Scenes From Above

Online Marketing: It's more than just slapping a few photos on a Web site

2008-10-25T19:19:00Z

By Creighton A. Welch - Express-News

Nearly every person looking to buy a home does at least some research on the Internet, which means real estate agents are — or maybe should be — pouring resources into their online marketing.

And with the Internet, pictures are just the start of a successful online marketing campaign for selling a home. Many listings now include virtual tours, videos and interactive maps and features that let people know about as much as they can short of actually visiting a home.

The Internet has become a crucial avenue for selling your home, and everything from basic photography to well-produced videos can make the World Wide Web an interactive place for the real estate business.

Importance of online

People have become accustomed to the amount of information they can get anywhere online, and that has affected the real estate process.

A recent study by PropertyPreviews.com, a virtual home staging company, found that video tours increased the perceived value of a home nearly 6 percent, or $30,000 on a $500,000 home. Professional photography increased the perceived value of a comparable home nearly $60,000. Survey respondents also said professional photography decreases the time it takes to sell a home.

“I'd heard a long time ago that you either have to get on the train or get out of the way,” said Patsy Oakley, a real estate agent with Re/Max Preferred in San Antonio. “I just need to make sure it's all out there.”

All out there means that her marketing coordinator, daughter Amy, posts pictures of every one of her listings online, as well as virtual tours.

For Bradfield Properties marketing coordinator Chad Taylor, the Internet is the way to reach a wide audience.

“We're targeting people who are computer savvy, and most people are these days. The Internet is easy to use. It has plenty of options when searching; and if you need additional information, you can just fill out an online form.”

When using the Internet for marketing, two main aspects to consider are the quality of your Internet marketing and the ease with which people can access the information.

“(Today's home buyers) know how to shop, investigate, compare and therefore educate themselves,” said Steve Atkins, president of The Atkins Group, a San Antonio marketing and branding firm. “You will see people touring in cars who are using their handheld device to get them to their final bit of information.”

The basics of photos

“More than ever, photography is important,” said Sherry Settles, vice president of marketing at Kuper Sotheby's International Realty. “It's the information age. People want as much information as possible about a house. In the old days, you went to a Realtor and that's how you found out information. But with the Internet, everyone wants it now and they want it in private. They don't want to contact a Realtor until they're ready to look at the houses.”

When highlighting your house, try to include as many interior and exterior photos as possible, working to provide images of all the rooms and features of a home.

The rooms should appear well lit, and the photos always should be in focus. Photos that are too dark or too bright won't do justice to a room.

“Sometimes a bad shot is the result of an awkward angle,” Oakley said. “A secondary bedroom may actually be a good-sized room, but in the shot it appears like a tiny box. Or a photo of a nice entry hallway can appear long and dreary.”

And the photos should be clear of clutter. The interior and exterior of your home should be as clean for photos as they would be if a prospective buyer were visiting it in person.

Once you've mastered marketing your house through effective images and easy navigation, you can add some extra touches.

“If you have good-looking pictures, you can make a house look a lot nicer and cleaner and at least draw their interest more than having bad pictures,” Taylor said.

Beyond the basics

On Web sites, buyers like to find other important information — or at least links to information — about taxes, schools and neighborhoods to make the home buying process even easier, Settles said.

By having information about the various tax rates home buyers would pay, they easily can compare those rates online.

Families who are buying homes often consider school districts, and the type and location of neighborhoods. If they can get all that in a one-stop-shop, their Internet home buying experience will go much more smoothly, Oakley said.

“It's all about customer service,” she said.

There are also an increasing number of homes for sale that have virtual tours online, which can help provide a better idea of a house's characteristics.

“Some still shots can lose the feeling of the spaciousness or personality of the home,” Oakley said.

When posting videos or digital tours, don't sacrifice quality just for the sake of posting multimedia. “People like virtual tours, but there can be some distortion and some of the tours are slow to upload,” Settles said.

One way to post a video is through YouTube, something that Bradfield Properties is beginning to do so people can search for videos.

Atkins said the online presence shouldn't stop at just a personal or company Web site. He said it's advantageous to target your audience on other Internet sites they visit.

“You can invest in a position to reach out to very targeted audiences and bring them to your Web site,” he said. “The other thing you can do in the online environment today is buy into the online strategies that help your client target other Web sites that are pertinent to your audience by geography, by context, by behavior, and you can literally follow them.”

Beyond just highlighting houses, real estate agents are highlighting themselves online.

“What we're trying to do is go after the buyers because we know a good 90 percent of the consumers are going to go to the Web before they go to a Realtor,” Oakley said. “I'm trying to push that consumer to the Web site so they see how I work and what services I provide.”

The Internet is a way for the public to search out their perfect agent rather than calling up strangers.

“They're doing clips about themselves, and explaining where they come from and what they'll do,” said Taylor, with Bradfield Properties.

Oakley said a wide range of online content also helps prospective buyers living out of town who can't visit a house on a whim, something especially important for San Antonio's military population.

