Q/A Friday: How do I add video (or the illusion of video) to my emails?

Q: I’m finally making videos and LOVING IT. But, I want my emails to look a little more compelling. How do I entice people to click on the links that I send them and watch my movies?

A: I’m so happy you’re enjoying bringing visual content to the web! However, you cannot (yet) embed a video into an email and have it be playable within that email. The good news is that there’s a simple work around to take your emails from this:

to this:
 

YOU WILL NEED:
-Microsoft Outlook
-Microsoft Paint
-Microsoft Publisher (optional)

Watch this video  for step-by-step instructions:

Q/A Friday: What are 5 things you (probably) didn’t know about Broker/Agent Admin?

Q: Ok, I’m getting the hang of the new(ish) website and Broker/Agent Admin, but there’s a lot to know! What are 5 things that I may not be aware of?
A: Excellent question! Broker/Agent Admin (sometimes referred to as the Backend/Agent Backend) is where you have control over your Agent Website, can create searches/CMAs/One-to-Ones, find company news, and more. Here are 5 things that you might not have known before:
1. YOU CAN CREATE CRAIGSLIST-READY ADS IN THE MARKETING SECTION IN MINUTES
Hopefully you are already using the Marketing section of Broker/Agent Admin to create fast and professional printable fliers. But did you know that you can take these fliers and post them to Craigslist almost instantly? To do this, just copy/paste from the HTML pop-up box… or watch the short video tutorial below:

2. YOU CAN ADD ANY LISTING FROM YOUR MLS AS A FEATURED LISTING ON YOUR HOME PAGE

If you wish to add other listings to the featured listing section of your Agent Site homepage, you first have to change a few settings:
-Log into Broker/Agent Admin and click on My Website
-Click on “Settings” from the left hand menu and select the button for MANUAL. Click the SAVE button. Click OK on the popup screen.

-Click on “Featured Listings” on the upper right. Select the button for MANUAL. Click the SAVE button. Click OK on the popup screen.
-Click on “Listings” from the left hand menu and select the button for MANUAL Click OK on the popup screen.
-Click on OTHER MLS LISTINGS (top right) and select MANUAL Click OK on the popup screen.
-Now you may add the MLS number of a property into the text box below. Click OK. NOTE: You may only add listings in the MLS(s) you have linked to your Agent Site.
-Once you add a listing, click on ACTIVATE LISTING.
-Your added listings will now appear as FEATURED on your website and in your Listings section.

IMPORTANT! Doing this will no longer automatically pull your listings from the MLS. You will need to enter the MLS number for all listings you wish to appear on your site.

3. COMPANY SUPPORT IS FULL OF USEFUL FILES AND INFORMATION
Need a logo? Transaction documents? How about a referral form or letterhead? Notes from a Social Marketing training? All this (and much more) are waiting for you in the COMPANY SUPPORT section of Broker/Agent Admin. I highly recommend you take a few minutes to browse through the various sections and familiarize yourself with the resources available.
4. YOU CAN ADD YOUR OWN DOCUMENTS AND FILES TO COMPANY SUPPORT
You can add your own documents/videos/etc into Company Support. These will only be available to you when you are logged into Broker/Agent Admin. Why would I want to do this? If you have documents that you frequently require outside of the provided documents in Company Support, you will be able to access them from any computer once you have uploaded them to Company Support.

