VRS059 – Make Video For Vacation Rental Your Goal for 2015 with Lou Bortone

One of my goals for 2015 is to create video content for my agency site. I want to help guests make great vacation choices and provide information to our owners on how to make their properties even more welcoming. But….I have been putting it off, because it seemed way too complicated and my perfectionism is just getting in the way.

I know that Evelyn Gallardo of Discovery Beach House in Costa Rica has been doing this for several years since she bartered a stay in her home for some training from renowned video expert Lou Bortone. Then, back in November of last year, I followed a Creative Live course with Lou online, and realized this was not as difficult as I thought

Lou joins me in this episode to discuss how video can be used in a range of ways to market and promote our properties, and outlines the steps you need to take, and the equipment required to get started.

Tweet: The power of video for marketing your #vacationrentals can’t be underestimated with @loubortone @cottageguru

In fact, it is so much simpler than I thought. All you will need is:

• iPhone or iPad
• Inexpensive lavaliere microphone
• Free video editing software
• YouTube

Yes, it’s that simple!

We kicked off by talking about how Evelyn had no technical knowledge but in a few short days she was happily creating short informational videos about Costa Rica. One of the first she did – Costa Rica – Three Hidden Truths – has had over 80,000 views on YouTube, a number that Lou says is spectacular, given that a good viewer number is about 500.

Lou explains that location-based videos like Evelyn’s are really easy to do because you just use what you have. She takes her iphone out with her and just shoots video wherever seems right. Then, using free software she does simple edits, adds some interest with an intro and outro, and some music, and uploads to YouTube.

We talked about how to create a YouTube channel, and how Evelyn has separated her videos into different segments, one of which are the video testimonials. She has made these into mini promotions, narrated by her guests. Brilliant! Here is just one example – you can check the rest out on the Discovery Beach House Channel.

The overriding word here is ‘simple’. This is not difficult to do.

Lou and I talked about:

• How helpful and useful content gets watched on Youtube
• The importance of engagement and interaction
• What editing software to use
• Where to host your video – the Walmart and Nordstrom options
• Where and how to share your videos
• The value of guest reviews as social proof
• Offering incentives for guest reviews
• Why five 2 – 3 minute videos are better than one 10 minute video
• How to find your ‘sweet spot’
• Why it’s important not to overlook the audio quality
• Using Google Hangouts and Hangouts on Air and the difference between them

Links to websites mentioned in this episode:

Amazon S3

Wistia

Vimeo

Discovery Beach House

Lou Bortone.com

Creative Live Video Course

Wevideo

Audio-Technica Lavalier Microphone

I also wanted to mention something Lou and I didn’t discuss but I found on his website. I was looking for a mount to put my ipad on a tripod and checked out some on Amazon. Most looked a little flimsy and the reviews were not good, but Lou recommends this one in his resource guide (sign up to his email list for access to his resources). The Caddie Buddy iPad mount is US-made and is a more robust option. Not expensive either.

Where you can find Lou:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Google+

YouTube