Am I Having Déjà Vu?
If you’re having your own “ah-ha” moment of déjà vu (groovy), and if you’re thinking we already explored one way to synchronize your Internet stuff… Well, you’re right. Five months ago, we created a lesson about a nifty little service called Zapier, to help simplify your use of various websites for boosting your business.
But that was then, and this is now. Although we introduced you to Zapier (still a fine service in its own right), now something called IFTTT is in the house.
OMG, What is IFTTT?
In a world filled with BFF’s, LOL’s, LMAO’s, TTYL’s, OMG’s, TYVM’s and FYI’s, do we really need another annoying acronym? Believe it or not, we do! And here’s why…
IFTTT stands for “If this, then that”. In a nutshell, the IFTTT service lets you create connections between different web apps and Internet services, using customized "recipes". To create your own recipe (and start a chain reaction online), all you must do is define a “this” component and a “that” component in your recipe – and let IFTTT do the rest.
Founder Linden Tibbets summarizes IFTTT’s basic service like this: "We enable really simple connections between two things.” The service works with lots of different applications – such as Facebook, Instagram, Evernote, Etsy and Craigslist (just to name a few) – and IFTTT offers a significant amount of integration options as well, to help you start synching your Internet stuff with ease.
Plus, Tibbets and his team have made IFTTT super user-friendly, so that everyone can take creative control and find their own personal information “groove”, if you will. And the service even allows users to share helpful “recipes” with each other, so you can easily deploy the best tried-and-true synchronization strategies (without struggling through steep learning curves or trial-and-error purgatory).
What’s In It for You?
So here’s the deal.
Say you want to upload photos for a hot new investment property that you’ve tagged on Facebook into your Gmail account… Or maybe you want to transfer a video of a recent renovation job from Facebook to YouTube, in order to help expand your marketing reach… Or what if you could share your Instagram photo portfolio with your clients in just an instant?
Well, now you can do each of these things (and more) seamlessly and automatically with a simple IFTTT recipe! All you must do is whip up the initial recipe (or used somebody else’s shared recipe) and watch the magic happen.
3 Key Terms: Recipes, Triggers & Channels
Yes, yes. I know I keep saying the word Recipe, but it’s an important word. Let me better define what IFTTT means by this terminology, just to be sure we’re all on the same page…
Recipes are combinations of Triggers and Actions from your active channel (or website). An example of an Action would be “send me a text message”.
Channels form the foundation of IFTTT – including sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Calendar, and LinkedIn.
Each channel has its own Trigger and Action. And some Recipes utilize Quick Triggers, which run as soon as they receive certain Trigger data, processed every 15 minutes.
Lastly…
(Hang with me here, folks. We’re almost done with the industry lingo!)
…Ingredients are the pieces of data pulled from the Trigger, such as attachments, sender’s address, etc.
Of course, IFTTT give you the power to turn your recipes on and off. And when you turn them back on, they resume working exactly as they were when you shut them off.
IFTTT vs. Zapier
Both IFTTT and Zapier support numerous sets of web services, and both services allow their users to automate repetitive actions between those websites. Generally speaking, they both help you focus on creating great content for your customers and colleagues, rather than repeating the same basic actions over and over.
But here’s a quick snapshot of how these services compare to each other on a more granular level – including IFTTT’s enormous price advantage over Zapier:
Get It While It’s Hot!
It’s up to you to decide which service is best for your needs, but I can tell you that IFTIT is growing in both popularity and functionality, so it probably won’t be free for long. (ie. Now is your chance to get synching right away, at no cost!)
IFTTT in Summary
One reviewer we discovered said it best when he described IFTTT’s service as “creating wheels to connect two different applications together, based on criteria that you define and control”.
In a world full of apps focused on specific actions (along with waaaay too many acronyms), IFTTT was created to weed through and ultimately connect those applications, thereby making them more functional and equipping users like you to work more efficiently.
After all, time is money… And money is the name of the game when it comes to the real estate investment world, isn’t it?
Stop Being A Robot – Stop uploading and sharing the same stuff with multiple websites.
Use An Actual Robot – Use IFTTT (free) or Zapier ($0-$99) to create chain reactions and synchronizations online.
Enjoy – Enjoy focusing your extra time and attention on stellar content creation for customers and colleagues alike.
JP Moses
is a real estate investor in Memphis, TN, with experience ranging from land lording to note buying, rehabbing, and wholesaling. However, wholesaling is the area that he enjoys most and where he bring the most experience and expertise to his students.