“We've had people buy homes who haven't physically been in the homes,” Settles said.

An intriguing online marketing campaign is also something that people selling their houses expect. They could feel like they're getting cheated if there are blurry pictures, or if their house has only two or three photos while the next house for sale has 20, Settles said.

“People want their home represented like that when they're looking for a Realtor to help them sell,” she said. “The better the pictures, the better the home looks, the more appealing it is.”

Whether selling a home, buying a home or trying to find information about the best real estate agents, having access to vivid and plentiful online information — and providing that information — is more necessary every day.

“A professional agent needs to stay ahead of that curve to make sure they can change,” Oakley said. “You have to see what the consumer wants and be able to change your business model.”

Online Real Estate Videos Increase Perceived Property Values

2008-10-10T01:05:00Z

Online Real Estate Videos Increase Perceived Property Values

Written September 9, 2008 – 9:28 pm | by Mark Robertson |

A recent survey by PropertyPreviews demonstrates the impact that online videos and professionally produced photography have on perceived real estate property values. According to the study, survey results show that the use of an online video tour in marketing real estate property increased the perceived value of a home by 6%.

Additionally, users indicated that they would be more likely to actually be interested in and visit homes on the market that had online video or professional photography associated with the listing. Finally, The data also shows that individuals who viewed a video of a property felt the listing would be on the market for a shorter period of time when compared to similar homes.

“In this difficult housing environment, real estate professionals and home sellers need to do all they can to differentiate their property,” said Brian Balduf, CEO of VHT. “While perceived value is not the same as what someone ultimately pays for a property, it sets the benchmark as to what this property is worth in a buyer’s mind compared to other homes in the same neighborhood. First impressions often have a big impact on a buyers’ decision making process on which homes to visit and how much to offer.”

Professional photography and video creation services are readily available to real estate professional, with costs ranging from free to a few hundred dollars. The use of these services has increased significantly as evidenced by the number of real estate related videos on sites like YouTube.

“Professional photographs and videos are just as essential as a yard sign,” said recent home seller Patricia Potocki of Palatine, IL. The small investment made by my real estate agent was absolutely worth it and really set my home apart from other properties in the area.”

“More than 84 percent of prospective home buyers start their search on the Internet, so the use of video to market a property is essential,” said Jeff Harris, general manager of PropertyPreviews.com. “Videos are free to create on PropertyPreviews.com so the return on investment is significant and home sellers should be demanding it.”

To capture the viewpoint of the typical prospective home buyer, the survey included responses from several hundred individuals, evenly distributed nationally among male and female, between the ages of 35 and 54 with more than $75,000 in household income.

The respondents were shown descriptions of homes, some of which also included a video and some professional photography. They were then asked about their perceived value of the home; how likely they were to visit a home; and how quickly they thought the property would sell. The survey methodology was designed by a graduate Research class at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Survey Results Summary:

320 respondents viewed homes in the $400,000-$600,000 range.
Respondents that viewed listing information accompanied by professional photography valued the property at an average price of $460,735, an increase of 11.5 percent or $52,896 over the average perceived price of the description-only property, $407,839.
Respondents viewing a video valued the home at an average price of $432,329, an increase of 5.7 percent or $24,490, over the average perceived price of the description-only property, $407,839.
Survey respondents believed a home with professional photography was three times more likely to sell within the standard listing period than a home marketed with only descriptive information.
When asked how likely they were to visit the homes listed with professional photography, seven times as many respondents indicated that they were “very likely” to visit the home as those who said they were “very likely” to visit a home with only descriptive information.

I think it would be interesting to see this research expanded to focus on real estate video tours (essentially photo slideshows) vs. professionally produced online video for real estate. My feeling is that given that professional photography produced a large lift in survey results, the same could be said of professionally produced online video. Perhaps the combination of the 2 would be even more powerful?

How Important is Photography for Real Estate?

2008-09-20T20:56:00Z

The Importance of Great Photography when Selling Real Estate in Hernando County, Florida

Posted by Joshua Hanoud under For Sellers, For Realty Professionals, General Information, Photos

This question was recently posed by the Realtor.com Blogging Team:

There are many listings on the Internet with limited or poor quality photos. In your experience, do good listing photos help to sell a home? Please share with us a recent example or two.

According to NAR Statistics, fully 84% of all home buyers start their search online.

You can never make a second “first impression” and for that 84% of all potential buyers looking for Hernando County Real Estate, the first impression they will have of a home is the photography.

I myself am very passionate about the photographs I take for my listings.

I’ve purchased several thousand dollars worth of camera equipment and image editing software and I have taken the time to learn how to use it well (and continue to learn more and better ways to “get the shot” with every home I photograph).

In fact, I occasionally get chided by my family for spending up to 2 days working on the photographs for one house…usually taking 100-300+ photographs of each listing before narrowing it down to the best shots to use in my marketing materials.

