73 Tips for Real Estate Video Marketing

When it comes to positioning yourself as a real estate authority, you want to make sure that people remember who you are. It's one thing to give them a business card with your photo on it, and it's a totally different thing when they see you on video before you show up at their door. This creates a continuity between what they saw on video and what they see at the door, making prospective customers feel that they already know, like, and trust you.

That's really the powerful thing about video marketing: it is a very engaging medium that pulls people in. Use our 73 tips for real estate video marketing to propel you into the new age.

Why You Need Real Estate Videos

1. 95% of a message is retained when people watch a video, compared to 10% when they read something.
2. 96% of consumers find videos helpful when making a purchase decision online.
3. 58% of consumers consider companies that produce video are more trustworthy.
4. 71% of consumers say that videos leave a positive impression of the company.
5. 78% of home sellers would prefer to work with a Realtor that is using video in their marketing.
6. 75-80% of all mobile traffic (from cell phones, tablets, etc) will be video.
7. 1/3 of online activity right now is watching video.
8. Three boxes about a client's attitude towards an agent – "know, like, and trust" – are ticked by a good video.
9. Customers expect more all the time, so you need to keep up.
10. The largest percentages of buyers are the Generation X/Generation Y segments – and they LOVE technology!

Marketing Advantages of Using Video

11. Learning real estate video marketing will make you a 'Smart Agent.'
12. It will also position yourself as a 'celebrity authority' in your market.
13. Video will help make you the go-to person for real estate deals.
14. The more technology you use, the more you tell your clients that you care.
15. And the smarter the technology you use, the more you tell your clients that you are smart.
16. Maybe you can quit doing all the cold-calling – video might just help you cut that down to zero.
17. Differentiate yourself from the others: To the casual observer, real estate agents can all seem rather the same – but not after they've seen your video!
18. Experience shows that it pays to let clients experience you before they get to meet you.
19. Video changes your usual message: no longer just "We sell homes," but "We're communicators!"
20. Anything to replace the "You're a pushy salesperson" opinion is good – your video makes you look more human.
21. Film is magic, and when your magic kicks in, clients make a conscious decision that you're the person they want to work with.

Hardware You Need to Record Real Estate Videos

22. Apple devices are recommended: iPad or iPhone.
23. Wide-angle lens – iPads have this built in – is a Realtor's best friend as you can shoot a whole room easily.
24. Wired microphones: hold in your hand or wear on a lapel. The wire attaches to the camera. They're cheap.
25. Wireless microphones: 2 components, a transmitter and a receiver, giving you freedom to move around. Costs around $100-700.
26. Batteries: either replace them regularly or check them with a battery tester before each filming session.
27. 'SmartLab' mics don't have batteries; they use power from your mobile device.
28. Know your microphone: Check the number of rings around the plug; 3 rings means that it's a mobile device and you can plug it into your cellphone.
29. Tripod: Any one will do; a $30 model is good enough.
30. The complete, integrated setup: wide-angle lens, mikes, lights and a place where your mobile device can be slotted in. Take a look at HDHat.com.
31. A car! Walking people from house to house makes them cranky. But you knew that already.

Bite the Apple!

32. Apple's iPad and iPhone are overall the best mobile devices to use. They can make your video look phenomenal.
33. The main advantage compared to Android is the number of apps available.
34. iPhone 6S is as good as a professional camera and is being used as one.
35. The apps ProCamera 7 and FiLMIC Pro will turn your iPad or iPhone almost into a DSLR quality camera.
36. Apple devices come with software to trim your videos .
37. iMovie: a full-blown video production studio, so you can shoot, edit, and upload from an iPad to the web.
38. Android doesn't have the range of features and apps described here; you'd need to get an app like WeVideo.
39. Most house-hunters use iPads (apparently): Stay cool with them and switch to Apple mobile devices, if you haven't already.
40. Many useful tutorials – e.g. those by Michael Krisa – assume that you have an iPad.
41. And, of course, using mobile devices like the iPad is moving in the right direction, since we're all going paperless.

