According to our 2020 Real Estate Marketing Trends report, listing video marketing is the top-ranking marketing tool realtors plan to add to their toolkit this year. And we agree – video marketing is arguably the best platform to create and share content. Below are the 3 reasons why we believe real estate agents should be using video marketing for their listings:
Consumers prefer videos to all other forms of content
Hubspot, a leading CRM platform, found that a majority of consumers prefer video content to any other available content. Videos capture attention and can be consumed quicker than reading. Additionally, the top social media platforms encourage video sharing over text only posts. It’s also important to understand your target market.
“Millennials comprise a cohort of people purchasing homes, baby clothing, and B2B software. And their strong preference for video, social, and mobile-first content has implications for marketers working across an expanding array of industries.”
– Hubspot
Studies show that millennials continue to represent the largest percentage of homebuyers right now. It should be noted that millennials prefer mobile to desktop and video to text. If you aren’t using video marketing in your real estate business, you could be missing out on big opportunities.
Google loves mobile and mobile loves video content
In 2019, Google changed its algorithm to mobile-first indexing. This means that Google “predominantly uses the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking”. Another fun fact: Google is also partial to video content. This could be partially because Google owns YouTube. For this reason alone, it’s a great idea to always upload your video marketing pieces to YouTube.
Furthermore, websites and webpages with embedded video receive higher marks from Google crawlers. Embedded videos on webpages boost engagement and time spent on page. Video marketing does well on mobile devices, too. A whopping 90% of consumers watch video on their mobile!
Videos are engaging and shareable
Video marketing is a smart way to share your content because videos can quickly capture attention. When done right, they can be highly engaging and easily consumable. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram make it easy for viewers to reshare video content either publicly or indirectly messages to other users.
When it comes to video content and email marketing, even including the word “video” in the subject line significantly increases an email’s open rates.
Types of real estate marketing videos
There are a number of content ideas you can incorporate into your real estate video marketing strategy. Real estate is a people business, which means that it’s important for buyers and sellers to get an idea of your brand and personality. That’s why video marketing always has a place in real estate. Below are a number of content video ideas for your real estate business:
Real Estate Bio Videos
Clients put a lot of trust into their real estate agents. It’s important for them to know who they intend to hire when it comes to their journey of buying or selling a home. While writing a real estate bio for your website is crucial, try transforming that written content into a video. Think about how the 3 reasons above work with this type of video. It’s preferred by consumers, it’s preferred by Google and mobile devices, and it’s more engaging than reading text.
If you don’t have a professional camera with video recording capabilities, consider renting the equipment from your local camera shop. For this specific video, content is more important than quality. As long as the video is in focus, stable, and has good exposure, it’ll be great!
Listing Image Tour Video
If you are a listing agent, creating a listing image tour video is important. Over 90% of home buyers search for listings online before ever seeing them in person. After you get a professional photographer to take real estate images of your listing, create a video.
You can easily create slideshow videos through online platforms like Animoto. You can also create a video slideshow on Facebook. A listing image tour video captures attention, is engaging for viewers, and is easily shareable.
Walkthrough Videos
If you want to really bring your listing to life, give a tour of the listing with a walkthrough video. Not only will this further show off your listing online, it’ll also help build your brand. Show your face in the walkthrough video and make sure to speak about the listing. This is a great way to show your farm area that you are an industry thought leader and expert realtor in your community.
If you want to take this a step further, go live with the video to really build engagement.
Day in the Life Videos
Let’s be real, a lot of clients don’t really know what real estate agents actually do in the background of showing/selling homes. A day in the life video is an effective way to build trust and brand recognition in your community. If you don’t want to put together a whole day’s worth of video footage, utilize Facebook and Instagram stories.
These small clips of your day can be grouped together into a highlight reel on your page. Not only will viewers enjoy learning more about your career, but you’ll be able to see how you grow as an agent and as a video marketer!
Checklist/Guide Videos
Your clients often don’t know the ins and outs of the home buying and home selling process. This is where your expertise and guidance comes in. Creating a checklist video is a nice way to share the process and expectations. Remember, videos are more consumable, engaging, and shareable.
If you’ve just left a listing appointment, emailing a home selling process guide to the homeowners is a great way to stay top of mind while providing helpful information to those in need.
Video marketing is going to be bigger than ever in 2020. As business owners and marketers, it’s important for real estate agents to use video marketing as a form of content creation. Remember, video marketing is the preferred content by consumers and Google, is most watched on mobile, and is engaging and shareable.
