Panorama Jack & RTV Virtual Tour Providers

Title:   The IMAGE - Great Exposures II
Date:  Tuesday,  August 31st, 2010
Time:  7:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT

Back by popular demand!

Great Exposures, the IMAGE webinar episode from June 2010, was a really popular topic because we all want to take beautiful pictures.  Being successful in the photography business depends largely on the quality of our work. The ability to land higher dollar jobs ($$$$) requires great photography. 

In the previous Great Exposures webinar we discussed camera settings and methods for using the flash to help capture images with great exposures.  This month we are going to continue exploring the topic of great exposures.  We will discuss software and methods to enhance and create beautiful exposures from the pictures we have taken.

If you were unable to attend the IMAGE webinar - Great Exposures in June you can view the recorded version of this webinar by logging into the marketing website, click on the BRC button at the top of the page for the Business Resource Center, and click on The IMAGE button on the left hand.  You will find a list of all the previous IMAGE webinars there with a download link for each one.

Sign up for the next episode of THE IMAGE



Join us Tuesday Night August 31st, 2010 at 7pm EDT and find out what great exposures can do for you.

The benefits of an HD slideshow are limitless. This week we are doing a virtual tour of a dental office. The slideshow will be used to introduce the staff. Car dealerships could also benefit by showcasing vehicles on a slideshow. A chamber of commerce might want to showcase businesses in town through still photographs. A furniture store could use this as an internet "flyer" for special sales events. Product lines could be shown for any manufacturing company. The list of applications for this new slidehshow are limitless. What new income streams will you open up using the new Standalone HD Slideshow Module?

NE Mississippi Virtual Tours appreciates the continued support from RTV.


Hugh Jordan
Owner
See it Sell Studios
Corinth Virtual Tours
www.seeitsellstudios.com
Order a virtual tour: 662-664-0965

Louisville, Kentucky August 11, 2010— Powerhouse Tours, a provider Louisville, Kentucky virtual tours and property marketing services is proud to announce the addition of High Definition Slideshows to its line-up of online property marketing tools.. The addition of HD Slideshows to Powerhouse's services will allow their current and future clients to have a competitive edge in marketing their property listings and businesses utilizing these advanced tools in the Northern Kentucky and Southern Indiana areas.

Sample a new Powerhouse Tours HD Slideshow:
http://rtvpix.com/slideshow/1982

Melanie Powers, Owner of Powerhouse Tours stated: "We are excited to be able to offer this new service to our clients. Our HD Slideshow is certainly first in class. It is built using the very latest flash based engine; it loads at impressive speeds, and displays full screen HD images with grace and elegance. With the ever growing demand for professional photography, the need to have those photos displayed in a unique and impressive format has never been greater."

Since 2007, Powerhouse Tours has continually led the way with marketing implementations such as Real Tour Vision proprietary interactive software, PanoRiders, single property websites, on-demand Virtual Tour Traffic Reporting 2.0, and much more. For more information call 502-655-7316 or email powerhousetours@yahoo.com .Those interested in sampling this new technology are encouraged to visit their website for more information at www.powerhouse-tours.com.

Contact:
Melanie Powers
Louisville Virtual Tours
Powerhouse Tours
Owner/Photographer
Order a virtual tour: 502-655-7316

Are you currently using the RTV TxT Connect System? Have you been thinking about offering a mobile marketing system for your property marketing company? Please join us on August 24th at 7:00 Eastern as John and Brian from Txt2Look.com roll out their new mobile Realtor websites to the RTV dealer network.

In addition to the lead generation service for agents they're expanding the product offering to also cover mobile agent websites. These mobile sites will be made available for resale to all RTV Dealers participating in the program. 

This is a great opportunity for RTV dealers using the program and looking for an exciting feature to talk about.  For those who have not yet signed up for the RTV TXT Connect system, this is an excellent way for you to keep a leg up on the competition and expand your product line.

All participating RTV dealers will be able to offer their customers something that agents are already starting to express an interest in...A Mobile Website.  The best part about this product is that these mobile websites also generate leads for the agents and brokerage!!

These new mobile agent sites are easier than a TxT Connect Listing to setup, display an agents ENTIRE listing inventory and, unlike before, these mobile websites run off of ONE SIMPLE CODE!

