Branding Your connectMLS Experience

 

You have worked hard to establish your personal brand. connectMLS puts you in control over how that branding information is displayed online for other MLS users, as well as how it appears when you interact with your clients.

The connectMLS Homepage

The connectMLS homepage is made up of many customizable widgets, each providing you with quick access to core MLS functionality. SmartMLS has pre-configured the homepage with what we feel is the best widget layout. However, you can rearrange these widgets via drag and drop to create a layout that best supports your daily workflow. 

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Setting Up Your Personal Branding 

Go to the top right corner of the homepage, click on your initials and then click Settings:

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The Settings section is where you go to personalize your user profile and set up system defaults to optimize your connectMLS experience:

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Set Up Your Business Card

The first thing you will see after clicking Settings is My Business Card. Your Business Card is the central location for all of your personal contact and branding information. We recommend setting up your Business Card before you start exploring the rest of the connectMLS system. That way, when you are ready to email listings or set up a client, your emails and client portal are configured with all of your branding information:

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Click on the top link in the Personal Information section- Modify my contact information & online business card:

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Some of the fields will automatically be filled in from your SmartMLS membership record. These fields are shaded and cannot be adjusted from within connectMLS. You will need to contact SmartMLS in order to change the information in these fields. However, you have full control over any fields that are white or empty. 

 


Add Your Social Media Links

When entering the addresses of your social media accounts in the Links section, use the question mark icon on the right of each field to make sure you are entering the addresses correctly. If you do not use the correct syntax, the social media account icons will not link properly from your Business Card:

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Once you have finished entering all of your contact information, use the Business Card Settings section at the bottom of the screen to choose the fields you would like to appear on your Business Card:

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The fields on the right side are already on the Business Card; those in the column on the left can be added to the Card. After highlighting the desired field, use the arrows in the center to add or remove it. Any field with an asterisk must remain on the Business Card and cannot be removed. Remember to click Save when you are finished choosing your Business Card fields.

Your Business Card pops up when a connectMLS user is viewing one of your listings in an Agent-facing report and clicks on your name in the List Agent field. 

The Business Card information also appears on the right side of your client's Portal:

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Modify Your Resume/Bio

The next link in the Personal Information section deals with your resume and bio information. Your Resume/Bio is another marketing tool that gives you the opportunity to provide some additional information about yourself to your clients. It allows you to brag about your professional credentials, personal accomplishments or areas of expertise and help make the case to your clients that you are the right real estate professional for them. 

Click the Modify my resume/bio link to start entering your information. Your personal and office information will automatically populate from your membership record, but it is editable within this section only:

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Note: changes made to this information will only apply to your Resume/Bio. They will not override your information in any other section of connectMLS or on your SmartMLS membership record.

The next part of the screen, called Highlights, allows you to enter five highlights about yourself that will appear as bullets on your Resume. This can be any combination of personal or professional information that you feel makes you stand out above the crowd:

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In addition to the Highlights, you have four other paragraphs to talk about yourself. Each paragraph has its own Subtitle that can be used to break your resume down into distinct sections.

Click Save when you are done. You will be brought back to the Settings screen and you can preview your work by clicking View my resume/bio. Your clients can view this information through a link within their connectMLS Portal, as well as on a separate page within a CMA report.

 

Upload Personal Photo

It is also a good idea to upload your personal photo to connectMLS when you first start using the system. Your photo appears in several places within connectMLS:

  • On your Online Business Card.
  • When a user performs an agent search and clicks on your name.
  • When a user is looking at one of your listings and clicks on your name in the listing agent field.
  • When your clients are in their connectMLS Portal.
  • In the upper right corner of connectMLS (to access the Settings menu).


Click the Upload My Photo link in the Personal Information section: 

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Use the Choose File button to navigate your computer’s hard drive to find your photo:

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Once you have found your photo, double click it. The file name will appear in the Photo location field: 

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Click Upload Photo.
The window will refresh and your photo will appear: 

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Click Save to complete the process.

You will be brought back to the Settings page and you should see your photo in your Business Card at the top of the page:

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Your photo will also replace your initials in the upper right corner of connectMLS.

 

 

Email Template Defaults

There are about 15 different types of emails that can be sent from the connectMLS system. SmartMLS has configured each of these messages with wording that we feel is appropriate and professional without sounding too much like an impersonal form letter. However, our efforts might not suit your specific needs and you may want to use your own wording.

To get started, go to the My Defaults section of the Settings menu:

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The Email template defaults section gives you control over all of the different types of emails that come from connectMLS and allows you to set up your own custom templates for any or all of them.

After clicking Email template defaults, you will see a list of all fifteen email templates:

 

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In the image above, the orange section contains the email templates for different types of automated emails. The purple section has the templates for all of the other types of emails you can send from within connectMLS.

Each type of email has its own default, out-of-the-box template that is available to all SmartMLS users. It is advisable to check out each template to see if you are good with the default wording or if you would like to customize it to your liking.

To get started on customizing the templates, click the link at the end of the top section (Click here to create or modify your email templates). This opens a new window in the foreground of your screen.

We'll use the Initial Notification Template as an example (this is the email that goes out when you have just set up an auto email to a client):

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  1. The Category drop down list at the top of the window allows you to choose which email template you want to work on:
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  2. The Templates drop down allows you to switch between the system template for that type of email and any custom templates you have created yourself. If you have already created a customized version of the template, you can access it beneath the My Email Templates dotted lines. 
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  3. When creating your own custom template, you must enter a name in the Current Template Name field. You can also adjust the Subject line and set it up as your default template for the current category.


  4. The Fields drop-down menu allows you to insert tags/placeholders within the message of the email. These tags will populate with the corresponding user, client or listing data:

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    The list of options in the Fields drop-down list will change based on the type of email template you are working with.


  5. Underneath the Fields drop-down list is where you design the layout of your message.  If you want to use one of the tags from Fields list, click inside the message and get your cursor in the spot where you would like to insert the tag.  Then use Fields to select the specific tag you want in that spot. 

    Here is an example of how you can personalize your message to be more casual, yet still professional and effective:

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    We have highlighted the field tags in orange so you can get a better idea of their placement within a message.  The connectMLS system will automatically populate the corresponding information/data in the spots where the tags appear.


  6. Once you are done adding your message and inserting any tags, make sure to put a check in the box at the bottom of the screen to include your Business Card in the messages.


  7. The last step in the process is to save your work. Since you have just created a brand new template, click Save as New. When making changes to an existing custom template, click Save Changes.

After you click either Save as New or Save Changes, it will bring you back to the screen that lists all of the different templates:

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There is a Save button at the top of this screen as well. This save button is only necessary if you want to switch the template you are using from the system default to a custom template (if you have created one) or vice versa. If you do not want/need to switch your default template(s) at this time, you do not need to click Save on this screen.

Repeat this process for each template you want to customize. 

At a minimum, SmartMLS recommends going through the most frequently used email templates:

  1. Initial Notification
  2. New/Changed Listings Notification
  3. Zero Match Notification
  4. General Message
  5. Manual Email

The process to customize templates is the same regardless of which one you choose. It is a good idea to set yourself up as a Client and test each of these so you can be sure exactly how it will appear for your recipients.

Following the steps above will provide you with an excellent head start on using the connectMLS system.

 

 

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