Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our real estate technology expert? Email Craig Rowe.
Droners.io is a website for discovering and purchasing drone photography and video services.
Platform(s): Browser-agnostic; iOS, Android mobile sites.
Ideal for: Any agent or team wanting to integrate flyover videography into listing or company marketing.
Top selling points
- All pilots on Droners are FAA-certified legal pilots.
- The interface for creating, discussing projects is clean and uncomplicated.
- Pilot profiles come with portfolio samples for consideration.
Things to consider
The drone videography market is still young, so market prices are rather widespread. Be wary of pilots drastically under-bidding competitors to earn business in your market.
Full review
Drone video has a lot of potential in real estate marketing.
You can find aerial footage in the luxury and resort milieus, where elaborate, multi-home estates and landscape views can’t be done justice by an iPhone.
As search portals compete to paint data-driven “pictures” of a listing’s community, professional drone footage captures actual visual appeal.
All pilots on Droners are FAA-certified legal pilots
An online listing boosted with even a minute of high-quality videography will quickly elevate its status on your website. Oh, and sellers love it, too.
Droners makes it easy to post a job for public bid from one of 1,200 Droners-registered pilots. Or, agents can search first for a pilot whose work stands out and address them through the site privately.
In a few simple fields blanketing the project name, industry need, budget, location and a description, your flight need gets broadcast to Droners’ network of pilots.
Each pilot’s profile card offers a peek into their recent work and skill set. Some are indeed better than others, but from what I saw, they’re all good.
To be a legal drone pilot, and thus on Droners list, individuals need to have earned an FAA Exemption certificate and currently, be licensed pilots. Aircraft pilots.
The drone videography market is still young, so market prices are rather widespread.
Legislation is in the works to adjust the pilot’s license requirement. It was the best standard the FAA could apply as drone photography and the related privacy concerns skyrocketed in the last few years.
In a couple of days, pilot bids will populate your project page, from which you can easily accept, reject or begin a discussion.
Most pilots have evolved from professional photographers and video editors. Thus, agents can expect bids to include the cost of editing and preparing publish-ready video.
If only footage is needed to be part of an ongoing project, that can be specified in the initial job description.
Droners does a good job of taking the fear out of hiring for this relatively new form of real estate marketing.
The site’s interface is designed to encourage collaboration and showcase the talents of its pilot network. You can read reviews, ask questions of your pilots, see their work and negotiate pricing.
If you’ve had thoughts about integrating into your marketing mix this powerful new form of visual medium, Droners is a good place to start.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe.
