Reggie Nicolay from San Francisco is our guest blogger today from www.mytechopinion.com a blog that explains technology as it pertains to the real estate industry. Reggie is here thanks to the inaugural blog swap that RSS Piecess put together.
Reggie Nicolay, San Francisco – YouTube is turning out to be a noteworthy tool for Real Estate. I’m not just saying that because they’ll host your video for free. Let’s face it; YouTube has become an online destination. And not just for teenagers. In November, iMedia Connection covered an eMarketer report dispelling myths about the average YouTube visitor. eMarketer said, ages 35 to 64 make up the largest audience, with ages 25 to 34 coming in second. I was surprised to learn this; it’s contrary to what the mainstream media leads us to believe. eMarketer also stated ages 35 to 64 were the largest share of unique visitors. As if that isn’t enough, according to Nielsen NetRatings, YouTube was the fastest growing Web brand the first half of this year. Compile that with ComScore Media reporting over 60% of YouTubes visitors earn 60k or over annually. Now what do you think of YouTube and its benefit to Real Estate Marketing?
Okay, so we know consumers are flooding YouTube. How can real estate agents benefit most? Why not start by creating educational videos? For example, buying your first home, the process of buying/selling, planning your move, or even financial preparation. These videos will enhance your own website, and be viewable on YouTube. You may also want to advertise your new listings or promote services…the list goes on and on! Just keep in mind you are making a video to represent you and your business. Keep it professional.
How do I get started?
First you need a plan! Start by reading up on a few principles around video production. VideoMaker & YouTube have a lot to say on the subject. If you don’t already have a free YouTube account, create one here. I’ve also compiled a list of ingredients:– Digital / analog video recorder (Digital is preferred. Analog must be “digitized†using a converter box.)
– Tri-Pod & Microphone (Not required, but can increase the overall quality)
– Video Editing Software (For PC –Adobe Premier Elements, Windows Movie Maker or for Mac iMovie)Once you’ve created a video, you are ready to post! Keep in mind the following:
– Popular Formats: Quicktime (.mov), Windows (.avi) or MPEG.
– Recommended Format: MPEG formatted at 320 x 240 resolution with MP3 Audio.
– Movie Length: Less than 10 minutes.
– Movie Size: Less than 100MB.
– YouTube Tags: Important, these are your keywords. Think creatively.
– Embed Code: This is the snippet of code you will add to your website or blog to display your video.
Want to read more from the real estate bloggers that participated?
Transparent Real Estate’s Pat Kitano vs. Zillow’s Drew Meyers
RSS Pieces’ Mary McKnight vs. Future of Real Estate Marketing’s Joel Burslem
St Paul Real Estate Blog’s Teresa Boardman vs. Phoenix Real Estate Guy’s Jay Thompson
3 Ocean Real Estate’s Kevin Boer vs. SLC Real Estate’s Nigel Swaby
Issaquah Undressed’s Larry Cragun vs. Maury Properties’ Andrew Maury
Chicago Home Weblog’s Geno Petroche vs. NY Houses 4 Sales’ Christine Forgione
Jonathan Dalton’s Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Blog Jonathan Dalton vs. Bonnie Erickson’s Real Estate Snippets Bonnie Erickson
The boys of Sellsius vs. Real Estate Tomato’s Jim Cronin
ML Podcast’s Michael Price vs. FamousAgents.com’s Elise Wright
My Tech Opinion’s Reggie Nicolay vs. Ubertor’s Steve Jagger
Redfin’s Glenn Kelman vs Rain City’s Ardell DellaLoggia
CondoDomain’s Anthony Longo vs. miOaklandCounty’s Maureen Francis
The San Diego Home Blog’s Kris Berg vs. Urban Dig’s Noah Rosenblatt
12/19/2006 at 12:04 am
That’s a great post Reggie. Thanks for the summary and ideas. I too was surprised at the YouTube demographics. However, my 72 year old father has not only heard of YouTube, he visits the site….
12/19/2006 at 2:15 am
Found this great listing on homes.com, but instead of the listing realtor letting the features and location of home in mill Creek Park sell it, they started the info with dates of upgrades. That’s not the first thing I’d want to see if Iwas looking to buy. 771 old furnace road, Youngstown, Ohio. The pictures did at least give you an idea of the grandeur of this 5/3.2 on 2.33 acres with 3334 sq feet.
12/19/2006 at 3:57 am
Great article. You-Tube (along with Google Video, our own http://vidlisting.com, and others) are all great resource for posting property videos for both agents and FSBOs. Our weblog has a number of real estate video tutorials available – best of all, most are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
A good start would be our non-professional’s guide to making real estate video, http://forsalebylocals.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/shooting-real-estate-video-a-non-professionals-guide-part-1/
Thanks again for the great article.
Tony
12/19/2006 at 7:01 am
We agree that creating educational material for consumers, whether written or video, is a great way to market your professionalism and skill.
12/19/2006 at 7:03 am
Great article…
There are a number of great free real estate video resources (YouTube, Google Video, our own http://vidlisting.com, and a number of others. having posted over 150 real estate videos on our website, we’ve also written a number of real estate video tutorials on our weblog – most of which are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese (AFAIK tutorials are not translated on YouTube)
A good starting point is http://forsalebylocals.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/shooting-real-estate-video-a-non-professionals-guide-part-1/
Again, great article and nice guest blog topic
Tony
12/19/2006 at 7:05 am
oops..sorry for the dupe post…it didnt seem to have posted the first time :S
12/19/2006 at 10:27 am
Hi Stephen and Reggie,
Thanks for the link. Keep up the good work.
Mark Montgomery
Technical Editor
Videomaker Magazine
12/19/2006 at 2:05 pm
Another quality post in this Yankee Blog tour. I expected nothing less from this quality group!
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5/11/2009 at 8:30 am
Reggie – good post. The Second largest market is the youngsters. So – based on that, the videos would have to be short wouldn’t they? Atttntion span and all and the “want it now” crowd. Seems to me that the longer videos may not get viewed all the way through.
Thanks for the tips – I’m headed to Youtube now!
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