Posts Tagged ‘real estate’

Are Quailty Real Estate Photos Really That Important?

Monday, August 9th, 2010


Professional real estate photography, home staging, online marketing…all buzz words in the real estate marketing community.  But how important is it really?  Do Shreveport/Bossier area home buyers care what they are seeing online?

In this article Mary Ellen Podmolik, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune’s business section who covers the local housing market, discusses real estate photos, staging and online marketing.  She shares how these items ultimately reflect on the agent and how they may affect the sale of the home.

When it comes to online real estate photos, the devil is in the details – chicagotribune.com

Blogged with the Flock Browser


Share/Bookmark


Selling Dos and Don’ts – Tips from HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010


Get out that sold sign — these selling tips will make your property a hot commodity

This article from HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate offers 8 helpful hints for making your home more attractive to buyers.  Whether you are working with a Realtor or going FSBO, these are some great tips to help your home really shine.

Do market your home in different ways

Do market your home in different ways.

Almost 80 percent of home searches start on the Internet, so why not finish them there too? In lieu of the traditional method of selling through a real estate agent, some home sellers are turning to the Web to sell their homes. If you choose to sell with a Realtor, make sure their marketing plan extends to the Internet with virtual tours, photos and more.

Read more of this article at the link below.  Or contact Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours to learn more about our online marketing services for both real estate agents and For Sale By Owners.

Slide Show: Selling Dos and Don’ts : HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Unique Sign Riders Get Attention

Monday, July 12th, 2010


Panoramic Sign Riders Stand Out and Grab Attention

Panoramic sign riders are a great innovative marketing solution for real estate agents or For Sale By Owner properties. These riders are designed to capture the attention of passers-by and to stand out from the crowd of other real estate riders.

A drive through any neighborhood in the Shreveport/Bossier City area will reveal a host of real estate signs and their respective riders. Most of these provide information such as the listing Realtor, a phone number or maybe a website address. However, PanoRiders are not your typical sign rider. A PanoRider offers a full color, high resolution panorama of the interior of the property. Text alone is not enough any more, this sign rider will capture interest with a glimpse inside the home.  This is exceptionally great if there is a competing sign in the yard next door.  Our sign rider will make your yard sign unique and attention grabbing.Panoramic Sign Rider in Action

Once interest is peaked, a buyer can gain the information they are seeking with the single property website located on the PanoRider. This single property web address is the address of the listing itself. Once online, the buyer will see a virtual tour of the entire interior of the home along with lots of additional photos, detailed text description and the listing agent’s or owner’s contact information. But wait, there’s more.  The website is accessible from your smart phone!  How awesome is that.  It’s like marketing – with superpowers.

Next, of course, the interested buyer calls the agent and offers double the asking price for the home, then requests to bring a check by that afternoon……Ok, no, that part doesn’t really happen. But, this sign rider does generate highly interested leads.

This innovative marketing tool harnesses the power of the internet together with the power of a yard sign to gain exposure for real estate listings. If you are a real estate agent or an FSBO who wants to stand apart from the crowd while maintaining cost effective advertising, this is worth your time to investigate.  No more soggy flyers or empty flyer boxes.  Panoramic Sign Riders are full color and weather proof.

Contact Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours, your Shreveport/Bossier City virtual tour company, to learn more about innovative marketing solutions for your property.

Sign Rider on a Rainy Day

Photo of Panoramic Sign Rider on a Rainy Day


Share/Bookmark


Real Estate Photo Tips: The Most Important Picture

Friday, July 2nd, 2010


In today’s real estate market, approximately 90% of home buyers start their search online, looking at dozens of photos of homes.

The photo of the front of the home is the single most important photo on the listing.  This photo is the buyers very first impression of the home.  It is the one that helps determine if the buyer will continue to look further into the listing or move on to the next one.  It is important to spend the extra time and energy to get the “perfect” shot of the exterior of the home.

Front of Home Photo
Whether you do your photos yourself or hire a professional photographer, here are some important things to consider in photographing the front of the home:

  • Straight on is not always the best option.  Try photographing from one side, especially if there are interesting architectural features.  Also be certain to include all of the home in the frame.Front of Home Photo
  • Choose your time of day.  Photograph when the sun is on the front of the home, not behind it.
  • Choose your day.  Don’t photograph on dreary, gray, overcast days.  Bright and sunny is preferable.
  • Properly expose the photo.  Make sure the color balance is correct – a strange blue or gray cast is not good.  Make sure the photo is bright and cheerful and competitive.

Remember that your photo will be compared to other homes of similar size and price.  If your photo is dark, awkwardly colored or generally uninviting, then it may leave the buyer feeling less than impressed with your listing.  Possibly for reasons they can not even identify, they will just know that the house seems dreary.

