I haven’t used home staging videos to promote my services yet.
Frankly, I find it a bit intimidating because I know how important business image is, and how key quality and the right visuals will be given the services we offer.
The many video courses I’ve sat through advise “Just get started, it doesn’t have to be perfect.”
Yet, I end up thinking “Yeah it’s fine for some 20 year old guy to sell Internet Marketing with bed head, no makeup, unflattering lighting and a blank background behind him. That’s not going to fly with my home staging audience!”
So I keep putting off the inevitable day when I’ll have to embrace video. I know it’s a very effective marketing tool online, especially given how many people love to watch and share videos through social media!
Sooner or later, I’ll have to put my insecurities aside and just dive in.
Staging Diva Graduate Adam Luttrell, of Tasmania home staging company Shift Property Styling, recently shared a video he created to promote his home staging business with fellow members of the Staging Diva Network Online Discussion Group.
It’s such a terrific home staging video, I asked permission to share it with you and interviewed Adam to get answers to all the questions I know you’ll be curious about after watching it.
How did you shoot this video? Did you hire a video production company with a crew and all the lighting and equipment needed?
Our shoot was over a number of sessions to fit in better with the production company’s timetable. We captured the installation of furniture and accessories first due to having a really nice project to work on and we knew the results would come up well on camera.
We worked with a small production company, which was literally made up of one or two people on each shoot using digital SLR cameras running full HD video. This lower overhead meant less drain on resources to film the scenes. At the most, there were two cameras running with two operators managing sound and vision.
All the internal and external property shots during the installation process were shot on one camera with one operator and no lights. Lots of quick cross cuts meant we were able to piece together a story based on a script I had written earlier. This also made the final edit much easier as there were lots of small pieces of footage that could be pieced together to create the final product.
The testimonial sections were filmed internally and externally to give a different feel to each one. We were filming in the early part of winter so we wanted to make sure it wasn’t all cold looking. The park scene was a lucky break as we got a beautiful clear day to do the shoot using natural light.
The face to camera component with Donielle and I was shot in our warehouse and required some very basic LED lighting to create a bit of ambiance in what was a freezing cold environment. The scenes you don’t see are of us both shuddering with clunking teeth. It was cold! We shot in the warehouse as we wanted to give it a real feel, cushions in the background, accessories slightly blurred and to show some of the scale of our operation.
The editing is fabulous, did you have a professional do it or were you able to do it yourself?
The editing was done by the same business that filmed the video, no offline major studio though, just on a Mac. I really wanted their vision to come through from the shoot all the way to the editing.
Did you use a teleprompter to help with your lines?
No teleprompter, we had a script that I had written and one of the guys off camera gave us cues to the next lines and we improvised from there. As we did it in bite sized chunks, and we had the two cameras running, the production company could then piece together the sound and vision to create one final video.
We were sure to add some of the key selling propositions we had learned in the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program in our video to ensure the message was clear and concise.
How many hours went into this?
As we shot the piece over four sessions, we managed to get greater value as the production company did not have to schedule 2 or 3 full days. Instead, we did 1-2 hour stints per session and managed to use the production companies “downtime” to get the most out of the job.
We probably filmed around 5 hours in total to get this video. But there is a great deal of unused footage that we will splice up into smaller, more defined videos in the future.
What was the cost to produce?
A video of this length, with this many elements, would have cost around $5000. We were very fortunate that the production company is run by friends and they wanted a portfolio to show off, so they did it at no charge.
I assisted one of the business partners to stage his home for sale but the rest was done for free.
This is an awesome home staging video, though I do find it a bit long. Adam is planning on breaking it up into a few shorter segments. I don’t know about you, but it has reinforced my earlier fear about how much it will cost to produce a really quality home staging video for marketing. Though Adam found a great way to barter his home staging services and get it done for free.
Have you created any of your own home staging videos yet?
Please share your experience and advice in the comments section. Or if you haven’t done video yet, what’s holding you back? I’d love to continue to explore this topic for our home staging community and will share your insights and ideas in future posts.
