Ever try to get your significant other’s attention, but they’re not really listening because they’re prioritizing their mobile device over you? There’s even a word for it- technoference.

Research shows that in 2016, the average American spent nearly 11 hours a day consuming media, (Nielsen Company data).

That’s a ton of time with eyeballs glued to a smartphone, computer, tablet or television. (And for those multi-tasking masters, more than one of those at a time).

It’s a real challenge to compete with that much technology! And as any business person knows — especially if you’re in real estate — your message has a myriad of competing messages in the digital sphere, and can become lost in all that cold, robotic clutter. Sometimes, to bridge that digital divide, the best approach is one that combines the power of mobile tech with the age-old benefits of human interaction.

The Human Touch

While more people utilizing mobile can be a potential benefit to your marketing efforts, you really have to be smart about it. People tend to reject what feels unnatural. That is, if your marketing seems like it’s being cranked out by a machine, it won’t be very engaging to the average audience. Make sure you preserve the human touch in your online communications — particularly in the mobile environment. This is really important to building and maintaining meaningful relationships with your customers and potential customers.

So, why is it such a challenge to keep things real?

Digital marketing is trickier than it may seem at first blush! Setting the controls to auto-pilot may seem like the way to go for a busy agent or brokerage, but the quality of your engagement can suffer if you come across as absent or insincere.

A report this year the National Association of REALTORS® indicated that 90% of agents use smart phones, email, and computers daily; about 93% of real estate companies have their own website; and 70% of agents actively participate on social media. So, most agents are involved in the digital marketing space in one way or another. But, according to that same research, 48% of brokerages consider keeping up with technology to be a big challenge they face over the next couple of years.

There are Solutions

With all that in mind…what’s an agent to do? Truly effective digital marketing takes effort to stay personal and relevant, but that effort can get expensive in terms of time, money, and personal bandwidth.

The never-ending race to keep up with the latest electronic gadgets and apps can lead us to focus too much on the tech. The human on the other end of the device ends up being forgotten. Staying focused on people, and trying to experience your communications from their perspective, is crucial to a humanized message.

To learn how you can achieve a more human approach to mobile marketing, download this handy FREE eBook, Go Behind the Device. The book was co-written by Chime Technologies with experts at EXIT Realty Corp. International. EXIT CEO Tami Bonnell and EXIT Director of Innovation and Technology John Lim offer a few well-researched tips to ensuring the screen works as a tool for you, instead of becoming a barrier, in your digital marketing efforts.

Read the book, and tell us what you think in the comments below!