PROVIDENCE – In the real estate industry, the use of Web sites to list and sell properties has become second nature. Residential Properties Ltd. Director of Information Technology Tom Flanagan took a few minutes to tell us about recent changes, additions and best practices that his company has been putting into use.

PBN: What’s your role at Residential Properties?

FLANAGAN: I’m responsible for recognizing and implementing new developments in information systems technology. I’m also responsible for establishing Internet strategy for the company, including our newly re-designed Web site.

PBN: What are the most important elements for a real estate-focused Web site?

FLANAGAN: First and foremost, it should be user-friendly and easy to navigate. A real estate-focused Web site should have consumer-oriented tools such as e-mail alerts, saved searches and favorites, which help the consumer to customize their experience interactively.

Searching properties is the No. 1 reason people utilize a real estate Web site. As a company, we make it a priority to have all the properties listed in the State-Wide Multiple Listing Service updated daily on www.residentialproperties.com.

The second reason is finding an agent to work with. All of our agents have an easily accessible bio with full contact information so that visitors can easily chose and contact the agent who is right for them.

PBN: The use of the Internet to sell and rent properties isn’t a new idea – how will it continue to change the way you do business?

FLANAGAN: It changes everyday. It’s really an exciting time in the industry. Social networking, blogging and mash-ups have really taken real estate by storm. We’re seeing great applications introduced to sites everyday. This is evident in the popularity of sites like Trulia (www.trulia.com) and Zillow (www.zillow.com). Also, streaming video is really a welcomed addition to the industry. It’s just a matter of time before it becomes more popular than traditional elements such as virtual tours and floor plans.

PBN: Tell me about branding and self-marketing techniques that you’ve been teaching agents?

FLANAGAN: Branding and self-marketing are imperative for agents, especially in a challenging market.

Agents really have to differentiate themselves from the competition. We recently developed “Agent Web sites” for our platform. Agents have the ability to launch their own customizable and self-branded Web site. These sites receive all the benefits of the corporate site, such as mapping and the IDX feed [from the MLS service,] but they are flexible too, giving agents the ability to create custom pages with an easy-to-use editor. Rich Epstein, our newly appointed corporate trainer, and I have been holding weekly Webinars on how to customize these sites by adding video and even live chat. Rich and I have also held Blogging seminars with our agents.

PBN: What’s “Blogapalooza?”

FLANAGAN: Blogapalooza was an internal marketing piece that Rich and I came up with. We introduced our agents to blogging and some of the cutting-edge “Web 2.0” tools available today. We had a blast doing it, and it was very successful. We have a dozen agents blogging weekly. Rich continues to teach blogging classes. The ultimate goal of Blogapalooza was to give the Agents a publishing platform and allow them to show their expertise in the industry.

Residential Properties Ltd. is headquartered in Providence and has offices in Barrington, Cumberland, East Greenwich, Newport and Narragansett. The company – founded in 1981 – has grown to more than 150 Realtors and more than 40 support staff. For more information, visit www.residentialproperties.com.