Shreveport, LA

We at Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours are pleased to announce the release of our new YouTube channel. YouTube is one of the most powerful video marketing sites on the web today and we are now able to harness this power for our Shreveport/Bossier City area clients, giving them a more dynamic property marketing experience.

The new channel features slide show style videos coupled with short descriptive text and a link to the 360 virtual tour, providing our clients one more avenue through which to share information about their real estate listing. This is an avenue which is informative and provides an engaging and interactive experience for the real estate shopper. This comes in addition to our already powerful online solutions which include SEO optimized virtual tours, our listing exposure engine and a new social networking utility.

At Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours it is our goal to provide real solutions for virtual media - solutions that are cost effective, easy to use and which generate high exposure for our clients. If you would like to learn more contact us today.

In all my writing about neighborhoods in Shreveport, I always try to provide information about the home owners association.  The best way to do this is to give the website address.  Until recently, I could find nothing online for Shreveport's gated community of Acadiana Place.

Well, I'm happy to report that through a Google alert, I now have the URL the Acadiana Place Home Owners Association.

The is the address for the Home Page.

Click on this link to view the members of the board of directors.

Go here if you would like to contact the association.

Ask questions, take a look at the neighborhood covenants, and go visit!  It's a great neighborhood close to just about everything.

Realtor.com released some interesting statistics for December 2008.  The data show the most-searched real estate markets in the United States ranked in order of popularity, year-over-year and month-over-month percentage increases.

I want to give a heads up to all homeowners in Shreveport and Bossier City who are thinking of selling their home.  The month-over-month increase in online searches for this area was 22.6%.  This means that close to 25% more people searched online for homes for sale in Shreveport this December compared to last December.

According to the National Association of Realtors®, 80% of home searches nationwide begin on the internet.  This is significant information for sellers.

How so?  It simply means that the agent you select to list your home must know how to effectively market homes online.  "But don't all agents do that?", you ask.  And the answer is yes and no.

The broker that an agent works for may automatically send all their listings to some online real estate websites.  An internet savvy Realtor® won't settle for that.  They will make sure that their listings are found everywhere on the world wide web - even the first page of Google.

My Premier Home Marketing Program™, esnures that homes that I list are found on more than 30 real estate marketing websites.  That means local, national, and international exposure for my listings.  Make sure any agent you work with does the same.

Here is a list of ten cool places to go when you're visiting Shreveport or if you live here and are looking for something to do.  I've put them in no particular order.

1. Sci-Port Discovery Science Center and IMax Theater The kids love this one, but it has something for everyone.

2. Yogie and Friends Wild Cat Sanctuary Get up close and personal with lions and tigers and panthers - no bears!

3. Chimp Haven A family of chimps retired from the scientific research sector.

4. Water Town Shreveport's own water park.

5. R.W. Norton Art Gallery A unique art museum with rotating exhibits and absolutely beautiful gardens with walking paths.

6. The Strand Theater A true Shreveport icon.

7. Cross Lake A fishing, skiing, sailing mecca in north Shreveport.

8. Louisiana Boardwalk Across the river in Bossier City, the boardwalk has shops to interest everyone, eating, people watching, shopping, trolley riding, movie watching, bowling, eating, and did I say shopping?

9. Gardens of the American Rose Center Acres and acres of roses and other flowers.

10. Barksdale Air Force Base Museum The 8th Air Force Museum tells the air force story and features an airplane exhibit.

All of these places can be visited year-round, so if you're in Shreveport or Bossier City or somewhere close by, plan a visit. You'll have plenty to do.

See this list of My Top Ten Favorite Local Restaurants for places to dine while you're here.

Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours now includes a new social networking utility in our Shreveport virtual tours, making it easier than ever for your tour to be bookmarked. Now when a visitor comes to your website and views one of your property tours, they can take it with them when they go simply by selecting the ‘Share Tour’ tab then choosing their favorite social networking site.

Why is this important to real estate agents? Because your real estate marketing just went viral! What is viral marketing? It works like this:

When a visitor comes to your website they look at your listings and information then leave when they are finished. Your marketing information remains on your website. But with viral marketing, it means that the visitor can take information about you and your listing with them when they go. They can then place it on their favorite social networking site where their friends will see it. These friends can then place it on their sites, where their friends see it and so on, quickly spreading your information across the web.

And of course, the more people who see you and your listing the better the chance of converting visitors to clients.

But it doesn’t stop there. Because our tours are now Search Engine Optimized, which means that all these new visits serve to bubble your virtual tour and you to the top of the search engine rankings.

Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours together with RTV are always looking for new ways to help you market your property and yourself. Our products are designed to help you stay ahead of the curve. If you are looking to boost your online presence this year, let us help. We will do the work so that you don’t have to. Leaving you free to do what you do best - sell real estate. Contact us today to discuss your marketing campaign.