Online real estate video host Wellcomehost released its first annual report on the use of video in real estate marketing.

Significantly, the company found that the use of video is up 95% in the first half of 2009 versus the first half of 2008.

Breakouts like Realtor Ian Watt (see Video Isn’t Just About Your Listings) set the bar for the creative use of video and also seemed to have kick-started a whole generation of car-mounted video blog posts.

But it’s not only the little guys getting in on the fun; big brands like Corcoran Group are embracing video too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pNFNO5PsNM[/youtube]

What I found particularly interesting in the report however, was the breakdown of the how real estate professionals are using video. Marketing listings comes in at the top of the list 30 per cent; showcasing local areas and professional introductions round out the top three but oddly, demonstrating market knowledge comes in dead last.

Seems to me, if done properly, market intelligence is the biggest opportunity to push video in a new interesting direction. Imagine an animated Common Craft style monthly video market report, for example…

Here’s a few more slides from the full report.

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WellcomeMat, the online real estate video site, has launched a new iPhone available available today in the iTunes App Store.

Using the app you can now shoot off-the-cuff video walkthrus of your listings on your iPhone 3GS and post them immediately to WellcomeMat, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

From their post on their blog:

Do it yourself video just got a helluva lot easier and we are glad to be the company making it happen. The Flip camera got us one step closer to video being easy to do, acting as a hard drive for videos that are shot in web-ready formats. Now people can post their videos straight from their iPhone: no chords, no format changes, no compression and no barriers.

I think this is a phenomenal step forward for real estate video — though I’d love to see it have even greater integration with some of the more real-estate specific search sites; Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow etc.

More importantly than Realtor produced videos however, what really excites me is an app like this opens up the realm to anyone, armed with an iPhone, to create on-the-spot, near real-time video assessments of properties.

Privacy concerns aside, properly curated and geo-tagged video reviews of properties could be a boon to online house hunters. It would take Google’s Street View to a whole new level.

Let the cameras roll!

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Been thinking you might want to do video?

No better time than the present.

Turnhere has a great special going on right now that gets you a full 1 minute business profile for only $499. Regular price is $899 and the offer is good until June 30. That also gets you a player with embed code, a year’s worth of hosting and distribution to all the major video portals.

Here’s an example of what Turnhere can produce:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l_R-85TzzY[/youtube]

Regular readers of this blog will know I’m a big fan of Internet video and at the risk of this whole post coming across as a total pitch, (which, frankly, it’s turning in to), I think Turnhere creates some of the very best videos on the web.

But up until now there really hasn’t been any way to work with them, as their model dictated that they work largely with folks who would buy videos in bulk. This move however is especially interesting since now even the small guys can get in the game.

I stand by my prediction that the adoption of video in real estate stands to radically change the way consumers and the industry interact with each other (see Video Isn’t Just About Your Listings). So there’s still time to hop on this bandwagon.

Of course, you could grab a Flip and shoot this yourself – but personally I’ll bet Turnhere’s “Soup to Nuts” approach is worth the 500 bones. Finally if you’re less of a DIYer but still want some more control over the production; check out WellcomeMat to hook up with a video pro in your area.

Full disclosure: Turnhere is owned by Brad Inman, founder of Inman News.

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A guest perspective from Kurt Weinsheimer, General Manager of Local Marketing Services at SpotRunner.com.

With the economic crisis continuing to cripple Wall Street, real estate agents are now forced to develop new ways to grow their business and attract buyers. As consumer spending and confidence in the market plummets, people will buy real estate and services with more discretion and in a more competitive business environment.

For years now, agents have been using search advertising as a way to generate leads and sales. However, with keyword pricing on the rise, online video has quickly become a preferred method of marketing. Search engines like Google, MSN, AOL and Yahoo! have begun to index video higher up in search results, increasing visibility for their campaigns.

In addition, the number of people watching videos online is on the rise. Roughly 129.5 million people watched online video ads at least once a month, according to an August 2008 study by eMarketer, and that figure is estimated to increase more than 40 percent to 183.3 million in 2013.

Here are six simple rules to help you develop your own online video, and capitalize on this growing opportunity.

Rule Number One: Ensure the content resonates with your target audience.

