Real estate video marketing is a subject that real estate companies of all shapes and sizes cannot ignore. We, at Dubb, have noted the rise of video in many different articles and posts, and the power of video naturally carries over into the real estate sector. 

Yes, you can use video marketing to generate leads. And to be honest, who doesn’t like that? But beyond the sheer number of leads that you can attract from each video marketing campaign, video marketing arguably has more important benefits for the long-term course of your business. If I had to nail it down to one thing, video is so powerful because you can make a genuine connection with your audience. Your audience sees that you are authentic and that you are knowledgeable about your craft. They see your personality and even your interests outside your work in the real estate sector. 

Ultimately, they develop this close, personal relationship with you and want to work with you. It’s almost like your audience members have already met you. And the best part? Video marketing lets you do this at scale. 

My team and I have seen the power of video marketing in many industries and sectors—including the real estate industry. One recent study revealed that real estate listings that have videos get 400 percent more interest than listings that don’t include video. Because of this, I want to take this time to share some tips, tricks, strategies, and tactics on how you can best use video marketing for your real estate business. 

A Vast Opportunity Set

Before delving into specific tips and strategies, I want to share just how excited I am for you. The real estate industry is perfect for video marketing because the industry is so visual. You aren’t selling a product or service that rests behind the scenes. Instead, you work in an industry where aesthetics and visuals truly matter. 

Whether you are working in the residential or commercial real estate sectors, your work is just perfect for video marketing. The possibilities are endless.

You can create a quick video when you are hosting an open house. Little is stopping you (or a colleague) from pulling out your phone and taking a video when you are giving a tour to a group of prospects. You can even take photos of your property, upload them to Google Photos or Apple Clips, combine them in a video, and add music This particular video can have 20 to 30 clips of things like the property’s front yard, interior, that beautiful staircase, stunning kitchen, and that bathtub that everyone dreams about. You can export all of that footage into a professional-looking 20 to 30-second video, which you can then distribute on your website, social media channels, or even directly through email.

Developing this habit of content creation when you are on-property is extremely powerful. It shows that you are already in business and that you are already providing value to another homeowner or commercial property owner.

But even beyond that, you can even target individual prospects by sending personalized video emails. You can use them to prospect, and often, you will find that it is much easier to send a video email compared to a text email. While this strategy may be for some prospects that are further along in your marketing funnel, this can be a great way to build a tight, authentic relationship with that prospect.

I’m not done, though. Here are some other types of videos that you can consider using:

  • Listing videos.
  • Live stream question and answer videos.
  • Blog recap videos.
  • Market update videos.
  • Home buying and selling advice videos.
  • Offer videos.
  • Local business review videos.
  • School district review videos.
  • About me or explainer videos.
  • Neighborhood or community videos.
  • Testimonial and review videos.
  • Real estate process videos.   
  • Whiteboard explainer videos.
  • MLS listing videos.
  • Office culture videos.
  • Event videos.
  • Thought leadership videos.
  • Last but not least, videos of your pets and cute animals.

The simple reality is that these are interesting stories that we can tell. We can connect to our audience through these stories, whether your audience is made up of new prospects and/or repeat clients. 

Content Creation Strategies

There are several other content creation strategies that we would like to share. Regardless of your familiarity with or prior use of video marketing, we encourage you to follow these strategies in your future videos. 

Include Your Branding

To start, all of your videos should capture your branding and your personality. Make sure to include your logo, your branded colors, or any other elements off your company’s brand. These elements, while seemingly small, can help your audience more closely connect with your video content. Along with your actual video content, don’t hesitate to brand your video player. It will be a way for your audience to remember your company the next time they are looking to buy or sell.

Don’t Forget Your Calls-To-Action

No matter which platform(s) you select, it is critical to have calls-to-action (“CTA”) for each of your videos. If you aren’t yet aware, a CTA is essentially a way for your audience to know what to do after viewing your content. CTAs can be many things. For instance, your audience can complete a form, schedule a call with your company, or even download a free eBook. 

