Video production is becoming a popular marketing tool for agents and their clients, according to Chris Tellez, technology and online manager for Real Estate Business Services, Inc. (REBS), a subsidiary of the California Association of REALTORS®. Tellez recently told Silicon Valley REALTORS® that he believes video is the future of business, especially real estate.
A short and simple video has the potential of bringing traffic to your website. "Studies show consumers are more likely to buy something they have seen on video than something they have not," Tellez recently told members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® at a recent REALTOR® tour meeting.
Tellez indicated YouTube has 800 million unique visitors each month; people watch four billion hours of video each month; 72 hours of video are uploaded every minute; 500 hours of YouTube video are watched on Facebook each day.
Technology has progressed so much and so fast that these days it is easy and inexpensive to create a video. You can create a video using your smartphone, a digital camera, a PowerPoint or video camera.
Tellez suggests the following video topics that would be helpful to potential buyers:
• Home tours are a good way to advertise a home is for sale.
• Community events can give potential buyers a feel for the community where a home is located.
• Neighborhood tours help buyers see where they would be living, including the nearest store, the mall, the park, the school.
• Interview property inspectors, lenders, community leaders, school teachers and other people who can be valuable sources of information about the home and community.
• Testimonials from past clients, listening to them speak is more believable than reading what they say, said Tellez.
• Educate your audience with market updates, advertise yourself, your office, and the unique support staff who will help them.
When interviewing people, Tellez advises the person producing the video to make sure they explain what they are doing and have the interviewee sign a release form, giving permission to upload the video on the Internet. Tag videos with words consumers would enter into a search box or search engines. Once edited and ready for public viewing, upload your video on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, email to clients, embed the video on your website, or use it for listing presentations.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.