We all know that sooner or later, every Realtor who has a web site will also need a mobile site ( a mobile site is formatted to display and function properly on any smart phone) so take advantage of this opportunity to be the first in your town to offer this amazing new product from our friends at TxT2Look!

See you on the show!

Sign up now: https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/362561291

Jason

http://twitter.com/BlueLaVaMedia
http://facebook.com/VirtualTourGuru

After reviewing Jason Lavanture’s Formula webinar on exposure package I felt that I could offer a few areas where my fellow virtual tour providers could increase their productivity and lower their cost of operation in the area of managing customers and delivery of features in their virtual tours.

I have recently spent considerable time reviewing the Craigslist Software that Jason LaVanture suggested in his Formula13 webinar dated on 9/15/09. The Craigslist Software now offers a scheduling software addition to their product. For $100 you can schedule your Craigslist Software distributions and forget about them! But WAIT! It’s not that easy. This Craigslist Software also has several new modules that can add significant time savings but at what cost? I researched this further and found out, with some helpful guidance from Jason, that a scheduler isn’t the only tool that is needed to fully automate this process. On first pass this seemed like it would be a great thing but then I realized that there were quite a few additional considerations that changed the picture.

In order to automate the process the captchas have to be automated. Captchas are the distorted letter images that you see on a lot of websites today. These are the ones that you have to type into a page to prove that you are a person rather than an automated process. Automating this process turns out to be VERY expensive. This Craigslist Software will ask you to purchase an additional module for captchas that turns out to be nothing more that a software interface between this particular software and another internet service called Captcha King. Captcha King charges a monthly fee that starts at $39.95 per month for up to 1000 captchas. They claim that they work about 95% of the time.

After I sent a follow up email to the developer of the CL software, he advised me to look at the auto-reposting software which was another $100 addition to the license. As I dugg into this tool I found that I still needed the scheduler and the captcha tool but would probably also need the auto-reposter. The auto-post tool opened the door to the need for IP spoofing software to emulate different IP addresses and another $100. HOLY cow!! As it turns out, you really need to spend well in excess of $500 to get a solution that can be automated on Craigslist. It was not the right answer for me. The developer and I exchanged several emails but he would not speak with me. I find it disturbing that a software plan that can range up to $500+ per license doesn’t offer more adequate support nor is he customer friendly. My internet search for alternative solutions found credible solutions ranging from $400 to well over $1000. This was simply way too much for my virtual tour business so I turned to other options.

If you are using an Excel spreadsheet to manage your follow on postings and don’t use Craigslist Software or don’t want to spend the money on it you should consider using Outlook to schedule a reminder. Simply send yourself an email then right click on the email, then select follow up from the menu. The rest should be self explanatory. You can even tag all these emails with a particular color flag so you know all these follow ups are related to Exposure Engine follow up! For years now top salespeople have used Outlook to manage events and many of you are probably doing some of this already today.

Another internet service I use is a database called Batchbooks. This is a remarkable database that has a limited free option that will work for many of the users that just want to track name address and phone number information however for $10 a month you get a very customizable database that is extraordinarily easy to use. One of the real values to this database is their integration with social networking sites. Today they support Linked in and Twitter but that will be expanding to other social sites. They even have a searcn feature that will help you find Linked in or Twitter feeds that your customer supports! What a great way to keep up on your virtual tour contacts. Just look at your database!

Another software that I use is a free software called PhotoStage Slideshow. This software makes a video unbelievably easy and manages any descriptions and movement within the picture very well. Best of all, it’s FREE!. Originally I had some problems with pixilation in the final product. I found that simply reducing the size of the image to start with from an 8mp image to images in line with what we do in our business solved this problem fabulously! I can visualize the whole tour from the interface and easily and visually make changes to the tour to align images with music or just to see all the details of the show in one place.

Finally, I researched where the feeds for Postlet go and found that when Postlets post to Trulia, they forward the Postlets E-Flyer out to 200+ newspaper and magazine websites! This is an unbelievable amount of exposure for both you and your agent from both the perspective of property exposure and SEO exposure. Don’t miss selling an exposure package to all of your clients. Neither you nor your customer can afford not to have this exposure!

