Rose blazes new media trail

The art of selling real estate has always included a bit of showmanship, but Aaron Rose and a few other local Realtors are taking their pitches to a new level by producing videos of homes they’re listing.

National statistics show that most potential homebuyers begin their searches via the Internet. Yet only 1 percent of Missouri Realtors take full advantage of this powerful e-marketing tool.

For some area real-estate agents and businesses, this communication gap provides enormous growth potential.

Rose, a broker/salesman for RE/MAX Boone Realty, is among the rare Realtors in Missouri who embrace the emerging trends in Internet marketing. Rose is producing and posting videos of his listings and himself on multiple Web sites, not just those designed for real estate sales.

Mark Scalise teaches technology skills courses for real estate agents

Mark Scalise, a real estate agent who also teaches courses in “sharpening e-skills” for Realtors, confirms that few agents take advantage of the video opportunities afforded by the Internet. According to Scalise, only 400 of the more than 27,000 Realtors across the state include a video on real estate Web sites. In Columbia, the percentage is a little higher, with about 40 out of 650 Columbia Realtors using some sort of Web site video presence.

Aaron Rose says, however, that virtual tours and slide shows—not professional, high-quality videos—are included in that number. On Nov. 1, the Multi-List System (MLS) hosted by the Columbia Board of Realtors began offering embedded videos on its Web site listings. Two weeks later, Rose is still the only Realtor to have taken advantage of the video option.

Rose began producing videos in August. “The first were fairly simple,” he said. “It was me, my guy and a camera.” By October, Rose and his videographer and longtime friend, Alex Aslanidis, had upgraded equipment, adding better lighting, music and voice-over narration to the three- to four- minute videos.

But Rose didn’t stop there. He not only put his sales videos on his own Web site (www.goarose.com) and traditional real estate Web sites, but he also posted his videos on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and ActiveRain. Rose says that only he and three other Columbia Realtors currently have a presence on YouTube.

The videos showcase not only Rose’s listings but his personality.

“Utilizing every tool possible is critical, especially when those tools are free,” Rose said.

According to Rose, his videos are unlike the traditional virtual tours. “Virtual tours are effective, but they don’t give an agent a chance to get his personality in there,” he said.

The videos allow potential homebuyers to prescreen listings.

“It increases efficiency, because I’m not driving buyers around to homes they’ve already eliminated from viewing the videos,” Rose said.

The cost to produce a quality video is about $150 to $200, but there is no fee to post the videos on YouTube, Facebook or MySpace.

“The home seller is getting an advantage over old school Realtors who rely only on MLS and print advertising,” Rose said.

Rose makes videos for all of his listings, including starter homes and homes priced under $100,000, as long as sellers agree to the video.

He removes sales videos from the various Web sites once a home is under contract. For security and privacy reasons, Rose said, he is careful during filming to avoid items like gun cabinets, expensive electronics or family memorabilia.

“Making the videos timeless is also crucial,” Rose said. For that reason, he doesn’t include facts that might change, like sales price or the length of time a listing has been on the market. He can adjust those items in the text that accompanies each video listing on the Web sites.

Aslanidis, who also is a co-owner of G & D Steakhouse, has been dabbling in videography for years, mainly videoing family events and graduations.

Rose said Aslanidis was instrumental in creating the videos. Aslanidis said Rose’s gregarious personality and lack of intimidation in front of the camera helped create a successful finished product.

“There’s a difference between using cool effects, narration and music, which is what Alex and I do, and just setting a camera on a tripod, stepping back two steps and saying a few words,” Rose said.

Unlike still images, primarily used in virtual tours, videos give a more accurate representation of the property.

“We can do a panoramic view of the backyard from the deck, and when you see it, you’ll know what the backyard really looks like,” Rose said.

Since posting Rose’s videos, Aslanidis has launched a new videography company, Creative Motion, and has begun work on producing videos for other interested Columbia Realtors.

“I have to tell you, when we thought of the potential for these ideas, I got butterflies in my stomach,” Aslanidis said. “It makes so much sense. I feel like in two or three years, everybody’s going to be doing videos.”

In addition to Rose and Aslanidis, another Columbia resident sees the upside of using videos to sell properties.

Scalise, the real-estate educator, says he thinks videos can give real-estate agents a competitive advantage.

“There are 1500 listings on a Web site called Realtor.com,” Scalise said. “One of the search options is to click on video. Only 11 listings have that option. You can bet that’s where I want to be.”

Scalise, who has been involved in the real-estate business since 1989, has spent about 80 percent of his time teaching real-estate courses and 20 percent selling homes. Tired of travel, Scalise has recently reversed those numbers and is now focusing more energy on home sales.

He has recently hired a professional videographer and is in the process of producing videos similar to those used by Rose.

“It’s cost efficient and pretty easy to do,” Scalise said. “Even if you spend $500 a year producing videos, that’s the same price for two newspaper ads.”

An agent for Re-Max Boone Realty, Scalise says that over the years he has seen some changes in Internet marketing, but finds many Realtors reluctant.

“The younger agents are jumping into it, but the older Realtors are not going to fool with it,” he said.