Podcast Information: This VH1 video clip features Katrina Campins, co-owner of Miami's luxury real estate agency called 'The Campins Company'. This promotional segment explores Katrina's rise to fame on the popular NBC reality show 'The Apprentice'.

REALTOR® Magazine, published by the National Associations of Realtors® has just published another article aimed at informing property sellers about the benefits of using video for their listings. The article, entitled "SELLING: Video" can be read in full here . Below are some highlights:

Devitre, CRS®, e-PRO®, is one of a growing number of salespeople using video to build their brand. Jim Pasala, with Coldwell Banker Previews International, and Amber Downey, with Surterre Properties, both in Newport Beach, Calif., use similar technology on their Web sites, www.PasalaGroup.com and www.amberdowney.com. The two often team up to sell luxury homes, and in addition to displaying video of themselves on their personal sites, they’ve created Web sites, such as www.lagunabeachretreat.com, to spotlight some of their listings. There they show their personal video as well as streaming video of the property’s features. Professional voice talent explains each image the viewer sees.

“The strength of video is that it has sight, sound, and motion,” says Greg Herder, CEO of Hobbs Herder Advertising in Newport Beach, Calif. “TV is such a powerful medium because it creates a much stronger emotional punch than any other form of marketing. Whether you’re talking about kids in Africa or about homes as a salesperson, you can make a much stronger case through video.”

Video helps you build your brand in several ways, the most important by showing consumers you’re ahead of the curve, a point Pasala stresses in listing presentations. Video also helps you differentiate your brand. “Nobody [else] in my market does video, and it’s something people remember you by,” says Devitre. “Word of mouth spreads like wildfire, especially when something’s different or cutting-edge. The word of mouth on my video has been through the roof.”

He says he gets at least one lead each day from serious buyers visiting his Web site. Although he can’t concretely attribute that steady source of qualified leads to the video, he says, “people tell me they love it.”

“We’re probably up 40 to 50 transactions each year since we started using video three years ago,” she says.

The article does a good job of delivering the benefits of using video for agents and sellers, and it's one of many recent postings from the NAR® on this currently 'buzzing' topic. This almost makes us wonder if they may have something brewing in the 'video' pipeline. Either way, we love the attention they are working to generate, as awareness on this topic is something we've been pushing ourselves feverishly to spread these days. Thanks Realtor® Magazine!

Technorati: real estate, real estate video, real estate news, real estate marketing, real estate podcasting, realtor, NAR, article, video home tours, online video

The New york Times posted an excellent article yesterday covering the increasing use of podcasts and video tours for real estate sellers in Europe and Asia. Although the article was targeted at these two regions, the content is actually relevant on a global level, covering the benefits of using these emerging mediums for agents and sellers en masse.

Here are a few excerpts from the article which I wanted to share with you all:

"The popularity of Apple’s iPod and other digital media players now has consumers comfortable with the idea of carrying their favorite audio — and, more recently, video — selections wherever they go. At the same time, the growth of Web sites like YouTube and of Internet podcasts of radio, television and online content has made uploading and downloading files routine for many people.

Real estate professionals say it is only natural that those selling and buying property — an activity that places a premium on obtaining and distributing information — are making use of new ways to reach out."

"And in many markets, agents and private sellers are offering video tours of properties for sale or rent, helping potential buyers and tenants to narrow down which homes they want to visit, to get a good idea of the housing stock in remote locations and even to share images with family or friends who cannot view the places in person."

“There are so many rental properties available that you have to use something interesting to stand out a little bit,” he said. “The video, it stays in people’s minds.”

Mark Jones, of Staffordshire, in central England, was so impressed with a video on Countryside International’s Web site two years ago that he bought a vacation home in Orlando, Fla., through the international real estate agency without ever visiting the place.

Soon afterward, he set up his own Web-based business to help fellow Florida homeowners rent their properties, and he plans to start posting podcasts."

As you can see, the bulk of the information delivered within the article is highly pertinent right here in the US at this particular point in time, as many agents and sellers are just beginning to get their virtual feet wet with video and podcasting now.

These tools have most certainly 'come of age', and the results that we're seeing with the agents and sellers we work with have most certainly been impressive. As a real estate professional, you now have a number of highly accessible mediums at your disposal which can clearly help to get your word out 'exponentially'. In fact, there's never been a better time to claim your terrain and grab the spotlight by using internet media, whether you're from Europe, Asia, or right here in the good 'ol US of A!

Technorati: real estate, podcasting, video, real estate marketing, real estate podcasting, real estate video, realtors, property tours, virtual tours, agentcasts, real estate trends, real estate news