Real Estate Video Marketing Playbook To Sell More Homes

According to Rightmove, one-third of all property listings now host videos – a figure that is only likely to increase in 2022 as more and more realtors turn to video to market their properties.

At Viddyoze, a global leading video software provider, we’re fully behind this trend among realtors – video, after all, is proven to improve brand awareness, boost conversion rates, and deliver more sales (and rentals).

In this guide, we’ll show you how to harness the power of video, which types of content work best for property businesses, where to distribute your video content, and much more.

Why Is Video So Important?

The truth is prospective buyers find it useful. The National Association of Realtors found that 39% of buyers used real estate websites with embedded video during their home search – and what’s good for buyers, is good for you.

On top of this, videos drive sales. E-commerce Nation reports that product pages with embedded video enjoy a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engines. For a real estate agent trying to get buyers down the sales funnel, this is huge.

Think of it this way. Real estate is already a highly visual sector. Images have long been used to sell properties and entice buyers to attend viewings and open houses.

The popularity of video has grown tremendously in the last decade. As a medium, it is much more effective than static images and stock footage. As such, video has become an essential part of the marketing mix. And, as the world continues to pivot online, the importance of video for real estate businesses will only grow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U320oDQ7fNA

At the same time, attitudes towards life and work are changing. Driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, people are now spending more time at home. No longer tied to the office, the workforce is looking to move – and realtors need to digitize in order to meet these new expectations.

Finally, home-buying demographics are changing. Right now, the purchasing power of millennials is growing. This tech-savvy group prefers to operate online, and expect high-grade digital products to make their buying (or selling) process easier.

Realtor video marketing can help you address these issues. Make it a key piece of your real estate marketing strategy

To help you build your strategy, we’ve rounded up a list of the best real estate video ideas for property businesses.

1. Client Testimonials

Client testimonial videos are a proven way to create social proof. After all, there’s no better advert than a happy, satisfied customer talking about your business.

For agents, real estate videos like this build trust and credibility – both of which are essential when it comes to buying or selling property – which, in turn, helps to drive sales. Testimonials don’t just have to be buyers or sellers. You could talk to local businesses, local mortgage lenders… anyone who can help boost your credibility and vouch that you provide unrivalled service.

Whoever you interview, a testimonial video is a great way to raise your brand’s profile on social media.

2. New Listing Announcement

With a new listing video, you can spark an early interest in your properties. Think of it as a teaser video for real estate. These videos create a sense of urgency and excitement (especially if you drop the news in real-time, for example with Facebook Live).

You can showcase your new property using footage of its best features. Naturally, home buyers will want to know more. Using a creative call to action, you can prompt them to make an official inquiry about your property listings (don’t forget to include your contact details!). These real estate agents videos are a quick, easy way to connect with your target audience.

3. Introductory Videos For Real Estate Agents

Trust is essential when it comes to buying a house. Without it, you’ll struggle to connect with your audience. An introduction video should tell your story in your own words, and showcase your personality to potential clients.

These videos are all about building a relationship. Most home buyers/sellers choose their realtor based on likeability and their personality. Done right, an introduction video will help you forge a personal connection with your clients before you’ve even met them. And furthermore, it should help to screen potential clients you wouldn’t enjoy working with.

4. Open House Announcements

Another great way to create a sense of urgency, open house announcement videos can help drum up attendees. You could shoot it directly from the property using your smartphone (live videos are very effective on social media. Think Facebook Live). Combine it with a mini-virtual tour. Give clients a sneak preview of the property. Tempt them into attending.

Remember, video is 38% more effective than images, according to Facebook. This is a creative way to drive interest in your property. Essentially, open house announcement videos put you in a better position to sell – it’s essential video marketing for real estate agents.

5. Price Reductions

Like listing videos or sale announcements, a price reduction video is a great way to alert potential buyers to a good deal. A price drop could mean that your property has just entered into the price range of a whole new set of people. To create a sense of urgency, live videos – again, Facebook Live – are a great way to break the news.

Remember, most homebuyers (93%, according to Statista) use the web to find a new home. What’s more, most real estate videos that focus on price are incredibly popular with buyers.

6. Sold Property Announcements

Selling a property is a huge win for a real estate agent, so don’t be afraid to shout about your results. A simple video announcement can go a long way to building up your reputation and brand awareness.

Like a video testimonial, this type of content tells prospective customers about your success. For a property owner, this is music to their ears. The more they hear, the more they’ll want to work with you. Success sells, so sell yourself with some well-made property videos. Want to go one step further? Ask past clients to provide you with testimonial videos, too.

7. Local Property Market Conditions Videos

Gazumping. Buy-to-let. Leasehold. Freehold. Power of attorney. Throughout 2021, real estate search terms like these saw increases of up to 1,500% on Google.

The point is, buying or selling a house can be incredibly complex. So, by providing informative educational real estate videos answering these questions, you can position yourself as a thought-leader, building credibility for your brand.

This type of educational realtor video can also increase your search engine traffic. Think videos that cover popular search terms, such as “how to buy a house”.

