Real Estate Video Tours | Real Estate Web Design & Marketing

Why most virtual tours are insulting to buyers

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:49:08 -0500

Gas is over $4 a gallon. People are driving less. And less. And less.

There are over 21,000 active listings on the market in New Hampshire. That has to be a record for the dog days of summer.

And yet, as of today, not quite 23% of all listings have a virtual tour. 23%

View the entire online presentation,
including a high definition photo gallery!

And the definition of a 'virtual tour' here is broad - 90% of those 'tours' (if not more), are the exact same photos that are already on the MLS, just uploaded into a slideshow program such as Visual Tours or Real Estate Shows, set to music, with a little zooming action.

Inotherwords, you are asking a buyer to take the time to download a tour. The assumption is they will see more. More photos, different angles, neighborhood photos, larger photos... MORE. Something additional.

The reality, in probably 90%+ of all virtual tours, is they see exactly what they just saw, except now we're zooming in on low resolution pictures making them even more blurry!

This is an insult the buyer. It's an insult to your seller. And it makes the listing agent look lazy.

If you're going to offer a 'virtual tour' of photos, make your tours offer MORE... it can be in the form of larger photos (instead of the small MLS photos), different angles, closeups of architectural details, different views (like looking OUT of the front window across the street), photos of the neighborhood - the only limit is your imagination! And, digital photos are free! Don't just take 6 - take 50! Then you'll have plenty of photos to choose from!

Narrated, full motion real estate video tours are the next best thing to actually being there. It presents the property in a way that photographs or slideshow tours can NEVER match.

It's the ultimate in transparency - you really get to see the entire house - ALL of it, not just the nice, cropped image in the photograph It tells a story - with far more information than the MLS allows in the small description box. It creates emotion. Buyers buy homes based on emotion! You can see the relationships between rooms and you walk from one room to the next.

And, as a real estate agent, it sets you apart from virtually all of your competition! A video tour will win you every listing - guaranteed! Sellers love video tours!

In this challenging market, you owe it to your sellers to create the BEST online presentation that you can. Buyers are eliminating properties based on their internet presentation, whether you agree with that philosophy or not. They are NOT spending precious gas money driving endlessly around town looking at properties and open houses - this is 2008! It's a different world.

With a top notch online presentation, the side effect is that you can make the sale even faster!

Online Video Viewing Grows Massively - 12 BILLION Videos Watched In U.S. During May

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:41:41 -0500

The last two years have seen online video reach the masses, and grow massively as a result. That trend has continued at a fast pace during the first half of 2008, with comScore revealing 12 billion videos were watched in the US during the month of May.

That 12 billion videos suggest a 45% increase on the same period last year, and shows a very healthy growth in online video. This is both from user-generated sites such as YouTube, and those providing streaming TV shows such as Hulu.

Ars Technica reports that 142 million unique users watched video online in May, which counts for 74% of the total internet users in the country, meaning 3 out of 4 people have watched some kind of video online.

The average user watched 85.3 videos during the month, with Google and YouTube coming top of the pile, which as a whole, accounted for 35% of the total videos viewed.

So for those still in doubt as to the validity of video on the web, and specifically the use of video in the real estate industry, online video is steamrolling through at a rapid pace..... Time to rethink your video strategy!

Real estate virtual tours gone bad. Very, very bad.

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:53:15 -0500

Direct from the "Uncle Fester School of Modeling" comes a perfect example of why it's not always a good idea for Realtors to do their own virtual tours.

Sometimes it comes off as amatuerish.
Sometimes it shows the property in a bad light.
Sometimes it doesn't really show the property at all.

And then every so often, once comes along.....

Where there are just no words except INDESCRIBABLE

View the actual tour in all it's glory!

For real estate photography and full motion, high definition video tours in New England, visit NashuaVideoTours.

Home seller personally gives a guided tour of his New Hampshire mountaintop 'green' home currently for sale

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:07:55 -0500

Home seller gives a guided tour of his New Hampshire mountaintop 'green' home currently for sale

Not all real estate video tours need to be just your basic tour of the inside of the home. This is a perfect example of the home seller giving a guided tour of his pride and joy - a home that he built and designed himself to be 'green' and energy efficient - long before it was fashionable.

