What’s New With LCAR

Boy, a lot has happened over the past year — some good, some bad, with a little bit in-between. The market is still as caddy wampus as ever; and depending on who you ask, that is either a good thing or a bad thing. But what you might not know is that LCAR is undergoing changes of its own and getting a much needed facelift.

Earlier this year, a Member Engagement Task Force was created. Consisting of several members of LCAR, and in particular members of the Communications Committee, this Task Force was, well, tasked with the goal of coming up with better ways of engaging with its members, agents and affiliates alike — specifically finding new ways to reach our membership. Traditionally this has been achieved through email. Whether it’s to notify members of an upcoming event, a blog post or just relevant news and information pertaining to our industry, email has been the go-to, tried-and-true method of communication for decades now. While email is great, especially back in the 90s and early 2000s when that’s all there really was to easily communicate to hundreds of members simultaneously, a lot has changed over the past 20 years with new methods of communication available.

Again, email is great and it certainly has its uses. But if you’re like me, you get dozens of emails a day . . . and let’s be honest, a lot of it is spam. So when LCAR sends out an update or a blog post, it’s easy to just scroll right past it without giving it a second look. I know of instances when an agent wasn’t even aware of an event or an update because they didn’t notice it had been emailed to them. And that’s a problem. So the question became, how can LCAR better reach its members, and how can LCAR make it easier for members to engage with the Association? And thus, the Member Engagement Task Force was formed.

Without going into too much detail, LCAR is set to embrace modern times come 2022. In addition to the emails you’re used to seeing — because let’s be real, email isn’t going away any time soon — you can expect to see a stronger presence on social media. LCAR is poised to be more involved with Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube. The goal, again, is to help better reach our members and provide them with more opportunities to be engaged with the Association. So when it comes to events, industry news, blog posts, etc., you will have more avenues to access information and interact with what’s happening around you.

Speaking of blog posts, the Communications Committee is also getting a revamp of sorts.

For those unfamiliar, the Communications Committee is in charge of writing those fantastic blog posts you see every week . . . like the one you’re reading now! But not everyone prefers to consume information through written words, so the Communications Committee is going to be the Communications and Member Engagement Committee starting next year. And while we will still continue to write blogs and articles, we’re also going to be shooting videos, pictures and anything else we can think of to make our content more engaging and accessible to our members. And of course this means utilizing the social media platforms mentioned earlier. The Committee is still looking for volunteers; so if you like to be creative and are looking for ways to be more involved at the Association, the Communications and Member Engagement Committee just might be for you. Email lcar@LCARonline.com if you’d like to be a part of transforming LCAR’s communications in 2022.

But wait . . . there’s more! Not only is LCAR evolving how it reaches its members, but it’s also evolving the way it looks, too. In addition to finding new and better ways to communicate and engage with its members, the Member Engagement Task Force, with the help of a third party marketing company, has come together to design a new logo and website. Yes, you heard that right . . . LCAR is getting a makeover.

The new logo looks terrific. And while the current website is functional, it is a bit outdated . . . anyone familiar with Windows 95 knows what I’m talking about. The current website looks fine and it certainly serves it purpose, but how often are agents actually on it? Personally I may find myself on it two or three times a year which isn’t a lot. So when coming up with ideas for a new and improved website, we wanted to not only change the way it looked and bring it in line with modern times, but also to improve its utility and how it functions — make it easier to navigate and provide useful tools for agents to take advantage of and get more use out of it.

So when exactly can you expect to see the new logo and website? Well, you won’t have to wait too much longer. The new logo will be unveiled and the website launched at the Annual LCAR Banquet. If you still haven’t registered, the Banquet is being held at the Wyndham Expo Center on December 16th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The registration deadline is December 8th — click here for details, and be sure to check out the awesome facility preview.

We are excited to finally be able to show off these changes that are the result of nearly a year’s worth of hard work . . . and what better time to show them than at the Annual Banquet. Hope to see you there!

Richard Boas, III, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices HomeSale Realty

Facts, opinions and information expressed in the Closing Comments Blog represent the work of the author and are believed to be accurate, but are not guaranteed. The Lancaster County Association of Realtors® is not liable for any potential errors, omissions or outdated information. If errors are noted within a post, please notify the Association. Posts represent the author’s opinion and are not necessarily the opinion of the Association.