Marketing Do's and Dont's

MLS and Internet Marketing Expectations:

95% of all buyers begin the home search browsing internet photos and marketing remarks.

70% of the home’s market awareness vanishes after the first two weeks listed for sale.

It pays to put your best foot forward, because…

The purpose of the remarks and photos is enticing prospective buyers to schedule a showing.

Open

Open

1. Find the right equipment/software. Many modern cell phones not only have video capabilities with the camera app, but offer the ability to edit, as well. There are also some reasonably priced tripods for cameras that will allow you to create better panorama views of each room, for a steadier film.

2. Create a room/area list and order to how the rooms will appear in the video, showcasing the best features of the home, as well as areas that would be of buyer interest. Think of the logical order of rooms as you enter the home, as well as which ones would draw the greatest interest from buyers. Make sure to highlight special or niche features—this will ensure the buyer viewing the video will have a stronger attachment to their viewing experience.

3. Prepare the rooms/areas and camera for the video tour—Wipe the camera lens for clearest video. Ensure there is consistent bright lighting from room to room (natural is always best), blinds/curtains drawn, any cords tidy and bundled, rooms staged, full view of floor and ceilings. If needed, it is advised to remove any extra furniture/items (with seller approval) that would hinder a full video.

4. Take some test shots of rooms/areas to see how they will look once viewed on another device—laptop, tablet, phone, etc. Choose viewpoints that reflect a natural, human perspective, as if you were the buyer walking the rooms. For example, a buyer viewing a home for the first time might linger in certain areas offering an interesting perspective of the home to get a better feel—windows with a peaceful outdoor view, a landing with picturesque views of the lower level, a deck offering a mountain view, etc. Keep a broad focus on each room, and don’t zoom in on any specific features.

5. Before filming, make sure the front and all interior entrance doors are open, to avoid interruptions in your room to room navigation. Make sure all occupants and pets are out of the house. Don’t forget to include mechanicals in normal shots, as they are equally important to all buyers. If you feel it necessary, you can always make another video of close ups or labels of the specifications of the mechanicals, that could be “available upon request” for any buyers that express interest in further info on the home.

6. Start the video tour, shooting horizontally with your phone, NOT VERTICAL, and using the back of the phone, as it will offer a better quality than the front (selfie) perspective offers. Start from the exterior, with all areas of the exterior included, then move to the interior slowly from room to room. Don’t pass up filming any areas, as you want to be as comprehensive as possible—remember, this could be the buyer’s only opportunity to see the entire home—make sure all areas are showcased.

7. Double check all portions of the video once completed—high winds, placement of objects, and any fast movements can change the intended view of any portions of the video.

8. Edit the video for use with the listing, YouTube and other professional platforms that will allow use, and make sure to keep it to 3 minutes maximum, otherwise, you run the risk of buyers losing interest. Some other applications you can download to assist with videos and editing: Zillow has a 3D app (only for iPhone) to create videos for online use, Inshot, Powerdirector and Kinemaster seem to be the best go to for Android phones, blender is available for windows mac and most other operating systems, and the same for lightworks, shotcut, ezvid and davinci resolve.

9. For online posting, first upload the video to the virtual tour section of the MLS listing (if available). This will allow pull into most real estate websites that feed MLS data. Of course, always check individual websites to ensure the video is present. Websites that typically pull videos directly from MLS are: Redfin, Trulia, Motovo, Realtor, Real Living, Estately, and Xome. Also, make sure your brokerage website features the video tour, for maximum coverage.