Video

4 Simple Steps on How to Get Started with Real Estate Video Content: Part One

VideoPart One: Steps 1 and 2

You’ve likely heard that video content is the latest trend for 2016 and is rapidly increasing in popularity and effectiveness. It’s becoming one of the most effective tools for businesses and brands, because it resonates with people on a personal and emotional level.

Video creates greater site engagement, increases the effectiveness of email marketing, and drastically improves lead generation. Search engines reward video content and viewers love it. Video is important for every real estate agent.

The statistics are great, but many people are uncertain where to begin. Some think that using pictures to create a slideshow and adding music constitutes video content. Others think using their iPhone while walking through a house and then uploading that video to YouTube constitutes good video content.

With so many on opposite ends of the spectrum, it’s important to know where to begin and how to create high quality real estate video content that connects with your audience beyond just real estate. Here are some simple steps to get you started.

  1. Determine Your Video Content Strategy

It’s true that bad video kills a brand’s image, good video isn’t really memorable, but great video content is worth its weight in gold. That’s where the engagement and effectiveness starts to multiple.

So, the first thing you need to do when determining your strategy is to commit to creating high quality video content. Quality should be your first goal. If you don’t invest in quality video content, you’re not going to reap the benefits. Video is the only type of content that truly allows someone to emotionally content with your message. Your viewers pick up on the nonverbal ques and emotions, and experience the moment with you.

Now, the thought of filming every real estate listing you have seems overwhelming and, to be honest, not all listings are going to be profitable if you do this. So, where do you start? Here are a few options.

Choose to film videos that have a longer shelf-life. Coined “evergreen,” these videos can be used in marketing materials and online communication for months, even years. You can film:

  • Branding Videos: Branding videos give your audience a sense of who you are and what your values are. They give sellers insight into your business, but they can also stick in buyers’ minds, and be used as recruiting videos for potential new agents.
  • Agent Bios: Bio videos allow viewers to meet your real estate agents and get a sense of their personalities. Potential buyers and sellers will be able to see what it’s like to work with certain agents and connect with them on a greater level prior to hiring them.
  • Neighbourhood Tours: 86% of home buyers watch neighbourhood videos to learn more about a community, according to a 2013 Google/NAR study. These videos will allow your agency to exert itself as area experts and become the go-to for community information and statistics.
  1. Hire a Professional Filmmaker or Videographer

Once you’ve established what types of videos you want to create, now you need to find someone to help you create them. Before you contact potential filmmakers, however, you need to determine what you want your final product to look like.

  • Determine who your target audience is and what message you want to convey. What tone will you use in your video?
  • Do you want a more lifestyle vibe or will you be featured on camera?
  • Do you want voiceovers or music?
  • Do you want time lapses, aerial footage, or both?
  • Do you want to interview multiple people or other businesses?

The more you can flesh out what you want in your final product, the easier the process will be. Your filmmaker will have a clearer understanding of your expectations and be able to determine if your budget is reasonable based on those expectations.

You might be thinking that professional videos are too expensive, especially if you want to produce listing videos for anything other than a luxury property, but you can actually have some high quality, reasonably priced videos produced. You just need to do your research.

When you do speak to filmmakers, request to see their reel or other videos they’ve created. This will show you each filmmaker’s style, and you’ll be able to see if it meshes well with what you’re looking for.

Click here to read Part 2 of our series, where we’ll discuss steps 3 and 4, which are how to choose the right hosting platform and how to distribute your videos.

For more helpful real estate tips and information like this, check out our blog. You can also follow us on Facebook.

At iProperty, we provide leading online property management and real estate software,  responsive websites, and more.

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