I have noticed a trend among Realtors over the last six months and I would appreciate your "professional" opinions. I am the Marketing Director for a web design and virtual tour company in Florida and I have noticed that more Realtors are inquiring about our services. It is no secret that is a buyer's market and with 80% of those buyers utilizing the internet, your internet presence is extremely important. So, my question is this: "Are you marketing your listings or yourself?" I have seen virtual tours that are full screen and virtual tours that are not. The tours that are full screen do a great job of showing the home. However, you don't see information regarding the Realtor, Listing Company or property information easily. The tours that are not full screen show more detailed information ...

As the Marketing Director for a web design and virtual tour company, I see a lot of different marketing techniques and tools. When we first started Listing Solutions, Inc. we were primarily focused on providing virtual tours and custom web sites. Our business model has changed several times since then and one area that we immediately started to focus on was "elevated photography." I have a friend who owns a welding shop here in St. Augustine, Florida and he has developed an elevation pole that is both sturdy and portable, The Capole. I blogged about it a few months ago and was surprised at how many people wer ...

I am the Marketing Director for a virtual tour company in St. Augustine, Florida. Recently I have had several clients ask me about elevated photography. I started researching this field and found that there are a lot of different techniques used to accomplish this. There seems to be a lot of demand for this special photography and not that many providers. I tried to find a system that would fit into my budget and be mobile enough to be practical. That turned out to be a difficult task. Elevation poles are either too expensive or cumbersome to be practical. RC helicopters really caught my attention, but there were a lot of obstacles to this technique. First of all, the helicopters are several thousand dollars and then you have to learn how to fly the thing. After a couple of weeks of researching the helicopters I reluctantly gave up. The cost involved was too much and then there were the insurance and liability issues. It was fun being a ...

I have a colleague who sent me some information on a company named rssHugger. I followed her advice and checked out the site. It seems like a really good way to increase your internet presence. The site is very easy to read and has some good information about what their ideas and goals are. I signed up and you should check it ...

I am the Marketing Director for a virtual tour company in St. Augustine, Florida called Listing Solutions. I received a referral from a business partner last week. We have a deal worked out where he puts me in front of his clients, which are mostly Realtors. I met the Realtor at the location to take the pictures for the virtual tour. I asked him who had been doing his virtual tours and he told me that a good friend of his has a virtual tour company. It was not the response that I was hoping for. We chatted while I took the pictures and I found out that he has his own development company. I asked him if his friend had the ability to add floor plans to his virtual tours and he said no. I explained to him that we have the ability to add both

It is no secret that we are in a tough market. Everyone can pick up a newspaper or tune in to their favorite news channel and get the gruesome details. This is a great opportunity for virtual tour providers. Why? Have you checked into local newspaper advertising lately? I am in a small market and the local newspaper here, charges around $56.00 for a four line advertisement, per week.

Local television and radio advertisements are quite a bit more than that. How can we differentiate ourselves from these competitors, other than price? We can be the good news! We can talk about the statistics. According to a recent profile of home buyers and sellers conducted by the National Association of Realtors®, 80% of current buyers use the internet when searching for a home.

We can talk about how we support their industry and promote them and their properties in a positive manner. Why would an ...