Today consumers use more than anything the internet as their primary research tool. Therefore it’s no surprise that, according to thesestats, 97% of those interested in buying a property initially ran an online search to discover what the market can offer. The survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors also showed that buyers spent an average of two months to find a home. In this time they saw nine properties, five of which were viewed exclusively online.
As a consequence, if you, as a real estate agent, want to focus on delivering the best possible service, you have to create an alluring listing to match the buyer’s expectations. This means including as many details as possible, as well as great images and/or videos that make the most of the property’s strong points. Basically this should cover it, right? You do your homework, prepare the setting, take a couple of nice shots, do a little bit of editing if necessary and then list the property.
Well, there’s only one problem. Quality visuals tend to catch the eye and it’s no wonder that they get stolen on a constant basis in the real estate business. So unless you want to see your photos misused, it’s best to ensure their online protection. Here’s how:
Why Add a Watermark
One of the best methods to protect your original photos is to visually watermark them. This way it will be clearly visible to which agency/realtor those property photos belong. Moreover, in the situation that someone will still copy them, it will basically do you a favor by advertising your services! Removing the watermark from your original photos will constitute copyright infringement.
In addition to preventing content theft, a watermark can turn out to be useful from a marketing perspective. Having your name or logo on property photos and videos will give you the opportunity to identify yourself as a professional in the real estate market, to expand your online visibility and implicitly increase your chances of selling.
How to Watermark Property Images
There are various tools that can watermark images, but for a quick and easy process it’s advisable to use one particularly designed for this purpose, such as for instance our own PhotoMarks.
The main advantages of such an app are that it’s truly easy to use and it allows you to effectively watermark multiple photos at once, making sure you save time and energy. Regardless of the number of photos, you can apply your watermark to all of them at the same time, in a single session.
The watermark, whether it’s text or logo, is completely customizable, meaning you can choose to position it where you like, rotate it to your desired preference, change its size, adjust its transparency or apply effects like stroke or shadow. According to your individual preferences, you can opt to create a discreet, totally unobtrusive watermark or, on the contrary, a prominent one that clearly states who’s the owner of those pictures.
With PhotoMarks, regardless of what type of watermark you wish to insert, the process is the same and quite simple. All you have to do is follow three main steps:
- Add the photos through a simple click or by drag and drop.
- Go to Edit Photos > Add Filter > Marks and select and customize your text or logo watermark.
- Go to Setup and select where you’d like to save the images and the desired image format.
Afterwards just hit the Process button. The program will automatically apply the changes made to the entire batch of photos.
Just bear in mind that not all listing portals accept watermarked images. Therefore, before submitting your listing to a dedicated portal, whether Zillow, Redfin, Trulia or Realtor.com, make sure you check their individual policy with regard to watermarked pictures.
How to Watermark Property Videos
When we talk about clever ways of marketing a home, video creation is definitely on the list. A short clip of the property or perhaps a virtual tour can really attract potential buyers and eventually tip the balance in your favor. According to statistics provided by the National Association of Realtors, listings that contain videos receive 403% more inquiries in comparison to those without them. At the same time, 73% of home sellers said that they are more likely to resort to an agent who incorporates video in the listing.
But just as important as creating property videos is protecting them from being used without your authorization. The best way to do this is by adding a watermark that will confirm ownership of that specific material. Depending on your preferences, there are several video editing tools you can resort to, including a professional one like Adobe’s Premiere Pro. The process of applying a watermark to your property video is far from being complicated and doesn’t take long either. Here’s how:
- Import the two files you’ll be using: the video file and the logo/text watermark image.
- Drag and drop the video and image to your timeline, making sure you position the image file on the layer above the clip
- Position the watermark where you want it to appear by double clicking on it and dragging it to a certain area. If you want it to be subtle, it’s advisable to place it in the bottom right corner. At the same time, drag the handles to resize it.
- Drag the edge of the image fileuntil it matches the length of the clip. This way, by extending it, it will be displayed throughout the entire clip.
