What not to do with your listings photos

1. Clutter/Mess

Even if you were going in for the ‘lived-in homey’ look, this might be a bit more realistic than buyers can take. After all, they don’t want to be reminded of how their current place looks; that’s the whole point of them moving out in the first place!

In seriousness though, if you don’t want your photos to just show the bare frames of a house, it is nice to have some furniture and personal artifacts to spice up the look, but never go overboard! (Think Ikea. There must be a reason they sell so much furniture.)

2. People/Pets

As cute as this looks, I’m pretty sure the price on the listing is for the house, and not for the kids/pets (even if you were trying to get rid of them).

More realistically, just a general tip to check all mirrors and reflections carefully so that no one was accidentally caught on camera. You don’t want your photo to be one of those funny ones circulating the internet. Plus, although I am a pet lover myself, it might set alarm bells ringing in some buyers’ heads if they are worried about damage from rowdier pets.

3. Dirty

I would suggest in general and in life to clean up a bit after yourself.

4. Creepy

I realize I said make it look homey, but I’m not sure dolls are the way to go since “Chucky” aired. Other decor to look out for include ‘exotic’ elements such as animal rugs/heads or overly extravagant new-age style. Remember, simple is always safe and appeals to the widest audience!

5. Blurry/Dark Lighting

All I’m going to say for this is a little more effort please. Now is not the time for you to explore a new career in artistic photography.

Minor and basic details to meet are having the objects straight and centered, the photos correctly oriented, as well as clear and focused with sufficient lighting. Another headache avoider is if your images are different sizes or different pixels. Consistency helps convince buyers that it is the same house after all.

For a bit of more realistic help, check out this Ubertor blog post here with actual (professional) tips for picture taking.

Also, we tip our hats to these Ubertor sites that have managed to take it to the next level:

• Ianwatt.ca
• Manyeelui.com
• Sothebysrealtyoakville.ca
• Lancephillips.com

And so for you Realtors out there, what are your pet peeves for listing photos?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

This week, we’d like to introduce you to a very special client of ours. Meet Manyee Lui, one of Vancouver’s most powerful Realtors and one of the most well known names in the Real Estate world. As a member of the MLS Medallion Club, you can be sure Manyee knows her way around some of Vancouver’s most prestigious Real Estate listings. If that is not enough for you, just go ahead and check out some of her active listings.

We thought we would highlight 3 features that Manyee is using on the Ubertor platform that is helping her dominate the Real Estate market.

Featuring Sold Listings

Most of us in Real Estate would think to highlight our active listings on our homepage to show our clients what we have to offer, not Manyee Lui. Infact, the strategy here is the complete opposite. By highlighting your sold listings you are showcasing to potential clients not only your accomplishments on the sellers side, but also illustrating to buyers that they’ll be working with a Real Estate powerhouse to help them find the home of their dreams. For the typical client, showcasing the your active listings is a great strategy. When you’re a powerhouse like Manyee Lui, you have a very different clientele to market to.

Using High Definition Photos

Manyee and her team are fully utilizing Ubertor’s photo tool, displaying a lot of high definition photos for her properties. You don’t have to hire a professional photographer (of course it will help) which can be a big pinch in old coin purse, but we definitely do encourage our clients to take the time to stage the property correctly and take clean, bright photos of each room. Remember when a client is behind the computer and searching for a home, they are picturing themselves sitting and living in that home. By taking a lot of photos of every corner, you are helping the client build that mental image.

Adding a Bilingual Aspect 

And last but certainly not least, we would like to commend Manyee Lui for using both simplified and traditional Chinese to cater to the sizeable investment of Chinese buyers in the Vancouver market. Ubertor’s websites support numerous languages and if you are focusing on a certain target market such as Chinese, Arabic, Russian or German buyers, we definitely encourage you to contact us and have your website to work for your clients.

We tip our hats to Manyee Lui and her team for building an awesome website on the Ubertor platform.