Big fan of Adam over in Tasmania and this video is beautifully produced. I’ve also seen Adam’s video of the ‘seller on the bench’ and thought it was great perspective to give – one long testimonial! I’ve had a chat with a local production company in Brisbane who are looking for portfolio work so a win/win for both would help to keep the price down and is a good route for other stagers to take. Not sure I’d like to be seen in the video as much as Adam and Donielle though, although I understand the need for people to see and get to know the stager. I think before and after clips would work well. Any search on YouTube brings up 100’s of cringe worthy staging videos but this is a class act. Thanks for giving us a behind the scenes.
Thanks for commenting Imogen and congrats on finding a local production company that wants to beef up their portfolio by producing something for you. Clearly this strategy worked really well for Adam.
I completely agree with you about the hundreds of cringe-worthy videos on YouTube!
Congrats on the video Adam.What a production!
Your passion and sincerity for home staging truly shines through.Like some of the others, I will have to work on this,finding a production company would be amazing.
As a new home stager,the video would be more humble until I build a bigger portfolio.
Thanks for the inspiration!!
Lelia, Adam’s video is amazing, but don’t let the quality of it discourage you from starting. He had his business for a few years before doing this video.
Incredible! A 5-Star home staging video & one that people will not forget. What I like about Shift by Design’s strategy is that they will attract the large, glamorous home staging clients and projects because they “look” stunningly professional. It’s money well spent. I think you should just “go for it” Debra and produce your own home staging video. Like you tell us, the money spent for a high value resource or marketing tool will more than give you a return on your investment! As for me, I am still struggling with Social Media. The day I can produce a video will be a great day! :p
Thanks Stacy, I appreciate your comments and observations. You are right about Shift by Design being able to attract premium clients with this video. Professionalism is so key in anything that will reflect on your brand image.
To Adam and his cohort at Shift By Design – amazing video and thank you for allowing Debra to share it with us! A standard to aspire to for the rest of us, as well as portraying home staging as a valuable investment and service. Bravo!
Incredible video. Wow! So glad you shared this. Amazing!
As for the answer to your question, no, have not ventured into video, but it’s definitely on my list of things to do.
Knowing that I can’t currently afford a studio, special lighting, make-up etc., my plan is to make videos using screen capture software like Camtasia or http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/.
My voice will narrate as I show before and after pictures – or whatever images support my topic. Of course I’ll also show an image of myself by using one of my new head shots.
And, the hardest part, try to keep this videos under 3 minutes, hopefully as short as 1-2 minutes.
Now, to find the time…
Thanks Susan, glad you enjoyed the video and behind the scenes. I too am looking at screen capture. Camtasia is the go-to program for PCs and ScreenFlow is the program to use on a Mac. I personally have not done it yet myself, but also on my “to do” list!
Wow! This video is inspiring. I know too the power of video, but have been put off by it all. However, after seeing this one, I have a better idea of how to capture the essence of staging, often not a terribly glamorous job, using video. Thank you. And, what a great promo for Shift by Design, Adam. Great job.
Patricia, I know I was so inspired too!
Thanks everyone for the favourable comments. It was a big decision for us to go down the video path. Would we come across too egotistic, would we convey our brand, would it do more harm than good.
In the end the pill was swallowed, the script written and we were in front of the cameras keen not to embarrass ourselves.
The results have been very pleasing, and while I am not sure it contributes directly to gaining new business, I think it provides a more ‘human’ interface with our business to help put potential clients at ease knowing they are dealing with real people.
Stay tuned, our second cut down testimonial will be released very, VERY soon!
Wow! This video is just fantastic. It comes as more of helping home sellers rather than promoting the business which makes it really engaging and effective (very inspiring too!). The hours or days spent recording this is definitely worth it! Thanks for sharing this Debra. Great job Adam!
Thanks Red! You’ve made an excellent distinction/observation here.
The most effective marketing educates the audience. That’s what builds a rapport by helping our potential clients get to know us, trust us and like us. Then when they need what we do, they really “sell” themselves on hiring us.
Great video, As a Realtor, I firmly believe and educate my clients in the importance of the “WOW” factor that a buyer feels when they first walk into a home for sale. A clean home and staging is probably the most important factor I have seen in increasing a homes desirability and price.
That’s excellent Lauren, great to hear from a real estate agent who “gets it”! Thanks for commenting!
I’m a big believer in social media and promoting short film production to gain further exposure on the benefits of home staging. I’m currently making one myself. I thought the video was fantastic! Great job Adam! Thank you Debra for sharing:)
Good for you Jacob, look forward to seeing how it turns out!