December 28 2017
If you've attended any training classes or lunch-n-learns on real estate marketing (or have read anything on marketing best practices, for that matter), you've likely heard that "content is king."
But if you're trying to drive eyeballs to your Facebook page—video is the emperor!
Let me explain.
Studies have found that Facebook video gets triple the engagement and 1,200 percent more shares than text and image posts combined. And, videos uploaded directly to Facebook (we call this "natively" because it lives directly on Facebook vs. a platform like YouTube), get 110 percent higher engagement and 478 percent higher share rates (on average) than simply sharing a link to a video.
Before you get worried, I have a few solutions below that require no physical presence in front of the camera. No hair and makeup. No shaving. No first-time-in-front-of-a-camera jitters. So, keep reading!
There are a couple reasons why video works so well on Facebook:
Think about the last time you were scrolling through Facebook. Isn't video content easier to consume than stopping to read a long-winded post? What catches your eye when you scroll through your feed? THAT is the magic.
The question then becomes, What type of video content should agents create? Here are a few (really great, super excellent) ideas to get you started:
We recently wrote a blog on how to create a market update video in 15 minutes or less. This is a great way to quickly and easily create useful and educational video content with the information you already know, like how the market is doing!
As an agent, you work with SO. MANY. VENDORS. Why not utilize their expertise to do a short interview video?
Perhaps you ask a local mortgage broker to chat FHA loans for 90 seconds. Maybe you meet the local inspector at an upcoming inspection for five quick tips/things to look for when buying a home. (Be sure to ask the homeowner for permission to shoot video at their property.) Do you have connections with a home staging company? Even neighborhood folks like restaurant owners, the YMCA staff, etc. would make great interviews.
The bonus? When you share this video on Facebook and mention their company, you're exposing your video to THEIR audience, too! This equals a wider audience reach for your Facebook page.
Facebook recently tweaked their algorithm to rank LIVE videos higher than those that are not. They report that people spend 3x more time watching a Facebook video when it is live and comment 10x more on live videos than on regular videos. (Talk about ways to build your engagement on Facebook, wow!)
So how about a live Q&A? Before you go live, send out a post asking for people to message you with their real estate questions. Simply answer the question while you're live!
Want some basic instructions on how to go LIVE on Facebook? This article offers some great pointers.
**The no makeup, no shave, pajama pants optional option!**
Let's say you're a little camera shy or simply don't want to jump into the video deep end. You can simply share your computer screen to make a video. This is a great option if you want to review a Market Snapshot® neighborhood report, end of the month 'sold' stats, highlight a listing you have for sale, etc.
If you have a Mac (with Snow Leopard or newer), you can actually use QuickTime Player to record your screen. Here's a great article with step-by-step instructions on how to do that.
If you have a PC, try Bandicam, ShowMore or, my personal favorite, Camtasia.
**Another no makeup, no shave, pajama pants optional option!**
If you're creating original blog content, your broker is creating content, or you just have some great lists in mind – i.e., 5 Easy DIY Home Improvements – you can quickly and easily turn that into a video with Lumen5. (This could also work great for market reports!)
The service skims through your article or list and picks the most important sentences (with a little help from you). You can then drag and drop stock images and video clips, or your own images, to create a custom "video blog" — and you never have to step in front of the camera.
Here's an example of a neighborhood report video I threw together with Lumen5.
Before we sign off, don't forget to include closed captions on your videos! A shocking 85 percent of videos are watched on Facebook without sound. (Another reason why the Lumen5 videos are a great option.) In fact, Facebook defaults to playing videos without sound, so you want to be sure you're getting your message across even without the volume on.
Tools like Rev.com make it easy and inexpensive to add captions to your videos, and both Facebook and YouTube also have integrated tools to help you. Want a more casual way? How about cue cards or flashcards that you hold and flip while filming? Be creative.
Don't be afraid to get your toes wet! Dive in and start trying out some of these video options — we promise, no one's sending it to Rotten Tomatoes.
In the meantime, we'd love to hear from you! What are some of the things you'd like to learn about Facebook? Share your questions on our Facebook page!
This is part four of our series on how to get more attention for your Facebook page. Here are links to the other articles you may have missed:
To view the original article, visit the Realtor.com Results blog.