Why do I put so much effort into photographing my listings properly?

Let’s think for a moment about the process that a buyer goes through when trying to find a home.Generally that process tends to look something like this…

Buyers will first type in some search criteria to get into the general ballpark for the type of home they want (# Beds, # Baths, Square Footage, etc).
Then once they have those general results, they will look first at the photographs of the properties that come up.
If the photographs entice them to want to know more, they will read through the text (usually referencing the photographs as they go).
At that point, they will decide whether or not to put the home into the “see it in person” list or not.
From there they will drive through the neighborhood
And then (finally) walk through the home in person.

Keep in mind, very few buyers walk through the home for the first time and immediately decide to make their purchase…most will usually go back home to think about it, and go over the photographs again (usually several times).

So…are great photographs of your listings important?

They are of paramount importance!

They are the first impression, and they are very often the most referenced piece of marketing material you will put together.

A great photograph will entice a buyer, thrill the seller, and help to get more interest and activity for the listing - thereby helping it to sell faster, and for more money than it would otherwise.

Real Estate Photography

2008-09-12T03:14:00Z

Here's ANOTHER post lamenting the value of professional photography for real estate... this is from realstat.blogspot. Check out photography for the Ashtabula Ohio area at www.scenesfromabove.com

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Real Estate Photography- Grow Business Earnings

The photography which is done on Real Estate Development Company is known as real estate photography. The concept is very much popular in European and western countries/ companies. Because according to the real estate photography the market has to be established! Real estate photography is done in different ways such as in close-ups. The real which is to be marketed has to be identified first. The product is then suited by professional photographer from different angles from which the product is most likely to be a sellable hotcake. Since the real estate is govern by the products which are only shown in hypothetical manner, the real estate has to be marketed accordingly. Since, the real estate is depends upon the projected outcomes, is covered by the photography part. So, a photographer must be analyzer in nature!

The photographer must know what the product will be after its completion of project. So, the photograph and actual product should match. Real estate photography makes a difference that good photos can make in the process of house for sale.

Importance of real estate photography

Digital presentation of real estate photographs is the key to good seller in the property market. In the present property marketplace, real estate photography became the essential tool of property firms! Digital photos are becoming popular and can be readily available in the market. Digital photos make real estate photography more natural and practical. If you want to search real estate photography for your property business, then you can find many online real estate photography professional websites online. By just surfing the internet you can gather some real estate photography tips and hints. For a professional real estate agent, it is must to take well-composed and exposed real estate photographs. By trying true methods of real estate photography you can produce real estate photos without the need of buying expensive tools.

Good online companies offer stunning real estate photography for both interactive and print use as well as three hundred sixty degree Panoramic virtual tour images, video production, multimedia presentations and image management. It is an important for you those great photographic images for marketing your position. Blur photos of real estates are never acceptable. To take better images of your real estates you should choose real estate photography. Over the past few years there are dramatic changes happened with introduction of digital camera has brought to the Real Estate photography industry. With such latest technology, a real estate photography transfer images to a web page on the internet, and flyers printed all within minutes. Nowadays, listings are quickly available to other real estate firms and purchasers worldwide who have access to a computer.

Perceived Value of Photography

2008-09-10T20:03:00Z

How does rich media digital marketing change the perceived value of a home?

September 9, 2008 by zorlu

”According to the survey results, the use of a video in marketing a property increases the perceived value of a home by nearly six percent, while professional photography increases the perceived value by nearly 12%. On a $500,000 home, this equates to an increase in perceived value of $30,000 and $60,000, respectively. “…Even though the article is about real estate, I think this is a good example how digital marketing has the potential to increase the “perceived value” of a product/service.

Survey Highlights Impact Of Videos In Real Estate Web Sites Thursday, Aug 28, 2008 7:00 AM ET

A recent survey conducted jointly by VHT, Inc. and PropertyPreviews.com highlights the impact that videos and professional photography have on the perceived value of a listed property in a real estate Web site.

According to the survey results, the use of a video in marketing a property increases the perceived value of a home by nearly six percent, while professional photography increases the perceived value by nearly 12%. On a $500,000 home, this equates to an increase in perceived value of $30,000 and $60,000, respectively.

In addition, when asked how likely they were to visit the homes marketed with professional photography, seven times as many respondents indicated that they were “very likely” to visit the home as compared to those who said they would visit a home that showed only property information.

The data also shows that individuals who viewed a video of a property felt the listing would be on the market for a shorter period of time when compared to similar homes.–Gavin O’Malley

Allen Iverson's House for Sale

2008-09-10T01:01:00Z

I saw this article on Yahoo today, lamenting the plight of 'poor' Allen Iverson, NBA star... Seems he bought his house in Villanova, PA - for 5 million dollars, and the market is so bad that he has had to reduce the price to 4 million.... My point, however, is, if he's paying a realtor anywhere near 6% commission (oh, say about $240,000), don't you think they could have come up with some better pictures??? There's a link to the actual RE listing below...

