Video Options for Real Estate Agents
This article is for the DIY’s out there who want to produce their own video content quickly and easily. Over the years I’ve tried lots of different video production methods and after many failures, I’ve come across a few services that I really love.
One of the slickest tools I use is a piece of PC- based software called Video Make FX. The software is not a memory hog and won’t slow down your computer–it’s super easy to use and there is virtually no learning curve. With Video Maker FX you can create business style video presentations by using still images, adding text overlays, video clips, logo intro’s, etc. Here is an example of a video I produced in about 15 minutes for my real estate company:
When I purchased Video Maker FX a year ago, I paid $39 or so–now it is priced around $67–still an amazing value in my opinion. Another great tool I use is called Animoto–it is a web-based video production application. With Animoto, you can choose from a variety of video templates–then you can add still images and/or video clips, overlay text, add music, etc. The rendering process is fairly quick and you have the ability to produce your video in a variety of resolutions. Once the video is rendered, Animoto gives you the option to upload your video to a number of hosting services such as You Tube and Vimeo. Here is an example of a video I recently produced for a niche real estate site–I used only still images so the entire production process took less than 20 minutes.
In addition to the above, I also use Camtasia Studio to create screencast videos and to do more complex video editing. Camtasia is a bit overkill for most agents, but if you want complete control over all elements, it’s a phenomenal program. If you’d prefer to create quick videos from your smartphone, Videolicious is an excellent and easy-to-use program. I’ve not used Videolicious for real estate, but I have created videos for another business–the software is easy to use and you can create, render and upload videos very quickly.
It’s estimated that no more than ten percent of real estate agents use video–this stat really amazes me given the power of video and given the ease of which quality video can be created with almost no technical ability. Well, I hope this information has helped. As always, if you have a question, feel free to reach out anytime. Best of luck in your real estate endeavors.