These days in real estate, it helps to have an edge when going about marketing your property. This edge is going to come along with the agent packing the biggest internet punch. The internet has become the single most used resource for home buyers. Now, of course most agents will tell you this, along with the fact that your listing will be entered in the Multiple List Service (MLS) with pictures, etc, etc. The question you need to ask yourself is, “which of these agents can make your listing really POP;” which agent is going to give you the edge?
With that said, great internet marketing comes from any combination the use of, professional, and I do stress, PROFESSIONAL photography, virtual tours, single property websites, and social bookmarking.
The benefits to having PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY are the resulting high-quality images. A real estate photographer has a better camera than your agent and knows how to present your property from the best angles, as well as, having the ability to professionally edit the photographs. These photographs will enhance every marketing piece your agent provides.
Moving on to the VIRTUAL TOUR, the benefits are huge, this is where you can really start to gain that edge, but it is important to know what you are getting. First of all, you should find an agent willing to provide a virtual tour, and second, you should ask to see a sample. If they are attempting to create it themselves, chances are it is either a slideshow with still pictures moving up and down and side to side, or has poorly created panoramas with stitching errors, in which case, it won’t look very good. Not to mention, these discount tours don’t hold water when it comes to actually increasing your property’s exposure. Once you find an agent providing a professionally done, 360 degree panoramic virtual tour, the real deal if you will, be cautious of those with a 2-inch viewing window. These days, with today’s technology, Hi-Def, Full Screen virtual tours exist…this is a great example of where bigger is better.
Next, let’s talk SINGLE PROPERTY WEBSITES, one of the best marketing tools available. The main idea behind a property website is to create an easily accessible presentation of the PROPERTY. A great property website should contain still photography, a virtual tour, if available, and information useful to the buyer such as property specific information, information about the locale of the property, school and mortgage information, etc, etc. The property website should not be a general marketing piece for the agent, this takes away from the property itself. The domain is also extremely important. A proper domain should be “www.The_Property_Address.com. This domain will help search engines associate the website with the property. Many property website domains are www.The_Name_Of_The_Company_Creating_The _Website.com/The_Code_Associated_With_Your_Property…these websites are designed to bring the website provider more business and not bringing your property the intended exposure.
“So…Now that I have PROFESSIONAL STILLS, a VIRTUAL TOUR, and a PROPERTY WEBSITE, how do I get it in front of the most buyers?”
The way to get your marketing pieces in front of the most buyers is by SOCIAL BOOKMARKING. Social bookmarking includes, but is in no way limited to Facebook, Twitter, ActiveRain, etc, etc, etc…By using sites like these as an outlet for your listing, you are increasing your web ranking which in turn increases the chances of potential buyers stumbling upon your property.
In conclusion, for all you sellers out there, when you are thinking every agent is the same, I hope this information will help you weed through them.
And, to any and all agents who maybe reading this, becoming more knowledgeable about all the tools available to you can only make your marketing stronger.
I would love to hear what everyone thinks…Have A Great Day!!!
PS…Please visit Virtual Vista’s Website For Additional Marketing Materials
Sincerely,
Brian Castro
Virtual Vista Real Estate Marketing
610.429.0288
brian@virtualvista.net
