When I first heard that forward-thinking real estate agents are starting to use social media tools like Snapchat for marketing, it sounded strange – and then familiar.

Snapchat is largely associated with teenagers and people in their early 20s sending photos or short videos to one another. The images become inaccessible 10 seconds after they are viewed. Lenses and texts can be added to the images, and there are other effects as well.

Kathryn Redican, marketing director at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England and Westchester Properties, said her company just released a Snapchat guide for their agents and is encouraging them to use the platform to market themselves and their properties.

“There are 200 million Snapchat users today,” Redican said. “They will be the next wave of buyers and sellers and we want our agents to get in front of them.  It’s the fastest growing social media platform. Approximately 400 million snaps are sent every day.”

The guide spells out what Snapchat is, who is on it and how it can be used to promote the agents, listings and open houses.

Jim Morrison

“You have to have a presence,” Redican said. “It’s something that once you start using it often, it’s really easy to do a snap about a fantastic listing or open house. It’s free and you may as well stay ahead of the curve.”

If you’re a reader of a certain age, you may be rolling your eyes. However, you may also remember the not-so-long-ago days when contractors didn’t see the need to pay for cell phones or websites or when attorneys refused to use email.

Soon, real estate agents will add Snapchat and Instagram to their social media marketing, or find themselves competing against agents who do.