Did You Know? YouTube Interesting Facts and Statistics:

  • YouTube was created in 2005 as the domain was registered on Valentine’s Day of 2005 by three men that were working together at another Internet start-up company called PayPal.
  • Legend has it that YouTube originally started as a dating website and was needed to share a video of a dinner party that was too large to e-mail.
  • The first video was at the San Diego Zoo and was 19 seconds long.
  • As of February 2011, there are 490 million unique users per month; 92 million page views per month; and more than 2.9 billion hours are spent on YouTube per month (that’s approximately 325,000 years) AND, this does not take into account for mobile devices or embedded videos
  • An average of 400 tweets per minute contain a YouTube link.
  • More than 150 years of YouTube videos are watched on Facebook every day.
  • More than 60,000 full-length films could be created based on YouTube videos produced every week.
  • The U.S. posts the most YouTube videos with the UK at  No. 2
  • 70% of YouTube views are American.
  • The average user spends approximately 15 minutes per day on YouTube.
  • Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” video is the most popular video on YouTube with more than 250 million views. Music videos account for approximately 20% of YouTube’s content.
  • Google purchased YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion; yet 2010 was scheduled to be YouTube’s first profitable year.
  • 24 hours of video are uploaded every minute.
  • YouTube is in 23 countries and 24 different languages
  • The partner/ad revenue for YouTube tripled in 2009.
  • Hundreds of millions of videos are watched on mobile devices every month and the YouTube player is embedded across tens of million websites.
  • The auto-share tweet results in seven new YouTube sessions.
  • More video is uploaded in 60 days on YouTube than all three major networks created in 60 years.
  • According to Alexa.com, YouTube is now the third most visited website. Since Google acquired YouTube, many videos turn up high in online searches based on their tags and descriptions.Online video is now a major part of our Web experience.Today, more than 146 million Americans view online videos looking at 12.6 billion video clips. The YouTube phenomenon has played a major role in the online videos we see today. According to some research, an increasing number of individuals are moving away from television and toward the Internet for their video consumption needs. The “2010 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” indicated that nine in 10 home buyers used the internet in some way during their home buying process. Additionally, recent studies show that 73% of homeowners would be more likely to list with agents using video and only 0.8% incorporates video into their listings.

There are many reasons to use videos for selling real estate. First of all, you show potential buyers that you are ahead of the game, everyone is using pictures and 360 pans to display property, but when you are one of the few to offer actual video you show initiative. Moreover, people are busy; they do not have time to visit several homes and want to get a good feel for properties before scheduling a showing. When they can access a full video, they know immediately if this is a potential buy. They prescreen themselves. People are accessing multimedia everywhere today, even on cell phones and the real estate that keeps up with the technology is going to outsell all the rest.

So, why aren’t more agents using video? Fear. Agents are afraid of sounding strange or looking silly. Like many other things, you must just dig in and try. The more you practice, the better you will become and the more comfortable you may be.

Are You Creating A Video For Every Listing?
With the popularity of social media and video distribution sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, more than 90% of homebuyers begin their search on the internet. Not to mention the fact that most households include numerous computers, plus a growing percentage of SmartPhones – essentially a pocket computer with phone calling capabilities!

And let’s state the obvious: People would rather watch a video than a collection of static photos or slog through pages and pages of text. More people watch the movie than read the book! That’s just the way it is today!

Video is more realistic, more appealing, and can evoke emotion – something still photos and text cannot do. And emotion is why people buy real estate.

Real estate video tours help save you time, save you money, sell more real estate and achieve more top rankings on search engines such as Google.

“Web appeal” is the “curb appeal” of yesteryear. How your listing appears online means the difference between a buyer picking up the phone and scheduling an appointment, or clicking the “NEXT” button….

There are several ways you can shoot video and create videos for your listings. Most smart phones today have video capability or there are other products such as the Flip or the Kodak Play. There are also many programs that will let you edit your videos. The two most used are: 1) Movie Media Maker and 2) Apple iMovie.

Have You Considered An Agent Video to Promote Yourself?
The Houston Association of REALTORS® offers professional video services at its central office. The HAR Studio is equipped with HD quality equipment to provide its members with a professional-grade video production. Each profile video will be 30-60 seconds in length and will be uploaded to YouTube to help promote you and your business. The videos will also be posted along with each of your listings on HAR.com. It will give potential clients an opportunity to hear about your experience, knowledge of the market and approach to client service. The cost for members to shoot an HAR agent video is $99. For more questions and/or to schedule your video today, please e-mail video@har.com or call 713.629.1900 ext. 274.

How Else Can You Incorporate Video in Your Real Estate Practice?

  • Take Mini-Videos of Client Testimonials. We all know the power of a past client telling their story about you.
  • Neighborhood & Community Videos. Take video/pictures (to incorporate into a video) of the local area. Perhaps pictures of the community, the shopping, the restaurants, the amenities, etc.
  • Community Event Videos. Consider a local community event or parade or festival
  • Client Videos. If you preview property for clients, consider capturing those properties on video
  • Open Houses. What if you passed out disks with a sample video instead of/or in addition to a flyer
  • FSBO (For Sale By Owners.) Perhaps distribute a sample video to FSBOs or offer to create a video for a FSBO to market to them.
  • HOA Videos. Create a video for the HOA and distribute to them accordingly showcasing your level of technology and professionalismBy Tara Jordan, HAR Member Relations Manger
    tara.jordan@har.com