When I was a kid, I knew all the words to every song on Carol King’s album Tapestry.   Tapestry won the Grammy for best album in 1972. It is one of the best selling albums of all time. And at 9 years old, I knew every word to every song…not just the biggest hit, I Feel the Earth Move, but the words to Tapestry and Smackwater Jack too.

It must have been in 1971 that my parents gave me a Panasonic tape recorder and microphone for Christmas.

I remember the day I took my tape recorder up to my bedroom. I put Tapestry on the record player, plugged my headphones into the receiver and  pressed “record” on my Panasonic.  As Carol sang in my ears, I sang into my microphone.  I belted out the words…

“I feel the earth-move-under my feet, I feel the sky tum-b-ling down, tum-b-ling down,

I feel my heart start to trem-b-ling whenever you’re around.”

I sang right along with Carol. Our recording session didn’t end until we finished every song, sides one and two. We started with I Feel the Earth Move and I didn’t press stop until we made it through the last note of You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman. With our similar alto voices, I was sure you wouldn’t be able to tell us apart.

Until I played it back.

OMG.  I sounded nothing like Carol King.  Awful is an understatement.  What was I thinking?? I was horrified. The horrible sounds from that playback have been heard by no other ears than my own, and yet I actually feel embarrassed for myself just thinking about it. It was at that moment, at just 9 years old, I knew I would never, ever, ever have my voice recorded again.

Or so I thought.

The demands of a real estate agent are ever changing and growing. It’s not enough to have market expertise, it’s not enough to just know how to do the job. “Doing the job” is changing all the time, and an agent has to keep up.

Assisting sellers with the sale of their home and marketing that home demand that the agent keep up with the demands and habits of the buyer consumer. Where are buyers looking? What mediums do they prefer? What information do they want? When marketing a home for sale, a wide net needs to be cast, a multitude of mediums and venues must be considered.

You Tube is now the world’s second largest search engine.  You Tube is transforming the way information is searched for on the web. The statistics are astounding. I read somewhere that there are something like 6 billion hours of video viewed every month. Real estate agents must respond, our marketing must consider and embrace this reality.

So…what am I thinkin’? I’m thinking video.

Property videos are not commonplace in my neck of the woods, but I believe they’re coming.  Property videos are becoming more popular among buyer consumers. Photos, even professionally photographed, great photos are not enough. A photo slide show set to music, well that’s not video. Buyers want to walk through a house, get a sense of the ‘feel” of the property…and they want this before they make their first appointment.

So…from here on out…I’m doing video. I’m breaking that promise I made to myself at 9 years old. I don’t like the sound of my recorded voice, but so long as I don’t sing, maybe I’ll be alright. For now, they won’t be big productions,  no major equipment used. My Iphone is as easy to use as that Panasonic tape recorder. I’m a little nervous. Getting in front of a camera (even if it’s just an iphone) won’t be easy…it’s almost like being naked. And for me, it does bring back that  really, really, embarasseningly  bad memory of my Carol King wannabe voice.

I made my first attempt. It’s not perfect. (I forgot to shoot the bedrooms)…the camera work is a little shaky…it’s almost as if…”I feel the earth move under my feet…” Don’t worry, I’ve spared you that….

There you have it.

Here’s my advice…

For sellers:  Video may not be the be all to end all yet. But hiring an agent that’s keeping up with the ever changing demands of today’s buyers is important. Choose an agent that’s up to the task.

For my fellow real estate agents:  To those that are already rocking it with video, thanks for the nudge!  And for those that haven’t tried it yet: You don’t have to be able to sing like Carol King…just grab your Iphone and press record…we can do this!