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The Power Of Using Video In Your Real Estate Business.

There is no question regarding the power of using video to not only promote your product but also yourself in the Real Estate market. As attention spans get shorter and shorter online - you need to be as compelling as possible via the most entertaining medium. There is a reason people would rather watch the movie that read the book.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Morgan Brown a Marketing Director with Turnhere.

“How can real estate professionals use video in their marketing?

With such a large percentage of home owners starting their search for property online, using video in online listings is the first thing that comes to mind. Pictures are nice and descriptions are helpful, but there is no substitute to video for giving a user a firsthand experience of the property with a well-done video home tour. In addition to using video to highlight listings it can also be used to showcase neighborhood attributes and provide a profile of your business and team.

For example if you are a Realtor in the East Bay of California you can use video to highlight the quaint neighborhood of Rockridge and its beloved walking streets lined with local restaurants and shops. This content is ‘evergreen’ and helps people evaluating your listings get a true sense of the surrounding area.

Is appropriate for every listing?

I can’t think of a listing where it isn’t appropriate. Even properties that don’t have the most curb appeal can benefit from a video by capturing the attention of just the right buyer. Listings that are moving fast already and perhaps properties that rely less on online research for sales are exceptions to that statement.

Videos too expensive for most Realtors, right?

Professional video production is totally affordable for nearly all marketing budgets. Compared to traditional marketing channels it’s a bargain. It’s much cheaper than print materials, flyers, radio, TV, outdoor (bench and billboard) and other marketing vehicles.

What makes a good web video?

I think there is a big misconception out there that it is easy to make a good video. The fact is making good video that is compelling, authentic and relevant to the viewer is difficult. To wit, of the millions of videos watched on YouTube each day the average view time is less than 10 seconds. This is a direct result of most video not meeting the needs of the viewer.

When the viewer gives you permission to talk to them by clicking play you have to deliver, and deliver right away. To make good video for the Web (which is much different than traditional broadcast video advertising i.e. a :30 second TV spot) it needs to focus on three key things: authenticity, delivering a compelling message, production quality which makes it enjoyable to watch and drives action.

Bottom line is that web viewers have near-infinite choice for their attention and are typically skeptical. This means that your message has to be compelling, relevant and real. Over-produced sales pitches or videos that don’t meet the viewer needs are big turn-offs online.

What are some ways you can leverage the video content you create?

The nice part about video is that it’s a highly portable piece of content so you should look to get it out on the Web to get as many eyeballs to it as possible. Using a smart distribution strategy can put you in front of the right people at the right time. Whether it’s putting your video up on YouTube, Facebook, Active Rain or making it shareable via email and embeddable in a widget the idea is to get your video out there to where the viewers are.

Can you give us some examples of some of your favorite videos on the web? (Not those kind of videos…)

My favorite videos are ones that are compelling and interesting. They take a piece of everyday life and show it to you in a different way. I love to see the stuff that you don’t get every day in mainstream media. Show me the true character of a city by doing a tour of all the BBQ joints in town or show me the kitchen of the hotel that cranks out 1,000 four-star meals a day. Give me a clip of the author talking about why they wrote their new book. One of my favorite videos is the author David McCollough talking about how Washington escaped from the Red Coats at the site of the Brooklyn bridge - amazing insight that I would never get. I also love the videos of Mentos and Diet Coke so it goes both ways. Videos that give me a unique, authentic perspective on life are the ones that I love.”

Posted by Agent Stealth on 06/17/2008 02:07 AM

Comments (31)

internet marketing, video, real estate marketing

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31 Comments on The Power Of Using Video In Your Real Estate Business.

JUN

2008

I'll have to come back and read this again after I get some sleep, it's late and I'm nodding off, but it sure looks like a fantastic post. Congrats on the feature...good night! :-)

I have to say that when videos first came out, I was reluctant to use them because I thought of "privacy" issues. But after seeing the Active Rain video contest winner and many other excellent videos that market the community as well as the actual home, I'm a video enthusiast.

I have actually used video, and the jury is still out as to whether or not they are effective for me.

AS, video is the wave of the future! Especially in Real Estate. Gas prices will cause more people to search homes differently..

Just as digital cameras have changed the real estate industry by storm, videos will also impact the industry. I agree, videos should be left to the professionals. There is a big difference in taking a photo and shooting a video. Congratulations on the feature.

Good Post!

Hi,

good info...thanks for sharing. I would like to try including video in my marketing...my camera is ready, however, not me YET...