For sale: Allen Iverson's six-bedroom home in Villanova, PA

By J.E. Skeets

Unbeknownst to me, Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson has been looking to sell his 14,000 square foot home in Villanova, Pennsylvania for over a year now. (A.I. usually calls me about such matters. I thought I had his financial ear.)

According to the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column, Iverson has dropped the price to a "desperation deal" of $3.999 million — a million less than he paid for it in 2003. (/crunches numbers on calculator watch.) Yep. That's not good business. The details, via Luxist:

The six-bedroom home is on four acres that include a pool house, stream and waterfall. The chateau-style home on Chateau Lane has four levels including a great room with floor-to-ceiling Palladian windows. The master suite has his and hers marble bathrooms, a coffee bar, media area and a veranda overlooking the grounds. There are four additional en-suite bedrooms and a separate guest quarters with a bedroom, living room and kitchenette. The entertainment level has a 12-seat movie theater, billiard room, and a lounge with a custom wood carved bar accommodating 200+ wine bottles.

If you're interested in purchasing this perfect little getaway pad, you can check out the listing here.

If you're seriously interested in purchasing this perfect little getaway pad, I could really use a new winter coat. Please share your riches. I accept Paypal.

A Little Bit About Ashtabula and Ashtabula County, Ohio

2008-09-06T13:49:00Z

Here's a nice video showing what it's like in Ashtabula, Ohio:

Photography for Real Estate

2008-09-06T13:42:00Z

What if Listings were Irrelevant?

2008-09-05T23:30:00Z

Here’s a question that’s certain to be avoided by the real estate industry: What are you planning to do on the day that “taking a listing” becomes totally irrelevant? It’s coming, of course, and it’s not just because of a “housing recession” or any such calamity. Real estate based upon consumer needs, not actual “listings” will be the focus of the Next Generation of Real Estate.

And clearly nobody is prepared.

Look at the design of the real estate industry today. Everything is based upon listings:

The commissions is based upon the listing price
The broker’s revenue is based upon their local listing averages
We hire “listing agents”
A Multiple “Listing” service dominates our data management
Our websites all put “listings” front-and-center, not services
We award “top listing agents”
We build business plans around the “number of listings” we’ll take

And so on. The entire industry revolves around an inhuman item: the house. And every activity we conduct is based upon that item - not the consumer - because it’s the listing which determines the revenue. And revenue is the bedrock of business (as it rightfully should be).

The trouble is that an entire new generation of real estate consumers isn’t listing-focused. In fact, they are afraid of listings being the focus because it distorts the process. First, there is the pricing problem: Moving a market based upon the “listings” that are currently represented by brokers, in the MLS and appearing online is ineffective. It has more negative than positive effects. For sellers, the potential price of their home becomes determined by the so-called market forces of “what other comparable homes are priced for” by other agents in the local guild. Except that we all know agents are mostly terrible and usually awful at pricing. They either overprice it - which provides a false-value picture of the home and causes it to sit and not sell - or they underprice it because they just go with the “flow” rather than use other techniques that might cause “above market” offers to come in. Nobody tries *not* pricing homes and simply marketing them and seeing what people are willing to pay. Auctions are rarely used - even frowned upon. Pricing solely upon solds is rarely done, even when the property is an expired - which clearly indicates the previous agent had no idea how to price (or market) it. And lastly, most REALTORS simply ignore the 20-30% of the market that is “for sale” right now but “not in MLS” - the For-Sale-By-Owner whose property is WELL KNOWN to the buyers, and therefore affects their concept of market value.

Listing-focused real estate is also challenging the entire “commission” structure of the business. For example, why does the guy with the home valued at $2 million dollars pay more for the same laundry list of services that the guy whose house costs $200,000 pay? None of the answers has to do with the property: In fact, luxury real estate is selling at a better clip than lower-priced-properties right now because the wealthy recognize it’s already a good time to buy! But beyond that, the challenge for REALTORS is the perception of the cost of the commission as determined by the cost of their home. Today’s sellers are not just Baby Boomers any more - they are GEN X’ers . And no matter how you slice it, he’s going to wonder why it takes $60,000 worth of equity to sell his $2M home. Today’s seller is smart! They know they are subsidizing a lot of broken practices and bad habits of the broker and agents. He’s subsidizing the other poorly priced and marketed listings in the broker’s inventory. He’s even subsidizing a portion of the entire local REALTOR industry’s inefficiencies in finding buyers. And explaining all of that is going to become increasingly difficult to the next generation of consumers.

Operating a brokerage based upon listings-determined value might also be a loser in the future. Already it completely distorts the recruiting efforts at a company. Brokers hunt for listing agents - because they think you have to list to survive. Except that the last three years have proven the folly of a listing-based revenue model: ANY person can list a home if they have a license and simply agree to spend the broker’s money on the price and marketing strategy set by the seller. (Read that last sentence carefully.) But that’s just a formula for creating brokerage expenses - advertising, for example. Recruiting should focus on finding agents who can find buyers, just as well. And not those re still doing postcard mailings, unattended open houses and newspaper ads.

