How Video Influences Online Real Estate Shopping

More and more individuals are now purchasing real estate online — and that has changed the way that real estate marketing is completed.

Often, purchasing real estate now doesn't involve walking into a brokerage, but rather conducting a web search for properties in one's area, or even just how to buy a home. Customers need to be attracted at all levels of the sales funnel for effective real estate marketing.

At the Beginning of the Sales Funnel

• Informational videos: What Do You Need to Qualify for a Mortgage?
• Industry videos: Why Do You Need a Real Estate Agent?

Informational videos can introduce a product or a service to customers — even if customers are not actively looking to "solve" the problem that the product or service resolves. Videos can be distributed through third-party platforms, blogs, and paid ads designed to pop up when customers are searching for related products or to be shown to customers that are within the brand's demographic.

In real estate, the beginning of the sales funnel often begins at the very start of the customer's journey — when customers are looking into the process of buying a house, financing a house, and selecting a house.

Capturing customers early on is an easy way to ensure that they identify your brand later on. Many customers want to work with real estate agents that they trust; developing large volumes of content directed towards both buyers and sellers establishes yourself as an authority.

When Comparing Different Services

• Listing videos: Here's What We Have to Offer
• Branding videos: Why Is Our Brokerage Different?

As a large investment, customers are very likely to "comparison shop" when it comes to real estate. They may visit different brokerages and agents, or may simply try to view listings on their own. At this stage, buyers need information to make an educated opinion regarding whether your service is right for them.

This can be established by providing detailed listing information, information on communities, and information regarding your brand. All of this should be informed by your brand's voice and tone.

For Returning Customers

• Selling videos: Is It Time to Sell Your Home?
• Maintenance videos: How Can You Renovate Your Property?

It costs far less to retain an old customer than acquire a new customer. Retaining old customers is often a combination of two things: maintaining contact and offering solid customer support.

By posting a constant stream of related and informational videos, a company can encourage customers to return. In real estate, you want your customers to return when they're looking to purchase a new home or when they're trying to get out of the market. You can achieve this by maintaining contact with them through continued delivery of valuable content.

By integrating video into their marketing strategies, real estate companies can build their customer base while retaining their existing clientele. The reach of the video should not be underestimated; a solid video and marketing strategy can bring in an exceptionally large audience, many of whom may be about to commit.

Though buyers and sellers alike may want to comparison shop between brokerages and agents, they will often return to those that they have a pre-existing relationship with — and those that they trust to give them the correct information.

To view the original article, visit the VScreen blog.