5 Things to Ask Your Realtor About Video
Between the pandemic and the shift towards moving everything online, how do you choose a good realtor in 2021?
Reloquence has built a solid network of realtors who now use video to such great effect that they are considered among the top video influencers in the world. Get in touch to match with a video influencer in your neighborhood. Although most realtors can sell your house, only the top video influencers can turn it into a viral campaign.
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Here are 5 questions to ask your realtors and their videographers about their experience.
1. Do they have a portfolio of videos that showcase their talent?
Do they use video to communicate with potential buyers and sellers? Do they use video to keep their clients in the loop? Have they made video walkthroughs for past clients? If so, ask to see previous work and current examples. If not, recommend that they work with an experienced videographer to create a professional home tour for your property.
Some realtors are reaching out to their local communities to highlight restaurants and retail businesses that have been hard hit by the pandemic. Is your realtor a community leader? If so, they will have a lot of contacts with whom to share your listing.
2. Were their virtual home tours scripted or unscripted?
Do buyers really need to hear a repeat of the listing details of the house during virtual walkthroughs? Focus on generating interest in your property, and leave the details to the listings. Good scripts are the secret to great videos.
Use dialogue and settings from novels to stage your home. The copyright for The Great Gatsby and many other classic novels and songs has expired from 1925 (95 year limit). Go back in time to create a memorable walkthrough for vintage homes.
I come from a family of writers, so I know how hard it is to write a good script, but a bad one can ruin an otherwise great video. My sister wrote a full-length screenplay called Dragonfly in 1987, and my father wrote 8 short stories that were edited by Joseph Heller (Catch-22) in the 1950s. Get in touch if you want to use scenes from them in your walkthroughs.
Sold! The Jason Barry Team announced the largest sale ever in Rancho Santa Fe, the Sun Ranch Estate, offered at $29,995,000.
3. Did the cinematography match the design of the house and landscaping?
It’s a big mistake not to maintain the same standards with media as with the interior and landscape design. Did they use lighting to create a mood? Did they use drone footage for exterior shots? Did they use actors and dialogue to create interest in the property? How were the shots framed? Did they use slow pans to highlight the best features of the home? In today’s media-savvy world, quality counts. Make a video that leaves a lasting impression of your home and brings potential buyers back to watch it over and over again.
Although the 9 minute video walkthrough for the Sun Ranch Estate (above) didn't quite achieve coherence, it was a groundbreaking experiment in the innovative use of video for luxury real estate, with a Ferrari 488, special FX, and a spy-themed narrative.
4. What films or genres come to mind for my properties?
Some of the best home tours look just like short films or music videos. With virtual staging services so cost effective today, a walkthrough is now within reach for every property at any price point. Great video is no longer reserved for global luxury, and especially during a pandemic, enhanced digital images are far less invasive to the homeowners.
Ask your realtor to match your home tour to your favorite film or music genre. Use art to tell a story about your home. Many galleries will now share digital images of their artwork in exchange for promoting their artists on your listings. Then work with virtual staging services to add their artwork to your minimally staged interior. Ask your realtor's marketing team to use a slideshow maker to add music or voice-over narration for a memorable tour of your property. Many up-and-coming musicians now provide royalty-free access to their songs.
5. Where will they promote your video when completed?
It’s not enough to promote your home tour video on sites like Zillow and Trulia. These days the best realtors use YouTube, Instagram and online real estate publications to get the word out about your home. Ask about TV spots and property websites too. Work with corporate sponsors to ensure the widest distribution possible, while keeping costs low.
