With the release of the much anticipated iPad Mini coming this Friday, my thoughts go to how this tool will impact our real estate businesses.  Or will it?  Maybe I can give you a breakdown of the countless reviews that are too long and time consuming to read.  Then you can tell me how you will use it.

The market has been asking for a smaller, cheaper iPad since the original iPad was released.  What the market wants, the market gets!  The iPad Mini has a 7.9 inch display and the cost begins at $329.  Its competitors, the Nexus, Kindle and Nook have 7 inch displays and cost $199.  Harry McCraken of TIME explained it perfectly by saying, “You can think of it either as a low-cost, compact cousin of the full-size iPad or a costlier, larger-screen alternative to the 7-inch models.”

The normal 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB models are offered as storage choices.  You also have the option of the LTE 4G network on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon that will go on sale shortly after the wi-fi versions are released.  With its thin-and-light design, the iPad Mini is .28 inches thick and weighs .68 lbs.  To put that into perspective, the new iPad weighs twice as much.  With the A5 processor, Siri voice control, and let’s not forget to mention the 275,000 plus iOS apps in Apple App Store; its performance and features beat the competition.

As a downside, I would have liked to see the iPad Mini with the current iPad retina display.  Instead, the resolution on the Mini is 1024-by-768. I guess they have to improve on something down the road, right?  In reality, there is a reason for this.  It is due to the fact that the iOS operating system only supports two iPad resolutions.

It seems that Apple has taken the qualities of the iPad model and made the iPad Mini the smaller, thinner, lighter, and lower-priced model for which everyone has asked.  Overall the iPad Mini with all the amenities of Apple will prove to be the best compact-size tablet on the market but what do I know? I prefer to get your opinion. Please let me know what you think.

Videos sell real estate.  Why don’t agents and brokers use them more often?  Please allow me to share what I learned from James Wedmore of the Video Traffic Academy.

A recent poll was taken with two very interesting questions and responses.  The first question was, “Have you seen a YouTube video in the past 7 days?”  As you might have answered, 82% from this poll answered “Yes”.  The second question was, “Have you uploaded a YouTube video in the past 7 days?”  Only 11% said “Yes”.  There are 4 billion video views on YouTube every day.  It seems like now a days, kids are going straight to YouTube and bypassing Google altogether.  Videos are very easy to upload and share on social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest.  There is a 691% higher conversion on YouTube than on Google.

Of course, the goal is to turn YouTube into a traffic generator for your business.  The three top ranking criteria for YouTube videos mentioned by Wedmore are: Relevance, Quality, and Clout.  Here is a synopsis of what he said about each.

1. Relevance – People find what they are searching for, so you need to know the keywords they are using in their searches.  The best way to do this is by using the Google Keyword Tool.  Identifying thirty keywords important to your business and then turning those keywords into a video creation list will help you.  Make sure to use the most important of those keywords in the title of your video on YouTube.
2. Quality – In the past, quality did not mean much.  Today, videos of higher quality get more views.  Essential video ingredients add value, are relevant, short and to the point, demonstrable, call-to-action (subscribe, share, or click a link), and deliver value.  If you really want a great video, the most essential ingredient is consistent quality.
3. Clout –Back-links, video embeds, and subscribers make a difference in helping your video content go viral.

Beyond the three criteria for generating traffic, there are still some simple rules to follow in creating the perfect YouTube video.

1. Your video needs an attention grabber (roughly 2 to 6 seconds).  It should point to the main benefit of the video or highlight what’s in store for your target audience.
2. Your video needs an intro bumper (roughly 4 to 7 seconds).  Use a personal brand logo with music, animations, and text to “Set the Tone!” and generate excitement.
3. Your video needs high-impact content (1 to 5 minutes).  Deliver the content you promised in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format.  Most importantly, don’t forget to give a call-to-action.
4. Your video needs an outro bumper (4 to 7 seconds).  Like the intro bumper, use a personal-brand logo with music, animation, and text to reiterate the call-to-action.
5. Your video needs outtakes (4 to 7 seconds).  Adding a pay-off at the end, funny moments, or something enjoyable makes the video memorable.

We hope that you have been encouraged to use YouTube to drive traffic to your business.  Please share what you have learned while using this social media channel.

Apple Keynote

With the much anticipated release of the iPhone 5 today, we have all seen the excellent features and reviews but we would prefer your opinion.  We would love to know from each of you what are your top 5 iPhone 5 feature enhancements that you are excited to us.  We wanted to give you a list of our favorite features with this phone.

Lightweight Design – millions of people will notice right away the lightweight design of the iPhone 5.  Even though it isn’t the thinnest phone in the world it is 20% thinner than the iPhone 4S, 16% Samsung Galaxy S3 and 14% than the HTC One X at 112g.

Screen – with a larger four-inch screen, Apple allows the iPhone 5 to be 123.8mm tall and 58.6mm wide.  It is still a Retina screen and boasts 326ppi with a resolution of 1136×640.  This will give more real estate for an extra row of apps, movies, web pages, etc.  Also, for those of us with “fat finger” this might help.

Sound – compared to the last iPhone, these is a significant release of sound that seems to be fuller and deeper.

iPhone 5

Camera – the iSight camera at the rear of the phone is clearly impressive as always.  It seems that the video stabilization feature has improved.  With the ability for it to detect faces, auto-focus, and capture still pictures while taking a video is a definite bonus.  The front camera has been upgraded to 720p video allowing for clearer FaceTime and Skype chats.  We also like the new panorama mode.  It pops out a pretty impressive panoramic shot with good speed.

Speed – the speed of the iPhone 5 is like never before with 4G.  With the LTE and A6 processor the online speed change is like no other.  With this speed, apps seem to load quicker, video feels smoother, and the video imaging process is faster.

Overall, we feel that the iPhone 5 is the best phone that Apple has produced to date.  The mass market can’t get enough of it and we know that when you get it in your hand, you will agree.  Please share with us your opinion and favorite features.