RISMEDIA, June 24, 2008-VHT Inc., a provider of visual marketing services, announces the launch of YourTourTM, an online video tour produced by award-winning video editors using a client’s existing visual assets. Until now, the company says that real estate professionals had only two choices to turn their photos into video: learn how to do it themselves or use an automated online tool.
With YourTour, the company says that real estate professionals upload their photographs to VHT Studios, where they are optimized according to VHT Studios’ 12-point image improvement process and then edited into a high-quality property tour. The new service will give real estate marketers a time saving, professionally-produced option to promote their properties.
“Existing do-it-yourself technologies can create video tours, but they do not match the impact and quality of the work VHT Studio professionals have created for more than 10 years,” said Brian Balduf, CEO of VHT, Inc. “We’ve had agents around the country ask if VHT Studios could work on photos that were not taken by our photographers. So, we spent considerable time building YourTour to be a service that meets VHT’s high standards for visual marketing. As a result, Realtors and brokers can now have VHT create an engaging, interactive experience with existing visual assets.”
VHT video editors use photographs supplied by the agent, and optimized by VHT Image Specialists, to weave dramatic motion and background music into a moving video presentation. Unlike automated technologies that apply random pans and zooms, and generate choppy, low-res video tours, each photograph is carefully analyzed by VHT’s video editors to ensure the best scene presentation and the best transition to the next room in the property.
“Research shows that more than 80% of real estate searches begin online,” according to Lisa Sons, senior product manager at VHT. “That is why having a compelling presentation that includes video is so important in capturing the attention of prospective buyers.”
Music for every YourTour is specially selected for each property. For additional impact, narration can be added using VHT’s professional scriptwriters and voiceover talent. Once finished, the property is then displayed and distributed in a full-featured ePostcard and can be utilized for online ads, services or listings.
“VHT video tours have been seen online and on TV for years and now they are available to everyone,” said Balduf. “More and more real estate professionals are turning to VHT to distribute their visual marketing content and ensure the integrity of their assets. We look forward to continuing to add more visual marketing products and distribution services for our clients in the coming months.”
For more information, visit www.vht.com/.