Ultimately, all audiences like to have a clear path on what they need to do after watching your video. If you don’t include a CTA, your audience, in all likelihood, will drop off and move on with their day—even if they are potentially interested in working with you. You can avoid this missed opportunity by using a tool like Dubb to incorporate custom CTAs in your videos.

Be Strategic About Your Platforms

When discussing real estate video marketing, it is also helpful to mention the different types of platforms that you can use to distribute your content. 

Facebook is a great start. It is a great platform for you to share new listing or beautiful properties in your portfolio. People are already watching hyper-lapsed, fun, and entertaining videos on Facebook. Beautiful homes can be a wonderful source of entertainment, whether you share a post with a produced video or simply go live to give a real-time tour. As we’ll discuss below, if you see some good traction or engagement with your posts, you may want to put some dollars behind it with a Facebook Lead Ad. 

Beyond Facebook, you may want to consider Twitter. Twitter is great for short six to twelve second videos. As you are proceeding through your workday, don’t hesitate to take out your phone and start recording. These moments humanize you and help you build a genuine connection with your audience.

Instagram is always a great choice. Make sure to include your most beautiful and impressive shots in your Instagram posts. LinkedIn can even be a great platform. Video is becoming increasingly popular on LinkedIn, and you can use this platform to target a different type of audience. Even YouTube can be a terrific place for long-form, educational, and entertaining content. 

Finally, don’t forget your website. Whether your website runs on Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, or another platform, it is often extremely easy to embed any of your videos on your site. If you’re a Dubb user, for instance, you can also use our landing page builder to quickly create a landing page for your video.

Throughout this entire discussion, keep in mind that you’ll want to prioritize depth over breadth. It’s better to have a more robust presence on a few platforms than have an infrequent presence on many platforms. 

Specific Strategies

From the discussion above, I now want to transition into particular strategies that you can follow to generate leads through video marketing. 

Introducing Yourself

This first strategy is a tactical way for you to start getting leads with video. I already spoke about taking your phone and creating a quick 20 to 30-second video of a certain property in your portfolio. This video is somewhat different.

Here, you begin by using your phone to create a quick introduction video. Don’t just say your name and background. Here, explain why you’re qualified to do what you do and any specialties you may have. From there, compile several testimonials of past or current clients (you can easily do this with Dubb’s software). Have them briefly explain their experience with you. And finally, display your phone number and logo in the video. An app like Google Photos, iMovie, Apple Clips, or other video editors can help you stitch together a short video (even something as short as 15 to 30 seconds) that you can then upload to your favorite social media site. 

With that video, you can target an affinity audience—like people who own or who are looking to buy a home. You can also filter out your audience based on income level and age. Don’t be nervous about targeting too narrow of an audience. They should be your high-value prospects that you would love to convert.

Upon posting your video, try to get likes, comments, and shares from your existing clients. Even better, see if some previous clients can leave some testimonials in the comments below the video. This offers value social proof and helps prospects quickly trust you. 

Also don’t hesitate to use your video as part of a Facebook Lead Ad, which allows prospects to easily reach out after viewing your content. In fact, these ads, on average, convert four to eight times more than regular ads. Facebook Lead Ads can also send traffic to your Yelp, Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com profiles. 

Lead Follow-Up

Another strategy that we at Dubb recommend in real estate video marketing is called lead follow-up. Here, you are specifically leveraging video marketing to follow-up with leads that you have met in-person.

Let’s assume that you had an open house last weekend and met with several prospects. While you had a good conversation, the fact remains that those prospects are likely speaking with three or four other agents. So how do you stand out? One great way is to follow-up with a very personal video that reminds them of the conversation you had. By doing this, you circle back to the promising discussion and set yourself up for a follow-up meeting with the prospect. 

