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The pitch
Wall Street analysts having been fretting a bit lately about GoPro’s stock price. The concern isn’t about the action camera’s quality, company management or some esoteric economic situation in a country that manufactures a chip of some kind.
Wall Street is worried about GoPro because getting footage from the camera to computer screens apparently isn’t as easy as filming a double backflip gap huck on a snowboard.
The point is, just having a high-tech camera in a small package isn’t enough to satisfy stockholders. You have to have actual footage. And it has to reach the ‘Net.
Even buttoned-up stock analysts know that video is what sells the GoPro, and that online video is a proven money maker. So why aren’t more real estate agents using it?
The sale
HouseLens is a video production company focused on real estate. They don’t have an app or a Web-based editor. They just make really nice videos for homes, agents and brokerages.
I had to give the idea of reviewing the company considerable thought because just how much “tech” am I reviewing?
I’ve reviewed companies in this milieu before, like EzFlix and Studeo, but they had custom software. However, the purpose of each company is to provide agents with professional, marketable and Web-worthy marketing collateral. Held against that backdrop, HouseLens is as good it gets.
Sure, you’re not shooting the footage with your phone or tapping together images for a slideshow, but you are receiving a compelling, powerful way to sell a home. So that’s why I’m telling you about HouseLens.
The company can do a number of video projects for you, but focuses heavily on listing walk-throughs. If I were hiring them, I’d hold their hot shoe to the fire when it comes to the music, because the stock library they license rights to is way too stock.
Outside of the dental office soundtracks, it’s clear that they’re shooting on Steadicams, or some iteration of one. In case you’re curious, that’s what makes the walk-through look like a float-through. They take good angles on each room, make sure the most compelling features make the frame and even use nice establishing exteriors to really sell the “walk-up” impact that sellers need to earn an offer.
Video portability is made very easy today, and it helps give video an exceptional marketing shelf life. A listing video can be by itself on YouTube or Vimeo, integrated with one-page listing sites and shared on other social media channels.
However, HouseLens has taken a proactive step in helping you share video content by partnering with Emma, a growing email marketing provider with a heavy bias toward mobile content readers.
The relationship provides specialized pricing, as well as quick access to your HouseLens videos that are formatted for email sharing. It’s a smart way for the company to ensure you get your content viewed (take a hint, GoPro) and an even smarter decision by you to share it.
HouseLens also offers video for individual agent bios and longer commercials to offer insight into your office.
You could also choose to engage HouseLens for its 3-D tours via Matterport technology. My opinion is these sweeping home visuals simply don’t offer the impact of actual video. They look cool and are fun for about 45 seconds until you realize it’s more nefarious than informative to steer a virtual camera around someone’s master bedroom. To each his own.
HouseLens clearly employs an experienced media production team. From photographers to editors, the samples I’ve seen are top-notch. And for what it’s worth, I’ve worked in television and film production; I have a decent grasp of what constitutes a watchable, worthwhile story.
Creative agents could engage HouseLens to capture company events, customer testimonials, how-to videos, monthly video market reports and a host of well-done, shareable marketing content. Your options are many.
HouseLens also provides HDR (high dynamic range) photography services. High dynamic range is a camera advancement that enables the capture of a greater depth of light range, meaning the brights are brighter and darks darker, and very fine details are revealed. You might think an HDR photo has had some sort of filter applied.
The close
I find it funny that on a customer testimonial video for HouseLens, the participants describe it as “full motion video” and “virtual home tours.” Let’s cease the Web-catchy euphemisms and call it what it is: a video of a house.
I suppose the buzzwords serve only to make the buying decision more palatable to those who would rather invest in “Internet Content Marketing” than professional video.
Regardless of what you call it, when done with creativity and skill, and shared within the greater context of marketing a listing, video is very effective and highly flexible. And HouseLens does a great job making them.
Do you use HouseLens? What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know!
Do you have a product for our tech expert to review? Email Craig Rowe.