The real estate industry constantly evolves and new marketing trends appear to meet fresh challenges. Today, agents embrace video to promote their listings and connect with potential clients. But there’s more to know about marketing via video than the average real estate professional realizes.
Video is currently redefining real estate marketing. If agents aren’t using video to create excitement around their properties and take buyers on virtual tours of their communities, they’re behind the game. Real estate marketing trends show that video is no longer an option for real estate professionals. It’s a must-have in a marketing toolbox.
Below are some ways to take advantage of video and use it to put yourself in front of the competition. Not all agents understand the importance of this relatively new medium and its impact on closing deals.
Virtual Tours
Buyers often enjoy taking virtual property tours before they invest time in visiting a home. Every agent should make it easy for potential homeowners to view their listings online. Photographs are a must, but virtual video tours need to accompany images because they give a more realistic picture of a space.
You can hire a professional to make your virtual tour or shoot the video yourself with a good-quality camera or phone. The key is to highlight the best areas and features of your listing (visually and with audio if appropriate) while walking buyers on a captivating tour of the home in general.
Neighborhood Rundowns
Agents should post neighborhood rundown videos to their blog and social media pages to show their grasp of the community and its many facets. Community rundown videos can highlight homes for sale, boundaries of particular districts and pockets, local restaurants and businesses, schools, and neighborhood events.
There are many ways to create a neighborhood rundown video, but many agents like to walk the streets and show what it feels like to live in the community – like a guided tour you might take on vacation. Be creative with your neighborhood rundowns and keep the goal of educating your clients in mind.
Market Overview and Analysis
Market overview and analysis videos can focus on the state of the local housing market, including trends and predictions. These types of real estate marketing videos explain various factors that impact home values, days on market, and other important metrics.
You can shoot this marketing video in your office or a conference room, and you’ll be the star as you present valuable information using charts and other data. Consider hiring a professional video editor to pull relevant graphics into the final product.
Video Commercial
Some agents use video to produce high-quality commercials advertising their real estate business or team. You can do this too to spread the word about your services and experiences.
Again, a professional video editor can help you turn raw footage, images, text, and even music into a video commercial that positively propels your brand. Consider placing your video commercial on your website’s home page and pinning it to the top of all your social media channels.
What to Know About Real Estate Video Marketing
Leveraging video is essential for real estate professionals. And, while they are many opportunities to embrace video as a marketing tool, agents should know how to best use video to connect with buyers.
The facts and tips below will help you plan your video marketing strategy and avoid mistakes that can negate your good intentions.
- Roughly two-thirds of consumers prefer videos that are less than 60 seconds
- Viewers want you to communicate value in an engaging and upfront way
- Longer listing videos are best for your blog, while short property clips are perfect for social media
- Let your visuals talk and consider audio as an accessory
- Market analysis videos can be boring so use your imagination to make them stand out
- Publishing a video a week on your blog and social media channels keeps your audience commented
Summary
Trends show that video is an extremely attractive and engaging form of marketing for real estate agents. It works because it taps into tech as we know it today. Consumers are visual creatures – particularly those looking for homes – who currently fixate on all things video, as the popularity of YouTube, Facebook and Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and other social mediums show.
Viewers spend almost three million hours each month viewing videos online. It makes sense, then, to invest in video as a focal point of your real estate marketing strategy.
No signs are pointing to a slowdown in demand for video. Agents who embrace this marketing opportunity now will indeed find success in the future.