Even if you wanted more listing agents, how about finding those who can simply find good “deals” - such as properly-pricable, quickly-sellable, buyer-attracting inventory? Not just those who bring home all sorts of bad listing deals and expect the broker to sign on.

A cost analysis of operations based upon listings is equally scary. One of the most significant costs for a broker is the increasing costs of operation based upon the increasing inventory of homes listed. This starts with the “MLS membership” fees that are incurred for every agent. The more agents, the higher the membership costs. Add in more listings, the higher the MLS entry-fees. So if a broker is “successful” according to today’s standards - recruiting more agents and getting more listings - his costs go up simply to provide access to a database whose only changing values are usually one data element: the price. To add insult to injury, the broker oftentimes has to pay for access to a database of inaccurate property descriptions, poor marketing information and cockeyed photos - created mostly by his ill-trained competitors. And then he’s supposed to agree to place their less-than-stellar information on his well-designed website because he’s agreed to “be friends” with everyone in the guild. Everything about today’s MLS driven, listing-oriented operational model is expensive, old-fashioned and bankrupt.

It can’t even be argued that these fees create more revenue opportunities, because the systems are so restrictive. Countless agents tell me they “can’t put more photos online because their MLS only accepts X number of photos.” Who’s setting the standard of performance - MLS or the consumer? So we have another a cost that the future consumer will no longer be willing to subsidize. To them, putting listing data and photos online is FREE because they can do it themselves at Yahoo or Craigslist or on a personal blog. They can’t understand why brokers actually pay to have such a system - and they most certainly don’t buy the argument that it’s “more accurate” because buyers see the same (awful) content that comes from so many MLS systems into REALTOR.COM every day.

Let’s take one more stab at the listing-focused folly of our industry. It’s a conceptual one now - so get ready.

There is no such thing as a seller.

Ok, deep breaths. Think about it. Home owners are only sellers for about one minute. During that minute, they make the emotional decision to move from their present location to a new one. Then, they instantly transform into buyers. Their entire focus shifts from their present home to the one they will live in next. That’s why they are so irrational about pricing their homes - they want the most amount of money to spend on their next home, new furniture, etc. They resist improving their current home by painting or landscaping or de-cluttering it because they aren’t focused on selling - they are buying!

And then along comes the listing agent, who spouts off a list of listing services and selling activities. But the seller-really-buyer’s attention is already elsewhere. Visions of their future home already dominate their imaginations. Showings, open houses, cleaning, staging - they don’t want to pay attention to these things because they have already mentally moved out. Yes, they understand they may need to “sell before they can buy” but their focus is definitely on the buying stage.

It’s no different than trading your car for a new one; a quick car wash and vacuum the rugs is all you’re willing to put into the existing car. But you’ll haggle for the highest trade in value because you want to apply it to the snazzy new one you’re already mentally buying in your mind.

An industry focused on the listing of homes is psychologically disconnected from the consumer. As such, its value proposition wanes and its operational model breaks. And that’s why today’s real estate brokerage models aren’t working even with historically low mortgage rates. Not because lending is more stringent or inflation is rising - they are always factors to deal with. Some brokers sold record numbers of homes at a time when there was virtually no credit and mortgage rates were in the 20% range. So that can’t really be the only excuse today.

There are lots of people who extract revenue from real estate transactions - and earn fees. These are non-listing-focused businesses. For example, flat-fee buyer’s agents. Attorneys. Marketing firms. Management companies. None of these charge according to the “price” of the actual listing that is purchased.

But “buyer agency” isn’t the turn-key solution. It’s about seriously asking what is of value to the person who is buying or selling? Because there will still be homes to be sold. And we have to determine whether the consumer wants that value directly related to the price of the “listing” involved - or something else. Ironically, we might even be able to charge more than what we’re charging today, if we disconnect the value of our services from the value of the listing.

Two hundred years ago, when textile factories replaced the cottage industry of hand-sewn clothing manufacture, the market “focus” when from the “item” produced to the “consumer” purchasing it. Once that happened, more people made more money more efficiently. It’s time for that to happen in real estate, too.

I’m willing to agree that we don’t have all the answers. But perhaps all we need to do is at least ask the questions. Because nobody else is. And the consumer is reaching a turning point - in demographics, economics and perception - that is about to throw the entire listing-centric system right out the window.

