Property insight: How to prepare to shoot a great property video - 01 | 23 | 2012

The advance in technology and online media has created many new opportunities for real estate professionals to gain an advantage in a highly competitive industry. Ever more present, video presentation is seen as a pivotal tool in showcasing a property’s most salient features and best qualities.

According to Digital Media Manager – Nick Keenan of IMAGEination.tv, there are some simple rules that should be followed prior and during the shoot:

  1. Ensure the property is de-cluttered as much as possible and remove personalised objects. Hide wires, straighten bookshelves and coordinate furniture to heighten the sense of space. For kitchens, remove obvious appliances and clear benchtops of objects. Soft furnishings should be fluffed and bed sheets straightened.  In preparing the outdoors, the same rules apply such as hiding bins, removing cars from driveways and clearing away leaves.
  2. Agents involved in the shoot must have a thorough knowledge of the property prior to the shoot and understand what angles and rooms will best highlight the home. If necessary have a script prepared, as a natural, flowing presentation will be more likely to influence the audience.
  3. Pick the right time of day to do the shoot. Be aware of the direction of sunlight, particularly for outdoor scenic shots and be conscious of any noise interruptions that might occur during the video.
  4. Property styling can reinvigorate interiors. Adding contemporary furniture, artwork and flowers can provide a splash of colour and create a chic modern aesthetic.

Above all, it is important that all parties understand the purpose and objectives of the video and ensure it complements the overall marketing strategy.

Words I Phil Brook I IMAGEination.tv

category: Real Estate, marketing, video

Get noticed with a personal branding strategy - 12 | 04 | 2011

Give your business a boost by incorporating a few public relations strategies to increase your public awareness allowing you to connect to would be customers in a positive way. Branding is just one part of an overall strategy that you can use to expand your business and get up front and personal with the general public.

Although you may not be able to give large donations to charity, you can do other charitable works. While an interview on a national television network maybe out of the picture you still have the ability to get free editorial with your local newspaper. Remember, if you work for yourself, you are the public face of your business and all you need to do is let the public see that you have heart and want to connect to them in a personal way.

To create a positive public image you need to care about the things in your local community and show passion about things other than your business. The result is that the community will see you as a ‘real’ human being, not just someone out to make as much money as they can!

Personal branding is more about an emotional connection between your service and your customer. It’s the personal touch that matters most to the public and if used correctly you will help your business grow and expand.

By Bernadette Marr, IMAGEination.tv

category: Branding, Personal Marketing, Public Relations, Real Estate

Integrated Marketing – QR Codes - 10 | 15 | 2011

For years, the separation between print and online in real estate advertising was enormous.  Print has dominated for decades, online was irrelevant before catching up (and many would say it surged ahead) but still the two have been largely isolated in their own rights – there was little connecting them (properly).

There have been mainly unsuccessful attempts to link the two mediums with significant amounts of cash spent on advertising and cross promotion, including video URL’s embedded into print copy.  It has really only been Domain (in Oz) who have managed to bring the 2 closer together through their relationship with video suppliers Visual Domain, providing free video content for print spend.

What we are seeing now however is a medium that bridges that gap between print and online once and for all – QR Codes.  QR stands for Quick Response, and these are 2-dimensional bar codes that you scan with a bar code and redirects you to any content you like.  Think of a mobile optomised site containing  listing content (photos, videos, copy, social media, share functions), think of a dynamic mobile agent site with bio, listings, social media, videos, think of the code serving up video content only (property or profile or market insight or neighborhood video or recruitment video)…

Used extensively throughout Asia, here in the US, they are being readily applied to the retail space in Oz as well, which you can use as a barometer for their commercial relevance.  In real estate the application is enormous.

And with mobile predicted to surpass desktop as the primary internet search toll by 2014*, embracing mobile and QR as part of an integrated marketing mix, with multiple, branded touch points and significant targeted reach is pivotal. Using codes on your business cards, mail cards, newspaper, or signboard provides massive value-add to your seller’s listing and significant brand penetration for the broker.

Please consider that while you can download QR codes for free from the internet and apply a simple redirect to your website,  the application needs to be much broader with customized, stylized codes, a self-managed platform, measurable ROI through detailed analytics and market education on implementation.

