I have a question for you…
How are you marketing your real estate business in 2019?
Video should be at the top of your list. In fact, marketers who use video can grow their revenue 49% faster than those who don’t.
The right video strategy shows off your properties, your personality and your expertise in a polished and engaging way. Here are five videos every real estate agent needs to use to grow their business.
1. Property Videos
The first video on the list is one you’re probably already using. Whether you’re working with commercial or residential listings, property videos are becoming standard practice for most agents.
Typically, these videos walk a viewer through the space, showing off its unique features. But not all property videos are created equal.
Consider these things when it comes time for you to make your property video:
- Use movement: Amp up your production value by using camera movement to draw & keep your audience’s attention. Smooth, sweeping visuals can be accomplished using a gimbal or dolley. Camera movement mimics the perspective of someone walking through the space themselves. The right camera is just as important. Here’s what we have been shooting on a lot these days.
- Consider sound: Do you want your video to include a voice over? Voice over is a great way to give your viewer extra information about what they are seeing, and highlight amenities they can’t see, like central air or energy efficient windows and doors. To learn more about the importance of sound, check out this blog where we cover sound in detail.
- Choose your music wisely: Music can greatly impact your viewers experience. If you pair a downtown Toronto condo with cool, electronic lounge music, you’re implying a different lifestyle than if you use a jazz track. Consider your ideal buyer and what they’re looking for in a lifestyle.
- Use call out titles: Call out titles are another great way to get information across and can be used with or without voiceover. If you decide not to use a voiceover, these titles can get across all of that extra information your potential buyers want to know. Paired with voice over, they underscore all your critical sell points.
Raise the Bar
If you want to elevate your property film to the next level, there are two bold and unique ways to do that.
- Create a property film. This goes beyond showing off the space and introduces a narrative that will help sell not only the space, but the lifestyle your clients can live in it. This includes investing in high quality creative talent to come up with the perfect concept. They’ll also handle casting professional actors, set decoration and everything else you need to make killer content. For more tips on selling lifestyle, you can read our blog post about it here.
- Create a virtual reality experience. This is an especially wise investment if you have clients overseas who may not be able to see the property in person.
Pro Tip: You don’t necessarily need to stick to showing off properties that you’re listing. Film high-end properties someone another agent is listing. This is a great way to network and create epic real estate video content.
2. Neighbourhood Tours
Location…location…location…
This is the holy grail of real estate and making neighbourhood videos is the perfect way to highlight your listings location
This is true for both residential and commercial real estate. Show potential buyers what it’s like to live in the neighbourhood and show businesses and investors what kind of traffic and opportunity surround your commercial listing.
In a large city like Toronto, amenities and lifestyle considerations can change block by block. Highlight things like restaurants, parks, public transit access and whatever else makes the neighbourhood shine.
Here are few ways to approach this video:
- Consider a host: Every neighbourhood has its own unique personality. Let that shine through by finding a great spokesperson that embodies the same energy of the area. This can be you or someone else, but whoever it is needs to be friendly, knowledgable and confident on camera.
- Sizzle it: If you’d rather not put a face to the neighbourhood, a sizzle video is another great way to show off its charm. The key to this kind of edit is fast cuts, great music and graphics that call out key features and perks.
- Meet a neighbour: If you really want to personalize these videos, consider approach someone who already lives in the neighbourhood and asking them to speak about it. No one knows a neighbourhood like a local.
- Choose the best visuals: Every neighbourhood has its awesome and not-so-awesome looking elements. Do your research and find the most scenic, exciting or eye-catching places in the area. Some of our favourite Toronto locations for shooting video are featured in the blog we wrote here.
3. Agent profile
As a real estate agent, your personal brand is everything.
Your biggest investments needs to shape and promote what makes your awesome, passionate and knowledgable. Video is the ultimate tool for this.
If you have a personal realtor website, placing a video on your landing page can increase conversions by 80%.
Get in front of the camera and introduce yourself. Let people see what you do day-to-day that makes you stand out from the rest.
Here are a few ways you can go about this:
- A day in the life: Let your potential clients take a peek behind the scenes. This style of video follows you through a work day and gives them insight into just how hard you work to find your client’s their dream home. Make sure to add a personal touch to this. Visit a local coffee shop you love, take your dog for a walk or capture your morning workout routine, then tie those values into what makes you a great agent.
- Go direct to camera: Address your audience directly and talk about what they can expect when they hire you. Values, passion and experience. This can come across as particularly genuine because it’s like you’re having a one-on-one conversation with them.
- Quantify: If you want to appeal to a numbers-oriented crowd, consider crunching the numbers on exactly what you’ve done in your career as a real estate agent.
Pro tip: If you’re from a brokerage and your goal is recruiting agents, you should consider making a recruitment film. We write about how to do that in this article.
4. The Client Testimonial
We all know about the power of the referral. Capture that happy clients sentiment with a testimonial video and create a 24/7 sales tool.
In this kind of video, you can have your satisfied clients share their stories and show how you helped them find their dream property. People respond to their peer’s opinions, so use that to your advantage. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Approach a diverse range of stories: Just like the properties you sell, your client base is varied and unique. When selecting clients to interview, try to get as accurate a sample as possible. This could mean a combination of young professionals, families and retirees, or people with drastically different asks.
- Have them identify their pain points: What was the biggest issue or concern your client was facing in their property hunt and how were you able to solve that for them? Viewers with similar pain points will empathize with them and this will help build intrigue.
- Ask about the numbers: Did you sell your client’s property well above asking? Did you close a deal in lightning speed? Consumers look for proof in numbers, so incorporate data points any time you can. For extra impact, show these numbers with call out titles on screen.
5. Industry Insight (With V-logging)
We’ve all heard the term “thought leadership”.
People want to work with those who are considered experts in their field and a great way to showcase your up-to-date chops is with video.
You should be constantly commenting on and talking about big issues that might impact your clients, your peers and the real estate economy as a whole.
More and more, people are looking for thought leadership on Youtube. This is a great platform to build your authority and trust with your viewers. Whenever anything of interest happens in your industry, considering vlogging about it.
Someone that does a great job at broadcasting thought leadership is Ryan Serhant (of Million Dollar Listing New York Fame).
Serhant started a vlog on Youtube just over a year ago and has amassed 22 Million + views and over 360,000 subscribers.
Obviously he has a bit of an advantage, being one of the stars of a hugely popular TV show, but there are a lot of tips you can learn from watching his videos. Be honest, transparent and give your audience real value.
Value can come from education, inspiration or just sheer entertainment.
Hopefully this article has motivated you to go out there and start using video to boost your real estate business.
No matter what kind of business you’re in, first impressions matter a lot. Today, the first interaction someone has with you is probably going to be online, particularly social media. That’s why these video assets are so important to get right.
Now go out there and sell…sell…sell.
