One of the worst nightmares for a Realtor is losing a sale. And that may happen, say, if a potential buyer drives past a home, stops to take a tour only to find it locked and decides, "There's no way it looks that great inside." Then that customer drives away, deciding not to do more research through the Realtor's contact information on the lawn sign.
Video can bridge that gap, says David Harbour, Realtor and founder of NOVA Green Team, a group of Northern Virginia-based eco-friendly real estate agents. In his latest plan to use video to sell homes, Harbour is creating individualized online video tours that pull up through the mobile Web when potential buyers snap a picture of a 2D barcode displayed at a property.
Target Marketing: Why did you start using video to market yourself?
David Harbour: I analyzed the way Realtors do business, and we kill a lot of trees [with] fliers, postcards and newspapers and magazines. And it was hard to track, as well. … I kind of changed direction of the focus of my real estate business and I also said, 'I'm also going to change the direction of my marketing.' And so [online video] had a more environmentally friendly approach. …
… Online technology is more personable; it's a more complete message. And I can use it over and over and over again. So the ROI for me on my marketing budget was a lot better. Plus it kind of separated me from the pack … and my clients were passing on my videos. … So it gave me a brand awareness.
TM: How do you decide what content to put in the videos, how often to record them, what third party sites to place them on and how to distribute them to prospects and customers?



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