Team WellcomeMat has had many, many conversations with people about the difference between video and virtual tours. Instead of taking the time to write negative things about virtual tours (we wouldn’t have much to talk about if you choose virtual tours over video), I would rather speak to the strengths of video:

-Video brings an entire space together (rather than segmenting spaces into pivot points)
-Video invokes emotion into viewers
-If done right, video has personality…or shall we say “AHA!”

AHA-first identified by Stephanie Rosenbloom of the New York Times-is the moment that each of us have when we have found our next place to live or do business: it takes effect almost instantaneously, it has everything to do with what we cherished during our upbringing, and is all about how we personally define “home.” What are you doing to get people to AHA! online?

Popularity: 7% [?]

I’m convinced video is a far more effective way to market your properties. Now what? I can shoot and upload my own video OR decide I want professional help. What do I do? Everyone’s telling me why video is best but no one’s telling me how to make it happen. The more I think about it, the more questions come to mind. Is it worth the cost to higher a Video Pro? Will user generated content (me shooting my own video) suffice? Should I be on camera? Should I avoid the camera and simply shoot the property? What about music or voiceovers? The anxiety builds, still no answers.

We’ve put a little video together to show you how True Gotham blogger Douglas Hedding’s (founder of the HEDDINGS property group and SVP of Prudential Douglas Elliman) made video work for him. Perhaps it will help you answer your questions.

The following is a behind the scenes look at what happens when an Agent, Douglas Heddings and a Video Pro, Teddy Stoecklein combine to create a professional real estate tour. Feel free to pass it on. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting some other examples of how agents and sellers alike are using video (pro and user generated) to market property more effectively.

When you’re done you can watch the end result of Doug’s shoot here:
www.wellcomemat.com/dlh

Popularity: 13% [?]

The guys over at Sellsius never cease to amaze team WellcomeMat. They have the spectrum covered, from pretty hardcore debates laced with humor, to true learning experiences. Check out this recent post about the internet real estate buyer (IB) verses the traditional buyer. As usual, the numbers prove the mass’ predictions wrong.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Joel Burslem covered Turnhere’s recent deal with the California Association of Realtors today. Definitely worthy of a read.

Summary: video is here to stay, and is the best way to market a property on the web.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Because WellcomeMat will eventually be a pay per usage service, I sometimes find myself defending our position on why and how WellcomeMat will succeed against “free”. I put the word free into quotes because nothing really is free is it? Anyway, I was recently talking to Aaron Sperling of vFlyer about this, and thought it would be a good idea to gauge the paid vs. free sentiment of our readers.

To me (and I am as fallible as the next guy), there is no argument against a pay per usage service so long as the company of mention has the best service around. Here is why I say this:

I have never come across a company that offers their product(s) for free, or through an ad revenue model, that has good support.

Free services…well…they don’t generate revenue. A company that gives its product away for free (unless over-funded) cannot hire and keep the best engineers around. And, without talented/patient people to answer support calls and emails, the hopes for effective support (prompt, thorough, and quick to resolution) go out the window. The collective meaning behind these factors is that this company cannot quickly fix fundamental flaws in their products/usability.

Tech companies with ad revenue models have to maximize page views, and overall volume on their site(s). This means that their support:user ratio is almost always way out of whack. Additionally, their money comes from (you guessed it) advertisers. Serving advertisers (maximizing profits) means asking users to fumble through content/page changes as much as humanly possible to maximize ad impressions. Worse in my opinion is the fact that BIG (site rank/traffic) often becomes more important than the quality of the experience for the user. Could we possibly come up with a better example of this than MySpace?

Popularity: 10% [?]

I want to be up front with an apology to everyone for not posting anything for a while. As our readers probably know, we have been working very hard on a new release of the site, and are pushing another mini-release in the coming weeks. The blog takes a back seat unintentionally when the team is on fire with new ideas and product work.

We are going to have tons to talk about in this blog pretty soon, but-in the meantime-check out our most recent coverage out there in Blogland:

• WellcomeMat - The Killer App for Real Estate Video by Joel Burslem
• Bamboo is the New Granite (Extended Remix Version) by Kevin Boer
• Leo the Reluctant Real Estate Agent by Pat Kitano

Also, Doug Heddings, True Gotham blogger extraordinaire and SVP at Prudential Douglas Elliman (NYC), recently did his first ever video with Teddy Stoecklein (his local WellcomeMat video pro). We wanted to be sure to call attention to this video, as-from what I heard-Doug was a little weary of the camera at first. With a little nudge, Doug ended up helping Teddy create a real estate marketing masterpiece. Check it out:

Popularity: 5% [?]