Video tours need to offer more information. By the time a perspective buyer has narrowed down their choices and scanned the tiny MLS photos, if they are still interested - they want more.

A tour like this gives more information than can ever be gleaned from a listing sheet, flyer, brochure - or even from the listing agent.

Your heart will swoon...enjoy the honeysuckle, wisteria, & hops for your beer as the home seller gives you the grand tour of this truly "green" house....

Solar panels REALLY cut your electric bill! A woodshop! Homeowner designed & built. Big one touch wood room, kitchen with granite & custom cabinets, super quiet Bosch dishwasher, Viking commercial range, SubZero refrigerator, maple, oak & bamboo floors, antique doors, refrigeration root/wine cellar. Privacy. Pergola & sunroom overlook brook....

Listing details and information....

VIMEO bans all commercial and real estate videos

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:58:21 -0500

Vimeo, one of the better video sites on the net, is now banning all commercial videos, including real estate videos.

I received a lengthy, detailed explanation via email:

Dear NashuaVideoTours:

Your account has been removed by Vimeo staff.

Reason: Vimeo is for personal, noncommercial use.

Regards,
Vimeo

Own your own island just outside of Boston!

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:53:20 -0500

We recently shot a video tour of an ISLAND, just north of Boston, Massachusetts that is currently for sale! Yes, you can own your own ISLAND in Boston! If you're looking for that unique setting, this may just do the trick.

Own your own island outside of Boston!

Massachusetts USA Community Video Tours

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:39:12 -0500

Nobody will sit through a long video tour

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sat, 17 May 2008 19:27:24 -0500

This is a common statement that I've heard made many times. People doubt that real estate listing videos work because they don't think buyers have the patience or interest to sit through a 5 minute video tour.

According to one video I recently watched on a blog, someone was quoted as stating that people will only watch a video for 2 minutes maximum before they get bored.

If you understand how video can work for real estate, you understand that this thinking is absolutely incorrect.

Buyers search for real estate in this chronological order:

1) They search for properties that meet their requirements based on location, price, bedrooms, etc.

2) They review the information and eliminate those listings which don't meet their parameters.

3) They quickly click through the MLS photos to see if they like the look of the property.

....and the important part....

If #1, #2 and #3 all pass the test, and they still want MORE INFORMATION, they click on the video tour.

They already have sold themselves based on the MLS listing. They've already sold themselves based on the MLS photos. Now, they are really digging in and extracting as much information as they can from the video tour. Not only will they watch a 5 minute video, they do watch a five minute video. Once, maybe twice, oftentimes even more than that!

A video is not, and will never be a substitute for photos. It is not the first thing buyers look at - it's the last.

Photos are the qualifier. Video is the icing on the cake. A well done video tour is the next best thing to actually being there. It gives them far more information than the listing sheet or photos ever will.

Step up your internet presentation (i.e. curb appeal), or you'll lose potential buyers

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:07:47 -0500

Do good photos and virtual tours really make a difference?

This is a perfect example of how a combination of high quality photos and a good virtual/ video tour can completely change the way a home is presented on the internet, where 85%+ buyers begin their searching.

Keeping in mind that buyers are eliminating properties based on the presentation that they view online, it is more important than ever to pay close attention to HOW your listing appears on the internet!

This particular property is a perfect example of how you can completely lose an interested buyer if the home is not presented properly online.

These photos (right) were used to market this property originally. I can't even tell you how this didn't even begin to show this property as it really is. It's a unique property, to be sure. Definitely not your typical 'cookie cutter' variety home. It will attract a very specific buyer. Yet I walked by the listing office and viewed the flyer hanging in the window, and had I not recognized the address, I would not have known that I just came from that particularly property - it looks NOTHING like it does in person! It's not even remotely close.

Considering the uniqueness of this property, isn't it a good idea to qualify a buyer before they waste everyone's time setting up a showing in order to realize that this was NOT their cup of tea? This property is not going to appeal to the masses, for sure.

A good online presentation can make or break sale these days - it's worth taking the time or hiring the right people to make a high quality web presence for your listings.

