Let’s Get Visual! 6 Reasons Why Real Estate Agents Need Video Marketing
I was browsing Oakville houses for sale on realtor.ca when I noticed a peculiar multimedia button. When I clicked the icon I expected to see an elegant video showing off every nook and cranny of the house, what I received instead, was nothing more than a photo slide-show. What’s worse is the majority of houses on the site didn’t feature a multi-media button at all. If realtors want to distinguish themselves and highlight their properties then video marketing in today’s online world is a must and below are 6 reasons why:
1. Why Show One Room When You Can Show Them All!
Video allows realtors to give audiences a virtual tour of what might be their new home; like attending an open house from the comfort of their living room. Instead of an image slideshow, realtors should hire videographers and editors to piece together a 2–3 minute video tour of their listing; from the basement to the backyard. If realtors want to embrace their inner Spielberg, there are hundreds of drone operators offering crisp aerial shots with a bird’s eye view of a neighbourhood. More importantly, rather than “wide-angle” photos, videos give viewers a true look at the accurate size of a home.
2. Show Off Your Personality
What’s better than a 3 minute video of a beautiful home? A 3-minute video of a beautiful home with a real-estate agent leading the tour! Realtors should not shy away from starring in their own videos. It builds trust, rapport, and connections with potential clients as they grasp a sense of a realtor’s personality. Add some flair with a personal profile video. Think of these videos as a brief “Getting to Know Me,” where realtors tell potential clients about their accomplishments and who they are.
Connecticut-based realtor Joe Balestriere with William Raveis Real Estate, knows the value of video:
“When communicating with a new client, video can create a serious advantage over the competition.”
3. Say More With Less
Through video, realtors can convey a mansions worth of important information about properties and themselves to clients. Instead of writing up paragraph after paragraph on the number of bedrooms, washrooms, and wonderful locations of properties, and how clients can trust their track record, realtors can show clients all this information and more through video. Summarizing information into a video also shows a respect for the clients time.
4. Go Cross Platform
Social media is a visual medium. If real estate agents neglect video marketing, they won’t be using social media to its full potential. Properly tagged videos can be shared across multiple platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, & YouTube, with virtually no formatting changes. This increases the exposure of an agent’s videos to a large audience. Real estate agents should also offer a variety of content. If they have some expertise to give to clients and fellow agents they should share it and establish themselves as experts in their field. Agents should also include client video testimonials which help build credibility.
5. Gather Data
The beauty of posting videos on social media is that most platforms have analytical tools built in to help realtors discover which audiences are interested in their content. This can help realtors cater marketing decisions and content to appeal to these audiences in the future. And speaking of data, when Google performs data collection to determine rankings for its search engine results pages, it tends to rank sites with large quantities of video content higher than those without video content. That should inspire realtors to bust out their DSLRs and start filming!
6. Calls To Action That Can’t be Ignored
Video holds the viewers attention, for at least 30 seconds, and if realtors can squeeze in a call to action, such as encouraging viewers to subscribe to a newsletter or better yet to their YouTube channel, so they can stay up to date on all new properties and video marketing efforts, then they are on the right track.
The benefits of video marketing are limited to six in this article, but once realtors start incorporating videos into their business, they’ll discover hundreds more. Remember video content drives today’s online world, and the goal should be to make content convenient for clients and audiences to consume. So if you’re writing up a profile on a property or yourself, be sure to include a video!
