Take 5 
How to Get More Referrals by Creating ‘Flash Briefings for Alexa
with Michele Bellisari
TRT 3:56
Transcribed

 Michele Bellisari directly addresses camera:  Are you looking for a unique way to reach buyers and sellers? I've found it through voice assistants, specifically Amazon Alexa Flash Briefings, which are mini podcasts that help brand me and market my real estate business.

Hey, I'm Michele Bellisari, I'm a sales associate with RE/MAX Services in beautiful Boca Raton, Florida. Let's take five minutes to learn how Amazon Alexa Flash Briefings could build your referral network by educating, inspiring and motivating agents.

I recently heard from an agent in Kentucky that she listens to my Flash Briefing, called The Real Estate Influencer Buzz, every day before work. That's exactly what I was hoping for when I started my Flash Briefing on Amazon's Echo (also know as Alexa) digital assistant. I interview other real estate professionals about topics such as email marketing, Yelp, reviews, using virtual assistants and YouTube video strategies. My intent is to get referrals from real estate professionals globally. It's a great way to cross-pollinate my social media channels and my podcast to grow my audience.

Anyone can develop a Flash Briefing skill, and it's free. If you're ready to try, here are some strategies:

Flash Briefings can be found in the Amazon skill section on the App on your phone. I also highlight them on my blog. You don't need to know how to code, as Amazon handles it all on the back end. The process is similar to creating a podcast, where you need a recording tool and a hosting platform. I use an app called Anchor to record right from my smart phone, then upload the audio file to my computer. I use Buzzsprout to host my Flash Briefings and my longer real estate podcast, which I've named The Real Estate Influencer Buzz.

Choose a specific style or format for your Flash Briefing. Because I wanted to increase my agent referral business, I chose to do an interview-style briefing. I primarily talk about branding, social media and marketing so agents come to know like and trust me with referrals. You may choose to make your Flash Briefing consumer-focused and offer market updates, homeownership tips or more. 

Next, take some time to listen to some of the more popular Flash Briefings so you can also get an idea of how to format the content. Flash Briefings are designed to provide short pieces to the consumer as they go about their daily routines. Amazon suggests feeds be no more than a few minutes long for an audio clip.
You can find informative videos on YouTube that demonstrate how to record and upload a Flash Briefing to Alexa. But note that you have to get it approved by Amazon before it's available as a skill. There are directions for that as well.  And Amazon will walk you right through it.  You can find them by searching “Amazon Flash Briefing Skill.”

Make sure you repurpose the content. When I create content for one platform, like my podcast, or my blog, I repurpose it for another, like Flash Briefings or on social media. This helps me get more mileage out of every piece of content. It also helps me build my audience. I will put information about subscribing to them in all of my emails and on my social media channels. 

Finally, the Amazon Echo Dot, a compact smart speaker that responds to voice commands, makes an amazing closing gift, so I buy them in bulk on Amazon. I share dozens of tips with customers on how to use Alexa, including how to sync up with their smart home devices. Every time they think of using their Alexa, they're thinking of me. 

If you're ready to jump on the digital-assistant bandwagon? Hey, have some content ready to go. Record a few Flash Briefings at a time, batch them and bank them. Because at the end of the day consistency is the key.