BOSTON ? A Corcoran Group executive at the eTail Boston Mobile Shopping Summit said that approximately 35 percent of traffic comes from mobile, showing the connection that local content and intent play for connecting real estate companies with consumers.

The ?Location, Location, Location: Social & Mobile At The Corcoran Group? session gave a lay of the land of how each medium has not only changed the ways that The Corcoran Group connects with house hunters. The session gave attendees specific examples of initiatives that tie in both social media and mobile.

?The idea of untethering our agents using localized information and having customers connect with our agents at scale using mobile based on the ideas of response time, having fun and in a way that makes them the most reached-out people in an era where people just aren?t visiting those kinds of Web sites anymore is really important,? said Matthew Shadbolt, director of interactive marketing and product at Corcoran Group, New York.

?The decision has already been made by the customer about how they want to work, so we are aggressively trying to position ourselves to take advantage of that,? he said.

Mobile homes
One of the first things that the Corcoran Group did on mobile was a search and location-based iPhone app to help consumers find listings and browse photos.

The company also has an Android app. Interestingly, the company has found that iPhone users are more interested in downtown areas of Manhattan, Brooklyn and rentals while Android users prefer the Upper East Side and Upper West Sides of Manhattan as well as sales.

The app also includes curated content around each listing with localized insight from real estate agents. Mr. Shadbolt said that in-app social and video leads to longer engagement.

The executive said that the company updates its app approximately four to five times a year, which helps keep it top of mind for users.

The company has approximately 60,000 iPhone users that interact with the app seven to eight times longer than on desktop site, per Mr. Shadbolt.

Although time spent in the app is important, the ultimate sign of success for a real estate company is phone calls for agents. Features such as click-to-call play an important role in this.

To promote app downloads, the Corcoran Group uses mobile banner ads inside partners such as the Zillow, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal apps. The company also aims to place the banner ads in places of apps where consumers spend long periods of time, such as the crossword puzzle section of the New York Times app.

The returns on mobile advertising average nine to ten times the returns on desktop ads, per Mr. Shadbolt.

The Corcoran Group marries mobile and social with foursquare with an inventory of tips across places in New York and Florida from real estate agents.

Every week, the company interviews one agent, who shares ten tips on top attractions and places around New York. The company has approximately 3,000 tips. These tips are then surfaced back into apps to increase the time that consumers spend in apps.

The Corcoran Group on foursquare

Digital presence
Besides mobile, Corcoron Group is also ramping up its digital presence via social media and Web.

Although the Corcoran Group has a presence inside syndicated Web sites such as Zillow and Trulia, traffic does not come back into the company?s own Web site, making it difficult to drive users to Corcoran Group's Web site.

Twitter lets the company is able to communicate with consumers in real time.

The highest level of Twitter engagement in Corcoran Group?s view is a consumer who sends a direct message for an apartment search versus a new follower, which is the lowest form of value.

On Facebook, items that are time-sensitive and news worthy work well with ?Likes? and comments.

When it comes to data, the Corcoran Group is focused on only using things that have a strong business proposition.

The Corcoran Group is also using video and YouTube to answer questions for consumers, often times in real-time on Twitter.

?Mobile is especially important for us, especially in the location, location, location business,? Mr. Shadbolt said.

?What?s around me now is not only a very strong New York idea, it?s also a very strong real estate idea,? he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York