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“While it's already a known fact that
about 80% of home buyers begin their search on the
Internet, there's still a large demand for originality
among real estate Web sites. Virtual tours, mapping
technology, and neighborhood guides seem like a step in
the right direction, but agents are in need of a new
differentiator. That said, agents who want to lead the
pack have begun creating engaging videos to generate leads
and ultimately close sales. Featuring qualities that can't
be captured by still photos, these videos are the latest
cost-efficient marketing tool.”
- RISMEDIA, June 20, 2007
“Video is a key component to raise
the bar, and a few years from now it will be expected.
Many agents are receiving the majority of leads from the
Internet, which is less work for them. The more tools that
are provided for the buyer, the more properties will be
moved in a shorter period of time.” – Thomas Pointer, AIS
Media Inc.
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Save Time And Increase
Commissions With Real Estate
Video
It’s no secret that in the last
two years the use of video
technology online has exploded.
YouTube shows over 100 million
videos each day, and that number
is rising. Video is now an
integral part of the online
experience, and users
increasingly expect multimedia
when they visit a website.
If you’re not using the
incredible power of online video
to help you sell more houses,
then you’re leaving an awful lot
of potential commissions lying
on the table.
Home buyers love the convenience
of video tours. They can spend
as much time as they want
browsing all kinds of properties
from the comfort of their
computer, and without the
assistance of a realtor. This
allows them to quickly eliminate
most of the unsuitable
properties and zero in on the
ones they really want.
And unlike standard virtual
tours that use still pictures
and often still leave the
viewers guessing, video allows
the potential buyers the chance
to actually “walk through” the
home at their leisure, and as
many times as they want. Without
having to bother their realtor
for a showing.
This saves you an incredible
amount of time, time you now
probably waste showing people
unsuitable homes, or spending
time showing homes to
sightseers, so you can
concentrate on your most likely
prospects. What’s more, when a
buyer decides to make a serious
inquiry about a property, they
will usually contact the realtor
they saw on the virtual tour.
With online video, you can show
the property instantly and
automatically, around the clock
to people from all around the
world, vastly increasing your
pool of prospects for each home.
Prospects visiting from out of
town can quickly and easily
compile a list of properties
beforehand that they want to
view.
Since broadband and other
high-speed Internet connections
have become so common, there’s
no excuse not to add virtual
tours to all of your listings.
Realtor.com reports that
listings with virtual tours get
clicked on 40% more times than
listings without.
Sellers also love video tours
because the house is being shown
24 hours a day, seven days a
week, reducing the eternal
headache of scheduling live
viewings. Also, as one seller
joked, they can now “clean once
and show many times.”
If you’re still not convinced,
take a look at these hard
numbers:
• About 80% of home buyers begin
their search online
• Visitors stay at websites
using video 78% more than
websites without video,
according to Real Networks
• Also according to Real
Networks, 86% of website
visitors will stay to listen and
watch a streaming media
presentation when there is one
• In a 2003 NAR survey, almost
half of sellers (47%) rated
Virtual Tours as one of the most
important elements in a listing,
second only to photos
Here’s a good example from Lucas
Lechuga, a realtor with Miami
Condo Investments:
“I can attest to the fact that
video does wonders in real
estate. I’ve sold properties
through video where the buyer
didn’t physically see it before
making the purchase. Video to
them did a whole lot more than
picture slideshows could ever
do. I get people from other
cities, as a result, who are
interested in real estate here
because of the videos that I
host.”
Of course, it’s not the video
tour itself that sells the home
– you still need to sell the
property on its own merits. But
the online video gives the
experience of actually being
there. Imagine a video that lets
the viewer sit on the dock and
watch the sparkling water while
listening to the rustle of the
palm leaves, the birds singing,
and bald eagles soaring
overhead.
And many well-known real estate
professionals are also seeing
the benefits of video over
standard virtual tours:
Stephen Jagger of Ubertor says,
"…a lot more agents are moving
away from virtual tours and into
video." And Joel Burslem from
Inmantv.com agrees that "…video
is the next evolution of the
virtual tour".
Other benefits of online video
tours include being able to
email links of your video to
other agents, or directly to
interested potential buyers.
Prospects can revisit the online
tours at any time to refresh
their memory regarding a
specific home. And other agents
can show your listings by simply
sending their clients to the
video tour web page.
Just like you wouldn’t dream of
trying to sell houses today
without a website showing online
listings, the time is very near
when not using video in your
online listings will be
unthinkable. So you have a
choice: either adopt the new
technology now while you can
still beat out much of your
competition, or bring up the
rear at some later date (and
lose a lot of potential profit
in the meantime).
If you want to gain a
competitive edge, get more
listings, streamline your
operations, increase repeat
clients, and improve your
professional presentation, then
you need to add online video to
your marketing arsenal today.
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