Unlike TV viewers who are primarily watching for general entertainment or news in a passive way, Internet users are usually task-driven and actively looking for very specific content. Find out how Internet users got to your company home page. Look at the keywords they used and create a video that speaks them.

While they are looking for quality content, people who watch online video don’t usually demand the highest production values or high-definition quality. The important thing is to have relevant content that resonates with your target buyer.

Rule Number Two: Place your video on your Web site and across multiple sharing sites.

Now that you know what the video should include, find a place on your Web site to host these videos. Choose a noticeable, but unobtrusive place on your site’s first page or “home” page, and make sure the video doesn’t launch as soon as someone accesses the page. When a viewer first visits your site, they typically want to have control.

In addition to hosting your video on your own Web site, distribute it across the major video destinations, like YouTube, MySpace TV, Metacafe, and others. Your goal is to be anywhere your target buyer may be, and ensure they are able to find your agency when they’re looking for the services you offer.

Rule Number Three: Make sure people find your videos.

Now that you know what the content should be and where to place it, the next step is helping people find it on the Web. The lesson here is putting in the right “metadata,” or keywords in the title fields, description and “tags” with which search engines use to match search queries.

When writing a headline, keep it short and simple. Some easy things to keep in mind are to include your company name, basic product description and any brand names associated with your business. When conducting basic searches for real estate, most prospects will include their location to narrow results, so include that as well.

Rule Number Four: Keep it short.

While more and more people have broadband connections and fast computers, online videos may still take some time to download and slow down other applications. Think about conveying your message in short videos, or risk losing the attention of your target customer.

Rule Number Five: Track your viewers and measure response.

The goal of tracking your viewers is to understand them better, and turn them into potential buyers. Video hosting sites like YouTube now provide sophisticated reporting tools that yield deeper insight into the origin, geography, demographic and viewing behavior of your video. This type of data can help you determine what types of videos to produce in the future, which takes us to the next rule.

Rule Number Six: Refresh your videos

Many of the sharing sites allow users to subscribe to your videos, so updating them is a good way to keep your company top-of-mind for customers that follow you. Even without a new product/service, you can use different testimonials, or show how your company is connected or relevant to news trends. And again, using customer feedback to develop new types of videos is important.

Conclusion

Sound like a daunting task? Actually, developing and launching an online video ad campaign can be fairly painless and very affordable. The result can not only provide a higher level of engagement and connection with your core customers, but can also lead to a wave of new business. So in short, jumping on the online video “brandwagon” could give the competitive edge you need for survival during this tough economic time.

Interested in contributing a guest perspective to FOREM? Please send your submissions to futureofrealestate [at] gmail.com.

Photo by David A G Wilson

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Online real estate video resource WellcomeMat officially threw off the training wheels this morning and announced it has emerged from Beta.

The company, which I first previewed in 2007 (see WellcomeMat – The Killer App for Real Estate Video) has taken huge strides over the last few years and built out a fantastic network that connects Realtors and brokers with video professionals.

In addition, their video player technology still remains head of its class and as big brokers are starting to wake up to the new world of online video, the company has had some success helping them power their own video plays (see WellcomeMat Powers Halstead Property Real Estate Video).

So what does dropping the Beta mean? Well, not suprisingly, given the current economic times, the site is no longer free.

Their entry level Premier plan now runs $14.95 a month and they also have an Pro account which costs $19.95 a month. Neither of which should be particularly onerous if you are serious about integrating video into your marketing.

But, as a way of saying thanks to its Beta testers, all existing 10,000 members of the site were upgraded to becoming lifetime Premier members for free.

Since I did my last Real Estate Video Shoot Out many of the free video hosts profiled there have disappeared or introduced pay-for-play models. Video streaming is an expensive business and the age of free looks like it may be coming to an end.

Other online video providers include ZIPVO.

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For the last several months, Vancouver Realtor Ian Watt has been blogging his daily thoughts about real estate by video.

It’s a really bare bones production – he just props up a small camera on his dashboard and records himself as he drives to and from his listing appointments.

If you haven’t seen them, it’s one of the most interesting uses of video in real estate I’ve seen. You can see these video diaries on his web site at ianwatt.ca. Go watch a few and then come back.

