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Objection to Video #2: “Virtual Tours Are Easier Than Video and Just as Good”

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Wellcomemat.com

Recently, WellcomeMat has been fortunate enough to find that many of the objections to the use of video in the real estate space have come to surface. We have been covering the most popular objections that we see to the use of video, and have been having a great time doing it. So far, we have covered “Objection #4: Video is Only Good in Certain Niche Scenarios” and “Objection #3: I Can’t Do Video Myself”. In this post, we’ll cover the 2nd most common objection:

“Objection #2: Virtual Tours Are Easier Than Video and Just as Good”

Like it or not, online video has taken off. It is such a big deal now that online videos are being shown on television: “iCaught” on ABC, and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” are great examples of TV shows using online video to capture the eyes of their viewers. Advancement in technology affects everyone; and, no matter what field you’re in, there can be no doubt that we are living in a world in which online video pl ays a significant role. So, what are you going to do to get consumers’ attention?

Asking yourself which is better, video or slideshows/virtual tours, is the wrong question! The question should be “why am I not using all tools available to build up the strongest web presence possible?” As if you needed to see examples of each type of medium, we have assembled a list of examples to contrast the different marketing tools side by side.


Videographers (professionally produced):





Sellers:






Virtual Tours/Slideshows:



http://tours.tourfactory.com/tours/tour.asp?t=355614
http://www.justsnooping.com/Home/Virtual+Tours/USA/Colorado/Boulder
http://www.tourre.com/portfolio/virtualtours/

 

Show All Comments Sort:
Danny Thornton
R & D Art - Knoxville, TN
WordPress Guru
Christian, I like the points. I agree that you should use everything available to you.
Sep 19, 2007 12:30 PM
Michael I. Pulskamp
Mainstreet Brokers - Jackson, CA
REALTOR, EcoBroker, GREEN Desingnee

GREAT! This post does a good, fare, job of showing different approaches to Virtual Tours. I could do almost everything in the first two with stills and imovie, The third tour was better, but the real benefit of shooting with video is moving the point of view, the fourth tour shows that. Now booms, trolleys, and steady-cams are top end gear, but they look SO MUCH BETTER. The "still shots" that have a moving fire or flag are not worth any cost increase.

Good job with showing the differences finally.

Sep 19, 2007 12:54 PM
Sam Miller
RE/MAX Stars Realty - Howard, OH
Knox County Ohio Real Estate Specialist
I love the simplicity of doing virtual tours but they do not offer a search feature that works.  YouTube and Google have the search feature mastered and this alone makes video the overall winner in my opinion.  The challenge is that most of us need to get REALLY better at the video side of our business.
Sep 19, 2007 02:39 PM
Christian Sterner
Wellcomemat.com - Boulder, CO

Daniel...thanks for the comments! 

Michael...you have my agreement entirely regarding the videos that mimic stills very closely.  They make the argument for video pretty difficult.  Videographers are often pretty hard on themselves, and sometimes steer clear of the handheld/stedicam shots for fear of creating a "jumpy" video.  I think this is mostly a bad move simply because of the point that you raise: "moving the point of view" is a very important aspect of video tours. 

Sam, my bet is that you're up for the challenge.  Now is the time to experiment...it'll be harder to do so later. 

Sep 19, 2007 03:27 PM
Sam Miller
RE/MAX Stars Realty - Howard, OH
Knox County Ohio Real Estate Specialist

Christian, You are correct about doing it now.  I bought a new Mac earlier this year and have been doing lots of testing with YouTube and also with Realtor.com.  I have foundt that home videos over 2 minutes are pushing it with the consumer and community videos featuring the area attractions can be as little as 1 minute and still be very successful. 

Christian, I just in Boulder last month for a recording session with Howard Brinton...what a beautiful city.  Happy selling!

 

Sep 20, 2007 12:32 AM
Christian Sterner
Wellcomemat.com - Boulder, CO
Thanks Sam.  WellcomeMat has had a patent pending status on our video "chaptering" for some time now, all because of what you are talking about.  The longer the video, the more the tool is needed.  
Sep 20, 2007 04:46 AM
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
HouseFront - Denver, CO
I personally think video is better, but then again video is also a lot harder to go well.  If you dont know much or anything about video I would not recommend it unless your hiring it out to another company.  But when both are done well I will always take video hands down.  
Sep 20, 2007 09:38 AM
Christian Sterner
Wellcomemat.com - Boulder, CO

Stephen,

We feel everyone's pain on the learning curve, but-if history is a teacher-video will be universally understood and used due to technological innovations etc.  WellcomeMat has seen massive innovations already in the ease of use category.  This will continue and accelerate.  Thanks for dropping in on us!

Sep 21, 2007 04:33 AM
Norvell Rose
www.RexNet.tv - Virginia Beach, VA

Folks,

I can assure you that online real estate video - professionally produced and properly presented (how's that for alliteration?) - has a wonderfully bright future.  I speak from experience, here in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Easy and quick adoption by an eager agent and broker community?  Well, not exactly.  But there are a growing number of visionary agents, brokers and builders here who recognize and are beginning to embrace the future. 

We'll be expanding significantly in the next few months on www.RexNet.tv, as we engage through a number of clients and channels.

So, let's go guys!

Norvell Rose
Founder, www.RexNet.tv

 

Sep 24, 2007 02:18 AM