A Guide to Video Marketing for Real Estate

In one average month, producers upload more video content to various platforms than legacy TV networks have created in over three decades! That’s staggering. So of course it’s necessary that real estate agents and real estate marketers address the audience that is demanding this video content.

But where do you start? Here is a guide to video marketing for real estate agents and real estate marketers.

The most important video to start producing is the property tour video.

This is the video that highlights the property listing. It helps create the image in the mind of the viewer of what it would be like to live in the property.

Shows such as those on HGTV will often have a home buyer say something such as, “I can imagine us having coffee out here on the deck”. The property tour video helps create that “coffee on the deck” feeling in the buyer.

As with the property tour video, the community highlights video helps create an image in the buyer’s mind of what it would be like to live in that particular neighborhood and community.

These are the videos that showcase shopping, recreation, schools, and cultural amenities in the community.

The videos can stand on their own, or you can incorporate community highlights into the property tour video itself, such as we did for the property in this video.

Are you an expert in the real estate industry? Then let everyone know in YouTube expert videos. Just as you may need a guide to video marketing for real estate, your customer leads need a guide to navigating the real estate buying and selling process. Be that guide!

People will be searching for answers to specific real estate problems, so keep each video to one topic. That will help with getting traffic for searches on that particular topic.

Keep them short. That will help with keeping the viewer engaged until the end of the video. In this way, you’ll be building trust with the viewer. They’ll know that you’re not wasting their time. Therefore, they’ll be more likely to watch another of your expert videos.

The first suggestions for a guide to video marketing for real estate were about the types of videos to produce. Now we’ll look at the process of creating and distributing the video itself.

Pre-producing your video takes your vision for the video and plans out how you’re going to execute that vision. The available time and money you have limit your options. In the pre-production stage, you can figure out what’s possible regarding equipment, location, time allotment for shooting as well as editing, and on camera talent as well as voice over talent.

You can read more about video production here.

The script is the blueprint for how you’ll film your video. With a script, you’ll know what shots you need to get. It will then be much easier to film the video.

You don’t necessarily need to write out every word that will be in the voice over or that your on camera person will say. The script though does need the general bullet points you want to hit in the video, and an idea of what to show in your shots to illustrate each of those bullet points

Here are some key points to keep in mind as you write your video script:

• Make your video be about one thing
• Know your audience
• Write as if you’re having a conversation
• Write for the stage of the buyer’s journey
• End with a call to action

You can read more about how to write a video marketing script here.

Editing is the final stage of your video production before you publish your video.

Some key steps in editing your video are:

• Import and organize the media
• Edit the dialog tracks
• Add music tracks
• Add b-roll clips
• Edit motion and color correct
• Add lower thirds and cards
• Add transitions
• Export the video

You can read more about how to edit video here.

A key decision in planning to film your video is what equipment you’ll need and use. The equipment choices range from high end profession equipment to smartphones.

If you’re going to use a smartphone, consider adding some accessories to take the video quality to the next level:

• Smartphone with a good quality video camera
• Smartphone tripod
• External light

You can read more about equipment to film video on a budget here.

Next, upload your video to a video hosting platform.

Of course the most popular is YouTube. It’s also free.
Consider using Vimeo if you want more professional hosting options. Vimeo paid plans start at $7/mo billed annually.They also have a free basic plan with fewer options if you want to try out the service.

After publishing your video you should promote it to help gain audience.

Promotion platforms include:

• Blogs
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram

You can promote your video on these platforms with both organic postings and, aside from most blogs, with paid advertising.

Of course include the video in the listing itself.

More and more buyers are watching videos to help them make decisions in their buyer’s journey. It’s true across all market segments, including real estate. So start today and plan to incorporate video in your real estate marketing efforts!