The Flood of Pre-Photokina Announcements Has Started

2008-09-05T13:24:00Z

Photokina, the mammoth photo equipment show held every 2 years in Cologne, Germany is coming up September 23 through 28. So every company that makes anything to do with photography times many of their new product announcements so they can show them off at Photokina. If you were thinking of purchasing equipment it makes sense to hold on to you credit cards until after Photokina to see what’s new and when all the announced products will be available. (more…)

You Can Try Glass Before You Buy It

2008-09-05T10:53:41Z

My theory is that, in real estate photography, your lens is the most important piece of equipment. And many times, your high quality ultra-wide lens, is the most expensive equipment you purchase. One of the best ways to decide which ultra-wide-angle lens you want to purchase is to rent it before you decide to purchase. You can rent many of the lenses I have listed in my lens table for a few weeks to make sure it’s the lens you want. Prices are reasonable. (more…)

Timothy Armes Announces LR/Enfuse 3.0

2008-09-03T22:22:32Z

Tim Armes recently announced his latest version of Lightroom/Enfuse 3.0. For those of you that are not familiar with LR/Enfuse take a look at my post back in March of this year on LR/Enfuse. In summary, LR/Enfuse is a Lightroom plug-in that provides a convenient interface onto the open source Enfuse application, which provides excellent blending of multiple exposures of the same scene into one final image. (more…)

Meet the New PFRE Idol: Linda Sabiston

2008-09-01T22:42:43Z

The PFRE Idol voting results are in and Linda Sabiston, of Sunshine Coast, BC (flickr handle: Coastalpics ) is the winner of this months PFRE Idol contest. Congratulations Linda! This is indeed a very special image! I has a combination of soft, even lighting inside and nicely exposed windows. Linda said she knew this image was special as soon as she made the shot.

Linda’s winning shot above, was shot with a Nikon D40/Sigma 10-20mm/SB-600, with a Gary Fong Lightsphere, used on-camera, late in the day. To see the entire shoot of this property see Linda’s complete tour for this home. (more…)

Scheduling- Your Chance to Provide Great Service

2008-08-31T23:11:29Z

A couple of weeks ago a reader was lamenting the difficulties he was having with agents canceling shoots or rescheduling at the last minute and asked me if he should enforce 24 hour cancellation policy.

Scheduling shoots with real estate agents has got to be one of the most challenging and irritating parts of real estate photography. To appreciate the root of the problem you need to understand the home seller and their situation: (more…)

Bang! Internet Marketing is Dead!

2008-08-30T18:22:16Z

It’s official. Internet marketing as you know it died today. One of the internet’s largest social network sites finally killed one of the internet’s largest search engines as the “eyeball attractor” for display ad views. Although it got little news, this mighty accomplishment may be the herald of a major shakeup for online commerce.

Consider yourself forewarned: Everything you thought about internet marketing to-date is now old news.

According to Reuters, MySpace officially overtook Yahoo as the leader in online ad displays in June. Here’s their scoop:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc has lost its lead of the U.S. market for online display advertising to MySpace and its parent company News Corp’s Fox Interactive Media and MySpace, new industry data shows.

Fox Interactive’s collection of sites, led by MySpace, drew 56.8 million advertising views in June, compared with Yahoo’s group of sites which had 53.1 million, according to data from Web audience measurement firm comScore this week.

Ironically, the article can be found on Yahoo’s network, but no matter. Perhaps that will be Yahoo’s new role - pushing articles and text; it certainly isn’t the first sign of struggles at the “granddaddy” web portal.

The larger point, however, is that social networking has finally reached a benchmark that allows itself to assert, with economic validity (not just sophistry), that it’s a serious force for e-commerce. To date, MySpace still doesn’t get the high-dollar advertisers that Yahoo or Google pulls in, but that may all be changing. Even as YouTube struggles to monetize it’s network through high-cost display ads, the MySpace accomplishment creates new momentum for an entirely different mode of future internet success. One which just may challenge “leaders” like Google, Yahoo and others.

For example, if social networking starts to out-sell search advertising consistently, then say good-bye to all the SEO optimization strategies. And it’s about time - since it’s all mostly hocus-pocus anyway. Nobody really knows how it all works, so any money you spend on it is only one-step removed from roulette. Who cares if you come up first on Google, when you may be more likely to be found through a “referral” link from a friend-of-a-friend on a MySpace or LinkedIn? Why spend millions on pay-per-click when a few (free) kind words on Facebook can send lots of relevant traffic - from one person who already likes your service to all of their friends to try your service - for pennies or less. Internet marketing suddenly becomes less about who is searching for you, and more about who is talking about you.

And that’s something that the search engines really can’t control. So it will be harder for them to make money off of it. If blogs and social network recommendations - from friend-links to outright referrals - become strong sources of new business, there is no longer any point to fighting for keywords or placements on search portals. In fact, being “first” becomes almost irrelevant in a social-network-dominated marketing game. More important will be the status of being “most” - such as most linked, most distributed, most referred.

This has dramatic implications for the entire internet commerce structure. Marketing dollars may actually shift back from “search relevancy” to “CPM” display. Rather than paying Google or Yahoo for ad placement, companies may pay bloggers and well connected social network profiles to feature their display ads; or simply to blog about them. Paid sponsorship comes back - and not just from Ed McMahon or sports celebrities. Everybody has the potential to be a paid endorser for products and services they believe in - and are willing to tell their friends all about.