8. Recruitment Videos

Looking to grow your agency and expand operations? Recruitment videos are an awesome way to find new talent. Whether you’re hiring a new real estate agent for your business or trying to increase the size of your stable through a franchising arrangement with other realtors, this is an easy, visually appealing way to get your message out there.

Plus, videos help you reach more people: research from Career Builder shows that job adverts that include a video are viewed 12% more than those that don’t.

9. Virtual Property Tours

While some forward-thinking realtors have been using video tours for years, the Covid-19 pandemic has increased its frequency. Not only does it allow people to look through a property without entering, but it also helps buyers manage their time.

Using video tours, buyers can view multiple listings in a short space of time. For you, it’s more eyes on your properties. For the client, it’s yet another reason to recommend you to their friends and family. To get the best results, be sure to make a virtual property video tour for every listing you publish.

10. Neighborhood Guide Videos

When a buyer views a property, they’re not just looking to buy a home – they’re looking to buy into an entire area. A neighborhood guide is a great way to showcase the local surroundings – shops, parks, views, bars, gyms, etc. – while creating a story about what it would be like to live there. Don’t be afraid to push the boundary on this one – think drone videos, local celebrity voiceovers, etc.

This type of residential real estate video builds trust, establishes authority, and increases interest. It shows you’re willing to go the extra mile. Customers love that.

Not to mention, creating videos which cover specific neighborhoods and posting them to YouTube has the potential to make you “the face” of that area. Meaning that people looking to move in or out will think of you first.

Realtors which don’t use video in their marketing are at huge risk of falling behind their competitors.

The USA’s favorite method of consuming content is through video and savvy real estate agents are taking advantage by creating targeted videos to promote themselves and sell their listings.

But don’t worry, Viddyoze is here to help level the playing field. We can show you how to make real estate videos.

Our easy to use app creates high-quality video content in minutes with no technical knowledge required.

All you need to do is login, choose a pre-made template from our library, upload any logos or images you’d like to include – and that’s it!

With the Viddyoze app you can start creating engaging video content today – and dramatically enhance your realtor profile. Click here to learn more about creating marketing videos. Or for more information into how Viddyoze works, check out the video below.

Don’t limit your video to a few landing pages or social posts. Make them work harder for your business. Video should form a key cornerstone of your real estate marketing strategy. From social media to third-party websites, here are the best places to promote your content.

Social Media

With almost 5 billion people now using social media worldwide, this is the best place to promote your content. Each video you create should be posted across all social media platforms. So, if you make a new virtual tour for a listing, this needs to be posted on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc.

Local community and real estate focused Facebook groups in particular are a great place to gain followers.

The key to winning on social media is consistency. You need to post a video once a week, at least. More if you can. You should also take time to answer comments and messages, as this creates engagement, and stops small issues (for example, a client unhappy with your service) spiraling out of control.

SMS & Email Marketing

Chances are, your business already has a database of emails and phone numbers from clients, prospective clients, and other interested parties. These warm leads are ripe for your videos. Create a number of email/SMS lists that benefit buyers.

For example, you could send out a weekly round-up of new listings, one for price reductions, and one for open house announcements. Once they click through, they’ll see your awesome videos and move on to the next stage in the marketing funnel.

Remember, it’s not currently possible to host videos in an email. Instead, create a GIF from your video to encourage click-through. Don’t know how to make a GIF for real estate? Don’t worry, there’s a tool for that in Viddyoze.

Your Website

Websites with video have a higher conversion rate than those that don’t, according to Cisco – and real estate websites are no different. In fact, the National Association of Realtors reports that 58% of home buyers expect to see a video for properties they find online.

By adding some of the video ideas we’ve mentioned above, you could improve your conversion rate. This could include virtual viewings on listing pages; introductory videos on your homepage; neighborhood guides on key area landing pages.

One more thing: be sure to include a clear call to action in all real estate videos so that your prospective client knows what you want them to do next.

Real Estate Listing Websites

Large real estate websites, such as Zillow, allow real estate agents to create personalized profiles on their platforms. In many ways, these profiles act like microsites, driving clients to the most appropriate realtors (often this is based on location. For example, where the user wants to buy).

Posting videos on these sites can also generate more leads and increase your chances of conversion. Brafton reports that real estate listings with video generate 4x more leads than those without.

Plus, in the Covid-19 era, having a virtual viewing has become even more important. Digital tours boomed during the initial lockdowns of 2020, but, like many Covid-19 enforced ideas (smart working, virtual events), they have become part of the new normal.

Add Subtitles To Videos Posted on Social Media

Most social media videos autoplay without sound – it would be too annoying, otherwise! By adding subtitles to your real estate videos, you can make your content stand out on a busy newsfeed or timeline. Be sure to include as many keywords and terms as possible so that any potential homebuyers spot your message.

Subtitles on videos can also help with SEO. Google and YouTube crawl videos for search terms just like they do for a text article. With SEO-optimized dialogue in your video, you could also boost traffic to your website.