Take a look at the new presentation - a "before and after"!

Do people REALLY search on a property address?

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Wed, 07 May 2008 08:02:42 -0500

I see numerous single property website companies, virtual tour providers and others boasting of their great search engine rankings, based on searching for a specific address (i.e. 126 Main Street, Hingham MA).

Although they certainly do (and will) come up at the top of the rankings for an address search, do people actually use search engines to SEARCH based on an address?

I monitor dozens and dozens of websites in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and I see absolutely NO evidence that anyone EVER searches on a property address. Literally.. NEVER.

They search on "city, town, state, real estate" or "city, town, state, homes" or something to that effect. They don't search on ZIP codes. They don't search on addresses.

Do people have specific stats to back up the fact that buyers actually search based on this criteria? Many companies are using this information to sell their SEO friendly products, but I just can't see that it ever happens! And again, I maintain dozens of very successful and highly ranked sites that have been online for years and years that I monitor, and I've not seen it once.

Maybe up here nobody does that? Or is this just another marketing scam being perpetuated by these single property website companies.

In reality, you can rank #1 for almost anything that nobody searches on - it's quite easy. i can rank a site #1 for "beige Colonial at the end of a cul-de-sac", but if nobody is searching on THAT term... who cares?

I'm not discounting having an address domain name (126MainStreet.com) as I think for the money it's a great marketing tool, especially in newspaper ads, sign riders, etc. They're easy to remember, and for under $10 it can be a great listing tool (sellers are easily impressed, aren't they?)

But for search engine results - I just don't see it!

High gas prices + Open Houses = NO CUSTOMERS

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:13:32 -0500

Untitled Page

Circa 2005

Spend $45, put 20 gallons of gas in the SUV ($2.25/gallon) and head off for the day with the family, taking a leisurely drive around town, checking out a dozen open houses which were found online or through the newspaper.

Today 2008

Spend $80+ put 20 gallons of gas in the SUV and ....... leave in in the garage, sit down at your computer, and view dozens of open houses via a high definition, real estate video tour - for free!

Besides saving an incredible amount of money, a well produced video tour qualifies your customer. If someone spends time viewing MLS photos, then downloads a video and watches the tour (sometimes more than once!), they are serious buyers and serious about that particular property.

Insteading of wasting your time and gas, your seller's time preparing the home for a showing, and your buyer's time and gas with people are are not truly serious, a video prequalifies them in a way that photographs or spin around tours cannot. It's really just about as close to being there as.... actually being there!

Exclusive "World's End" in Hingham, Massachusetts

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:15:36 -0500

Is it a good idea for a Realtor to appear in their own video?

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:18:58 -0500

The choice of being on video is not about looks, it's about on camera personality and about the comfort level of the person on camera. Having done hundreds of videos, I can tell you that MOST people do not do well on camera. They have great personalities in general, but when a camera is pointed their way, they're a deer in headlights. I just did 15 brief on camera interviews just the other day - 3 were good, the rest were horrible and definitely will NOT make the cut!

With real estate, the LAST thing most people are interested in when they stumble on your website is YOU. They don't WANT a house salesman (yet). They want information, they want listings, they want education. They do NOT want you (which is why I'm amazed so many real estate sites have a picture of an agent on the home page with 3 paragraphs ALL ABOUT ME. You're giving people exactly what they don't want!

By putting yourself on video (especially on a house tour) you're able to give the customer what they WANT (the home tour), and at the same time inject a bit about you (what they DON'T want... yet!). It's subtle, and gives you a brief opportunity to connect with a buyer in a way that can't happen by reading text or looking at a photo.

HOWEVER, if you look like a totem pole with eyes on camera, it does more harm than good! I don't think it's about looks (of course a nice looking person always helps!) but about personality and the ability to convey that on camera.

I think this is a good example that works pretty well. Short and sweet. Pleasant personality. Gives a glimpse as to what the agent is like.

And there there are those people who ought NOT be on camera, like this poor woman who should be totally embarrassed or these two people who should be shot just to put us out of our misery....

