Lights, Camera, Action! Video Storytelling Just Got Easier

Video is changing our world. 190 million Americans watched 75.6 billion videos this year in the month of January alone. Online video now accounts for more than 50% of all mobile traffic. Needless to say, it would take a much longer article than this to explain the evolution of video and its current impact on our society.

The ever-increasing appetite for video is fueling new trends in how we market and connect with the new digital consumer. Video promotion is 6x times more effective than traditional print or online advertising. Why? In its simplest terms, video is easy to consume and tells a story that can evoke emotion, engage, build trust and strengthen brand awareness. Consumers want video and companies who understand this are successfully delivering it.

Homebuyers are no different, embracing video with the same vigour. In fact, a study by NAR and Google cited that not only have real estate searches on Google grown 253% over the past four years but that home buyers are searching for video. Beyond the video home tour, the top video searches related to real estate are: communities (86%), general information (54%), brokerage information (44%) and testimonials (30%).

Real estate professionals who are working on building their digital brand can leverage this trend to their advantage. By providing homebuyers and past clients with relevant information about themselves and showing their expertise in the local community, agents can tell their own story and position themselves as an invaluable resource.

There is no question that video is a powerful medium. REALTORS® have collectively seen a 40% hike in profits from video marketing alone, and according to an Australian real estate group, real estate listings that include a video receive 403% more inquiries than those without.

Ongoing research tells us that placing a video on a website, social networks or in an email can substantially increase SEO, traffic, lead generation and ultimately enhance your digital reputation. A single marketing video can be scaled across all marketing channels and viewed over any device, making it a highly efficient and cost effective strategy.

But telling your story has traditionally been perceived to be complicated and expensive. Just a few years ago, creating your own video would have required an expensive camcorder and editing software or a professional videographer. New technology is changing all that. A new generation of smartphones with high-resolution video cameras are quickly evolving video to a universal medium.

Real estate professionals now have the power to create videos using just their phones. Emerging apps designed specifically for the real estate industry are making it easier and more affordable to produce not only video home tours but also videos that can tell a story.

The traditional virtual tour is being replaced by integrated app solutions that deliver the ability to create any type of video, edit, add audio and easily syndicate across the web - anytime, anywhere.

And it just makes sense. REALTORS® spend a median of 44% of their time corresponding with and doing work for their clients on mobile devices. 94% communicate with clients using a mobile device and two out of three take or post photos.

Smarter phones means there are more intuitive and useful ways to connect our daily routine to the very devices we depend upon every day. These emerging apps extend the smartphone into a new marketing tool that will have far reaching effects on the importance of video.

One specific app, ezflix, is targeting the real estate industry with just that intent. This new app developed by RealBiz Media is taking video creation to a new level. It is providing an ecosystem to support an end-to end digital marketing solution. Ezflix enables agents to instantly access existing property photos from MLS listings; to create home property video tours; add or take videos about themselves, their communities, client testimonials, and anything else the agent deems relevant. Agents can edit, add voice overs and music, and syndicate instantly to popular search portals, their own websites, social media and more. For more information visit EzFlixApp.com or watch the video below.

Key Takeaways: Video is here to stay. The cameras are in place and apps are being created to make video creation, presentation and sharing even easier. The benefits are enormous. REALTORS® just need to start telling their story.