A recent Realtor.com statistic shows that 61 percent of buyers think a virtual home tour is helpful when deciding to buy a home. A university study in the United States also found that properties with video tours created through real estate video editing sold at prices about 2 percent to 3 percent higher than those that didn’t. In Australia, a study found that homes with virtual tours received 80 percent more inquiries than those without the tours.
Clearly, real estate video is an important marketing tool. However, real estate agencies are better off outsourcing real estate video editing for several reasons.
Outsourcing Matches People With Their Specialty
Real estate video editing is a specialized, professional skill. Most real estate agents lack these skills. General marketing team members may know a little about editing videos, but it’s not their primary expertise.
In the best of real estate worlds, such as in a real estate utopia, you want your team members to perform the tasks they’re best at. You’ll get the best work that way. Team members will be at their most productive. You’ll also make your team members ecstatic when they do only the things they excel at. If they’re ecstatic, they want to stay with you instead of going to your competitor. They’ll also keep performing optimally. Outsourcing your video editing allows you to keep your in-house staff working on tasks within their specialty.
Professional Real Estate Video Editors Can Make Your Properties Shine
Professional real estate video editors know how to capture the attention of potential buyers. They also know how to make the property look its best. For example, they can remove unwanted background objects, dim lighting for special effects, and animate call-out features to explain property highlights. Or, they can superimpose architectural drawings over location footage, highlight the location on maps, and select just the right music. They can produce just the right intro to pique customer interest!
Outsourcing is Cost Efficient
Unless you’re a vast real estate agency, you probably don’t have enough real estate video editing work to keep a full-time employee busy. Hiring a part-time worker is always tricky because good part-time help is hard to find. You’ll also have to pay overhead such as social taxes, holidays, and pensions if you have in-house staff. Scaling up or down for seasonal workloads is also difficult with an in-house team.
Outsourcing, however, allows you to contract for as much or as little time as you need. You’ll pay only for the time in your contract. You’ll avoid the overhead. And, you’ll be able to scale up or down as your workload goes up or down.
A Real Estate Virtual Assistant Can Be the Best Option
Once you’ve decided to outsource, you could try to contract with a local video editor. You’d run advertisements on freelancer websites and social media. Then you’d look through the resumes, interview potential contractors, and select one. Finding one with real estate expertise may be difficult, depending upon your location. Training a video editor who lacks real estate expertise will require considerable time.
Also, even though using a freelancer gives you more scalability than a staff member, you’re still limited by the amount of work the contractor you choose can take on. You might need them to edit more videos, but their schedule may be full. Imagine being right in the middle of the peak sales season and not being able to get your videos edited quickly enough!
A more flexible option is choosing a real estate virtual assistant affiliated with a company specialising in real estate. The company will vet applicants and present them to you to interview. You won’t have to train them in the real estate industry; they’ll already have that knowledge. And, if you need additional help, the company will be able to find you another editor who can quickly take up the slack.
If you choose an offshore virtual real estate solutions company, you’ll likely save some money too. Real estate virtual assistants in the Philippines are keen to develop working relationships with clients in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. They speak English, and they are willing to work at hours that are convenient to clients, even if it’s 4 a.m. in their location. The cost of living in the Philippines is much lower than in other countries, so wages are lower.
Key Takeaway
A virtual assistant specializing in real estate video editing can be a cost-effective way to increase your business and profits.
