Ah, video. Who doesn’t love video. Real Estate Agents that’s who! Hello, my name is Stephen Garner. I am a former title rep for a national title insurance company in Phoenix Arizona. I spent 10 years helping real estate professionals – real estate agents and loan officers – grow their business. One of the most effective way to grow your real estate business is using video for real estate, yet so many real estate agents are not using it.
One question I get frequently from real estate agents about video is “what should I make a video of?” or even better, the statement “I don’t like video!”. Recently I read a statistic from NAR that 80% of consumer’s want their properties marketed by video, so why aren’t real estate agents using video for real estate? They are using social media tools like Facebook and Twitter but not really video. Why?
From the conversations I have had with real estate agents there appears to be an uncomfortably factor with video for real estate. So here are some tips on how to use video in your real estate marketing.
- Get over yourself. Many agents are uncomfortable appearing in video because they don’t like the way they “look”. Get over yourself. When I watch a video I am watching it for the information, I don’t necessarily care what the person looks like on the video. You as a real estate agent have a wealth of information to share and that is what the consumer is searching Google for – information. Share it!
- Stop Caring. Stop caring what others think about you or your videos. Do other competitors pay your bills? What about your broker? Your friends and family? Ex girlfriend/boyfriend? Ex wife or husband? NO! So why care what they think? Caring about what others think will prevent you from embracing video. It’s been my experience that most people are motivated by Looking Good or Not Looking Bad, when you stop being one of the sheeple you will thrive in your marketing, especially with video.
- Make your video of value - To The CONSUMER. Once again, you have a wealth of information to share. Do you know what consumers should look out for when buying a short sale? What about when hiring a short sale real estate agent? How about the buying process in your respective state or country – CANADA- (they are different ya know), other ideas include subdivisions (what makes Val Vista Lakes such a great place to live?) Why would anyone want to live in Phoenix? Mesa, Tempe, Chandler etc. You have a wealth of information to share that could save consumers time and money. Share it!
- Get the right equipment. You don’t need to spend a fortune on camera equipment. I have almost 100 videos on YouTube, most of them were made with my Macbook Pro. If you are not making a video with you in it you can get a Flip Mino , Kodak PlayTouch or Kodak Zi8 – and don’t forget the tripod!
- Don’t spend a fortune on editing software. If you have a Mac you have iMovie already, if you are a PC you have Windows Movie Maker. Google it.
- Use an audio track. Something that sounds good. Not heavy metal or Rap, I’m thinking vanilla.
- Drop the industry speak. Not that you want to treat consumers like a 12 year old but YES – treat them like they are 12. Don’t use acronyms like MLS or CMA’s or GRI, ABR, CRS etc. Speak in layman’s terms. Break it down.
- Don’t try and shoot the entire video in one take. If you are shooting a new listing start outside – with the curb appeal – and move your way inside, speak of the value to the end user – Look at this 4 car garage!
- Keep It Short. Most people have a short attention span. Just because a basic YouTube account lets you post 10 minute videos doesn’t mean you should try and use it all. Shoot for 3 minutes
- Get To The Point already. Don’t count on consumers “figuring out” what your video is about. Tell them immediately what the value of the video is FOR THEM.
- Drop The Me Me Me. As awesome as you are (and you are awesome) no one is cruising YouTube looking for an awesome real estate agent. It is also the last thing most consumers want to hear about – you. They are most likely looking for information about an area, property, lifestyle, process, etc. Not an explanation of “what is a CDPE” or other designation. Remove yourself as the value proposition. Consumers are pretty smart – they will figure it out. A valuable video (information) can position you as the area expert or trusted advisor and you won’t have to say anything about your abilities.
- Watch other real estate video’s. What did they do right? Wrong?
- Upload, Describe and Tag. Upload your video to YouTube, describe it (what’s your video about?) and Tag it with keywords consumers are searching YouTube for. Let consumers click through to your website from your video by starting the description with http://yourwebsite.com Use the YouTube Key Word Tool (Google it)
Real estate is an emotional process. People get excited about seeing property and nothing (short of being there) can convey this feeling like video for real estate. If a picture says 1000 words a video says 1 BILLION. Marketing has changed, it’s not about pushing your marketing message out to the masses anymore, inbound marketing for real estate is about getting “found” online at the exact moment a consumer has identified a need for your product or service. And when it comes to getting found, Video for real estate is awesome. A properly optimized Video is 57% more likely to make it on the 1st page of Google compared to text.
So what are you waiting for? Identify your ideal client, and craft a message specifically for them to find. Believe me, they will. Ready to get going? Here is more information to help you about using video in real estate.
Oh one more thing. Don’t you dare go through all the trouble of making a video for real estate and NOT Link it to your facebook fan page, send it out on Twitter or embed it into your WordPress Real Estate website.
