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Better Late Than Never - Creating Videos As Part of My Business Plan

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268

It's that time of the year again. No, I'm not talking about the Holidays, I'm talking about taking stock of what kind of year I had in real estate and how to improve on it for next year. My "to do" list at the beginning of the year included making more videos and to include voice over. Did it happen? Well, I did make a few videos for my listings, but nothing to write home about. And certainly none with voice over. 

This week I figured the time had come to stop thinking about it and start doing it! Below is my first attempt at a voice over on a neighborhood video. This is the Galway Hills Neighborhood in Iowa City. It's actually more difficult than I expected to get the timing right, but I'm hoping I improve over time. The fact is that the Internet is a very visual place. People want to see pictures and I have a whole hard drive full of them! In fact I'm thinking every self respecting real estate agent does. We're constantly out there snapping photos as we drive around neighborhoods. Why not introduce those neighborhoods to buyers looking for that information? It's kind of a no brainer really. I've known that since the beginning of the year and NOW I make the video. Finally!

That's the thing about plans. They don't always work out. Fortunately every new day gives us another opportunity to do something about that and as my grandmother would say, better late than never....

Anyone else care to share what they HAVEN'T done this year and intend to do better next year?

Posted by

Denise Hamlin, Realtor®

Broker/Owner

CARDINAL Realty, Coralville IA 

Licensed to Sell Real Estate in the State of Iowa

 

Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices 

Iowa City Area Real Estate Services

 

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Comments(13)

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Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner
Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268 - Iowa City, IA
Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices

Thanks Steve. I use Animoto. I think their software give the video a pretty good and professional feel. The voice over was tricky, but they had a blog post that explained the process and I'm sure I'll get better at that as I go along.

Nov 20, 2013 03:57 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital
Denise, I think you are so right that the voice overs are the hardest part about making a real estate video.
Dec 02, 2013 01:40 PM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Denise,

I am sure ou will get proficient in time, and my partner and husband,Ron, takes quite a bit of time to do one, he is a perfectionist, right down to the last pixel. A

Dec 11, 2013 04:11 AM
Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner
Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268 - Iowa City, IA
Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices

Will, 

Sounds like you're on top of things. Google Maps is a big one. I actually thought that was a real pain at the beginning. You'll probably find video easier, (albeit, as I mentioned in this post, voice over is tricky).

 

 

Dec 14, 2013 09:06 AM
Andrew Green
Keller Williams Elite Realty - North Vancouver, BC
AndrewGreen

Video is going to be so important moving forward. YouTube & Google listen to your videos and record what you're saying (click on the transcribe button next time you're on YouTube), having relevant content in YouTube videos will greatly increase your appeal in the eyes of Google. This is definitely something I'm including much more into my business this year.

On top of that I've just started sending BombBomb thank-you videos to clients after meeting with them and so far it's really helped keep me top of mind.

Dec 14, 2013 02:09 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Ouch, it did not work for me. It was some video player message. I tried Youtube, but got the same error message.

Oh, well... will come back later

Jan 07, 2014 12:22 PM
Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner
Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268 - Iowa City, IA
Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices

Sorry it didn't work for you Jon. It seems to be an AR problem. It works fine if you go to YouTube. I'll try embedding it again and see if that helps. 

Jan 08, 2014 01:30 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Denise - not sure. But it is the same thing on YouTube. I get the same error message on Yutube. I am on Mac, maybe this is the cause of the problem, but it is strange, as I have no problem watching youtube videos.

Jan 08, 2014 10:34 AM
Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner
Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268 - Iowa City, IA
Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices

That's weird Jon, but there's really nothing I can do to help as obviously I don't have the problem! If it's a Mac problem I'd better just hope there aren't too many Mac users trying to view it.

Jan 09, 2014 12:52 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

It is working now. Liked yur tour, but I am afraid of doing voice over, as I have an accent, and it may not be a good idea doing it myself.

Jan 12, 2014 02:16 PM
Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner
Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268 - Iowa City, IA
Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices

I don't think an accent should stop you Jon. It didn't stop me. :) I think the main thing is to speak clearly. I know I have to slow down sometimes when I'm talking to people, because they don't always catch everything I say. I need to talk more deliberately when I'm doing a voice over. (That might sound a bit weird, since English is my native language, but when you think about it I'm sure it makes total sense).

FYI, I like your "speaking" voice in your blog, I'm sure that would go over well in a voice over too. 

Jan 13, 2014 02:02 AM
Rob Marken
Bend River Realty - Bend, OR
25+ years experience in Bend

Great idea.  I have been thinking about starting videos and adding them to my website.  Just not sure how to impliment it yet, but great job on accomplishing our goal, even if it was later than you anticipated. 

Jan 23, 2014 01:19 AM
Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner
Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268 - Iowa City, IA
Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices

It takes a while to figure out a strategy Rob, but it's definitely worth looking into. Only a few real estate agents have tapped in properly to the value of video, probably because it's not that easy. I do think it's extremely worthwhile for us though as it gives us a platform to show our houses and neighborhoods in their best light.

Jan 23, 2014 01:44 AM