Are you posting your luxury property videos on Youtube? If you are I don’t blame you. That is what some mass market real estate ‘experts’ are recommending. They suggest a video salvo across the web is a sure fire plan for success. Put your exclusive, prestigious property in as many places as possible they say. Boost your SEO. Climb to the top of Google. Take over the world! The illusions of grandeur just keep going. Let’s bring this back to reality.

Youtube is a wild, beautiful cacophony of humanity. Yet, it doesn’t take much searching to realize the inherent problem with posting your property video there. Have you ever looked at the “comments & responses” section under one of these videos? It’s not exactly tea and crumpets down there. In fact, it can get down right absurd, embarrassing, and nasty. I love the freedom of speech, but you wouldn’t put your luxury listing on the back of an adult magazine. Posting your luxury property video on Youtube is like being in Jurassic Park. One minute everything is great as you get an initial boost in your SEO. The next moment T-Rex is gobbling up the poor little goat, chasing down your Jeep, and Jeff Goldblum is chirping “must go faster” in your ear. Youtube is not as good as it seems. Here’s evidence why luxury professionals should NOT post their property videos on Youtube.

The following links are to professionally produced luxury videos on Youtube. It’s important to remember most qualified luxury buyers aren’t searching Youtube for real estate. Even if they are, would they want to read the “comments and responses” associated with the videos at the links below?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mgaa4fw1aVY

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ppP-67CvB8k

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uj_dH9fJq_I

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8edY7bUa18o

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RS_9WNuPfe8

Targeted marketing is everything. Where you put a luxury listing says a lot about it. How you respect a seller’s privacy says a lot about your professionalism.The content, design, and overall appeal of a property’s marketing has a dramatic effect on buyers. When I’m reading the Wall Street Journal I enjoy the real estate. When I am at a carnival (Youtube) it’s best to watch the talking animals and the clowns. They each have their place. Just not with each other.

For targeted online real estate marketing contact LuxuryProperty.com. Your buyers AND sellers will thank you.

The key to Scrabble is using short game changing words. Memorizing words like tranq, qabab, and qadi gives a serious advantage when you have a Q but no U. A great aspect of the game is playing a word you know isn’t in the dictionary, but no one is confident enough to challenge you on. That is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to bend the rules. I am not only going to play an acronym, but I am going to play something that doesn’t even exist. I am going to create my own term, put it on the board, and walk away with confidence. I hope you are ready.

“PGC”

What is PGC? You encounter it everyday. It’s in magazines, television, online, newspapers, and on the big screen at the local cinema. It’s what you pay to watch and read. It’s “Professional Generated Content.” The User Generated Content (UGC) movement has been marvelous. The democratic nature of UGC has given rise to blogging, viral marketing, and instant fame for many amateur content creators. If you’ve seen the Evolution of Dance you know what I mean. However, when it comes to the luxury market, UGC doesn’t cut it. Viewers, buyers, and sellers demand professional content. A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study suggests 62% of online video viewers report their ‘favorite’ internet videos are those that are professionally produced. ‘Videos produced by amateurs’ were only given a favorable response by a young male demographic.

Companies like OnlineWalkThru (Now LuxuryWalkThru), Turnhere, and RealtyVideoUSA produce videos befitting the luxury market. The world’s most prestigious properties deserve the world’s most cutting edge video technology and professionals. Hopefully, only a few luxury real estate professionals have contemplated, or dare I say, actually produced their own videos. When it comes to a luxury property video many professional techniques are essential: lighting, voice-overs, scene coordination/transition, interviews, quality equipment, and panning effects. Using a professional is the only way to ensure a property’s most exquisite features are captured in their best possible light.

Playing a word like PGC in Scrabble will surely forfeit you a turn. However, playing a game like PGC in luxury real estate will put you on the fast track to success. And who knows, given the right ‘qi’ you may still come back and win that Scrabble game. Tell us what you think. What defines video PGC? How is it changing the luxury market? What is the greatest Scrabble word you have ever played?

Photo: Phil Yanov Blog

 Using the right tool is everything. It doesn’t make sense to use a nail gun in your rose garden or a spade to hammer in a rusty nail. That’s why is so important to use the appropriate type of video for your real estate marketing. The fledgling real estate video landscape is quickly blossoming into an industry of specializations and service. Leading the charge are WellcomeMat and LuxuryProperty.com.  Unfortunately, Wellcomemat’s broad market appeal doesn’t cater to the specific marketing needs of the luxury market. Unlike LuxuryProperty.com, Wellcomemat does not feature any kind of search functionality for properties without videos tours. Affluent buyers (and all buyers for that matter) want to search ALL the available properties, not just the 1% of properties with video tours.

