7 Reasons Why Real Estate Video Marketing Is a Wise Choice for You

Marketing has evolved at breakneck speed and Realtors that don't keep up fall behind fast. Take video, for example. What wasn't even a "thing" in digital marketing a few short years ago is now the THING that catches the attention of your prospective clients. Moreover, video isn't just for your website. Video has come to CRM, even to the most common communication channels like email and text.

What makes using video with your CRM so powerful for real estate, you might ask? Just count these ways – seven to be exact:

1. Increase Open Rates

The inbox is one of the noisiest places today, making it difficult to get your email noticed, let alone opened. By simply adding the word "video" in your email subject line, you can boost your open rates by as much as 19%, according to SocialMediaToday. Why? The same report found that 44% of consumers prefer to learn something new by watching a video. When you speak their language, they are much more likely to listen.

2. Grab Attention

Video gets the attention of your audience much faster and more effectively than plain, old-fashioned text. Consider the fact that YouTube is one of the top search engines today. People are looking for videos, and if they find one in your real estate email marketing, they are much more likely to stop and take a second look.

3. Keep Attention

In addition to grabbing attention, video helps keep the attention on your email message. Pictures tend to elicit a stronger response than words as people can immediately identify with someone speaking directly to them. Video engages your audience in a way that text never will. This modality is also highly effective in delivering even complex information simply and quickly. With today's fast pace, quick and easy are the way to get results.

4. Drive More Traffic

Ready to drive substantial traffic to your website? Add a video to your next email. Research has shown that simple addition can increase click-through rates by as much as 200-300%. A video allows you to connect with people on a much more intimate level than text, which builds nearly instant credibility and trust among your audience.

5. Increase Social Shares

Videos have this spectacular way of going viral, as people want to share them with others. SocialMediaToday reports that a video is shared 1,200% more often than text alone. With social media now taking its spot as a top marketing platform, you can't afford not to engage prospective clients in this hyper-connected world.

6. Add the Human Touch

Giving your business a live face and voice make you look more trustworthy and approachable to prospective clients. It can be difficult to ensure a text message evokes the appropriate response, as people can put different spins on the words they read. However, a video combines facial expressions with the words to make you more engaging and relatable. As trust and confidence are paramount for a successful real estate agent, your ability to convey these features through video offers endless value in your real estate agent marketing.

7. Boost Your Ranking

Google loves video. In fact, videos are 45 times more likely to rank on the first page than text messages. In addition to their simple popularity among search engines, videos are more likely to get shared. Sharing creates inbound links that also positively impact your ranking. It's a win-win across the board.

The Best of Both Worlds: Real Estate Text and Video

While video in real estate email marketing is good, video in texts is even better. If you have begun using your CRM to send texts, there are some very good reasons why the simple addition of video can offer an even bigger bang for your buck:

• Cell Phones are Everywhere: As many as 81% of Americans own smartphones today, according to recent numbers from the Pew Research Center. Approximately 20% of Americans only access the Internet via their smartphone. Cell phones are today's method of connecting to one another and to the world at large. Videotext helps you use that fact wisely.
• Text Messages Received are Read: Most text messages are read within 15 minutes of being received. If you want to connect with clients or prospective clients fast or distribute time-sensitive information, it is clear that text is the way to go.
• It's a Targeted Audience: The only people that receive messages from you are those that know whom you are and have requested information from you. This allows you to easily target the market that is most likely to respond favorably to your message.
• It's Cost-Effective: When you calculate the cost of creating a video and sending it out in mass via text, the cost-effectiveness of the effort cannot be beaten. Your ROI can go through the roof, making this one of the most impactful methods of real estate agent marketing you can find today.
• It Sets You Apart: Despite its many advantages, video texts are still a relative newcomer to the world of real estate marketing ideas. In addition to getting heard over the noise of today's marketing, you will stand out from the crowd with a message people are sure to remember.

Make Real Estate Video Marketing Work for You

Real estate video marketing can be effective, but it will only be as good as your ability to create a quality video designed to get results. Marketing guru Neil Patel offers a few tips on creating videos that will take your marketing efforts to the next level:

• Start with a Plan: Just like any other campaign, your real estate video marketing efforts need to start with a plan. Determine your strategy, your target audience, and how you are going to stand out from your competitors before that camera starts rolling.
• Create Quality Video: This does not mean hiring a professional – unless you have the time and budget for it. There are very good video apps that can help you shoot footage like a pro. Quality equipment is also a must for creating quality content.
• Consider Your Length: Yes, people love to watch videos, but they don't love to watch them for long. One to two minutes of interesting, engaging content is all you really need to make a substantial and memorable mark.
• Test before You Send: Hitting the send button can feel quite intimidating. If you test the video out among friends or co-workers first, you can send with confidence.
• Don't Forget the CTA: Marketing is marketing. Once you have hooked the line, don't forget to reel it in with a compelling call to action.

Like any form of marketing you use, tracking and analytics will help you know just how successful your campaigns really are. That is true of real estate video marketing as well. When you know how many emails are opened and how many videos are watched, you can use that data to tweak your marketing efforts to continue to increase your ROI.

To view the original article, visit the Wise Agent blog.