Grab The Watchers Attention Within The First 5 Seconds

The internet is a very noisy place, and people are short on time. If you don’t hook a viewer within 5 seconds, chances are they’ll skip your video. Here are a few things you can do to hook viewers in:

Set the tone of your video early (is it serious, funny, or emotive) and tell the viewers exactly what they can expect from your video content. Leave the branding till later (Google found that video ads that included a brand logo in the first 5 seconds were more likely to be skipped).

Keep Videos Short Where Possible

To make great videos, keep your content short. The truth is attention spans are getting shorter, and shorter videos keep people hooked. Just look at TikTok. In the last few years, the platform’s popularity has exploded using 15-second videos.

You should also tailor your videos’ lengths to suit each individual social media platform. Generally, you’ll find these on the shorter side. For example, a grid video on Instagram should be around 60 seconds, while a Facebook video’s optimal length runs anywhere between 15 seconds and 3 minutes. So spend time researching the optimal length of each platform before you make a video.

YouTube Playlists

YouTube playlists are a no-brainer for realtors. They take very little time, encourage people to keep watching your content and increase your view count. YouTube videos grouped into playlists can also help improve your watch time and SEO rankings.

In terms of marketing for real estate, there are tons of great ways you can make this work for your brand. For example, you could create a YouTube playlist for new listings, a list for virtual property tours in a certain area, a list of educational real estate videos, or a list of recruitment videos for your brand.

Adding Links To Your Stories

Promoting your service. Asking the viewer to contact you. Driving traffic to a listing page. Whatever the goal of your real estate video, you should always include a strong call to action (CTA) and links to your videos. By doing so, you stand more chance of converting that viewer into a customer.

A call to action and links are a key part of a good video. This is why Viddyoze makes it easy to add them into your videos. The platform is designed to help you create incredible, eye-catching CTAs and super-clickable links.

Focus On Storytelling

Done right, storytelling is a powerful way to create an engaging video. And real estate is packed with narratives you can showcase in your videos. For example, your video could focus on a young couple looking to start a family; a senior couple selling their family home in order to downsize; or a person looking to move to a new area for a fresh start.

The key is creating a story that people can relate to. You want the viewer to see themselves in your video. When making a video with a narrative, think about the emotions you want your viewer to experience when they watch your video and the message you want to put across. Background music, text, and animations are also important.

Make Sure Video Is Optimized For Mobile

Last year, mobile accounted for over half of all internet traffic – a figure that looks set to grow in 2022. On top of that, eMarketer reports that 75% of video is viewed on mobile.

Put simply, you need to make sure your videos are optimized for mobile. If your content doesn’t look good on the small screen, viewers will just skip over it in search of a video that looks great. So, before you post anything online, be sure to check it works for mobile.

Need some help? Viddyoze can help you format your real estate videos for mobile.

Use A Consistent Brand Look And Feel Intro

Any real estate video you create should be instantly recognizable as your brand. But beyond including your logo, how do you create consistent content?

First, you need to decide on a color palette and stick to it – for example, for text, overlays, and logos. Next, be sure to adopt the same tone of voice across all your videos. Graphics, fonts, and logos should all be consistent, too. Additionally, be sure to produce and edit your videos in the same professional style.

Maintaining a consistent brand feel is made simple in the Viddyoze app, as you have quick and easy access to relevant templates and color schemes.

In 2022, video isn’t a “nice to have” for realtors – it’s a must. Real estate video marketing helps to build a trustworthy brand and improve sales. It’s that simple. Using video on your website significantly increases the chances of winning business. The National Association of Realtors reports that 73% of sellers are more likely to list their property with a business that uses video.

People are drawn to video because it’s naturally engaging. That’s what makes video so effective. As the world continues to pivot towards visual content, realtors cannot afford to ignore the power of video.

Video should be an ongoing part of your content marketing strategy. With Viddyoze, you can create consistent, engaging content for your real estate business in a few simple clicks. Our ground-breaking software is designed to empower anyone. Even those who’ve never made a video before.

Sign up to Viddyoze today and take your real estate business to the next level. Harness the power of video now.

How Important Is Video In Real Estate?

Video is extremely important for real estate businesses. Video is a visual storytelling medium, no other marketing tool can generate the same emotional response in home buyers.

How Long Should A Real Estate Video Be?

Try to keep your real estate videos around two minutes long. Shorter videos are proven to have higher retention rates and are more likely to go viral.

However, depending on the type of video it’s okay to go over two minutes. Just try to keep your video engaging by removing any filler content.

Is Youtube Good For Real Estate?

YouTube is good for real estate because it allows you to reach a larger audience and it provides another channel for generating leads.

It’s also extremely likely that potential homebuyers are researching neighborhoods on YouTube. Getting your videos into these searches could establish you as the go-to expert in your service area.

Which Social Media Is Best For Advertising Real Estate?

The best social media for advertising real estate depends on the demographic you’re targeting. Trying to reach an older demographic? Advertise on Facebook. Millennials? Advertise on Instagram. Gen Z? Advertise on TikTok.

Why Are Facebook Ads Important For Real Estate?

Facebook Ads are important for real estate because they allow you to promote your listings to people who may be interested but won’t see your organic posts.