RE: As an expert in online marketing, can you explain how you feel the Internet is going to drive real estate sales in the future?

Thomas Harpointer: The big driving force behind the evolution of real estate Web sites right now is Web 2.0. Web sites have made the transformation from informational- driven brochures to critical business tools, so the average broker's role is going to continue to grow in terms of technology and the Internet as agents, brokers, and developers are starting to see the value of Web sites. Buyers can peruse hundreds of homes on the Internet before hitting the streets with brokers-helping to make their jobs more efficient.

Video is a key component to raise the bar, and a few years from now it will be expected. Many agents are receiving the majority of leads from the Internet, which is less work for them. The more tools that are provided for the buyer, the more properties will be moved in a shorter period of time.

RE: Tell me more about the concept of combining the forces of real estate and YouTube. What advice can you offer to those who are interested in utilizing YouTube?

TH: It's still very new, which offers tremendous advantage. Agents and brokers can create videos and post them on YouTube as a hook into their Web site, driving traffic they wouldn't normally have. Plus, if you search a term on Google, there's massive competition, but there's only 500 results for the same term on YouTube, making you a bigger fish in a smaller pond.

Videos offer opportunities to highlight areas of the home, adding a whole new dimension. With the equipment available today, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a camera. You can take shots, hand the content over to someone who can edit it for a few hundred dollars, and make a decent video.

Start by shooting on a nice day, turn the lights on and let the house sell itself. Before you shoot, bullet out key features of the property. No two properties are the same, so list everything that you think is important to a potential buyer. Don't waste content on a new water heater, you can list that, but what about a back door terrace that overlooks a stream? That's exciting. Pick the top five elements and remember that a video is much bigger in size, takes more time to load. Some videos are 42 seconds while some run for a couple of minutes. It's up to the agent as to how long and comprehensive they are.

If a narrator has a good voice they can speak, but that's upon discretion. Keep it short, to the point, incorporate sound, use lighting and be honest. Always remember the purpose of the video-a lead generator.

When you create a video, add a watermark with your Web site address to the bottom of the video, so you can get credit back to your Web site and help marketing efforts. The name of the video should be a relevant name, rather than "movie1." Name it "Pompano Beachfront Property" so that when it's uploaded, Google will index the movie file name since search engines search content for keywords, whether it's picture or video. Put your phone number at the end of the video, and give the option for people to visit your Web site for more information.

RE: Do you feel these productions provide a substantial return on investment?

TH: There are two primary costs-the production cost and the broadcasting of the content. Production varies from a couple thousand to $10 to 20 thousand to produce, but if we were to run it on TV, we'd be paying thousands more. Start at the top, take the most expensive home, and it will have the biggest payoff potential. Instead of investing in newspapers or new office furniture, agents should focus on electronic media which is of higher value to customers.