video | Peter Fletcher

Future-proof yourself – capturing your customer’s attention with video

July 27, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

73% of homeowners prefer to work with agents who use video but only .8% of agents use video. Big opportunity to create a point of difference.

Grab a a pocket size camera. Get one with an external mike connector.

1. Check out Ian Watt. Share information about what’s happening in your local real estate market.
2. Share information about your community (lifestyle branding). Check out Dale Chumley.
3. Do a Q & A or get on camera with someone else.
4. Create a screencast.
5. Give a tour of the community or neighborhood.
6. Client testimonials.
7. Check out Capture.
8. Implement. Keep videos under 2 minutes.
9. Don’t worry about editing. That comes later.

Syndicate video with tubemogul.com but be careful about doing that. Follow up on all comments.

My favourite YouTube videos

January 9, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

On Facebook I can add my favourite TV shows to my profile but not my favourite YouTube videos. Expect that to change as Facebook work towards more granular demographic profiling. Luckily I have this blog, my own piece of real estate on the web. Here I can say and do pretty much whatever I want. And guess what, I’m able to communicate my preferences without Facebook knowing more about me.

I like, without clicking the Like button.

Here are my favourite YouTube videos.

Batleb

Gotham City’s Ethnic Crime fighing duo Batleb and Robin saves – well almost – the police commissioner from The Penguin and his cronies. The Penguin: “Prepare to be devoured!” Batleb: “What, like the way your mangina has devoured your pants?!” Pure gold from the comic genius of Merrick and Rosso.

Psycho dog man

I’ve never seen a man channel an angry dog better than this dude. He’s scary. Originally interviewed by Tracy Grimshaw on A Current Affair he’s spurned a bunch of clever parody videos.

Cow Sense – cutting horse

I grew up on the back of a horse working sheep and cattle. Feeling a horse come alive cutting a cow out of herd is an amazing experience. There’s a sense of being at one with the horse that is hard to describe. They “know” what the cow’s going to do next through an innate cow sense. But this video takes cow sense into the stratosphere. Watch and be amazed.

Battle at Kruger

Viewed over 58.5 million times it’s an epic battle that takes twists and turns right to the very end. Staggering what happens in the wild and staggering this was all caught in one take with amateur video equipment. If you only watch one video on YouTube make it this one.

The Machine is Us/ing Us

A great explanation of Web 2.0 and social media by Michael Wesch. It got me thinking about the possibilities that come from separating form and content.

They’re my top 5 YouTube videos. I’d love to know what yours are.

How to use video to build a hyper-local brand. One agent shows the way.

June 25, 2010 by Peter Fletcher

Dean Bradley’s blog is a clever mix of personal anecdotes, cafe reviews and real estate related articles. In the video below Dean showcases Mooba, a coffee lounge in his local area of Wembley. The video was shot on a Sony DSCT90 (about $300) digital camera. A short intro and conclusion along with a sound track was added using Apple iMovie. The same effect could be produced using other video editing software.

Dean chose to act as the narrator rather than the star of the video. His reasoning is that the video is about the coffee shop and not so much about him. That the video can be found on his blog and Facebook page brands him well. It also positions him as someone who’s willing to help out his local community.

The sound quality on the video has a grungy, earthy feel and that suits the Mooba style. It may not suit a more upmarket video, especially where there’s lots of ambient noise. This problem is not easily solved with digital cameras. If Dean plans to do more videos he might consider investing in a better quality video camera with an external microphone jack. This would give him options such as a lapel mike.

What’s your take on the video? Have you used video to market yourself? Has it worked?