Stay warm,

Bo Kociuba

I've used visual tours for years. I'm just now starting to explore video options. I have to admit, I love the idea but am a little intimidated - as noted above, "good" video is where it's at.

I agree that video is going to become more and more prominant in the Real Estate business. I am just starting to incorparate video into my marketing plan.

Video is definitely coming on strong and will be very important in the future of real estate marketing -- both for the homes and for the agents.

Interesting post. I'm suprised that the average You Tube view time isonly ten seconds - wow.

I'm going to do my first video home tour tomorrow so your suggestions are very timely. The house is vacant so we can shoot as many 'takes' as we need.

Great post! You are so right. I used to be caught up in "production quality," but now realize that production quality can actually take away from authenticity. I am now trying to get used to using the Flip camera. It's a great product and I look forward to seeing how video works for me. Thanks for the ideas!

I have been doing a video series of my area. Last week I went to the Farmer's Market to video. I received an email from one of the organizers thanking me for my support of the Market. Video is exciting and fun!

Video is easy to make but it can be hard to watch yourself and it is something that takes some getting used to.

Kevin Duffy
www.CincinnatiMLS.com
http://blog.kevinduffy.com

Cell 513-602-6000

AS, thank you so much for your statement "I think there is a big misconception out there that it is easy to make a good video."

Even though you may have a decent hobbyist level camcorder and make home movies, it does not mean you can film, edit and produce a quality video that shows your listing in a flattering and attention-keeping way. When marketing your listing it is better to acknowledge that there are times when hiring a professional is the best way to go. As Agent Stealth pointed out in the blog, cost varies and need not be prohibitive. Video tours range from a lengthy "infomercial" style that covers the town/area as well as the home to a narrated voiceover tour to a video portrayal of the house/condo itself. Costs vary from company to company as well.

Contrary to what many realtors believe, buyers want to watch a well produced quality video that shows them the home.

Buyers do not want to see:

Blair Witch style videos

shots of the cement stoop and your feet as you open the front door

your thumb over the lens

videos where your voice is loud at times and barely audible at other times

a video of a room that is almost black because you're facing a window (and the agent says how light and bright the room is!)

exposures going constantly from normal to almost black and back again because of windows.

a shot of a plain wall in a room without moving for over 20 seconds while you talk

a five + minute long video

I have seen all of these - none of these examples is made up.

When a seller is paying you a commission as a professional to market and sell their home how can you post an amateurish video and feel that you are doing the best job you can for them? Just something to think about.....

www.hearthandhomevideos.com

I think that video has a lot of potential as part of an overall marketing plan. I will be ramping up the video in my listings moving forward. I have a prefessional video dome for one of my listings and it certainly sets a standard.

We don’t offer video or photography, but I’m with Michael Setunsky and Amy Hunter on this one. If you’re going to use video, let the professionals do it.

Shooting video with a Flip is about the same as shooting still photos with a cell phone. It’s about as amateurish as it can possibly get, no matter what you do to it.

But maybe a better way to look at it is to turn the question around. Instead of asking…“Why should a Realtor hire a professional to shoot their video?” ask, “Why should someone hire a Realtor to sell their house?”

It’s the same logic. In either case, it’s thinking that the other person’s profession isn’t really that difficult, and that you could save money doing it yourself.

My 2¢

Point well-taken. A professional video that is well-done is an investment that usually pays for itself within weeks. More buyers than ever want to be able to shop online and they are giving their business to agents that are adapting and responding to current market demands.

As Amy pointed out, poorly done video is no more effective than a poorly done newspaper ad. Viewers today want authenticity, with professional production values that create real online transparency and a personal, emotional connection with the agent and property.

They not only want to see footage of the property but a short profile of the agent. If you can get them to like you online, studies show that they are 800% more likely to call you than if they have to guess what you are like with an outdated photo. They want to be able see what you look and sound like - How you relate to others, how passionate you are, what distinguishes you. Once they can envision themselves sitting across the table from you, you've got a connection that results in a phone call.

We recently created a video profile of a small town in Northern Califoria called Pleasanton. It's a name that is well-suited to this charming community that still has its old Main Street intact. This video is not only on the agent's website, but also on all of the video sites and searchable within Google organic search. I've received emails from different agents in the Pleasanton area where people have actually relocated from all over the country as a result of seeing this one video on the Internet.