TO UPLOAD
-Log into Broker/Agent Admin and click on COMPANY SUPPORT.
-Click CREATE MAIN CATEGORY (Upper right). Name your category and click OK.
-Your category will now appear in the left side menu. Click on your category.
-Click CREATE SUBCATEGORY and name a subcategory,
-Click on your subcategory in the left hand menu.
-You may continue to create another subcategory by clicking CREATE SUBCATEGORY again, or you may upload a file by clicking UPLOAD FILE
-TO UPLOAD A FILE: first select the type of file (Media- YouTube videos, Document, Image, or Link). Give your file a name and description. Follow the prompts provided. Acceptable file types include YouTube video URLS, PDFs, Word Documents, Excel Documents.
5. RECENT SALES ONLY PULL YOUR LISTINGS SOLD, NOT BUYER-SIDE SALES 
To add your recent buyer-side sales:
-Log into Broker/Agent Admin and click on MY WEBSITE.
-Click on RECENT SALES from the left hand menu.
-Select MANUAL.
-Click ADD RECENT SALE (upper right)
-Enter the MLS number of the sale and click RETRIEVE
-Double check the pulled information, make any necessary changes, and click SAVE at the bottom.

Q/A Friday: What are 5 things I must do to create a phenomenal video?

Q: Ok, I’m ready to jump into video creation. I got the Flip Cam (or Vado, or Kodak, or whatever) and I’ve more-or-less talked myself out of stage fright. What are 5 things I can to to make sure my video rocks?

A: First of all, I have stage fright too, and absolutely DISLIKE having to deliver something on video (you probably never would have guessed that, huh?) The key thing is to just get a video done… it might not be perfect the first time, but you gotta start somewhere! So, here are five tips to make your videos more focused, watchable, and streamlined.

1. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SAY

Please don’t be like this guy:

The first step in creating killer video- SCRIPT IT OUT! Without a guide of some kind, you’re likely to just freeze in front of the camera, or worse yet, fill the audio void with endless “Ummmm”’s and “Uhhhhh”’s while you grasp at what you want to say next. It’s also better to write out a bulleted list of key points rather than a word-for-word script. Let the words come freely, but clearly, and even if you mess up, keep control of your face. The world likely won’t know unless you tell us.

2. GET A MOVIE BUDDY
It’s bad enough that you have to think about what you’re saying and doing in front of a camera without having to think about handling it, too! Make friends with someone in your office (or a spouse, older child, etc) and agree to man the camera for each other. Even if you’re just doing a desk-chat, this will allow you to relax a little more, plus get rid of the need to trim you moving to/from the camera to start the recording.

3. IF YOU ARE MOVING THE CAMERA, SLOW THAT SUCKER DOWN!
I dare you to watch this:

Did you feel a little sick to your stomach from all the fast movement? Don’t do this to your audience! The best way to keep a camera in control is to have one focus: monitoring your movement (here’s where that movie buddy definitely comes into play!)

A few handling tips (and keep in mind, I went to film school… so you should probably listen to me here)…
-Use a tripod when possible, but make sure it’s not so tight that panning or tilting the camera is jerky.
-If you are handholding the camera, plant both your feet, center your weight, hold the camera with both hands, and if you pan or tilt, twist from the waist for the most level results.
-However slowly you are moving the camera, you could probably stand to move it a little bit slower.
-If you are going to be walking with the camera on, it’s best not to wear shoes (this will also cut down on that *CLOMPCLOMPCLOMP* sound) and keep plenty of spring in your knees and arms.

4. ANGLE IS EVERYTHING
The actual LENS of the camera should be at your eye level, and NO LOWER- I don’t need a tour of your nostrils, thank you! It’s always better to be looking down on someone/thing than up at it, a slightly angled profile almost always beats a true profile or dead-on shot. Also, you should be the focus of the video… so don’t let anything (like your hands) sit closer to the camera than your face. 

Screen-caps have been censored to protect the identity of people who are now busy making phenomenal, well-angled videos :)

*BONUS TIP!!!! Never turn your back to the camera, especially if you are walking. I’m sure you can guess why.

5. DON’T EXPECT IT TO BE PERFECT THE FIRST TIME
I can almost guarantee that any video you see online in which the delivery was perfect was not the first take. Allow yourself a few practice takes to get a feel for the words, the gestures, etc, but keep the camera rolling in case you do nail it. Let yourself relax, have a good time, and remember: at the end of the day, the most important thing is that you did it.