent in a simple pdf format. For more information on Zosh visit it’s download page here. There’s also a great video showing how nifty the app is to work with-check it out here.
Facebook Debuting App for iPad
Well it’s about time. Facebook has had a mobile app available since 2008, but has been slow to develop a tablet version. Looks like Zuckerberg finally came around. As stated by the New York Times, the new app has a “slick design that has been tailored for the iPad and its touchscreen interface.” In addition, it is rumored that Facebook will be revamping its Groups and Chat functionality for the iPad app, as well.
Realtors are increasingly gravitating towards mobile devices to streamline daily business activity, particularly tablets and smartphones. Facebook’s iPad app will make it easier for you to stay in touch with clients, share local information and market to your virtual sphere.
Hope I’ve given you enough to play with! Feel free to leave your feedback on any of the apps or updates in the comments section.