Are You Leaving Money on the Table?
Back in 2010 Miss Emily Peck, published “A Picture Is Worth $1,000 or More.” Where she makes the case for professional photography for your real estate listings. Interestingly she makes the point that successful Realtors who routinely use professional photography have known all along: Homes sell faster and at a better price with professional photography. Our clients tell us every day the impact we have on their ability to quickly turn over a listing.
Not surprisingly, listings with better photos command higher asking prices: If you believe your home is worth the investment of good photography, you'll probably ask more money for it. The surprising part is that the tactic works. At the closing table, listings with nicer photos gain anywhere between $934 and $116,076–as measured by the difference between asking and final price–over listings using photos from point-and-click cameras....
We are readdressing this topic because time has proven a few things:
- The internet never forgets
- Your image is your brand
- Market to your next client now
11 years have proven that your images and web presence make a lasting impact to how you are perceived on the web. Case in point: Miss Emily’s article is still accessible on the Wall Street Journal. Its content is still relevant today with the exception of a few camera references.
But the long-term ramification of her post is what’s most interesting: Its one component of her web legacy- Miss Emily's body of work is freely accessible on the web. Think of it as digital footprint. We can see from Miss Emily’s post, even though she is moved on to better things, her work is still visible today by executing a simple on-line search.
As a realtor, you have an extremely large and in some cases massive footprint. Every property you list is syndicated nationally and accessible to anyone in the world with internet access. Those photos, and your name are visible on the web for years building your brand image and footprint. Your digital footprint composes the picture of who you are establishing your brand image.
10 years ago, we asked if you were making the right choices to maximize the sale price of a home to help your clients. Today, you need to consider the long-term impact images have on branding and web legacy. Buyers and sellers look start looking for homes, products and services online and are more likely to think about working with you they like what they see on the web.
Every day we contribute to the image of who we are online. Leverage the web to build a brand that invites clients to work with you.