For a luxury property video there are many additional considerations and options. Video service providers offer clients many choices when deciding what video is right for them. There is everything from a professional, conservative voiceover to a more customized video package. The following highlights some of these specializations and considerations one must take when deciding upon the appropriate luxury property video.

1. What kind of listing do I have? The property should always dictate the type of video you produce. Is it a waterfront property? Be sure to find a producer that can do boat or underwater shots. Is it an estate? Be sure to find a provider that offers helicopter shots to capture its landscape. The video should enhance every feature of the house.

2. What is my listing worth? It’s not practical to pay for a top quality video for a 300,000 dollar listing. Top videos typically run around 2,000 dollars to shoot, edit, and produce. Be sure the property is befitting the expense for a professional real estate video.

3. What type of style do I want? Video providers offer an array of style choices. Music, lighting, moving/still shots are examples of style options to choose from. Companies like LuxuryWalkThu feature high definition and widescreen video to capture the elegance and beauty of a luxury property. Videos range from professional voiceovers to interviews. TurnHere features videos which interview real estate professionals, home owners and even architects in their videos. Companies like RealtyVideoUSA offer professional voiceovers in their videos for a more formal marketing approach.

4. What is the story? The story is everything! Do you have a historical property? Then explain the story. Is there something special about the architecture? Are the kitchen tiles custom made in a small farming community in northern Peru? Every story has the potential to capture the audience. The more humanity in the story the better. The video should make the house come alive!

The right tool to market a luxury property is imperative. There are additional sites and service which specialize in the growing industry of online real estate videos. Other players in this industry include: RealPropertyTours,Nashua Video Tours, Vid2r and RealtyImpactMarketing.

Imagine the Greek deity Atlas carrying the world on his shoulders. Quite the load even for someone with muscles the size of Africa. Now, imagine Youtube, the Atlas of internet videos. It carries the weight of millions of videos and users. Its dominance has continued following its 1.65 billion dollar Google buyout last October. According to Hitwise (a web analytics research firm) traffic data shows the market share of visits to YouTube increased 70% between January and May in the United States. To put this in context, the market share of visits to 64 other video sites only increased by 8% during the same time. While Youtube may be king there are still many innovating competitors in the market. The following is an abbreviated version of a who’s who list of video sites posted by the Mashable team on their Blog.

Google Video - Since Google bought YouTube, Google’s Video player is mainly used for for-pay content like TV shows. There is also a search indexes for all video sharing sites on the internet.

Blip.tv - Blip.tv is designed for video podcast makers. It allows for easy uploads with all types and qualities of media. It then sends them to their feed for the users. Advertising options are also available.

Ourmedia - Where you can upload audio, video, images, and text and share them with the world. The OurMedia community contains over 100,000 members.

Veoh – Allows users to watch high definition quality videos and publish personal videos.

DailyMotion - Video sharing platform with multiple video search options. People join groups based on publishing videos with common interests.

Metacafe - A site that helps you discover the best videos through a community that filters, reviews and rates new videos every day. UnCut - Video uploading and sharing community by AOL. Embeds videos into you blog.

Kewego- A video sharing network where you can upload your own videos and view videos by others.

ClipShack - Video sharing community that allows you to upload video clips, make friends, keep a collection of your favorite videos and comment on clips. 5min- Video sharing site with a particular vision: collect videos that can explain anything in five minutes.

Brightcove - Search, click and watch. Music videos, news, travel, recipes, adventure. Thousands of channels, including the best in online video.

Viddler– Allows you to add tags and comments to video that will show up at specific times. It also has unique features like flickr and twitter integration.

Revver - The first video sharing site that provides users with the possibility to earn revenue from the videos they upload.

Yahoo Video- Yahoo’s version of online video. Similar to Google Video.

Livevideo- Video sharing site that lets you create personal channels. Upload your own videos and share them with the world..

VMIX - Another video sharing website; All content is screened.

Grouper- Video sharing site with a big selection of content; enables you to create playlists and upload videos to MySpace.

Videosift- a Digg-like site which lets you submit, vote, and comment on videos.

Stage6 - A video site that uses the Divx player so you can upload High Definition video, This requires longer upload times, and you need DivX support (usually a browser plugin).

Tube Battle- vote for the best videos, organized by category.

Many of these sites are excellant venues for you to syndicate your videos. However, should a luxury video really be posted all over the web? Should luxury professionals really be marketing a high end property on a mass market website? Do discreet sellers really want their property plastered all over the internet? Of course not. Targeted marketing and distribution is paramont. Forget trying to be Atlas and forget trying to carry all your online marketing on your shoulders. There’s help out there…LuxuryProperty.com

Photo: Astramate