The ultimate idea is to reignite the conversation you had. The prospect, by viewing your video, can immediately recognize your face and voice. It is going to separate you from your competitors, all of which are likely sending plain text emails or phone calls. 

Leveraging Digital Leads

The next strategy applies if you are thinking of running ads on digital platforms like Realtor.com, Zillow, Facebook, or Google. If you are already running ads on these platforms, in all likelihood, your targets don’t yet know who you are. They are cool prospects and you haven’t yet had the opportunity to make a real connection. Along with this, there is a real chance that these leads are also being captured by some of your competitors.

You have to set yourself apart, and one of the best ways to do this is through video. You can convey your expertise, value, and your personality much faster than through text or a phone call. So as soon as you get that lead, send them a video email or video text message. This can be done through an autoresponder through your CRM or you manually sending the video once you receive the lead. The opportunity is there to build trust as quickly as possible through video. 

Combine Newsletters and Video

Your real estate company may or may not send out a regular newsletter to your prospects. Sending this newsletter out at least once per month can be a great way to stay in touch with your audience. To make this outreach more personal, however, we recommend that you incorporate video in your newsletter. By getting on camera and showing off your expertise on a particular property or neighborhood, you can enhance your credibility while building an authentic relationship with your audience. You can send these video emails through a service like Dubb or any other system that you use to distribute your newsletter. 

As far as the type of video that you can produce for your newsletter, think about preferred partner videos. These videos show you and a partner that you work with often (like a lender or home inspector). The concept is to get them on-camera with you and to share their expertise within the real estate world. You can do everything from sharing interesting stories to revealing a top five or top ten list that is relevant to buyers or sellers. 

This type of video not only shows that you have a network of experts, but that you have a pulse on the market. Through a preferred partner video, you can create content that is educational, informative, and entertaining. You are providing real value to your audience, which will keep them coming back for more. 

Contract Walkthroughs

Another type of video that you can create is a so-called contract walkthrough. While every city has its own ordinances, nearly every buyer’s agreement is essentially the same. Therefore, if you are working with a large number of buyer leads, it can be beneficial to record a contract walkthrough. By using a tool that contains a screen recording function (like Dubb), you can go line-by-line through your buyer’s agreement. When proceeding through your walkthrough, you can also include a small image of your face, allowing you to continue building trust with your viewer.

It’s a great way to educate your audience, save time, and show that you are an expert in your craft. Moreover, you can recycle the same video, allowing you to work on other things rather than educate a prospect or potential buyer.

Requests for Testimonials

A quick way to generate significant ROI through real estate video marketing is through a request for testimonials video. Also called a request for reviews or referrals, this video, at its core, is trying to get more positive reviews on sites like Google, Facebook, Zillow, or others. This is because user reviews are so critical to elevate your profile on these social networks. In the video, you can give a quick elevator pitch about your company, your expertise, and how you can make your audience’s lives better. From there, your CTA can lead to your targeted social networks, where your audience can easily leave positive reviews. 

Ultimately, a nice, heartfelt video is going to convince your audience more easily than a plain text email. 

Follow the Data

With all of your released video content, you will want to carefully look at data and analytics. One of the coolest things about video marketing is that you can gather extensive data on your videos and then use that data to shape your future videos. So when you post a video, look at metrics like your clickthrough rate, conversation rate, the cost for conversions, and the average percentage of your videos watched. From there, you can create variations of that video and then A/B test those videos. See what generates the highest number of clicks and double down on what is working.

Get Started Today

Real estate video marketing doesn’t need to be overly complicated or confusing. In sum, by following the tips and strategies above, you will set yourself up nicely for growing your audience, increasing your conversion rate, accomplishing your KPIs, and growing your profits. It takes consistent hard work, but the hard work will definitely pay off.

My team and I at Dubb love working with individuals in the real estate industry. If you would like to learn more about how Dubb can help you and your real estate business, please click here.