New websites 2 years from now will be almost entirely video-based now that the technological barriers have been removed with the recent introduction of Adobe Flash video and the extensive distribution of broadband connections. New sites are already coming out where the home page is a large video that plays automatically. Backgrounds, menus and even links will be videos that create a true, intuitive, media-rich experience that no longer requires reading pages of text.

Current studies show that 8 out of 10 website viewers click away from a site within 8 seconds, out of boredom, confusion or frustration, never to return. That type of conversion rate can put a small business out of business very rapidly. We live in a short-attention-span society now with little patience for reading text and few second chances for a connection.

However, those same studies also show that 9 out of 10 viewers will instintively watch at least the first 10 seconds of a video on the Home Page, giving that business a critical window of opportunity to garner their attention. We live in an ever-increasing visual culture and web users today are making their preferences clear. Websites that deliver a media-rich experience will be the ones that get their business.

You don't have to spend a fortune to have a video professionally created for you. The cost of a 3 minute personal agent profile can start at a couple of hundred dollars and go up to about $1500 depending on the number of takes and supporting b-roll footage required. That's less than the cost of an 1/8 page ad in a newspaper. That video also becomes a permanent part of your marketing program, selling for you on your site 24/7, with DVD copies, uploaded versions to video sites and indexed within Google search, the video becomes an investment that quickly pays for itself with your next sale.

The Real estate industry has often been renowned for being very traditional and old-school in terms of marketing themselves and their properties. There is still a surprising percentage of agents who have yet to place photos onto their websites, so video will not be something that will likely ever interest this segment of the industry. However, for the rest of the agents, video can be a key factor in finding a new way to connect with buyers and sellers who are ever increasingly favoring the Internet as their sole means of finding an agent today.

Im late in jumping on the video bandwagon but I do see the benefits. My goal is before the summer is out to start implementing video.

I appreciate the information and insight into using video. I am just exploring what to do with video and how to do it. I can see how this is the direction that we are headed.

ditto...whatever Brad said!! but it's only 6:30 PM!!!!

I have been using video on homes for about a year but I am on of the only ones doing it in my area

JUN

2008

I have been thinking about doing videos as well but just haven't gotten around to do it. Frankly I think for people who are tired or don't want to read ;) video is a great alternative from blog and much more visual!

Cheers,

Cindy

Why is Wellcomemat.com not mentioned in this post? It is, after all, THE place for real estate video. While I agree with you on most of this post, I will argue with you on a few points. Making video is easy. Also, I believe the buying public are much smarter than we like to give them credit for. It's not about making the video flashy or pretty. It's not about getting as many stay at home mom-lookie-loos to view the video as possible. It's about properly representing the home so when the right/serious buyer sees the listing, he doesn't pass it by. He accurately sees the home for what it is. It's not about pretty Video and high end equipment at all. It's about a real tour of the home. A video that's a true walk through of the home is priceless. I can't stress this enough. I've seen plenty of high end video that do the exact same thing as pictures. They give a snapshot but they do not give the true layout or "feel" of the home. Only a constant walk through video can do that. Get out your video camera, practice a bit with it so you're fairly fluid with motion, make true representations of your homes instead of trying to fool the public into showing them a candy coated, sparkly, video. Let the casual looker get that crap on HDTV. They're not your buyer anyway. Give your clients the real thing and do it for free. They'll love you for it. Use tubemogul.com to syndicate your videos to several websites at once. And for those who are truly interested in video...get off of youtube..use wellcomemat.com...much better. The tools I've mentioned are free and I work for no one. I believe in doing things the smart way..and this is it.

And of course you people who own "professional" let me sell you agents another marketing ploy are pushing for "let the professionals do it" video tours with your stitched together pictures and boring wanna be so called videos. Don't be fooled people. We're the next generation. Be creative. Do it yourself, have fun with it. Learn to make it look good. These peple are no smarter than you are. Of course you can hire it out, I'm not saying that. But do your home work..don't be fooled with 360 panaramas or stitched together photography. They're boring as hell, they're lying to the public because they're not true video tours and no one want to watch them anymore!

You can see I feel strongly about his, can't you...

JUN

2008

So-called professional videos that consist of zooms and pans of agent-submitted, low resolution photos are absolutely not video.

Video is full motion clips, dv quality or better.

Sure, take the advice above about creating better videos, i.e., not panning from bright windows to "dark" rooms, avoiding poor sound quality, etc. You can shoot the video yourself and edit out those bad portions. You can also dub in your sound (voice and music) later.