Exposure Elements is an internet property marketing organization located in the Silicon Valley of Northern California. We specialize in virtual tour production, sms mobile marketing, as well as print and internet distribution services. All of our tours feature full screen, high definition photography no matter what screen size you have! Visit us on our website to learn more about us and how we can help your business or property or give me a call today!

Exposure Elements
www.exposureelements.com
Silicon Valley Virtual Tours
Owner Stan Davis
Order a virtual tour: 408-431-0461

DragonFly 360, an Alburquerque Virtual Tour Company Announces High Definition Slide Show Service


Albuquerque, NM August 10, 2010 - DragonFly 360 Imaging , a producer of Albuquerque Virtual Tours as well as property marketing services  is proud to announce the addition of High Definition Slide Shows  to its line-up of on-line marketing tools. The addition of HD Slide Shows to DragonFly 360 Imaging’s current services will allow their current and future clients to have the competitive edge in marketing their property listings and businesses utilizing these advanced marketing tools in the Albuquerque-Rio Rancho area.

Dale Hart, Owner of DragonFly 360 Imaging stated: “We are excited to be able to offer this new service to our clients. Our HD Slide Show is certainly first in class. It is built using the very latest flash based engine; it loads at impressively timely speeds, and displays full screen HD images with grace and elegance. With the ever growing demand for professional photography, the need to have those photos displayed in a uniquely impressive format has never been greater. The addition of HD Slide Shows to our already powerful line-up of marketing tools will give our clients the competitive edge they need in this tough market.”

Sample a new DragonFly 360 Imaging HD Slide Show:
http://rtvpix.com/slideshow/1257

Since mid 2008, DragonFly 360 Imaging has continually led the way in their market producing Albuquerque 360 Virtual Tours with other marketing implementations such as interactive HD virtual tours, virtual staging, panoramic listing sign riders, single property websites, listing syndication, mobile TXT marketing, virtual tour traffic reporting  and social networking training. For more information call 505-962-2207 email Dale AT DragonFly360Imaging DOT com or visit their website  at  http://www. DragonFly360Imaging.com . Those interested in sampling this new technology with DragonFly 360 Imaging are encouraged to visit their website for more information.

About DragonFly 360 Imaging
DragonFly 360 Imaging is a locally owned Albuquerque virtual tour company with Dale Hart at the helm. Dale Hart has nearly 30 years of professional photography experience. He has completed hundreds of commercial assignments for major companies in the NYC area and over 1500 Virtual Tours in NYC and Albuquerque in the past 6 years.

Dale Hart
Owner
DragonFly 360 Imaging
Order a virtual tour today: 505-962-2207

Traverse City, MI August 4, 2010 — BlueLaVaMedia, a provider of Traverse City virtual tours and property marketing services is proud to announce the addition of High Definition Slideshows to its line-up of online property marketing tools. The addition of HD Slideshows to BlueLaVaMedia’s current services will allow their current and future clients to have the competitive edge in marketing their property listings and businesses utilizing these advanced marketing tools in the Traverse City and Northern Michigan area.

Jason LaVanture, Owner of BlueLaVaMedia stated: “We are excited to be able to offer this new service to our clients. Our HD Slideshow is certainly first in class. It is built using the very latest flash based engine; it loads at impressively timely speeds, and displays full screen HD images with grace and elegance. With the ever growing demand for professional photography the need to have those photos displayed in a uniquely impressive format has never been greater.”

Sample a new BlueLaVaMedia HD Slideshow:
http://rtvpix.com/slideshow/1353


Since late 2007, BlueLaVaMedia has continually led the way in the Northern Michigan area with marketing implementations such as interactive HD virtual tours, virtual staging, panoramic listing sign riders, single property websites, listing syndication, mobile TXT marketing, virtual tour traffic reporting, interactive floor plans, elevated photography, and social networking training. For more information call 231-946-1360 email info AT BlueLaVaMedia.com or visit their website at http://www.BlueLaVaMedia.com . Those interested in sampling this new technology or business opportunities with BlueLaVaMedia are encouraged to visit their website for more information.