Why do they audition game show contestants? It's not for LOOKS, it's for on camera personality! That's what people relate to. You don't want people laughing at you!

The goal is to present the property AND the agent in the best light.

Many people feel that the "rough, shakey, blurry, unprofessional look, "Blair Witch Project" look" to their videos is appealing in some way to buyers, but I don't see it I guess. I find it a bit embarrassing. To me it's the video version of blurry, crooked, BAD photography. I think you owe your seller more. The web presentation of a property today is the 'curb appeal' of yesterday. People are eliminating properties based on their internet presentation. With gas approaching $4 a gallon, a record number of properties online, it only makes sense! Take a misstep, and they'll just click the NEXT button.

Another one bites the dust....

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:59:27 -0500

As the video market continues to get weeded out...

VideoEgg is the platform used to upload videos to AOL Video, so not sure if that site will disappear or another option will be made available to upload to AOL, but I received this notice this morning:

Attention: my.videoegg.com users

It is with our sincerest regret to inform you that we will be closing the doors on the Videoegg Publisher Platform and related services at http://my.videoegg.com/. You can download all of your video content from our servers, so be sure to stop by our site to reclaim your belongings.

Our last day of service will be May 31, 2008. Account creation and video uploading are already disabled.

We understand that you may have some questions and direct you to our updated FAQ to find the answers to common questions. It's been a great ride, so let's enjoy these last months together, reminisce about how far we've come, and finish strong with some awesome video blogging.

Thank you for your participation and for your support of Videoegg. It's been a pleasure working with you.

Best regards,

Videoegg Staff

The Future of Internet Search

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:02:37 -0500

Why use a video tour to sell a home?

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:51:39 -0500

Why a Video Tour?

There are more properties on the market right now than in recent memory.
Gas is approaching $4 per gallon. People are not willing to drive all over town to look at properties.
The majority of home buyers have broadband internet connections.
Yesterday's "Curb Appeal" is today's "Web Appeal". The quality of your presentation online determines whether a buyer puts your property on the 'short list' - or just clicks NEXT.
True, full motion real estate video with sound conveys emotion. People buy homes based on emotion.
Video tours rank highly and quickly on search engines - usually within a day or so. More exposure!

Best of all, it's a slam dunk listing presentation tool!
Show a seller your video tour - and the listing is yours!

Boston Video Tours | Nashua Video Tours
PH 603.484.1439 | PH 617.645.4218 | info@NashuaVideoTours.com

Most 'virtual tours' are redundant - why even bother?

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:00:56 -0500

I see more and more virtual tours done by Realtors that are merely a redundant presentation of exacty same photos that one just saw on the MLS!

The majority of these 'tours' are of the slideshow variety, such as VisualTours, Real Estate Shows, Point2, etc.

I just don't get why people even bother - I think in many respects its a bit insulting to the viewer. They JUST looked at your photos on the MLS and wanted more, so they clicked on your slideshow. What do they get after waiting and waiting for the thing to download? The exact same photos! Granted, they're zooming in and out and set to music, but it's the same, exact thing they JUST watched! Even more maddening is it feels like the majority of these slideshows use the 'default' music. So not only do they present the same photos one just looked at, but they sound exactly the same as the last ten 'tours' you viewed!

If you're going to bother putting together an additional presentation, make it different! Make it bigger! Make it better!

Some suggestions....

1) If you're going to regurgitate the same photos that are on the MLS, at least make them LARGER. Most MLS photos are fairly small and low resolution. Make your photos BIG (800 pixels by 600 pixels).

2) Digital photos are FREE. Take lots of them - from different angles. When I shoot a house I usually take at least 75-100+ photos! Take some of the photos you didn't use in the MLS and put those in your slideshow. Then you're offering the buyer additional information, not the same pictures they just saw!

3) Take some photos of the neighborhood, the street, the shopping, the schools. Put those in your slideshow. Again, offer something different!

All buyers look at the MLS photos first to determine if they're even remotely interested. Virtual tours, video tours, 360 spin around tours..... all need to offer the buyer something extra - because that's what they expect!

Selling real estate... Transparency or trickery? Which works best?

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:01:22 -0500

I had a recent discussion on another blog regarding the value of virtual tours, etc. in the sale of a home.