Now, part of the attraction certainly is that Ian has a dynamic personality that’s just made for video (and, as a fellow Canuck, I get a kick out of the accent); but, more deeply, I think it’s because while watching his videos you get the feeling you’re getting a sneak peek into his world, which builds a kind of intimate connection with you and me, the viewers. You really feel like you’re in that car with Ian and he’s talking directly to you.

Most importantly, the reason Ian’s videos work is they hit on three important things in online video. They are short, entertaining and they are spontaneous; there’s no script, so it’s authentic and Ian gets to demonstrate his expertise in real time.

One of the big takeaways I got from the Digital Video Summit and REBarCamp last week in New York was that the real estate industry has perhaps been led astray in their thinking around online video. Too much of the focus to date has been on using video to market listings on the web, but the reality is that may not even the best/most economical use for video in real estate.

Video is much more than that and through video blogs, video chat, neighborhood tours, market reports, it is a powerful way to build connections with an audience online; whether that be colleagues, clients or consumers.

Just ask Ian Watt.

By the way, if you are interested in trying your hand at videoblogging; Ian is hosting a competition through Strutta.com for the most original real estate video blog. Details in the video, of course.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/2799802[/vimeo]

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Wish I could be in New York for this. Looks like a fabulous get together.

Surely someone is going to shoot it on video and share with the rest of us right?

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So HD video might not be in your gameplan yet (see The Power of HD Video) – but video surely is coming.

I’ve been talking to Realtors and Brokers all over the country this year who are using video successfully in meeting and servicing buyers’ need and helping sellers market their homes (see Century 21 Puts Open Houses in Youtube).

And it seems large brokers are catching on and building video into their marketing plans too; just this week I saw a press release that East Coast brokerage Weichert, Realtors had announced a deal with Turnhere to add online video home tours to their website.

I wanted to probe a little deeper so I asked Morgan Brown, fellow Blogger and newly minted Marketing Director at Turnhere to answer a few questions about video.

How can real estate professionals use video in their marketing?

With such a large percentage of home owners starting their search for property online, using video in online listings is the first thing that comes to mind. Pictures are nice and descriptions are helpful, but there is no substitute to video for giving a user a firsthand experience of the property with a well-done video home tour. In addition to using video to highlight listings it can also be used to showcase neighborhood attributes and provide a profile of your business and team.

For example if you are a Realtor in the East Bay of California you can use video to highlight the quaint neighborhood of Rockridge and its beloved walking streets lined with local restaurants and shops. This content is ‘evergreen’ and helps people evaluating your listings get a true sense of the surrounding area.

Is appropriate for every listing?

I can’t think of a listing where it isn’t appropriate. Even properties that don’t have the most curb appeal can benefit from a video by capturing the attention of just the right buyer. Listings that are moving fast already and perhaps properties that rely less on online research for sales are exceptions to that statement.

Videos too expensive for most Realtors, right?

Professional video production is totally affordable for nearly all marketing budgets. Compared to traditional marketing channels it’s a bargain. It’s much cheaper than print materials, flyers, radio, TV, outdoor (bench and billboard) and other marketing vehicles.

What makes a good web video?

I think there is a big misconception out there that it is easy to make a good video. The fact is making good video that is compelling, authentic and relevant to the viewer is difficult. To wit, of the millions of videos watched on YouTube each day the average view time is less than 10 seconds. This is a direct result of most video not meeting the needs of the viewer.

When the viewer gives you permission to talk to them by clicking play you have to deliver, and deliver right away. To make good video for the Web (which is much different than traditional broadcast video advertising i.e. a :30 second TV spot) it needs to focus on three key things: authenticity, delivering a compelling message, production quality which makes it enjoyable to watch and drives action.

Bottom line is that web viewers have near-infinite choice for their attention and are typically skeptical. This means that your message has to be compelling, relevant and real. Over-produced sales pitches or videos that don’t meet the viewer needs are big turn-offs online.

What are some ways you can leverage the video content you create?

The nice part about video is that it’s a highly portable piece of content so you should look to get it out on the Web to get as many eyeballs to it as possible. Using a smart distribution strategy can put you in front of the right people at the right time. Whether it’s putting your video up on YouTube, Facebook, Active Rain or making it shareable via email and embeddable in a widget the idea is to get your video out there to where the viewers are.