About BlueLaVaMedia
BlueLaVaMedia, a division of LaVaWorks, LLC is a locally owned TC virtual tour company with team members Jason LaVanture and Jim Blue. Jason LaVanture is the founder and Vice President of RealTourVision.com, makers of virtual tour software. Jim Blue has nearly 35 years of professional photography experience. He has designed and taught independent photo classes in both silver-halide and digital imaging for over 20 years.

Contact:
BlueLaVaMedia.com, a division of LaVaWorks, LLC
Jason LaVanture
Owner / Organizer
231-946-1360
Jason AT BlueLaVaMedia.com

The RTV HD Slideshow module is first in class. It is built using the very latest flash based engine, it loads at impressively timely speeds, and displays full screen HD images with grace and elegance. With the ever growing demand for professional photography the need to have those photos displayed in a uniquely impressive format has never been greater.

With RTV, every time you create an interactive Virtual Tour, you can also create an HD Slideshow for that same property / address.  Feel free to use the same images as your HD virtual tour or select up to 30 additional HD images not already in your virtual tour. Using our built in smart uploader you can literally point to any image or set of images on your computer and batch upload, resize and compress for fast creation and delivery time.  

We also about to release our all new Standalone Slideshow Module as an add-on to your virtual tour business which will allow you to create unlimited HD slideshows with unlimited scenes.  How’s that for opening up additional revenue streams for your property marketing business!

Demo our software now!

login http://tms.realtourvision.com

username is rhope

password is rhope75

Thanks RTV!
Virtual Tour Software
Order a virtual tour: 866-947-8687 Ext 4

How hard is it to actually rise in rank for virtual tour services within your state, county and/or city.  Not very.  We have been signed up for a not quite a year with Active Rain as a rainmaker but it is only these past couple of months that we are actually starting to make a difference in our rankings within active rain.

What are we doing?

      1.    I read the RTV daily blog mail and look at other successful persons blogs and see the subjects they write about and the comments.  And by the way, if it is of interest to me, I leave a comment - not just "I Agree" or "Great Blog"  I write about 3 sentences confirming my opinion of their blog or of the topic.  This takes me all of 15 minutes in the mornings or sometimes I do it late at night.  If I am very busy, I do several days worth at one time.  I probably read 2-3 blogs for each day's drop.

      2.    I post my tours and slide shows on the blog.  However, I don't do it to look like a listing and don't call it a listing.  I use the tours to emphasize a point.  i.e. Twilight shots and why they are important to on-line viewing, then the tour gets posted.  I then do a post with the slide show and might use hi-def photos as the subject of the post - i.e. why the extra effort creates a more inviting look to the viewer.  To write about 100-200 words about the tour or slide show takes me 15-20 minutes at the most to post both as separate entries.

      3.    If someone i know has an active rain blog and then sends me a link to their blog, (which I get often from friends i have met across the country through RTV, Photobiz and Real Estate meetings, i reblog it under my name - a great feature and provides a boost without a lot of effort.  i also blast my active rain blog posts.

      4.    Every once in a while i will blog about a great service such as THE VIDEO CONNECTOR and Tara Reed.  I talk about how it can help the real estate agents with video content etc or I might blog about Texting services from Text2Look.

      5.    I try to actually blog once or twice a month to create original exciting fun content with plenty of links and key words that will lead google searchers back to my site.

      6.    I also have a wordpress blog and a RTV dealersite blog.  I forward my active rain blog to these sites automatically for content.  I only do original content once in a while on these sites.

So how much time do I actually spend and what is our ranking?

      I spend 1 hour per week with Active Rain total - I have been keeping track in a diary of my time on projects to help discover how to utilize my time better.

      Ranking:   Out of 7000 active rain accounts in Arizona we are #868.

                           Within Arizona in Maricopa County in 5200 accounts we are #671

                           Within Maricopa County in Scottsdale out of 1100 accounts we are #141 We are almost in the 10% of active rain bloggers in Arizona and with very little effort just consistency.

What is the benefit - everything that active rain touches rises to the top ten on the first page of google for us!!!

Hope this helps all my fellow RTV dealers blog a little more here in the RTV blog and on Active Rain.

Suzanne Feinberg
www.PowerVision4Realestate.com
Scottsdale Virtual Tours
Order a virtual tour: 480-284-8177.