We’re all aware that a well-executed Facebook presence can pay dividends, and that a tool like Twitter can be just the thing to drive online engagement with potential customers. But there is another, less-hyped cousin of these two popular social networks: Flickr. Done right, your Flickr presence could become yet another social source of leads.

So where do you begin with this photo-based social network? The good news is that once you sign up, adding photos is a simple three-step process of choosing, uploading, and describing them. This last step is important for real estate agents – be as detailed as you can in your title, description and tags so the maximum number of people can find your photos.

If you’re still wondering what on earth a photo sharing website could have to do with real estate search, consider Flickr’s groups feature. This is where you can add your photos to subject-specific collections made by a number of users. For example, the Grand Rapids Michigan group, the Northern Beaches Sydney group, and the Manchester UK group are all full of photos showing off a particular area. The question is, who’s photographing the part of town you represent?

1000Watt Consulting’s Marc Davison summed up the argument for agents using Flickr in a recent blog post:

“Go to Flickr. Search your city. How many images here are yours? If the answer isn’t more than anyone else… change that. Who better than you to document every street, neighborhood, hiking, jogging and biking trail, sunset and sunrise vantage point, vista, mesa, valley and alley in the area?”

Davison hits the nail on the head here. At first glance, Flickr may look like a collection of arty photos, but plenty of people do use it to get an idea of what a new town or suburb is really like. All you need to do is be online to meet them.

The iPad hasn’t been released in the Netherlands at this stage, but the first models will ship in the US in late March. Our bet is that a string of iPad-related releases, for property seekers and agents alike, will start to surface before they even hit the stores.

open2view.com, a real estate website that covers New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US, has been caught out doctoring the weather in its listing photos.

New Zealand website stuff.co.nz pointed out at least two listing photos that show the same cloud formation to open2view franchise owner Peter Evans, who admitted the website uses blue sky “templates” when photos are taken on cloudy days.

“No-one wants their house shot on a grey day, but the reality is you don’t get blue days every day. The sky is ever-changing, so [doctoring it] doesn’t make any difference,” said Evans, who maintained images of the houses themselves were never altered. “We are very strict on what can and can’t be done. Otherwise it could become false advertising.”

Responses to the revelation were mixed, with New Zealand Labour MP Clayton Cosgrove saying the changes were “a bit on the nose”.

Consumer NZ adviser Maggie Edwards told stuff.co.nz that changing listing photos was “a fine line”.

“If they put sunshine on a spot that never gets sun, then yes, you’d be right to quibble,” said Edwards.

In defending the changes to the photos, Evans argued that tight deadlines often dictated when a house had to be photographed. Evans may have a point: according to New Zealand’s official tourism website, newzealand.com, the country that was named “Land of the Long White Cloud” by its Maori people is prone to sudden changes in weather.

If you do find yourself having to take photos in dreary weather, check out our Top 10 Tips for Property Photos for some other ideas on how to make the most of your photos.

Imagine a portal that revolves around pictures, rather than words. Rather than typing in what you want, you browse a series of images. Unconvinced? Try checking out houseofnothing.com.

US based houseofnothing.com is a picture-based classifieds website with everything from second hand goods for sale to jobs and house sale listings.

On the homepage users are greeted with a patchwork of thumbnail images. Hover your mouse over each one and a small amount of descriptive info pops up. Clicking on the image takes you to a details page with more pics and a small amount of detail text. There is a simple search box as well as a “category directory” available if you don’t want what’s currently on show on the homepage.

killerstartups.com recently reviewed the site, saying:

“A system like this makes it very easy to browse through listings efficiently. Besides, the minimalist design of the website only reinforces that fact, as there are no distractions to get in the way. And note that you can actually post items without signing up or creating an account. This will be particularly attractive to those who want no diversions and getting down to transacting without having to fill in endless forms and disclosing particulars.”

While it works well for the small number of listings currently on the website, it remains to be seen how it would function with hundreds of thousands of listings. But it is food for thought – as the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.

MotionCloud’s co-founder and CEO Jaeyoung Chun explained the aim of the service to Microsoft’s Julien Codorniou:

“We wanted to provide a dead-easy content creation tool for non-tech savvy people – a tool that doesn’t require any knowledge about HTML, CSS, and FTP, a tool that doesn’t require additional software such as Photoshop, a tool that works in all Web browsers so that all you need is the Internet connection and a Web browser, and finally a tool that lets you create rich and interactive content which is searchable.”

Along with GoGoPin Ad, MotionCloud also offers GoGoPin Business – a free website creation tool it says will provide “unrivaled lead generation”. Its features include an interactive whiteboard that combines instant messaging, voice/video chat, and shared viewing. “If you are video chatting with a potential customer, you can display your available properties, invite others, and schedule an appointment on the first visit,” the website explains.