For many companies, new marketing opportunities will be unleashed. For example, a company with 50 employees can suddenly create 50 new marketing channels - through 50 profiles on one social networking site alone. And with display ad monetization, it can be both a new business and direct revenue channel for almost any organization. Bloggers are already doing this with relevant ads on their sites. But it’s going to get even harder for that model to work, as Safari and Internet Explorer 8 continue to make “private surfing” a new catch phrase for browser features. No longer can Google simply scan your cookies and serve up the right display ads. When browsers go dark, and surfing becomes secret, the ad-relevancy model becomes extinct. Domination of keywords and relevancy-placements by companies with huge budgets to out-bid smaller competitors on Yahoo or Google will also diminish, if not disappear.

For some industries, it’s a marketing dream come true. Take real estate, for example: Most sellers choose their agent through a personal referral or using their last agent again. Not from websites or direct email or newspaper ads. Referral networking offline has always been the number one source of new business for most brokerages; now it will have the opportunity to be so online as well. Imagine the millions to be saved by companies pouring pay-per-click dollars into cyberspace when they can monetize their existing customers already support them through “word of mouth.”

A watershed moment has occurred in the e-commerce world. We may not even realize it right at this moment. But as the generations of consumers continue to shift slowly, inexorably from Seniors and Boomers to Xers and Yers, the mode of marketing will continue to move. It went from newspaper to radio, then to television and finally online. Now, online, it’s moving from “where do you want to go” to “where do you live online.” Get ready for socal advertising to explode the online marketing concepts as you know it. Today’s Googles may be little more than giggles when the online consumers decide they’d rather ask their friends for recommendations than some get the opinion of some local-yokel Yahoo.

- Matthew

Bang! Internet Marketing is Dead!

2008-08-30T11:22:16Z

Consider yourself forewarned: Everything you thought about internet marketing to-date is now old news.

According to Reuters, MySpace officially overtook Yahoo as the leader in online ad displays in June. Here’s their scoop:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc has lost its lead of the U.S. market for online display advertising to MySpace and its parent company News Corp’s Fox Interactive Media and MySpace, new industry data shows.

Fox Interactive’s collection of sites, led by MySpace, drew 56.8 million advertising views in June, compared with Yahoo’s group of sites which had 53.1 million, according to data from Web audience measurement firm comScore this week.

- Matthew

Don’t Forget to Vote for This Months PFRE Idol

2008-08-30T07:31:20Z

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Sunday, August 31) voting ends for this months PFRE Idol. This is a great exercise in critical evaluation of real estate marketing photos. Remember when voting these are marketing photos. Also, it’s the photographers skills we are evaluating, not the property. Here is the info you need to vote:

This months entries to vote on are here
Here is where to vote - You must be registered to vote.
Here is where to register

Insights From Hiring Real Estate Photographers

2008-08-28T11:53:19Z

Because there have been several times this year that I couldn’t get up to Issaquah to shoot my wife Levi’s listings, Levi hired various real estate photographers in the Seattle area too shoot some of her listings. Being able to observe the whole process of hiring and getting results from real estate photographers from the receiving end of the process has been very insightful for me. (more…)

Avoiding the Industry Disaster

2008-08-27T13:06:33Z

Just how close is the real estate industry to duplicating the disaster achieved by the airline industry? Contrary to popular belief, neither industry has been challenged by serious technology developments that have created “alternatives” to their essential model. People still fly on planes. Most consumers work with agents. Yet anyone who has had to deal with either industry lately knows that REALTORS are coming dangerously close to recreating the airline industry’s sub-lawyer-sub-car-salesman reputation.

For REALTORS, it shouldn’t take much to avoid that fate. But we must act now.

Our concern must always be how the two industries come dangerously close to being similar to each other. Obvious examples come to mind: Inept real estate agents sometimes remind us of the drones of emptiheadedness that airlines put behind the counters at the gate. Agents saying “all buyers are liars” reminds us of how close we’ve come to that exasperated agent who says, “If i have to tell one more person that the flight was cancelled, I’m going to scream…” as if all passengers had the same telepathic schedule-updating implants that the airline industry obviously installs in the heads of its gate attendants.

Still, the similarities are instructive because REALTORS can still step back from the brink. Airlines are already over the edge. A recent call to a major international airline went like this:

“Thanks you for calling…. if you are calling about your frequent flyer miles account, press 3… thanks for calling the frequent flier account department. Please call this other 800-number. (dial number). Thanks for calling the frequent flier account department. If you’re calling because you’re a SUPER DUPER frequent flyer, please call THIS 800-number. (dial number). Thanks for calling the SUPER DUPER frequent flier account department. If you want information about your account, press 3.” FINALLY a live person: “Oh, sir, I’m sorry you’ve lost your frequent flier account number! If you’d we can provide it to you. Just fax us (yes, that’s FAX) your account number, name and social security number, and we’ll send you back your number and your PIN.”