He claims that virtual tours absolutely do not work, and he has stopped doing them altogether. I mentioned the fact that in dealing with younger, internet savvy buyers, that transparency is the key. In these days of record numbers of properties, $3.50++ gas prices, they want to see as MUCH as possible online before they take the next step.

A recent article in The Boston Globe brought home this point about HOW younger buyers are buying and selling real estate - and I can't agree more.

I truly believe that the new 'curb appeal' of yesteryear is now 'web appeal'. Your web presence and online presentation is what will determine if someone takes the next step... or clicks the next button. It's a matter of QUALITY photographs, QUALITY virtual tours, comprehensive descriptions and complete transparency - they want all the facts up front before deciding whether or not to put a particular property on their 'short list'.

Younger consumers do not believe in relationship selling. They do not want to 'be sold'. They want to do all of their research themselves - online.

And, altthough I wish I personally was in that demographic, I have to admit I feel exactly the same way. When I am thinking of purchasing something, I do ALL of my research online first... before I speak to a salesperson. I don't want to be sold. I want to feel that I know as much as the salesperson, who may or may not be looking out for MY best interest. I completely understand this method of thinking, and the internet provides all of the tools for me to educate myself on my own time, in my own way, on my terms.

Some people feel that the less information you give, the more likely they will call you. In fact, many do not list prices on flyers, etc. to prompt (aka 'trick) people into calling, therefore 'getting leads'.

I think this is old school, and personally I wouldn't fall for that in a minute. But I think it's a way of realtors retaining 'control'... "the less information I give you, the more likely you'll call me" mentality. I personally believe the less you give me, the more likely I'm moving on to the next listing...

I absolutely agree that the ultimate goal is getting someone to view the property. No question.

But how do you do that? By giving just a 'taste' of what the property is about? Or putting it all out there?

Why don't realtors use better photos? [Wall Street Journal]

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:10:43 -0600

Today the WSJ addresses that age old problem of why realtors use crappy photos and virtual tours when advertising a listing in a slow market!

This is something that has had me scratching my head on a daily basis - it's nice to see that it's brought out in the open. Of course, the main offenders probably don't see themselves in this story because they still 'think' they can take good photos...!

Considering the bleak state of the housing market, one would think that agents and sellers would be working overtime to market what’s out there. Yet when Developments visits real-estate sites, we see many listings featuring poorly taken, grainy photos that do little to show what a home looks like, let alone what might be special about it. Worse, some listings include no photos at all... [read story]

Stage a house for a day. Just a day. Viable?

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:51:43 -0600

I've had this idea for about a year, and I still can't get it out of my head.

As a real estate videographer and photographer in the Boston/ Southern New Hampshire area, I am filming and photographing more and more vacant homes. As we all know, most real estate photography is pretty horrible, and it's made even worse by a photo of an empty room showing carpet, a corner and a window.

The reality is these days, with gas prices at record highs, inventory at record levels, and internet usage at record highs, MOST people are basing their initial impressions on a home based on the web presentation.

If it looks good online, it's put on their shortlist of homes to investigate further. If it does NOT look good, or has very few photos or details, they go directly to the NEXT button. It's really that simple. Although many realtors don't want to believe this (which is why many still 'tease' with only a few photos or sometimes removing a price from a flyer, etc.), the response is not the expected phone call and contact, but the clicking of the NEXT button.

Staging a vacant home is very expensive. With homes on the market for months and months and months, it could easily run into several thousands of dollars. For some, it's worth it. For many, they can't (or don't want to) justify that type of expense.

Additionally, there is SO much new construction on the market now - all vacant. And my guess is there will be much more coming online soon. A bunch of EMPTY houses with shiny wood floors and granite counters that give off only one impression: ECHO!

My thought was to bundle a package together of photography/video/ staging services just for the shoot. This way, we would have a nice presentation ONLINE, where it really counts, and the cost would be more in the affordable range - hundreds, not thousands - of dollars. The primary objective is to get them to personally VISIT the house and that begins with a great presentation where they START their search - online.