Lastly, MotionCloud is also working on GoGoPin Communicator, which is currently integrated with Windows Live Messenger to allow users to exchange pictures, watch videos, share maps and routes and draw pictures together. Integration with Outlook and Yahoo! Messenger are both “coming soon”.

Online US real estate marketplace zillow.com has published a blog post revealing the qualities of the best-performing ads, and lowest performing ads, on its website.

Sara Bonert, Director of Broker Relations at zillow.com, writes:

“zillow.com makes money by selling ads on the site. But, to be a successful media company, we need to make sure our customers are realising success with their ads.”

The number one finding was that listing ads work better than agent head shot ads, in terms of generating good click through rates.

Other observations from the Top 50 performing ads on Zillow included:

• 100% were ads for listings
• 45 of 50 ads were an exterior home shot, 3 were interior, 2 were aerials
• 42 of the ads mentioned a specific area (neighborhood, city or addres)
• 8 central messages revolved around Short Sale, Foreclosure or price reduction
• 2 were Open House ads
• 0 photos were renderings (illustrations), all were actual photos
• 0 ads promoted a specific person, business or brand
• 22 of the ads had a specific price visible
• 7 had a phone number visible
• 50 had photos that were taken on a sunny day

And observations from the Bottom 20 performing ads on Zillow included:

• 18 of the ads promoted an agent/broker/brand
• 1 did not have a photo (and no clicks)
• 1 had some type of call-to-action on the ad

One comment posted by Al Lorenz in response to the blog, agreed with the findings, saying:

“We’ve found the same thing, by testing various ads, that advertising specific strengths, with pictures, of our client’s properties is much more productive than advertising the brokerage or brand. Our clients like it much more also!”

Read propertyadguru.com’s Top 10 Tips for Making Your Listings Stand Out.

Another player has emerged in the growing online video for real estate market: Real Estate Shows allows agents to create their own internet commercials using digital photos.

The US-based company allows users to subscribe for $125 and create unlimited shows for one year. Users can create 30, 60 or 90 second videos which are hosted on realestateshows.com with links supplied to embed them into their website or marketing material.

The company says that any decent digital camera will produce photos good enough to create excellent shows at realestateshows.com, but advises that a wide angle lens and good lighting will provide the best results.

Real Estate Shows claims their site is so easy to use that it only takes 5 minutes to create a video.

A product review by Inman News confirmed this, giving the site a rating for ease of 92, value 93, and power 87 (on scale of zero to 100 – 100 is best).

Inman News says that while the product was not unique, it had many benefits including being scaleable and of use to a sole practitioner or larger office. Taking an average of the reviewers’ ratings, Real Estate Shows scored the highest (93) for value, a measure of how helpful the product is for real estate professionals and consumers alike, and the overall cost vs. benefits of the product.

Real Estate Shows are currently offering a 14 day trial of the service.

They offer creative suggestions on ways agents can use videos including:

• Make A “Just Moved ” Show For Your Buyer Clients
• Showcase Homes You’ve Sold
• Become A Category Expert
• Market Yourself As A Neighborhood Expert
• Sell The Common Areas Of Communities
• Commemorate A Special Event
• Highlight Local Attractions
• Better Service Long Distance Buyers
• Prospecting “For Sale By Owners”
• Promote Your Accomplishments

Read more about the growing field of online real estate video in propertyadguru.com’s article A Closer Look: Using Online Video.

Animoto’s business packages, which cost $99 for a three-month trial or $249 for a full year subscription, allow users to create an unlimited number of videos and choose from over 300 commercially licensed songs. A Prudential agent is highlighted in Animoto’s real estate “case study” video.

Animoto are currently celebrating the closure of a $4.4 million round of funding led by Madrona Venture Group, with contributions from amazon.com, SoftTech VC and iStockphoto founder Bruce Livingstone. Digital Beat reports that Animoto plans to use the money to create better image recognition and video integration within the tool, and hopes to attract more interest from industries such as real estate.

The company’s blog states that Animoto currently has 750,000 registered users, with approximately 10 percent paying for its premium services. Brad Jefferson, CEO & Co-founder of Animoto, is quoted as saying:

“Since founding Animoto we’ve focused on delivering a simple user experience with a clear business model to allow anyone the ability to create professional video. We’ve created a base of raving fans and have been operating at cashflow positive since December 2008.”

Simple as it might sound to just “point and click” there are a few things to keep in mind that will ensure photos really add to your listing.

Here are propertyadguru.com’s Top 10 Tips for Property Photos.

1. Cover the essentials. Make sure you include shots of the property’s main elements. Features that shouldn’t be left out include the front and back of the property, bedrooms, livings areas, dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, backyard and any other special attributes, such as a pool or fireplace.

2. The more photos, the better. Never be afraid to include more photos than you think you need. A floor plan is also a great inclusion if at all possible.

