The majority of real estate agents are well aware of the power of video emails in portraying their listed properties as part of an exciting and alluring presentation. Here are the top seven tips to help you present the most persuasive videos that will sell properties:
Efficiency – A study by ComScore proved that 82.5% of the US internet audience watched a video online in February 2011. Flimp Video Brochures found that online video generated up to a seven-fold increase in engagement and response as compared to static text and graphics. Video incorporation into emails is a strategy proven by realtors.
Frontloading – Frontloading the most important and appealing information into your videos is necessary in order to appeal to the limited attention span of many of your clients. A Visible Measures study proved that 20% of all viewers abandoned videos that did not capture their attention within the first ten seconds! A third won’t get past 30 seconds, 44% are gone at one minute and fully three out of five or 60% of all video viewers have clicked away by the two minute mark. So grab your audience quickly or not at all.
Professionalism – The proliferation of smartphone cameras and audiovisual editing applications has ensured that more and more people can mercilessly hack up videos to a degree previously unimaginable. If you are selling a listing for $500,000, your 6% gross commission works out to $30,000. You can certainly afford a thousand dollars out of that sum for a reputable videographer to shoot and edit the video to a high level of professionalism and appeal.
Formats – It may sound befuddling to the uninitiated, but video emails should contain smart tags that serve up the video from the main server in either Flash or HTML5 / H.264 format. The reason for this dichotomy is that Apple’s popular devices shun Flash format and will only display a broken link, while other devices may lack the appropriate drivers to play HTML5 videos. Since neither side of this confrontation seems to be willing to budge and allow the other standard into their ecosystem in the foreseeable future, real estate agents are well advised to facilitate viewing in either format.
Segmentation – In every aspect of your email marketing strategy there is an evident necessity to ensure that all of your content be engaging and relevant, whether it be text, image or full audiovisual presentation. Simply incorporating a generic video into your segmented and targeted emails is as much of a taboo as proposing a commercial property to a house buyer or an expansively landscaped McMansion to a condo buyer. Videos should reflect the specific category of client you are approaching, and should add considerable value to the overall experience of your email subscriber.
Emphasis – It is not necessary to show where every electrical, telephone and cable television outlet is located, so just focus on what people are primarily interested in. They want to see the curb appeal, backyard, kitchen, bathroom, living and sleeping areas first and foremost. You should also emphasize particularly notable feature such as a large walk in closet in the master or a built in hot tub on the rear deck. Beware that today’s real estate buyer is highly sophisticated and it is difficult to pull the wool over their eyes. They will immediately spot if you’ve set up your camera angles in the kitchen to avoid showing dated appliances, or if you’re shooting from a low level up to keep from displaying the worn out carpeting.
HD – According to Cisco Networks, online video in high definition (HD) is set to increase 23 fold by 2015, at which time it will be responsible for 77% of all video on demand traffic. Now is the time to start showing off those pricy listings in HD to ensure that your clients get the maximum clarity and resolution when they’re viewing your videos on everything from an Android phone all the way to their media center connected 47” LED television.
Join the video revolution and get those Sold signs ready!