At first glance, the real estate business seems like something that would change little over the years. But this is actually a business that is becoming more and more reliant on technology as time passes, and requires much better understanding of online consumers than people would assume. Regardless of whether we’re talking about smaller residential properties, large land investments, or the rental of temporary vacation spots, an understanding of modern marketing, promotion, and branding techniques is necessary. For consumers, the first step toward making a real estate investment will be online research – which means that businesses in the real estate market need to keep up to date with digital trends if they want to succeed. These days, a majority of real estate leads will likely come from customers making online searches, so a solid online presence could make a huge difference.