As always if you have any questions, feel free to contact our team. We’re always happy to help.

Social Media:

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google + and there are many more! These are currently the most commonly used social media sites and they will get you noticed – we promise! So if you don’t already have an account with at least one of the above sites, then it’s time to get signed up.

Ah you might say, but what a pain I have to update all my different sites individually, yuck and time consuming! Well with your Ubertor Website you can link your site to your chosen social media network or networks and any updates you make on your Ubertor Website – IE. listings and blogs, will be automatically available on your chosen social networking sites for your friends, clients and potential clients to see, like and share (if interesting enough).

Think FREE social advertising, and marketing. Simple and very effective… So are you signed up yet?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

• Keep your content interesting and updated, especially your title tags. Choose different keywords for different pages. Choose keywords that accurately describe your business but don’t narrow the search too much. Most people will type in general words when doing a search on Google.
• A great way to improve your SEO is to add external links to your webpage, this will help you to give extra information to your clients and make them feel good that you offered them a link to that information. This simple addition to your site, will raise your SEO and also bring clients back as they know you genuinely want to help them.
• You can monitor your progress with your SEO on Google Analytics. You can find out how many customers you’re attracting, how much you’re selling and how users are engaging with your site(s).

Design and Layout:

Blogging:

This is where you show the world you are an expert at what you do. Blogging gives you the stage to build your brand and establish you as an expert in your field.

It gives you the opportunity to:

• Add the human aspect to your website. Sure you can have a biography page, but your blog is where you can be you.
• Be creative. You can write about anything, and show the world what you really think about any given topic.
• Help the SEO of your website. Want to be found for a specific search term? Try blogging about that topic and see what happens.

Utilize The Tools of the Listing Module:

With the listing module you’re able to:

• Display stunning HD photos using the Ken Burns effect.
• Google map your property.
• Add Walk Score to your property
• Attach any associated files.
• Add virtual tours.
• Add video.
• Add an MP3.
• Create a unique domain name that will automatically redirect to the property.
• Generate a QR Code for the property.

It was an interesting trip, I pulled into Gary’s office downtown Drumheller where he gave me the tour of his office and then we jumped into his truck and I tagged along with him for a couple meetings. We met with an investor interested in buying a 12 unit building there (that we toured), as well as a developer who was building a new neighbourhood of a half a dozen houses or so. Then, we took off to visit Gary’s farm.

Gary had to spray the fields and took me along for a ride on the tractor. I shot some video while standing carefully outside the cab on the edge of the walkway. Check out the video below as Gary gives me a little education on the tractor and what he is doing, as well as how he deals with his real estate clients while he is working on the farm.

It is a great example of how todays technology is changing how business is done. Gary, in the middle of his farm, outside of Drumheller, and can be completely in touch with his clients, including dealing with paperwork all through his iPad. Check it out:

This marketing idea has created a conversation. I spoke at a Century 21 event the other day and asked who has heard about the 72 hour open house and everyone in the room raised their hands. That’s awesome.

I spoke with developer friends of mine and he saw the coverage in the media. Again, awesome.

The point of this marketing effort is all about doing something different. If all of your colleagues are doing the same thing, then you should step out and do something else. You will get noticed.

Search “Kye Grace” in Google Blog search – right now, there are 377 blogs writing about him.

In response to some of the feedback that Kye received from myself and two other sources, he decided to shoot a quick video to answer the critics:

Again, a great use of video, where you get to see and hear Kye explain his position and his thoughts. There is no interpretation needed, as you hear it from his mouth directly through his use of online video.

On a side note, I received another video from Kye, speaking to me directly to thank me for the idea and the Ubertor team for their help. No thanks needed, an idea is just an idea if it is left on the shelf. Kye took a marketing idea and totally ran with it. He got sponsors, press coverage and massive support from the internet. He deserves all credit for the success of the 72 Hour Open House. Implementation of an idea is the most important part!

Congrats Kye.

hat tip: Kelly for shooting the video