A few months ago, WellcomeMat conducted a survey in an effort to better understand both the challenges and benefits of using video marketing within the real estate vertical. Instead of just releasing the survey data, we unlocked our internal data and created the industry’s first “Real Estate Video Report.”
Download a copy of the industry’s first formal report on video and take a sneak peak into the future of real estate video.

What We’ve Learned…

At this point, we can definitively say that there has never been a more important time in the history of real estate video tours. Every single statistic points in the direction of greatness for full-motion real estate video:

• Over 2/3 of real estate agents have hired, or have considered hiring a video production team.

• 89% of agents that are using video believe that it helps them win listings over competing agents/brokers (view chart)

• 40% of real estate agents and brokers believe that consumers value video the most (out of photos, virtual tours/slideshows, floorplans and video) (view chart)

The number 1 thing keeping agents/brokers from using video is “Not enough knowledge.”

• 46% of agents/brokers answered “not enough knowledge” to the question, “what is the #1 largest hurdle facing real estate professionals in regards to the use of video?” (view chart)

Given these results, who will be the biggest winners in the boom time of real estate video?

• Those that are an information source for agents and brokers, even if they are doing their own videos, will win. The natural affect of DYI (do-it-yourself) video is a large amount of respect for what video pros do – be the person or team that offers encouragement/guidance to DYI agents/brokers and, when they are ready to hire someone, you’ll win the business.

• If we can be flexible with our product offerings, to meet the challenges of the present time and our customers’ expectations, we’ll win. 73% of agents and brokers said they would be more willing to hire video pros that deferred charges until closing, “even at a premium to an upfront payment?”

• Stick to our strengths and partner for the rest. There are 3 distinct portions of the real estate video production puzzle: gathering footage, post-production and web platform(s). Where are your efforts best spent?

In Conclusion…

WellcomeMat will continue casting a wide net. We will be a warm home for do-it-yourself agents, brokers and teams, whom will inevitably need professional help. And we will continue working most closely with production teams that position WellcomeMat as the video platform for their clients. Please enjoy our first Real Estate Video Report and the survey results. If you want to learn more about WellcomeMat or have questions, please be in touch.

Get your copy of the free report here today >

Roost recently announced their fourth installment of 50 real estate people you should follow on Twitter and they were kind enough to add me (@holaphil) to this month’s list. If you’re not familiar with Roost (shame on you!), they’re one of the leading residential real estate search engines online (i.e MLS, Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo, Google, etc.) and direct consumers to a hosted network of real estate broker and agent “IDX” websites. I’m a humble lightweight on a list that includes Brian Boero of 1000watt Consulting, Wendy Forsythe of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, the Corcoran Group and 46 others you should consider following.

These lists are fantastic, however I know it can be time consuming to follow a large group of Twitter users. Not to worry! Our intern Dora used this nifty little tool called TweepleML to put October’s entire batch of 50 into a list you can follow (literally) with one click of your mouse. You can try it out for yourself by clicking the button below.

BIG thanks to Derek Overbey, Roost’s Sr. Dir. of Marketing and Social Media for shining the light on so many fantastic real estate professionals!

Heads up! Our team has made two significant updates to the “Manage Videos” section of WellcomeMat.com. Note that both of the following are for Pro customers only:

1) Video File Manager: All of the original video files that you upload are now available for download on WellcomeMat. No more worries about where you are saving videos, no more needing to get that file sent to you somehow from your video pro…they are all right here on WellcomeMat.

Example of how the File Manager helps:
Your filmmaker uploads a video > transfers that video into your account using our video transfer system > if/when you need the file, all you have to do is log in and download the file.

2) Global Video Settings: You can now set global rules for your videos so that you don’t have to manage your settings for each video individually.

To get to the “Manage Videos” section of WellcomeMat, login > select “Manage Videos” from the dashboard dropdown tab or watch this video to learn more.

As you may already know, we recently launched a WellcomeMat iPhone (3GS Only!) application which allows you to post geo-coded real estate videos straight from your iPhone to WellcomeMat. While it was a good first step, there were a few missing pieces. Thanks to some terrific user feedback, we’ve integrated some powerful new features into version 1.1 of the app which you’ll find here in the Apple iTunes store.

