RISMEDIA, March 28, 2011—The medium of video has become a dominating force on the Web since its advent in 2005. Just six years ago, YouTube changed the face of Internet marketing as we know it, persuading industries to adapt to a powerful tool that could help them grow their businesses.
By knowing and understanding the effectiveness of video in the real estate space, brokerages and agents can better promote themselves and their listings. With video, real estate professionals can share information by showing, rather than telling, providing unique perspectives of their listings with hopes of garnering stronger consumer responses.
Members of RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN) understand the many added values that video offers. “In 2010, multiple media sources reported that video content makes up almost 50 percent of all online traffic and is projected to grow to over 60 percent by 2013. Clearly, consumers feel online video is an extremely important part of the online experience,” says LP Finn, operating officer of Coach Realtors®, located in Long Island, New York.
In August 2010, Coach Realtors® partnered with VScreen, a leading Internet video services provider within the real estate industry. The partnership provides Coach Realtors® with unique and professionally created video content that Finn and his company use to source their website, www.coachrealtors.com. “VScreen provides us with a library of hundreds of professionally made videos. These videos, updated biweekly, speak directly to the online consumer on such topics as short sales, finding the right agent or how to create a home office,” says Finn.
The brokerage places this content directly in the center of its homepage, catering to the online visitor’s thirst for video. The content provides information to the entire Coach brand, which includes 18 branch offices and more than 600 agents. Looking forward, Finn plans on producing content to match the company’s various philosophies. His projections stand as a testament to the company’s dedication to video and new media. “In 2011, we plan to begin producing our own video content to compliment our firm’s recruiting and growth strategies.”
Rod Smith, Coldwell Banker Chicora’s general director of brokerage, also a RREIN Member, believes video to be “the wave of the future for real estate.” “We have really been focusing on using video and have tried to get all of our agents to utilize it,” he says. “We jumped on the Coldwell Banker bandwagon by using the first-of-its-kind real estate channel on YouTube called ‘On Location.’ We have even purchased FlipCams for many of our offices so the agents have access to a quality camera to make videos of their listings, the area and their personal profiles.”
Having just revamped its website, www.cbchicora.com, Coldwell Banker Chicora has also added a tab to specifically showcase its videos, linking users to the brokerage’s aforementioned YouTube channel. Additionally, Smith notes that the brokerage has even had a few buyers purchase properties, sight-unseen, after viewing a video of a home they were interested in.
By making the decision to enter the world of video, your brokerage will be tapping into a dynamic and cost-effective way to market your listings and company. With its invaluable potential and limitless possibilities, video should be rapidly affecting marketing budgets and strategies everywhere.
Affirms Smith: “With 86 percent of all buyers using the Internet to begin their search for real estate, what better way is there to showcase a property than a video?”