3. Watch for intruders. Are there items in the room that shouldn’t be there, or that send the wrong message? This photo from blog lovelylisting.com tells a rather strange story to potential buyers.

4. Watch the weather. While it’s not something you can control, photos that show an overcast sky or dreary late afternoon light are best avoided. Your camera settings can help with this, as can photoshop. But don’t overdo it.

5. Don’t leave them guessing. Photographing just one half of a room, even if you are trying to focus only on its best attributes, can make potential buyers suspicious as to what lies outside the frame.

6. Work your angles. Photographing large rooms from different angles gives the viewer a sense of perspective. By the same token, don’t be tempted to take crooked shots or to succumb to the lure of the wide-angle lens.

7. Common mistakes to avoid include using your flash in a room where lights are already on or in front of a window, and accidentally including yourself in a photo taken in front of a mirror.

8. Giving a sense of what life is like in a home is great, but don’t try too hard. Removing clutter is a great idea. Going so far as to include obviously constructed scenes, like in this example, will only create a sense of falseness.

9. Get to know your camera settings, and your tripod. If you’re going to do it yourself get a decent camera and get to know it. You need to know about aperture, shutter speed and ISO to make your photos work harder for you. Shooting interiors at a slower speed for instance, makes them look better. A garden can look better in shade, and in harsh sunlight you might want to use a flash. There are some great tips on blog sites or take a short course.

10. If in doubt, go to the pros. While it’s certainly more expensive than whipping out your trusty digital camera, hiring a professional photographer could end up being well worth the extra cost.

Just remember: Honesty is the best policy. After all, when clients eventually see the property, the difference between a picture that has gone under the Photoshop knife and the reality will become all too obvious.

It may be cliched but photos really do tell a thousand words when it comes to advertising properties. And many people make judgement calls based solely on a single image in a line of search results, giving your property only one chance to make a great impression. So it’s imperative you get it right first time, every time.

The portal you subscribe to will determine how many pictures you are able to upload, but rule of thumb is to display as many as you can! Photos sell a property much more easily than words and if your potential buyers are not in a position to view the property in person the more photos you can show them the better qualified they’ll be when they are making a decision on your property. For that reason too, you should always include a floorplan – many buyers have specific requirements in this area and a plan will help rule people in and out so you only deal with qualified buyers.

So what pictures should you include and what are the things to look out for?

Inclusions:

1. Front of property (this does not necessarily need to be the ‘hero’ or main shot you use in the ad however)
2. Back of property (usually in relation to the garden/yard)
3. Main bedroom
4. Secondary bedroom(s)
5. Lounge/family room
6. Kitchen
7. Bathroom
8. Dining room or other living area
9. Backyard
10. Other special features such as swimming pool, paddocks, shed, fireplace, decking (if you have made mention of a particular feature in the description you should always have a photo to accompany it)
11. Take a number of photos of larger rooms from different angles so viewers can get some perspective on the room.

Things to be mindful of:

1. Always ensure the camera is straight – crooked shots make people seasick!
2. Don’t include too much sky or ground when taking outside photos - the subject of the photo should take up at least 80% of the screen
3. Clear away clutter from photos – move rubbish bins, tidy up messy areas
4. Don’t include pets or people in photos - the owners might love their five cats but it may give the wrong impression to potential buyers
5. Don’t use wide angle lenses – unrealistic viewpoints will be discovered when the real thing is viewed
6. Be mindful of using a flash in a room where lights are on or when in front of a window – reflections and bounce back are not good
7. Don’t include yourself in the photo if you are taking a picture of a mirror!
8. If you are of average height take photos standing up straight so viewers get a realistic idea of the dimensions of the room – if you are vertically challenged, use a step ladder!)
9. Don’t take photos on a stormy day as everything will appear gloomy. Likewise, be mindful of bright sunlight in the middle of the day – reflections can be awkward. A slightly cloudy day is best for photography.
10. Be honest with all photos – NEVER use photoshop or other tools to make a picture into something it’s not.

A word on Virtual Tours:

Some say do, others find them annoying. I say, include one if you think it genuinely adds value to the advertisement and gives a perspective on the property that the photos can’t. (Some ‘virtual tours’ are simply photos cut together and show nothing different to the static images already included.)

Being mindful of cost/benefit here, virtual tours often require different types of software to open and run them and some viewers either can’t be bothered or don’t have the wherewithal to do this; you run the risk of it being a wasted exercise for a number of potential buyers. But for those who wish to spend the time to view them it can be a rewarding experience - well-produced virtual tours are a great addition to the research experience.

Final Note:

Never be afraid to display more photos than you think you need. An interested buyer will be keen to know and see everything they can about their potential new home before engaging the agent in discussions. Great quality photos that are perfectly representative of the property will rule interested buyers in quickly. And dealing with highly qualified buyers should be your aim, so you aren’t wasting time with ‘browsers’.

[image: flickr/photographix.ca]