I tried four times to see if she understood what she had said. Then I just hung up.

The lesson for REALTORS is this: If you’re still making it IMPOSSIBLE for consumers to get the simplest of information (the address of a listing comes to mind…) then you’re delivering the kind of “service” you get at an airline. If you require the consumer to fill out forms before you talk to them, or jump through a variety of strict communications hoops (like calling you, when they want to do IM with you…) then you’re not connecting with the consumer, you’re turning them off.

Every industry encounters bumps: Airlines cancel flights because of weather. REALTORS can’t sell homes because inflation is stalling the economy. Both homes and airline tickets are priced in dollars, so economic factors are always a consideration. On the other hand, I don’t get why both industries still make it so hard for consumers who are trying to pay them to actually do so…

For example: Some airlines now “hold” certain seats in the coach section of the plane for “premier” purchase or special customers. It’s an immediate turn off to not only put me in coach, but to then tell me there are even “more special customers” in coach than me. It’s insulting, and no way to build a rapport (or loyalty). If you hold seats for your customers who travel a zillion miles, then just upgrade them to business or first class. Leave the common customers amongst themselves - and treat us all equally - and, perhaps, with just a little courtesy. And for goodness sakes, take our money when we try to pay you! Don’t tell me a seat isn’t available when I can see it on my screen: I know you’re hoping Mr Moneybags will book it last minute, but I’m trying to pay you NOW! What’s the logic in putting off-limits one of the two seats next to the window (in a two-seat isle)? If two common customers try to fly together, only one can get the window. The other either has to pay THREE TIMES for the “premium seat” (at which point he should fly first class) or they have to split up. Now how is that supposed to encourage couples to take a vacation - especially in tough economic times. If we make the decision to fly on your plane, then sell us the seats in the back equally and fairly.

REALTORS do the same thing: which is why they court disaster like the airlines. The parallel experience to the “seat hoarders” in the airline industry are the “information hoarders” in the real estate business. A common example is that consumers who call a REALTOR will generally get them to tell you useful, helpful information about a property. Try to email one, and you largely get ignored, or at best, a choppy reply (usually ALL IN CAPS) that mostly says, “Call me and I’ll tell you the rest of the story.” Like the off-limits seats to the common people, differing levels of service to the consumer who chooses to inquire by email rather than drop into your office (or sit in your car, nice as it is) creates no less of a turn-off in the public’s mind.

Unfortunate parallels continue to plague the two industries. Recently I was on the phone with an airline who said they were charging a $20 call center fee for me to book over the phone; because the trip was complicated, I decided to talk to a person - worth the twenty bucks. Ironically, the price quoted on the phone was seven hundred dollars less than the price quoted on my screen. Bad information on their website almost caused me to go to another vendor. REALTORS should consider that when it’s not uncommon to find listings whose prices aren’t accurate, photos are from the last season or the scrolling-banner advertises an open house date from last month. If you’re using information to attract and sell to customers, it had better be right (and easy to get).

I think the airline industry is, for the most part, only a half-step behind the domestic automobile manufacturers. Their level of quality, service and customer relationship has fallen so low, that unless you “really have to” you’d much rather walk than give them your dollars. Exceptions are there, but mostly rare. A few good pilots or a cheery gate agent can’t erase years of customer neglect. Neither can one top producing agent, surrounded by dozens of deal-killers. Charging for checking your bags - or a lousy bag of peanuts - adds insult to injury; much like charging your full fee when you only delivered partial service. Consumers get it, and they’re becoming tired of getting it, you know exactly where.

REALTORS have one tiny advantage over the airlines: Most real estate consumers only use their services ‘rarely’ over their lifetime. Maybe 3 or 4 times at best. Airlines torment customers frequently, as travel by air is a regular occurrence for most people every year. Yet that “time interval” may be changing, as trends for younger buyers indicate earlier first-purchases mean more repeat incidents over their lifetime, and perhaps over shorter intervals.

Ironically, it wasn’t technology that doomed the airlines: Nobody invented the transporter or an alternate form of travel that challenged their fundamental product. It was their people and processes that because so self-centered that the customer was merely an afterthought. Even with Southwest’s example, the rehabilitation of the industry’s reputation is a clear impossibility. Same is true for the real estate industry: Regardless of the proclamations heard at speakers-who-are-really-paid-sponsors conventions, there really isn’t a technology disruption that’s pushing the industry to the brink of disaster. It’s always the people and the process.

Keep in mind: Both the airlines and the real estate industry call their most public-facing people their “agents.”

Avoiding the Industry Disaster

2008-08-27T06:06:33Z

For REALTORS, it shouldn’t take much to avoid that fate. But we must act now.

Still, the similarities are instructive because REALTORS can still step back from the brink. Airlines are already over the edge. A recent call to a major international airline went like this:

I tried four times to see if she understood what she had said. Then I just hung up.

Keep in mind: Both the airlines and the real estate industry call their most public-facing people their “agents.”