Beware of "professional" video outfits that -- like many other "pro" products that we may buy -- are really simply looking to take advantage of agents' perceived CDB (cost of doing business). In return for your hard-earned money, virtually every "pro" video I've seen is proprietary crap.

Practice with a good quality consumer camcorder, read a few video production tips online, get a good basic video editing program -- and you'll be better off with what you have created -- because it's from you, the agent who knows the property the best.

JUN

2008

Nobody is arguing that one can't do an OK video yourself. If you have the time to learn, and put your mind to anything, you CAN do anything! But it also does come down to "what is your time best spent on...?" Yes, you CAN design your own websites, you CAN photography your own homes, you CAN design your own flyers, you CAN do your own marketing... you CAN do it all! But there ARE only 24 hours in every day, and something has to give.

Most realtors will agree that THEIR time is best spent working with their buyers and sellers and buying and selling real estate. You're a realtor - not a web designer, marketer, photographer or videographer. You're a REALTOR.

Your best source of income is that as well. Therefore, what suffers generally is the mediocre way some realtors try and do everything else, mostly because they don't have the TIME to learn the skills and actually do the work! Video takes HOURS and some heavy duty computing power to properly edit, compress and upload - and that's if you know what you're doing!

I've been working with realtors doing marketing, web design, video tours and photography for over a decade. I follow the real estate market more closely than most of my clients. I actually believe that I could be a better realtor than the vast majority of my customers in the marketing department, because I know far more than they do about marketing real estate - which is why they hire me. I can photograph and videotape a house far better and faster than they could, which is why they hire me. I can get eyeballs to their website - which is why they hire me.

However, I don't know anything about intricacies or legalities of actually buying or selling real estate! Put an offer in front of me and my eyeballs cross. Could I figure it out? Probably... Do I have the time to learn how to figure it out and do the SAME quality job as someone who deals with this stuff day in and day out? Hardly....

Which is why I would hire THEM. Because that's their job and they do it far better than I ever could as an 'armchair realtor'.

Sometimes you have to leverage your time and do the things that YOU do best, and leave the rest to people who can always do it better and faster.

It's called the 'cost of doing business'.

Some people know how to fill their gas tank with gas and know how to drive. That's it. Others know how to rebuild an engine. Most [smart] people in the first camp would NEVER attempt rebuilding the engine of their car... even if they could find a book on it. You might be able to save money, but in the long run it will take you much longer to do the work, you'll make far more mistakes, and the end result could be a lot less than it should be! It might even be slightly dangerous!

You're selling properties for hundreds and hundreds (or MILLIONS of dollars). You owe it to your seller to do the best job at YOUR JOB - which also includes marketing, photography, videography, sales, negotiating.... etc. Do you really have the time to do it ALL WELL?

If you're being honest with yourself, you don't, unless you have super human powers.

These people clearly felt they could 'do good video'. If I was the seller, I would fire them in a heartbeat.

JUN

2008

Well put, Fred. Most people don’t realize what is really involved in producing a professional looking video.

Do they know what full-frame, full-motion really means?
Do they know the different types of key-frames, and how to use them?
Do they know the difference between interlaced and non-interlaced footage?
What about drop-frame, versus non-drop?
What about title-safe, or full-rastor?
Or, compression Codecs?
Or, how about Anamorphic squeezing?

I could go on and on, but the point is that there’s a whole lot more to producing a professional looking video than just buying a camcorder and practicing a bit.

Also, the person that made the above comment that ‘zooms and pans’ of still photos are ‘absolutely not video’ has apparently never heard of Ken Burns. To respectfully disagree, not only is it video, it’s a very famous film and video technique first made popular back in the mid 70s, and used extensively to this day.

By the way, our virtual tour company does NOT offer any video or photography services. We simply provide an online software for agents to create their own tours.

But I do still own a media production company, and have produced film and video for many years. So, I do have some experience in this area.

JUL

GREAT post and comments. I have yet to try out videos for real estate but it is at the top of my list. I think I am a bit intimidated but this is great information!

JUL

thanks for the ideas and the info

JUL

Use the FLIP video camera for easy posting to YouTube and AOL to get the exposure you want on listings, testimonials and just market conditions you can present to your local market. Take advantage of the siplicitiy -- keep it simple and SHORT. Make it a profitable day! Scott Hoen

MAR

Property videos that are narrated talking one on one to not at the listener, viewer is the key. And just as important, do a community series of videos like this one. The area is show with this to dove tail with your property videos.

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