A cheap TV and DVD player could even be set up in the vacant home with a looping DVD of the FURNISHED video of the home so any visitors could see what it could look like - furnished. I've actually done this a number of times with homes I have filmed prior to the owner moving, and those photographs and videos are now invaluable, because there was FURNITURE there when they were originally shot!

My thinking is that you could buy leftover furniture... sofas with rips in the back, tables with a broken leg you could glue, etc. It would ONLY be used for photography staging. Nobody would ever sit in it or see it in person. You could store it all in a truck that would just drive from house to house. Set up, photograph it, load up, move it on to the next house.

It would be more labor intensive than anything (with moving in and out) but the inventory could all be actually stored IN the truck. The business would most likely be a MUCH higher volume business than traditional staging. Even though the cost is less for the homeowner, you'll be turning that inventory over time and time again without a LOSS of that inventory (sitting in a house that has been on the market for 6 months!).

If you could put together a package for about $900 for a video tour, photo shoot and a photo staging... I think that would be very palatable for those homeowners who KNOW the value of staging and good photography and KNOW the market is slow, yet don't (or can't) sink many thousands of dollars into a full staging of the home for months on end.

Am I nuts? I think this could be a HUGE business opportunity. I've not seen anyone - anywhere - doing this. I would love to team up with a home stager in the Boston/ Southern New Hampshire area to work on a project like this. I think it could be very lucrative!

Ideas?

Provincetown, Massachusetts (MA) Victorian Home for Sale [Waterview]

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:16:28 -0600

Impeccably Restored Antique Two Family Home For Sale
584 Commercial Street, Provincetown, Massachusetts

Offered at $1,299,000

RealEstateProvincetown.com

Enjoy beautiful water views from this impeccably restored Second Empire two family home.

Located on Commercial Street in the East End, the grand residence sits on a large corner lot with ample parking.

The comfortable features of the home include a gourmet kitchen, original pine plank floors, high ceilings, lovely moldings, large rooms; all surrounded by a stunning front yard with beautiful gardens.

The main dwelling is currently configured as 3 spacious bedrooms, 2 living rooms, sitting room, and 2 full baths, many of which enjoy water views.

Some of the living space could be used as additional bedrooms.

The home also includes a charming 2nd floor one bedroom apt. with a separate outside entrance.

Also on the property are a garage and a small outbuilding that would make a great artists studio or work shop.

The guaranteed way of getting a listing EVERY time!

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:15:10 -0600

Real Estate Video Tours are effective on many levels - the obvious one is that it helps sell a home. But a less obvious benefit is as an incredibly effective LISTING TOOL.

Why? Because you're appealing directly to the ego of the seller! You're going to make a mini-movie of their home! The reality is, in regards to video tours, the sellers 'get it' far more than realtors do! They understand the potential benefits and effectiveness. They also know what the market is currently like and how effective marketing is a key in getting a home sold today.

The mistake many realtors make however, is telling a potential client that you will do a video tour of their home.

Why is that a problem? Video is the hot buzzword on the web right now - not just in real estate, but in general.

In the Boston/ Southern New Hampshire area, there are only a handful of listings that have actual, real video tours, yet so many realtors 'promote' their 'video tours' as to a potential listing client.

The problem lies with misinformation. There are numerous companies out there (VisualTours, RealEstateShows, TourFactory, etc.) that offer inexpensive slideshow programs. Operative word: SLIDESHOW.

There's nothing wrong with these marketing alternatives at all - some represent quite a good value and offer a very nice presentation. A SLIDESHOW PRESENTATION.

Not only are these NOT video in any sense of that definition, the bigger problem is that 95% of realtors that use these programs just regurgitate the EXACT SAME photos that the buyers JUST saw on the MLS - into a slideshow! How does zooming in and out on those SAME photos (with a little music in the background) give the buyer any additional information? It doesn't! It's just a rerun of what they JUST saw, and most importantly, ITS NOT VIDEO!

One problem is these companies market their products AS video, because that's the big thing right now. It's false advertising and misrepresentation no matter how you cut it! It's NOT video - it's PHOTOS. The SAME photos you probably JUST saw! And again, there is nothing wrong with photos. But call a spade a spade! Just because you zoom around your still photos, doth not a video make!

