We love WordPress without question, but we’ve made a recent change to our Visual Alliance Media blog location.
Although this blog will remain intact and may even be updated from time-to-time, we can now be found at:
Come check it out, we love feedback and we love to hear what you want to see more of. See you there.
Since our original focus when we started Visual Alliance Media was to provide true motion real estate video tours, I found it fitting to share an article entitled Florida Real Estate Pros Lose Confidence.
I’m not sharing it to bring additional bad news to anyone or state anything other than what is obvious. But it seems that reality is finally setting in and quite frankly, we have to understand what we’re dealing with so we can begin to take steps to correct it.
Florida real estate is experiencing a sink in confidence not seen in over 30 years. If the pros are starting to feel the burn , then it’s probably time that we all work together to see what we can do to bring a solution to the table.
As we continue to research and expand our network, we’ll update on the things that are being done in a positive manner to ‘stop the bleeding’.
Yesterday was certainly a milestone in American history. Millions of people connected in one form or another to the inauguration of our 44th President and proved once again that as a country, we have an unbreakable spirit.
We’ve been spending countless hours working together to chart our course for 2009. One theme that is continuously repeated is, what can we do to contribute in a positive manner to what has been tagged as one of the worst periods in our nation’s economic history.
So many of our fellow citizens are being faced with challenges that seem almost insurmountable and it’s difficult to look at the challenge objectively to find a solution. So, we thought we would share a mantra that we’re using to help develop a solution.
That is, how can we tailor what we’re good at to be useful to others. This is definitely the time to look inward at all of our ‘value-adds’ and share in reestablishing the ‘good times’.
Our Director of Video/Photography put it nicely when he sent me this email:
“If you sit back and do NOTHING, you reduce the possibility of achieving EVERYTHING”
In an interesting turn of events, Century 21 recently announced that they will stop running national television advertisements and begin a migration toward online advertising.
Why does this matter to anyone aside from Century 21 brokers, agents, and customers?
Century 21 sees online advertising as a viable marketing method to not only increase lead generation, but do so with a lower cost per lead.
The actual costs to produce and stream an online video are far less expensive than that of television. Other businesses who are ‘redesigning’ in 2009 should certainly evaluate whether online advertising is a viable opportunity for them.
With all of the depressing news hitting from every angle these days, we’ve found a bright spot in Twitter. If you haven’t done your first ‘tweet’, you may want to consider it.
With only 140 characters to deliver your message, it cuts through all the garbage that nobody wants to hear and forces you to state your purpose rather succinctly.
If you’d like to learn a little more about it, we have some resources here to help guide you through the process.
Even better, follow us on Twitter: visualalliance
Adding web video to your online advertising strategy could provide a boost in interest for the product or service that you’re offering.
Due to the increasing popularity of web video, there are many options available for nearly any budget ranging from d-i-y to professional video production companies.
Whichever method is chosen, adding video to your online advertising strategy may indeed help your business reach an audience that may have been previously unattainable.
Professional video production companies such as ours welcome the opportunity to work with business owners to come up with a strategy that both fits their budget constraints and delivers a powerful message to the consumer.
Some types of businesses that are already benefiting by harnessing the power of web video:
Realtors
Attorneys
Specialized Training Schools (e.g. martial arts)
Spas/MediSpas
Dental/Doctor Offices
Restaurants
And the list goes on…
Wishing all of you a happy and healthy holiday season!
Visual Alliance Media
We had the pleasure of being a part of 3 separate events last night including a photo shoot for a local chamber, a grand opening of a phenomenal spa and a holiday mixer for a local gallery. All 3 were fantastic events.
In speaking with one of the owners of the spa, we had the opportunity to discuss what she felt sets them apart.
It’s one of those premises that we believe in as well – relationship building.
In a time where it seems that the only news we’re being fed on a daily basis is somewhat depressing, what’s keeping many of us going is the positive relationships that we spend our time to build.
This goes well beyond having the best price, it’s about making people feel good about doing business with you so that they want to continue to do business with you.
A valuable lesson that we can all work on during a time when it’s needed most.
With the economy the way that it is, many of us have had to look within to come up with innovative ways to operate our businesses efficiently without losing a shred of quality.
Small employers with no hopes of any federal bailout help are no doubt learning the fact that staying afloat is an individual responsibility.
While navigating our course, we’ve learned a very interesting lesson . That lesson is, sometimes you just have to ask. Ask what? Ask whether there is anything you can do with a current situation to make it fit the reality.
For example, with the changes in consumer spending, we’ve recently had to begin to look to credit for certain operational aspects of our business. One of our credit card interest rates had risen dramatically to the point that paying the minimum payment was an exercise in futility.
We called the credit card company, expressed our interest in working with them to come up with a more reasonable plan and lo and behold, they said that since we’ve been a good customer for so long and always paid our bills on time, that they would be willing to lower our interest rate by 2 percentage points.
While it wasn’t a huge, dramatic change, it certainly helped. Although this may not work with every bank, we learned the valuable lesson that it’s certainly worth a shot to ask.
The point of all of this is simple. In our industry (video production, photography, mobile marketing), many times, potential clients assume that the cost to utilize our services is out of their price range. Admittedly, professional services can at times be expensive.
But what would happen if you just asked?
You may be surprised to find that if you’re willing to discuss your true budget, some companies, including ours, may be able to tailor a product that meets your criteria. It’s very simple. If we provide you with a proposal for $1,000 and your budget is $700, then give us the opportunity to go back to the table, see what we can remove or rework and meet your number.
If you’re in the market for any type of service, don’t sell yourself short by assuming that it’s out of your price range. The rules of the game have changed, so don’t be afraid to ask.
Because you never know what would happen if…
Just another example of the effectiveness of true motion video in the marketing of real estate.
This particular video is one of our favorites because it was shot on the day that Tropical Storm Fay was making a beeline for Tampa. We were under a Hurricane Warning at this point, but it was business as usual.
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