TriangleMLS, WellcomeMat: Video is the new photo in real estate

In these times, it’s time to double down — on your skills, on your knowledge — on you. Join us Aug. 8-10 at Inman Connect Las Vegas to lean into the shift and learn from the best. Get your ticket now for the best price.

The largest multiple listing services in one of the nation’s most sought-after home markets is now helping its members market themselves through video, according to an announcement sent to Inman.

WellcomeMat, a video publishing and marketing solution for the real estate industry, has been chosen to integrate with Triangle MLS, based in Cary, North Carolina, and serving the greater Raleigh-Durham market.

The organization’s executive director, Matt Fowler, said that to his knowledge, this is the first partnership of its kind.

“By allowing our subscribers to send their property listing videos directly to us, instead of linking to a hosting service, we can syndicate the videos back out to thousands of subscribers just like we now manage photos,“ he said in the release.

WellcomeMat’s solution helps users host, distribute and track the performance of video content. Users upload content from any number of sources, such as YouTube, Google Docs or Dropbox and use WellcomeMat to categorize and publish videos using embedded players on their companies’ or other owned websites.

“Users may choose which social media and content channels to distribute the videos, and what descriptions to use for each individual channel. The program captures engagement analytics, providing vital metrics regarding viewership, website activity, and real-time buyer and seller preferences, ushering in a new era of media distribution for subscribers,” the company said in the announcement.

Video is more topical than ever in terms of its use to the real estate industry. A number of panels at Inman Connect New York last month addressed its use in social media, noting the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels as brand channels. Using video as a form of home tour and in listing promotions grew tremendously during the Covid-era real estate market, and its footprint is only expanding as more tools become available and younger agents demonstrate their comfort in front of a camera.

Christian Sterner, co-founder of WellcomeMat, said that video is now as critical as photography.

“Our yearly real estate video report asks the question, ‘is video the new photo in real estate?’, the answer to that question today is, yes,” he said in the announcement. “We believe that videos will be found in the photo carousel of every real estate website because Triangle MLS is taking charge.”

Sterner’s company is not new to video or real estate. It made news in 2007 for its early adoption of a social media-inspired user experience, and its services have evolved from there to include scheduled distribution, detailed performance reports, a developer API and MLS marketing compliance.

Triangle MLS consists of five member organizations surrounding the continuously sprawling job hub of Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. It represents 15,000 real estate professionals in 16 counties.

Email Craig Rowe