Posted by Rich Lacy | September 3, 2008
FrontDoor’s on-air promotion has kicked into high gear with our newest TV spots currently airing on HGTV. The new spots tease our 3 million+ listings and our new “Explore The Neighborhood” feature. Check out the spot below.
Posted by Kelly Roark | August 13, 2008
When power-blogger Jay Thompson sent me this photo, I knew it wasn’t USPS’s edgy, new ad campaign; but it was a shocker to learn this was our Flip Video shipment from Knoxville to Phoenix gone terribly bad.
That said, the visual does lend itself to a simple analogy on video’s eventful route to real estate marketplace adoption: an extended journey, riddled with questions as to why it hadn’t arrived earlier, subject to unexpected heavy handling along the way. But after a lengthy trip, it arrives at its destination with the promise of delivering value — albeit later than originally anticipated. (And by the way, the Flip Video emerged in tact as well!)
Huh, what? I’m talking about the new level of accessibility to Video within real estate. Think multimedia, or Visual Language–if you want to get fancy. Consumers demand it in every other area of their lives so they can visualize ideas and understand experiences through the eyes of others. Why wouldn’t they expect it in real estate as well… one of the most visual areas of all!
Not sure about this? Watch some of the real estate-specific programming we offer on HGTV –you’ve got 90+ 1/2-hour programs per week to choose from, and growing. Or, join the nearly 20 million users already surfing online through our Lifestyle-focused “How To” videos and other multimedia content accessible on FrontDoor.com , HGTV.com , HGTVPro.com , FineLiving.com , DIYNetwork.com and FoodNetwork.com .
Think this media talk is too removed from your own real estate business? Think (or LOOK) again. YouTube , WellcomeMat , TurnHere and the Flip Video, to name a few, have given video power to the people with better technology at a lower cost. With a $150 or less investment at Amazon.com , you can arm yourself with a portable video cam and start creating your own local video.
As for the “How To” content I mentioned above… they’re a great resource for ideas to create your own “How To” local video in which you highlight your own real estate expertise and the uniqueness of your neighborhood.
Still not sure? Well, we’ve invited some of the FrontDoor Bloggers Council members to “take a step out onto the dance floor” first. Expect to see samples here soon of how they’re testing video in real estate.
Most important, test. Don’t worry about being perfect using visual-multimedia tools. Be real instead. YouTube and its millions of monthly users made this approach viable. Start sharing your opinions on camera and show your personality behind the headshot — before home buyers and sellers have even met you.
Want to learn more? Check out this Future of Local Video session in person Thursday, Aug. 14, at 7 PM EST in NYC, or watch the live broadcast .
(Thanks to Jay Thompson for the provision of this photo, the inspiration for my first blog post on FrontDoor Unlocked .)
Posted by Rich Lacy | August 4, 2008
Over at the FrontDoor HQ, we get a lot of comments from our users about our online buying/selling guides. Seems there’s a lot of folks out there that are really brand-spanking new to the world of real estate. They can’t get enough of our baseline “how-to” content and we’re always looking for new ways to give them what they want.
Answering that call, we recently debuted our “Real Estate Survivor Guide” video series hosted by Sabrina Soto, host of HGTV’s Get It Sold. The series serves as a great primer to the jungle that is the real estate universe. From buying to staging to flipping to selling a home in tough situations (like a divorce), each episode follows a group of agents and their clients as they find their way through the challenges and opportunities that buying and selling a home present.
You can see a sample of an episode below, or you can check out the entire series on FrontDoor.
Posted by Rich Lacy | August 3, 2008
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Recently, the FrontDoor team closed out the Inman Connect SF conference with a big win by being named “the most innovative media site” by Inman News. See the announcement We took the win as a huge honor because innovation is something we strive for in everything we do.
But what made us stand out? We think it has to do with something that Vikki Neil touched on in her panel discussion at the Inman Conference. See the video; remarks begin at 12:50
It’s actually pretty simple. Listings are only a part of the experience. A big part, to be sure. But, what about the consumer that’s buying their first home and has no idea where to start? What about the person that’s wondering why they might choose a victorian over a mid-century modern? There’s a massive universe of content and experiences surrounding the real estate space that FrontDoor embraces.
We’ve only just begun to leverage the massive library of content from our HGTV siblings. Even in our own organization, we’ve been dreaming up ways to use existing content. Examples such as our Designed To Sell series take entertainment-based videos and put some real utility behind them. And, we’re creating great new FrontDoor-exclusive series of our own.
We’re just getting started. All-in-all, the win was a big affirmation for our entire team and it just serves to point out how the view from our FrontDoor is more complete and appealing than ever before.
Posted by Rich Lacy | July 23, 2008
The FrontDoor is open! Stop by our booth located in the Sunset Court on the 2nd Floor of the Palace Hotel and say “Hello!” We’ll be showing off some of our new listings engine features and some great new content.
In addition, stop by the booth between 4:30 and 5:30 pm today to meet Sabrina Soto, host of HGTV’s Get It Sold and find out how you can “Test Your TV Presence” and interact with HGTV hosts and producers to see how you’d fare in a mock HGTV TV show experience.
Posted by Vikki Neil | July 20, 2008
This past week, we reached a big milestone by hitting 3 million listings on FrontDoor! It’s an exciting time for our team, because we’ve reached this goal in about 6 months, way ahead of our goal.
No rest for the weary though, we’re pushing towards 4 million now and focused on delivering the best consumer website possible for real estate. Listings are starting to become ubiquitous, so I believe those websites that create something beyond just a listings search will be here to stay.
We’ll create that compelling experience in many ways, but video and written content that helps consumers learn from expert advice on real estate decisions is one of our first commitments.
Check out one of my favorite content packages: Savvy Woman’s Guide to Buying a Home
Posted by Rich Lacy | July 16, 2008
Planning for the launch of FrontDoor’s official blog has been a curious process. Since the days before our beta site went live last November, the FrontDoor team has been ruminating on how best to make a unique mark in the real estate blogosphere.
Certainly, others have already blazed the “official blog” trail, and there is no shortage of inspiration as to the kind of content we knew we’d be “expected” to have.
But there was the rub… that one little word: “expected.”
As the offspring of a major lifestyle media company, we’re used to blazing trails and looking at the world through all kinds of different lenses. So, it makes sense that we’d approach our blog in the same way.
We’re not saying we’re going to redefine the whole real estate blog genre. From time-to-time, we’ll use our blog (as others do) as a forum to let the world know about the new and cool stuff we’re cooking up at FrontDoor HQ.
But, we’ll also step outside our own walls and toss out some of our observations and questions of/about the entire real estate universe.In fact, we’re going even further and inviting some of the web’s savviest real estate bloggers to our party to create even more lively debate and discussion. (You know that dude at the party that simply MUST be the center of attention at all times? FrontDoor is so NOT that guy.)
At FrontDoor, we want users to feel like they’re going househunting with a really smart, “in-the-know” friend. And, here on the blog, we hope you’ll feel like you’re hanging out with some really smart people who love real estate… people who care about making their corner of the blogosphere a smart, creative and engaging place to spend a few minutes each day.
So, we invite you to come inside and take a look around. Sit and read for a spell. Drop by anytime.
The FrontDoor’s open, and there’s no need to knock.
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