As an estate agent, you are always looking for new ways to market your properties and attract potential buyers. A promo video is a great way to do this, and there are a few things you should keep in mind when creating one. In this article, we are going to dive into why Estate Agents should use promo videos, and how they go about doing so.
Table of contents
- Why does Videography for Estate Agents matter?
- Planning and organising your video marketing
- What kinds of videos will you shoot to promote your Estate Agent business?
- What equipment do I need for my Estate Agents Promotional video?
- Before you start shooting …
- Post-production / editing
- I’ve shot the perfect video. How do I use it?
- Using video marketing to reassure your potential clients
Today, you won’t be asking, ‘Should I use video to market my Estate Agent business?’.Instead, your question will be, ‘Can I afford not to?’.The stats are clear:
- 73% of vendors will choose an agent who uses video to promote their properties
That should be all the evidence you need. But there’s more:
- 88% of Estate Agents who used video reported a positive ROI
- 84% of people say that video has convinced them to buy
- 66% of people prefer to watch a video to learn about a new service vs 18% who prefer text
- People are twice as likely to share a video over other types of content
Why does Videography for Estate Agents matter?
Four key reasons to make video marketing the cornerstone of your Estate Agent marketing plan for the new year:
- The evidence shows that it directly impacts your chances of making the sale
- Your vendors increasingly expect it
- Video promoting will give a big boost to your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) efforts
- Using video will demonstrate that you’re a premier-level Estate Agent – serious about using the latest digital technology to support your clients
Planning and organising your video marketing
For your video marketing efforts to be successful, you need to plan. Just shooting videos without the proper forethought and equipment will make you come across as amateurish and only cause damage to your brand and to the chances of selling your clients’ properties.
Your planning process should entail asking yourself the following questions:
- What are you trying to achieve with your video – what’s your goal?
- What action do you want viewers to take?
- Who’s your target audience – the buyer or the seller?
- Do you have the right equipment – both hardware (camera etc.) and software (for editing)?
- How do you plan to use the video?
For the shoot itself, you need to consider:
- What are you going to say?
- What shots do you need?
- What props do you need?
- What about the content? Are you going to write a script, or will you make the recording ‘freestyle’?
Of course, if you’re outsourcing to produce the video, then much of the planning will be carried out by the specialist videographer.
What kinds of videos will you shoot to promote your Estate Agent business?
Property tours or ‘trailers’
Your most obvious use of video – you’ll be literally showing potential buyers round the property. You’ll be showing the property at its best and potentially reducing the need for time-wasting, unnecessary physical visits. The buyer/tenant will be able to make a more informed decision as to whether they want to book a viewing.
Local area tours
Promote your agency as ‘local’ by creating a series of videos highlighting the benefits of each of your niche areas. This way, you’ll be able to provide a unique snapshot of the area to help potential buyers’ decision-making. Use the video to identify recommended cafes, shops, attractions, and amenities. Get across the sense of ‘neighbourhood’ too.
Client testimonials
These can give a great boost to your brand. Invite a satisfied client (vendor, tenant, landlord, buyer) to give video feedback about your Estate Agent business. Add it to your website. Videos are the perfect way for you to provide evidence for how good you are.
Answering FAQs/visitor queries
Answer your FAQs with a video. Be informative, and never forget to add a little humour. Video can be a much more engaging way for potential clients to learn about your business. Many prefer to watch a video than to read pages of text.
Brand / About Us videos
What better way to present and build your Estate Agency brand than to tell your story? Tell potential clients about the history of your business, your mission, your values and, of course, …
… your team
Profile each member of your team with a brief video interview with each of them. It’s true – people do buy from people. Getting across your team’s individual personalities will massively help to enhance your business’s personality and brand. Potential clients will enjoy seeing ‘behind-the-scenes’ and appreciate that you are all ‘real people’.
‘Vlogs’
The same as Blogs, but using video. Tell people the inside stories from the world of Estate Agents. Produce videos on a whole range of topics
- a day in the life of your business
- tips on preparing your home for viewings
- do’s and don’ts when buying or selling
and dozens more.
What equipment do I need for my Estate Agents Promotional video?
This depends on your budget and the quality of video you’re looking for. For example, if you’re planning to make videos in your well-lit office, then professional lighting kit might not be necessary.
Also, for informal videos such as ‘Ask Me Anything’, ‘How Tos’ or Vlogs, you probably won’t need to invest in expensive lighting gear. However, for case study videos, you’ll be looking for a higher-quality finish, and you’ll need better equipment.
Here’s a guide to the basic equipment:
- Camera (a high-quality phone camera can work or a DSLR with video capability)
- Lighting
- External microphone
- Tripod for stabilisation
- Lighting kit (depending on where you’re filming and how good the lighting is).
- Don’t skimp on sound quality. Go for an external mike such as a Lavalier, a ‘shotgun’ mike or something like a Blue Yeti will be necessary for every video.
Before you start shooting …
Remember, before you start, make sure each room is looking good and clutter-free. Also, carry out a sound and visual quality check.
Remember to include a call to action in your video. This means that at some point (usually the end), you invite the viewer to take the next action. This might be inviting them to send you a message, to visit your website or to download something.
Post-production / editing
Here you have several options:
- If you hired an agency to shoot the video, then the obvious choice is to let them do the editing.
- If you plan to shoot your own videos, outsource the editing process.
- Do the editing yourself
- Don’t edit at all.
Whichever you opt for, don’t forget to add a Call To Action button to your video. You need to tell people what action to take, e.g. phone, email, get in touch etc.
I’ve shot the perfect video. How do I use it?
5 ways that cost you nothing:
- Your website
- Your Social Media profiles
- Your emails (weekly newsletters, welcome emails)
- Your blog
- Your Youtube channel
Don’t forget – video is great for SEO. Placing yours on your website and blog pages should have a positive impact on how high up the search engines those pages appear.
Here’s your video SEO checklist:
- Add the video to your web pages with text that relates to the video’s topic. For example, property trailers work well on listing pages or “Services” pages. A brand video would work well on your ‘About Us’ page.
- Optimise the video’s title – use your main keywords in the first few words of the title.
- Optimise the video’s descriptions and tags with relevant keywords.
- Add new videos regularly and frequently.
5 Places you have to pay for:
- Youtube Ads
- Partner Ads
- Paid Influencer Promotion
Google Ads aren’t optimised for video, so you would use these ads to target keywords and link to a webpage where your video is hosted.
With the other ad types, you could directly promote your video. For example, on Facebook, you can create an ad where people will see your video on their Facebook timeline.
Remember that, to promote your video effectively using social media or Youtube ads, you must be clear about your target audience.
Using video marketing to reassure your potential clients
And finally – remember that, since the pandemic, video has a bigger role to play than ever before in helping your clients to sell or buy a property. Even when things return to normal, people may think twice about where they visit. A clean, beautifully produced video tour will help no end with the decision-making process.