Can you give us some examples of some of your favorite videos on the web? (Not those kind of videos…)

My favorite videos are ones that are compelling and interesting. They take a piece of everyday life and show it to you in a different way. I love to see the stuff that you don’t get every day in mainstream media. Show me the true character of a city by doing a tour of all the BBQ joints in town or show me the kitchen of the hotel that cranks out 1,000 four-star meals a day. Give me a clip of the author talking about why they wrote their new book. One of my favorite videos is the author David McCollough talking about how Washington escaped from the Red Coats at the site of the Brooklyn bridge – amazing insight that I would never get. I also love the videos of Mentos and Diet Coke so it goes both ways. Videos that give me a unique, authentic perspective on life are the ones that I love.

(Full Disclosure: Turnhere is owned by Inman News Publisher Bradley Inman)

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photo by Atilla1000

Recently I picked up a new digital camera for an upcoming trip my wife and I are taking to Turkey. After humming and hawing for a while I picked up the new Panasonic Lumix TZ-5 point and shoot (thanks Jeff) to compliment my Canon DSLR. What ultimately pushed me over the top to buy this camera was the TZ-5’s video capability – it’s the only pocket-size camera on the market that shoots HD (720p) video.

We’re heading to Istanbul to visit my younger sister who’s getting married and along with all our other gear we’re carting along a Canon VIXIA HF100 for her to surprise her husband-to-be (shhh.. don’t tell Turkish Customs). It’s a beautiful camera and I have a serious case of gadget lust.

So what’s the point? 

HD is here. Tools like the TZ-5 and HF100 make it cheaper and easier to produce your own HD video than ever before. And just like every technology that’s come before it – it’ll only get cheaper and easier.

The rest of the Web is catching on too. Video host Vimeo now lets you host and stream any HD videos you create. 

Drama in the sky – Time Lapse from Paul Klinger on Vimeo.

For real estate marketing – HD lets you show a property in vivid detail that a grainy low-rez Youtube video could never deliver.

And vendors like HDPremier can now create a property tour in HD for you and the results are pretty impressive (and suprisingly affordable).

Sure – there are drawbacks to HD. Namely much larger file sizes mean much higher bandwidth costs when streaming. But again. This is only going to get easier and cheaper over time.

So if you’re considering bringing video to your marketing – HD might be the route to go. Whether you’re climbing over the ruins at Ephesus or doing a walkthru of a home in Portland, the results will blow you away.

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Web sites that allow SMB’s (including Brokers and Agents) to create online video advertisements seem to be springing up all over the place.

You’ve got sites like Mixpo who let you create an video ad from start to finish (see ActiveRain Launches (Silently) New Video Platform), players like WellcomeMat that let you host your completed videos (see WellcomeMat Goes Social), players like Turnhere which will create a video for you, players like Spotrunner which let you customize canned footage (see Success with Spot Runner?) and players like Sprout (see
Sprout Lets You Build Single Property Widgets) and RealEstateShows and Slide (see Splash Some Flash On Your Site) that let you create an interactive Flash based slideshow.

If there’s any doubt that video based advertising will soon come to dominate the ‘Net. Fuggadaboutit, it’s already here.

The latest company to hit the street is SpotMixer- who, like Mixpo, allow you to create a whole video advertisement online, without any need for expensive video editing software. SpotMixer is from the folks at One True Media, a company I first wrote about a couple years ago (see Creating a Killer Listing Presentation, Part II).

Seems like they had so much interest from businesses in their platform that they spun out SpotMixer as a separate entity for SMBs to create their video ads.

The platform really is very slick. You can mix still photography, video, titles music and audio voice overs to create a video ad (you can see some examples here) very quickly.

One thing I really liked about SpotMixer was their use of templates. Realizing that most users wouldn’t have time to create a presentation from scratch, SpotMixer has provided dozens of ready made templates you can just drop your media into. The best part is that they samples are based on mood rather than industry – so rather than having thousands of “real estate” ads that all look the same, you can choose a template based on the brand image you wish to portray (trusted, elegant, vibrant, fun, etc.).

Once you’ve created your video ad you can embed it in your web site, blog or social network profile; you can also download it as a high-rez movie and even order DVD copies of your masterpiece. SpotMixer also promises in the very near future you’ll be able to send that video add to local television partners as well.

One month’s access to the platform (to create unlimited ads) is just $79.

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