Cool New Video Tools to Build Your Business

by Bernice Ross, Ph.D. MCC
Owner, Teleclass4U.com, LLC and RealEstateCoach.com

Copyright © 2007
RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com
All rights reserved in all media.

Despite the slowing market, innovation is running at full speed. It’s a brand new world out there—are you willing to be part of it?

One of the most exciting aspects of the Inman Real Estate Connect Conference is to learn about the latest innovations in the business. My last two articles focused on the trend towards consolidation in terms of lead generation, web marketing, and traditional print marketing. An equally exciting set of innovations is occurring in terms of how we use video to market our listings and our businesses.

For those who are on a limited budget, one of the least expensive alternatives comes from RealEstateShows.com. Jeff Turner describes this solution as being “brain dead simple.” Using the technology created by Ken Burns, the well known documentary film producer, agents can upload five to nine digital photos and create the equivalent of a much more expensive video. The Burns technology allows the agent to control where the camera moves as well as allowing the agent to pan in and out. Once the agent uploads the pictures, the agent can select music from the RealEstateShows.com library. Since most music requires a license to use it for commercial purposes, this is an excellent way to avoid potential copyright problems. The agent selects the music and is billed based upon whatever the current licensing fee is for that particular piece of music.

According to Turner, one of the challenges when agents use a virtual tour is that you would have to redo the entire tour if you wanted to change pictures as the seasons change or if you wanted to include additional shots at a later date. With their program, agents can easily change their show by changing the pictures. Once the agent creates the show, the agent can embed the show into a blog post or even into the Multiple Listing Service.

According to Christian Slater of WellcomeMat.com, their goal is to be a one-stop resource for both the creation and the distribution of videos. One of the exciting things that you can do with an actual video is to make personal comments about a specific property or invite your sellers to discuss unique aspects of their home or its history. WellcomeMat.com allows their users to select from over 700 videographers nationwide to produce a custom video/tour for their properties. Users have the flexibility of locating someone whose style is best suited for their market area.

Two of the other great features about the WellcomeMat.com technology include a video player that you can embed in your website as well as syndication of your videos to such places as Craigslist.com. The WellcomeMat.com platform allows you to control your personal real estate “video channel” in terms of both what you create as well as how your video would be distributed.

For example, using the WellcomeMat.com technology, Douglas Heddings of Prudential Douglas Elliman (http://www.wellcomemat.com/dlh) has had over 1100 viewings of one his listings and another 400 on a second more expensive listing. When web leads visit Heddings’ listings, they can click on an embedded map to see other videos of his listings in the same area.

The grand daddy of all video real estate tours is TurnHere.com/InmanStories.com. The price point on these is significantly higher than the RealEstateShows.com and the WellcomeMat.com products. Phil Shulz explained that their clients are using their video films to create 30 to 60 second profiles. D. R. Horton homes uses the TurnHere.com product to provide their clients with a tour of the community as well as having the potential buyers get a flavor of what the lifestyle in that community is like. RealLiving.com has shot videos of 40 different communities to support the marketing efforts of their brokerage. The videos appear on cable television based upon the zip code of the community.

Which solution is best? That depends upon the quality you want and your pocketbook. It’s probably not a good idea to shoot your own shaky, poorly lit video, even though many Gen X and Gen Y users are OK with the grainy quality that is common on YouTube.com. When it comes to marketing properties, especially those with hefty price tags, it’s smart to go with the best quality that you can afford.

The one thing you can conclude for sure—a high quality print ad can cost you anywhere from $2500 to $5000 to place a single picture in a magazine one time. Having just one video can put you on hundreds of places on the Internet. In a time where more people are becoming increasingly careful about their advertising budget, video may provide one of the best sources for a high return on your advertising dollar.