*(Morgan Stanley Research)

category: QR Codes, Real Estate, digital media, marketing, social media, video

Perception is Reality - 06 | 28 | 2010

For any real estate business, your public image is created through the quality and effectiveness of your marketing.  In Australia, Vendor Paid Advertising (VPA) provides agents with a marketing fund to be used to advertise a particular property (in the first instance) but just as importantly it markets your brand.  Even if you operate in a market where VPA isn’t strong, use any marketing dollar wisely and invest in good quality property marketing.  Why?  Because perception is reality.  How your brand is perceived on the face value of your marketing provides buyers and sellers with a direct indication of how your business is run, what it stands for and what kind of service can be expected from it.

category: digital media, marketing, photography, video

The Concept of Brand - 06 | 28 | 2010

Building a recognisable (recognizable) and trusted brand is the goal of every business (and one that Apple owns!).

A strong brand is built through the quality of product, quality of service and ability to build trust with the end user.  It takes time however and the absolute focus should be ensuring that every touch point a client has with your brand is a positive one.  In a small business environment this is more easily controlled, however as a business grows ensuring that the same virtues, principles and processes around quality can sometimes be lost in the quest for growth.

Keeping that focus on quality and service is vital and the time taken to instill this into your staff will pay dividends in the long run….hopefully.  It’s not easy and not every brand makes it.

From our perspective it all starts with a quality product, wrapped up with fantastic service, delivered quickly and easily, has a perceived value by the client, is marketed well and is backed up by strong post-sales support.   Fingers crossed….

category: copy writing, digital media, marketing, photography, video

Innovation? All in Good Time - 06 | 28 | 2010

The process of innovation for a real estate service provider is often a difficult one.

On one hand there is a need (and expectation) to stay at the edge of technology and continually innovate and develop the product(s) you offer in order to provide your clients the very latest technology available.  It provides them (and the consumer) a point of difference and ties the service provider in to the client.

On the other hand however it is important to be in complete control of the products(s) you currently provide at the base level.  Be a master in what you do; an expert in your field.  By staying focused on the basics you build a loyal client following. It comes back to the timeless KISS theory – keep it simple stupid!

Finding the right balance to keep the product offering relevant, while providing a level of innovation and new product development is therefore crucial.  Don’t innovate for innovation sake but keep one eye firmly fixed on the horizon while focusing on the here and now!

category: marketing

Rebrand – IMAGEination.tv - 05 | 13 | 2010

We are terribly excited here at IMAGE to reveal our new company logo and tag line – IMAGEination.tv – premium marketing solutions for today’s leading real estate professional. Gone are the little icons and in comes the .tv domain, providing a simpler, more refined brand statement.

category: marketing

New website – IMAGEination.tv - 05 | 13 | 2010

Further to above, we launched this brand new site last week, an upgrade from the tired, clunky site we have used for 6 years. A sleek, modern and stylish site showcasing our premium quality content, the site represents our refocus on producing the best core content possible.

category: digital media, marketing

3D Plans - 05 | 13 | 2010

This week our 3D floorplan product goes live to market. For a flat fee, we take any size plan and convert into a magical 3D experience that you can spin, walk around, and furnish, giving your buyers complete perspective of how big a property is before deciding to view it.  Check out this example.

category: floorplans

Photography – Quality vs Quantity - 05 | 13 | 2010

When looking to engage the services of a professional photography company to help market your business, you need to think more broadly about what you are trying to achieve. What is right for your vendor, what is right for your market and what is right for your brand? Don’t skimp on cost at the expense of quality as it is a direct reflection of your brand. We believe that a smaller number of better quality, well retouched images adds much more value to your listings and your brand than a larger number of lesser quality images. That’s just our opinion….When looking to engage the services of a professional photography company to help market your business, you need think more broadly about what you are trying to achieve. What is right for your vendor, what is right for your market and what is right for your brand? Don’t skimp on cost at the expense of quality as it is a direct reflection of your brand. We believe that a smaller number of better quality, well retouched images adds much more value to your listings and your brand than a larger number of lesser quality images. That’s just our opinion….

category: photography