They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's the case, video of your home is worth 1.8 million words, according to new marketing research.

Why should you use video when selling your home? Because short video – sharable on social media – can help boost your exposure tremendously and help you sell your home. I like to tell people, "Video doesn't sell your home; it sells your home better."

Let me explain.

Like it or not, emotions rule our decision-making. A well-done video can put buyers smack into your home's "story," be it ultra-modern, cozy, luxurious, or historic, to name a few vibes. Video can help create an emotional attachment for the buyers, much like Hallmark ads or McDonald's' "I'm lovin' it." These examples connect their product with their audience on a deeper, more meaningful level by striving to fill a need: More joy. A few well crafted statements with music and sightly footage will create a marketing piece you can showcase and others will share. And it shouldn't cost you much (if anything) as a seller when you list your home with an agent who uses video in his/her marketing plan.

As the seller, you can ask for it. Here are three reasons why you should:

Video tells the story of your home in a dynamic way. If you're a buyer, would you rather read in the comment section, "This home has an 80-year-old rose bush," or would you like to see the owner pruning the bush and discussing the care he's taken in the lovely garden (that could belong to you someday)? Granted, most owners don't like to appear on video. But despite the bother of it, they see the benefit.

"I don't ever want to be on video, but if it helps sell my home, I'm in," said Heather, whose short home-selling video for her Derry Township home racked up over 700 views in a week. Which takes us to our next point:

Video boosts online exposure. Statistics show that links to pages with embedded video get 157 percent more organic search results than homes without it.

Mark Scheetz, Creative Director for Mile 6, a creative design and strategy company in Elizabethtown, understands the power of multi-media.

"People consume information now through video, plain and simple," Mark says. "That's what we are used to. We're not necessarily going to read everything on a website but we are going to watch a short video. The days of disseminating information through long paragraph descriptions and lots of bullet points are gone." This goes for home selling, too.

With video, buyers can tour before the tour. We are still operating under strange circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring, home visits were a no-go. Now we as real estate agents are free to tour folks through homes, but some buyers are leery to do so. A short, well-done video tour of your home can attract buyers and help them see details of you homes' features, online.

Video may have killed the radio star, but it may also sell your home.

For a few examples of local real estate videos, visit www.eileenvoylesrealtor.com.

https://news.thesunontheweb.com/articles/the-real-scene-20/