Realtors actually 'think' this is video, and market it as such to their clients!

If you are doing legitimate, full motion video, you are providing a far superior marketing product to your customer, and you must be SURE that you present it as such. The best way? Bring a SAMPLE video on your iPod, iPhone, on a CD or DVD, or on your laptop. SHOW them the video. Don't tell them about it, SHOW them. Let them watch the entire tour. EXPLAIN to them the difference between YOUR video tour and virtually EVERYONE in your market who claims to offer video. You must educate your sellers as to the differences.

Once THEY understand the differences, YOU have the listing. It works EVERY TIME. It really does.

Use video to your advantage!

My MEME blog.

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 23:27:54 -0600

Iran Watson will pay for this, as he is responsible for tagging me with this MEME blog thingie....

So I guess 5 things people don't know about me, huh? OK, here goes....

1) I was a theatre major in college. Did hundreds of productions in college and community theatre. Ah, to be young and naive. Wanted to become an actor - silly me. My parents were frightened I would be living in a homeless shelter, but were always very supportive. Who knew I would end up using some of those skills making real estate videos??

2) In my brief quest to become an actor, I spent a year in California at MGM with my cousin. It was during my "year off" from school (the explanation I gave my parents for dropping out of college - I guess I forgot to go back!)

He was a film producer (he scored most of the major musicals to come out of Hollywood in the 40's and 50's, then started producing movie musicals such as "Sound of Music", "West Side Story", "That's Entertainment, Part II", "Star!", "Man of La Mancha" and others. (He won 3 Academy Awards and worked with all the greats.... Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Julie Andrews, Sophia Loren, Cole Porter, etc.) I spent the better part of 1975 watching them make "That's Entertainment", got to have lunch with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, got private tours of the sound stages at Metro, which most people have never seen as it was a private studio and not open to the public. Of course, being a stupid 20 year old in the days before videotapes, Kelly and Astaire were just two old codgers to me - I wish I could do THAT lunch all over again! I was more interested in going through my cousins scrapbooks of photos from the making of "The Sound of Music" (which you can now see in the 'extras portion' of the DVD version of the movie, which was one of the last projects Saul did before he passed away ten years ago).

3) I was on one of the very first 'reality' shows on TV. In fact, it was before the term was actually

coined. It was on The Learning Channel, and was a show called "Reunion", which profiled various reunions each week - parent and child, long lost friends, etc. I created one of the first and largest high school reunion websites in the country, way back in 1995-1996. The site and concept was featured on the NBC Nightly News and various national publications as an 'innovative use of the internet', and Banyon Productions (producers of "Trading Spaces") saw it and contact us to be a part of their show. Our episode dealt with 4 students returning to surprise their favorite teacher (our drama teacher) after 25 years.

4) I've owned my own businesses since I was 21, at which time I bought the first franchise of a successful New York contemporary furniture store called "Workbench". I opened the first store in Moline, IL, and a second store 5 years later in Des Moines, IA. After a number of years in the retail world, I thought better of it and never went back! I still own one of the oldest roommate referral agencies in the country (located in Boston, MA) - celebrating 25 years this past November, although I haven't worked in that business for the past 5 years.

5) I'm a very impulsive person. In 2002, in a period of some sort of explosive midlife crisis, I started a brand new business (Nashua Web Design), began a completely new career as a web designer, and moved from Boston to a completely new state (New Hampshire) where I knew exactly one person.

All on the same day. With almost no planning.

Hello.......???? Mush for brains???? It was only a couple of years ago, when really thinking about that triple play, that I realized I'm just crazy or bored! Fortunately, had I thought that move through for even a split second, it would have never happened.

So, now I'm told that I have to tag 3 other people...

So....Scott Beard, A. Grey, Dan Dashnaw - Go for it!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... in New Hampshire!

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:52:43 -0600

Happy New Year from snowy New Hampshire!

How to [NOT] advertise and brand your real estate business....

Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 23:04:10 -0600

The Top Ten Worst Realtor Photos

Good for a laugh at the beginning of the New Year - too bad this is not a joke, however!