Resources

42. Music: You cannot legally use whatever you like, so get royalty-free music. iMovie, for example, comes with a library of music.
43. Make your own resources! Film neighborhoods and important streets, post those videos to the web, and they'll always be available for you to use in your marketing, at any time.
44. Software that helps you edit your videos: Animoto and Videolicious.
45. Software that sends video by email: BombBomb. Take a video of what you think is a client's perfect house, then mail it to him.
46. Use Skype. Clients can even see a property in real-time. As you film it, they can be receiving it on their cellphone.
47. Software that puts video into a format that will play across all mobile devices: EasyWebVideo and Vimeo.
48. For PC (non-Apple) users: you maybe use the video app already built-in on your PC, or Sony Movie Studio or Adobe Premiere Elements.
49. Outsourcing: Maybe somebody you know – perhaps even a schoolkid – can do all the work for a few dollars.

Tips & Tricks for Shooting Videos

50. Hold your device horizontally: this is how it was designed to be used for video, and it's what people expect.
51. Use the 'rule of thirds' (divides the screen into 9 equal boxes). If your mobile device's screen can display a grid, turn it on. The center of the object of interest – often your face – should lie at one of the intersections of these lines. The space to the side creates an anticipation of something to come – this mimics how we look at the world.
52. Nobody likes shaky video footage, as can happen with hand-held filming, especially at the beginning. Start the filming before you start the talking – you can trim the film later.
53. Try to be entertaining and engaging and maybe find a 'hook.' Emotional content pulls viewers into a story.
54. Give attention to the visual details of the video. Little things can ultimately make a big difference.
55. Audio is crucial, so use your voice: People may forgive a shaky image, but they'll turn off if they can't hear you easily.
56. Don't just film a house: many buyers are looking first for a particular city, then a neighbourhood, then a street.

You're a Star!

57. Be yourself! You may be surprised how charismatic you are when let your natural qualities speak for themselves.
58. If you're shy in front of the camera even that may work in your favor, as 'self-aggrandizing' presentations can have a negative impact.
59. Celebrity means power. A woman once made videos ranking schools; the Board of Education's attorney told her to stop as her rankings weren't the same as the approved ones – she got lots of free publicity!
60. Sports fans: Get yourself a handheld mike and pretend you are your favorite sportscaster!
61. The more sophisticated and efficient you become at using the technology – building resources of media data and emailing them out daily – the more essential you become to your client base.
62. This might be your chance to become a 'niche' agent: housing for seniors, golfers, horse-riders... you name it.
63. Use social media: Regularly post what's new in your real estate world.
64. Take it up a level and invite your client to participate – in a coffee shop, or wherever – when you are making the video. After all, everybody likes to learn how to do something cool.
65. Post your videos on YouTube – and link to them, which will help you improve your presence in the search engines. You may not become as watched as that Keyboard Cat, but you're now on video and you're a star!

What to Do Next

66. Just get started. If you can fingerpaint, you can edit video on your phone or tablet.
67. Sure you don't want to look dumb, but you probably won't. Just get over yourself!
68. "It's too expensive; it's too hard to do; I don't have time." Don't make excuses anymore!
69. Making video is like anything you do for the first time – working out, swimming – it's hard at first, but after a while it becomes second nature.
70. Enjoy yourself: The challenge of making videos that entertain and position you as an expert gets to be fun.
71. If you use what you've learned here when shooting a video, you will already be 80% ahead of most people in terms of quality and professionalism.
72. If you're still not sure, try the comprehensive courses called 'Tablet Video For Agents' by video marketing guru Michael Krisa, visit his website, www.thatinterviewguy.com, and read the articles he publishes in periodicals.
73. Get some new hardware, if you need it.

To view the original article, visit the Point2Agent blog.