At the Inman Connect conference in New York last month, we experienced our largest crowd ever — by a long shot — yet an unmistakable spirit of camaraderie, even fellowship, prevailed among this magically diverse group of professionals.
The growing Inman community has become a snapshot of the wonderfully fragmented real estate world. It is not elite, it is not constrained by an ideology; it is not just older white males; it is not stuck in the past, nor is it vexed by fear. It has become a younger, more energized, forward-thinking and optimistic community that embraces technology but will confront or discard it when it is wrong-headed. Most importantly, this unusual tribe is built on deep personal and professional relationships and is imbued with enthusiasm about property and the people who surround it.
Inman has become its Readers. The Inman team is only a facilitator, a gatherer and an enabler of this unique real estate bond that is rich with ideas, innovation, success and boldness.
And because our readers are the smartest people in real estate, this transformation has created an asset that’s far beyond the sum of our staff or our events or our website. As we’ve grown and shaped our readership, we’ve been considering new and exciting ways to enhance and advance this remarkable vein of insight, experience and wisdom.
It will be done in the spirit of supporting, facilitating and growing this dynamic community of doers and creating mounds of new opportunities for members to engage with one another — from an amazing collection of people to an irresistible network of the best and the brightest in the industry.
I want to share our plans with you.
Eighteen months ago, Inman embarked on a new vision around new content offers, events, readership growth and engagement. The plan worked beyond our wildest dreams. The New Inman, centered around the mission of raising the real estate IQ, has already attracted 200,000 real estate professionals who are fully engaged and subscribed Select Members, with our readership reaching more than 600,000 unique visitors per month. We have broadened our content offerings; grown our industry contributors from 12 to 400; doubled our live event schedule and pushed our social footprint and reach to millions in the industry.
[Tweet “Our next chapter is further helping our vested and engaged Inman community help each other.”]
Our next chapter is further helping our vested and engaged Inman community help each other. Starting later this month, we will be launching a series of initiatives around the idea of “Inman is its Readers.” The Select platform makes all things possible.
Here is a summary of the initiatives that you can plug into.
Select Plus: The new online learning platform
Our content offerings will be greatly expanded with the launch of a new online learning platform called Select Plus, which taps some of the smartest and most successful members of the Inman community to share their skills through a video learning system that also includes aggregating our best and most useful content in a way that makes learning from one another easy. For more information, contact Morgan Brown at morgan@sandbox.inman.com.
Inman Market Data
We believe that members of the Inman community are knowledge workers, not just just salespeople. This means they are the local housing economists serving consumers who are struggling to figure out where the local market is headed.
We are equipping our members with the latest and best hyper-local housing market data, which will be updated daily and can be used to not only better understand the changes in the market but can also be shared with homebuyers, sellers and owners.
We will soon be launching the Inman Housing Market data set, which allows for agents to adjust and manipulate the data to reflect local nuances and to publish and share the information with others.
Inman Connection
This summer, we are launching a new and deep program for our members to get connected with one another. Inman Connection gives members of the Inman community a published profile on the Inman platform with a fun and easy way to swipe and find colleagues around the world, and it includes a state-of-the-art messaging app for members to get in touch with one another. A variety of programs will be launched under the Connection program so that members can easily communicate and find one another. Look for details in the coming weeks.
Our award-winning and unbiased business intelligence team
On the business intelligence front, we are renewing our commitment to cutting-edge journalism, digging deep on important issues that affect our readership. This one-of-its-kind journalism for the real estate industry — the Inman franchise for 20 years — depends on our readers, giving us tips, sending us confidential information, responding to reporters and explaining what we missed or where we might dig deeper. Send tips, story ideas or announcements to our editor Amber Taufen at amber@sandbox.inman.com.
We are also doubling down on the number of readers we profile through stories and videos. We are on the hunt for Inman readers who have stories to tell, special homes to show off, speak at our events and be sources for news and tips. Do you have a story to tell? On stage, contact Drew Lehmann at drew@sandbox.inman.com. In print, contact Dani Vanderboegh at dani@sandbox.inman.com.
New Facebook Groups for learning conversations
We launched a series of Facebook groups. In just two weeks, almost 2,000 agents are commiserating in Agent War Room and nearly 1,000 brokers in Broker War Room and 350 vendors in the Real Estate Vendor Exchange. These forums are run by Inman readers not by Inman staff, brokers helping brokers; agents helping agents and vendors helping other vendors.
Our soul on Facebook can be found on Inman Coast to Coast, where you can discuss, debate and share your ideas about real estate.
We are also launching a series of other new social initiatives.
One of those is SlackOff Wednesday, every Wednesday morning from 11 a.m. PST to noon. The first one in two weeks: “How to make money off Zillow?” Details coming.
To get plugged into our social platform, contact our social media manager, Andi Mayer, at andi@sandbox.inman.com.
We are only as good as our partners, and we have many great ones. Want to be an Inman partner? Reach out to me anytime, brad@sandbox.inman.com, and let’s talk.
Join us in this next phase of our community’s growth — you are Inman!