Great photos should help bring buyers to the property.  If you do not have the time in your busy day to take competitive photos, you might consider hiring a professional photographer.  This is a small expense that can be recouped in freeing your time to actively sell homes.  Not to mention that your seller will be very impressed with how their home is being marketed.


Share/Bookmark


Blogged with the Flock Browser

First Time Homebuyer Credit Extended for Military

Thursday, May 6th, 2010


It looks like first time homebuyers who are members of the military have additional time to qualify for the credit.  The deadline has been extended to April 30, 2011 for members of the military and certain other federal employees.  Our readers at Barksdale Air Force Base and those in the military transferring to the Shreveport/Bossier City, La area should take a look at this article…

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215594,00.html

Now could be a great time to buy a home.  Contact a local area real estate agent to learn more and take a look at our virtual tour gallery to see some of the great homes for sale in this area.

Share/Bookmark

Virtual Tour Tips and Tricks

Friday, April 23rd, 2010


On Demand Hit Statistics

Did you know that you can run an INSTANT on demand hit report by clicking on the little “Eye” at the bottom of any of your virtual tours?  That’s right!  Information like who your virtual tour is reaching, how many people have viewed it or where those viewers are coming from is right at your finger tips.

Click here to view your On Demand Hit Stats

Click here to view your On Demand Hit Stats

And in addition to On Demand hit stats, you can also receive this information via email each week.  Making it easy for you to stay up to date on how your online marketing is doing.  And your clients can see how often their home is being viewed.  Weekly reports ensure that everyone involved is kept informed and up to date!

Simply put, you will be amazed at the traffic you are getting on your virtual tour when your weekly hit reports come in.

Want more tips and tricks? Sign up for our newsletter at www.TheVirtualTourPeople.com/signup.php

Do you need a virtual tour of your Shreveport or Bossier City lisitng?  Contact Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours today to learn more about the online marketing options we can offer you!

Share/Bookmark

High Definition Virtual Tours Arrive in Shreveport

Monday, April 19th, 2010


Could it really be HD Full Screen  360 Virtual Tours?  Times are changing quickly and Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours  is working hard to keep our virtual tour technology at the forefront of real estate marketing technology.  So you can continue to lead the pack in marketing your Shreveport area listings.

We are proud to announce that we have upgraded our virtual tour viewer to support Full Screen High Definition images. Take a look at the virtual tour below and you will quickly see how our new HD full screen virtual tours transform the typical interactive virtual tour to something quite spectacular.  Our new HD experience shows off your listing as if you are standing right in the room! With just a click of a button Ark-La-Tex Virtual Media now delivers your prospective buyers and sellers a brand new amazing 360 virtual tour experience.

Sample our new HD Virtual Tour:

And our virtual tours load faster than any of the other video or interactive virtual tour platforms out there!  No waiting for a huge video file to load only to get a tiny window.  No more staring at a loading bar for two minutes only to end up viewing a simple slide show. Now you can tell your customers that you’re giving online shoppers a truly interactive Full Screen HD virtual tour experience.

Show your customers that your are on the cutting edge of property marketing technology with one of our new high definition 360 virtual tours!  Contact us today!

Share/Bookmark

How To Build a FaceBook Fan Page

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010


We all know how popular FaceBook has become.  Everyone seems to be talking about the latest post or information they shared or learned through this site.  So how do you tap into this social media popularity to promote your Shreveport business or latest real estate listing?  This is a great article that comes to us from a member of our virtual tour network.  It shows you how to easily set up your FaceBook Fan Page so you can get in on all the buzz!

How To Build A FaceBook Fan Page

You either love it or hate it, regardless, Facebook has become a necessary evil. I knew it was time this Nova Scotia Virtual Tour Provider got to “the bottom of it” when a google search for my company name Supernova Studios, turned up a fan page on facebook with the same name for a tattoo company in Istanbul!

The fan page, like everything in social media, can be built and done in a matter of minutes. That is, if you are not planning on having anyone look at it, connect to it, or like it. If you are, in fact, trying to give personality to your brand and connect with your customers, your Facebook fan page will take you substantially longer to create and will need to be maintained regularly.

Today, I’ll give you the basics, to help get you started.

Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours on FaceBook

Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours on FaceBook

Think wisely when creating the name for you page. It is written in stone and can not be changed! I recommend using “geo keywords” in your title. Example: Supernova Studios, Nova Scotia Virtual Tour Provider

1. It can be a little difficult finding on Facebook where to begin a fan page, so you’ll have to go to the main (login) page for creating a fan page. You will see it at the bottom below “sign up”.
2. You then have to select what kind of business you are, sign that you are authorized to be representing that business, and then create the page.
3. First things first, you’ll want to get your basic info on there. Click “edit the page” and scroll down to the information section. Click on the pencil and hit “edit”. They don’t give you a whole lot of room to be creative with this basic info. You’ll just enter info such as: website, address, and hours you are open. Nothing exciting.
4. Now you need a profile image. Yes, you can use your logo, but if your logo is a little boring and/or corporate, I’d recommend against it. Instead, I’d choose an image that represents your company or service. It’ll make the page a little more user friendly.
5. Add apps. Apps are the best way you can show your company’s personality. I’d start with the extended info app, as this allows you to create categories ie : favorite websites, blogs, interests, travel, etc and then fill out your answers. What’s neat about this is that you can customize your categories to fit your virtual tour business and your goals. A couple that I really like are: the “You Tube Box” where you can showcase your favorite You Tube videos, the “Favorite Pages” where you can show other Facebook fan pages that you like, and “Networked Blogs“, where you can feed in your latest blog posts into your fan page.
6. Check your publishing settings. Some people may disagree with me on this, but I don’t think you should send an update to all of your fans every time you do anything on Facebook. True, that’s a good way to get your name repeatedly in front of them, but it’s also a good way to annoy them and, possibly, have them un-fan you. Again, look at your goals for the page and choose the updates that you think are most relevant to your fans. Do your fans care if you made an update to your extended info app. Probably not. What about a new event? Yes, maybe.
7. Add photos. I wouldn’t recommend doing a whole bunch of product shots, or building shots, or logos. If you want to have one “about us album” go for it. But since this is Facebook and it’s all about people and interacting, I’d recommend your pictures be people too. Whip out the camera at an event, take pictures of your employees, or pictures with your virtual tour clients. Best of all, if you are able to have an event that your fans would come to, take pictures of your fans and then tag them. It will give your fan page added value.
8. Once you’ve got all this set up, go ahead and hit “publish” (it’ll be at the very top). Keep in mind that for the page to be effective, publishing it doesn’t mean your done. You are going to want to make status updates, upkeep event info, add new images when they become available, start discussion threads, respond to people who comment on your wall, suggest your fan page to your friends, and plenty more. It’s all fun though. I promise.

Please visit my fan page: Supernova StudiosNova Scotia Virtual Tour Provider. I have “iframed” my entire www.supernovastudios.ca site. Very cool. I have also incorporated a “Welcome Page” with a call to action for new visitors.

Nancy Bain
Supernova Studios
Nova Scotia Virtual Tours
Order a virtual tour: 902-543-2185

Hey!  Don’t forget to join the Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours Fan Page to keep tabs on all that is going on here and to see new virtual tours!

Share/Bookmark

Photo Tip of the Month

Monday, March 1st, 2010


This month’s photo tip is about White Balance.  If you have ever taken a picture that turned out orange or blue or some other strange color, then you have experienced the effects of white balance.

null White balance compensates for the different colors emitted by different types of light sources and adjusting your white balance accordingly will make your pictures into powerful marketing tools.

White balance controls should be easily accessed from you camera’s menu.  If you are unsure how to get to it, consult your manual.  Here is what you need to know.  White balance controls include settings for sun, shade, overcast, incandescent light, fluorescent light, and flash.  Some cameras will include others as well, but these are the most important for real estate photography.

Chose the setting that most closely matches your light source.  If you are shooting on a sunny day, choose the sun setting; if you are shooting on an overcast day, chose overcast; etc.  Now, here’s the super secret tip: if you are shooting inside with mixed light (lamps and window light) choose the overcast setting.  This will give your images a warm and inviting look.

That’s it!  Have photo questions?  Email your pictures or questions to Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours.  You may even see your tips turn up here!

Kitchen

Share/Bookmark

Virtual Staging Has Arrived in Shreveport / Bossier City

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010


Virtual Staging has arrived in the Shreveport / Bossier City area!  New from Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours!  In today’s real estate market with more and more homes being vacant due to foreclosures virtual staging is now more in demand than ever.

Before

Before

Are you a Real Estate Agent? Are you looking for additional property marketing services to make you and your listing stand out from the crowd? If you answered yes to both of these questions then look no further. A powerful property marketing tool packing a dramatic eye-catching punch is here!

After

After

Everyone is aware of the cost of home staging.  But now, Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours in conjunction with RTV is able to offer real estate agents and FSBOs this new virtual home staging product at an extremely low price.  As low as $50.00 per room, you can turn that empty, hard to sell home into eye-catching marketing.  Contact us today to learn more about virtual staging and virtual tour options for your home!

Share/Bookmark