One of the best new features (video distribution) is now supported within the app itself. Shoot mobile videos and with one-click post them to YouTube, Twitter and Posterous! Other updates include minor bug fixes and a progress bar to view the upload as it progresses. Keep the feedback coming and go video!

See below for more screen captures.

Video on the Go!

Details on WellcomeMat iPhone v1.1 (Update)

Distribute real estate videos to YouTube, Twitter and Posterous!

You can now automatically “blog” your WellcomeMat videos to Posterous. This means that you can create video blog posts (”vLogs”) on posterous by simply checking off a box within the distribution section of our upload process. Additionally, if you’re a PRO customer on WellcomeMat, videos will be posted to Posterous with an inbound link to your site. Learn more with this ‘How-To Video’ below:

WellcomeMat videos that you distribute to Facebook are now embedded automatically in your Facebook feeds. This means your friends and followers can now watch WellcomeMat videos on Facebook! AND, if you’re a PRO customer on WellcomeMat, the video player will include your branding (watermark, colors, etc.). Learn more about Facebook embeds with this ‘How-To Video’ below:

NOTE: This survey is for Real Estate Professionals. We plan to conduct a similar survey for Filmmakers/Videographers soon. In the meantime, feel free to to share the survey on Twitter OR you can also email a link to fellow Real Estate Professional clients or friends. Thanks!

So here’s the deal…WellcomeMat is looking for your feedback in helping to create an industry first, ‘Video Report Card’. This report will be comprehensive look at the real estate video marketplace. The following survey is your chance to make your voice heard and contribute the report. You do NOT have to be a member* of WellcomeMat to participate so speak up!

*As an added bonus, WellcomeMat members will receive 250 points for completing the survey.

OR Tweet the Survey!
Credits: Photo thanks to DuReMi on Flickr!

If you’re a filmmaker looking for extra exposure and/or work, join us on Wednesday July 8th, 2009 for our first NYC Filmmaker Gathering. Learn how to make a living (or extra cash $$) shooting local video spots for small business and real estate in New York city and surrounding boroughs.

Location: WellcomeMat Soho Office
Address: 676 Broadway – 2nd Floor – New York, NY 10012
Date: Wednesday July 8th, 2009
Time: 6:30-7:30pm

Sign up here and join fellow filmmakers for an hour of conversation and networking.
NOTE: Space is limited to 20 filmmakers.

It’s been a long time coming, but we are here to officially announce that video professionals can now manage all of their clients on WellcomeMat, and do it with style/efficiency. “Client Management” is the means by which video pros can do all of the following (and more):

Listen in below on our Friday (Feb 6th) Video Producer call as Co-Founders Christian and Phil discuss how to master Client Management and move up the ranks on WellcomeMat.

Some Bullet Points About Client Management:
* Add/Subtract Clients from Your Dashboard
* Upload and Assign Videos to Your Clients
* Provide Your Clients With Access to Their Own WellcomeMat Account, and Provide Them With The Most Powerful Tools Known to the Local Video Marketplace.
* Quickly and Easily Log Into Each Client’s Account and Manage Their Videos in Their Behalf.

Cheers to all of us sticking to our strengths and taking local video to the next level! Questions Wellcome.

One of the things that [WellcomeMat] has always been known for is quality of video playback. You haven’t caught us jumping on the “HD” bandwagon because, well, the term/phrase “HD” is being used as marketing speak, without much substance behind it. Sure, playing a flash or H264 file in a 16:9 aspect ratio is cool, and making sure that the videos are quality is even cooler. We applause high quality, but let’s all take a deep breath and realize that true HD would a) not play without stuttering on the average end users’ machine and b) would be very difficult to transmit given the limited connection speeds that all Americans have.

Rest assured, WellcomeMat is still chugging along on the quality train, and we are doing so without forgetting that videos need to be watched for quality to be realized by the average internet user. Quality lovers, [WellcomeMat] has your back! Layne Freedle posted this video months ago, and I immediately was thinking that it could play a fitting role as a 007 scene. Check it out, and if you can’t watch it without seeing the video stutter, that’s because when the limits of quality are pushed, there is a cost: