Getting Started with Real Estate Video Marketing

Feeling overwhelmed? Here's how to tackle this lucrative new area of marketing

A helpful article from Kathryn Royster 

Buzz about real estate video marketing is everywhere.

Almost every marketing-oriented session at Inman Connect New York mentioned it. And there’s a good reason for this: an overwhelming number of statistics point to video’s effectiveness as a marketing tool.

That holds true whether you’re trying to win listings, sell homes or build your brand.

If you’re not already using video for real estate marketing, however, the options can be overwhelming.

There are so many different ways to do it. Do you hire a pro or DIY? Record the video or go live? Share it on your website, Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram?

Don’t despair! If you’re telling yourself, “I need to get started with video marketing, but I have no idea where to begin,” this list of tips will help.

Tip No. 1: Don’t try to be all things to all people

All the other tips in this article follow from this one.

The real estate landscape has never been more diverse, both in terms of buyer/seller demographics and possible topics and platforms for video marketing.

Unless you have an entire team just for producing and distributing your videos, you can’t possibly cover all the bases. Instead, think in terms of identifying what works best for your brand and business, and focus your energies (and your budget) there.

Tip No. 2: Tailor your video content to your audience

“Know your audience” is the No. 1 rule of marketing.

Another marketing truism: Highly targeted content gets the best results.

So before you actually start producing videos, stop and ask yourself, “Who am I trying to reach?” Then do some research to find out what matters to your target audience, and tailor your video content accordingly.

(Good resources for market intelligence include the Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report, Inman Market Intel or the National Association of Realtors’ Home Buyer and Seller Profile.)

Tip No. 3: Pick your video marketing platform(s)

This may be the hardest task of all. There are so many possible real estate video marketing platforms, and many of them provide multiple ways to use video.

On Facebook alone, for instance, you can upload videos to your page, embed videos in posts, share live-streaming video and create video ads.

Too many agents try to establish a presence on every platform and end up flaming out. You should always have video on your own website, but beyond that, go for quality instead of quantity.

Find out which social networks your target audience prefers. You’ll get better engagement — and, therefore, better return on your investment — if you focus on sharing quality video content consistently on those platforms.

Tip No. 4: Mix your media

Just as with investing, you’ll get the best return if you diversify your video marketing portfolio.

Mix professional and DIY videos, and produce video marketing content for a variety of purposes. Pay a pro when quality and polish make a major difference in ROI. Examples include:

• Listing videos
• In-depth community videos
• Brokerage videos
• In-depth agent bios

Shoot your own video if you’re being impromptu, informal or fun. Examples include:

• Facebook Live
• Instagram and Snapchat videos
• Behind-the-scenes videos of your office
• On-the-scene videos of community, charity or industry events
• Short agent bios or video messages/greetings
• On-demand showings

Tip No. 5: Don’t set it and forget it

We live in an age when consumers are bombarded with a constant stream of marketing and information. You have to produce new video content regularly to stay fresh and relevant.

It’s fine to refresh professionally produced video bios, brokerage videos or in-depth community videos just once a year. But other types of video marketing content have a shorter lifespan.

If you want to harness the engagement-boosting power of video on social media, aim to use video in at least 30 percent of your posts; 50 percent or more is even better.

However you go about it, though, just go about it.

Video has tremendous effectiveness as a real estate marketing tool. Make the effort to use it, and your bottom line will thank you.