Story and Photo By Joe Zlomek

Real estate agents once depended upon virtual tours to build visitor interest in their websites and simultaneously promote their listings. The virtual tour, an online combination of photo slideshow and descriptive brochure, offered interactivity that tended to keep visitors looking at web pages 40 percent longer than sites without such enhancements. Moreover, they thrilled home sellers who demanded that their agents supply more marketing oomph for the commission they earned.

But after several years of steady increases in virtual tours, public interest is now stagnating, says real estate technology expert and trainer Amy Chorew. The reason: the increasing reliability of digital video delivered over the Internet.

"Video is where it's at," according to Chorew, an instructor with Matthew Ferrara and Company of Methuen MA, who teaches brokers and agents how to increase their business and personal productivity with technology tools. Speed, consistent delivery, and a decades-old comfortable familiarity with television have helped video muscle its way into online prominence.

Video more easily and directly tells the story of a home for sale, Chorew says. It shows, rather than explains, a property's features and benefits. It expresses ideas and concepts more quickly. And in an online world of ever-escalating interactivity, she notes, "video involves more of the senses."

Video may seem old hat to many brokers and agents who for years have been marketing properties through professionally produced videocassette and DVD libraries, or on local cable television channels. It's not quite the same animal when seen on the really small screen of a computer monitor, streamed from a distance over varying bandwidths. Creating real estate videos for Internet use may require do-it-yourselfer licensees to learn new skills and buy new equipment. For the "let-the-experts-do-it-let-me-sell" crowd, it may mean hiring new vendors or service providers.

Having a pro create digital videos likely will be more costly, but also is likely to be more effective. Chorew, who was a guest speaker Tuesday (June 24, 2008) in Bonita Springs FL during an annual meeting of the national Real Estate Educators Association, reports that 62 percent of consumers say they prefer Internet videos that are professionally produced. Sadly, she acknowledges, the web is filled with far too much not-ready-for-prime-time viewing ... a portion of which is created by licensees who believe that knowing how the movie camera works automatically makes them a film director.

For real estate agents who want to begin using videos on their websites, and for those who want to step their digital video usage up to another level, Chorew offers these tips:

• Get smarter. Learn more about video usage with the Field Guide for Digital Video created by the National Association of Realtors. It's a collection of news articles and advice from various sources, both within and outside the real estate industry, that provide valuable background information.
• Plan the work. Because production can be expensive, brokers and agents must consider how one video - or a portion of it - can be used in many ways. Depending on what is shot when, some video footage can find its way into a corporate welcome message; some into a listing presentation leave-behind; and some into streaming video for the web. Ensure the available footage can be re-purposed for e-mail campaigns, or creating CDs or DVDs.
• Tailor the product. Video footage created for first-time home buyers surely won't convey the same message as that produced for luxury property and second-home sellers. Planning the work also demands agents know their intended target audience and what must be said or shown to reach that audience effectively.
• Keep it short. For Internet use, Chorew thinks the optimal length for a video message may be in 30-second increments up to a maximum of 90 seconds.
• Ask for the order. Videos must be create and displayed, Chorew says, with "an integrated call to action." Be sure online videos are accompanied by links that ask the viewer to request more information, to register for a download, to share the video with a friend, or to subscribe to a newsletter.