The Maximum Reach: Harness The Power of Video Marketing
This article originally appeared in the April 2018 issue of Real Producers Fort Wayne
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but the stories you tell.” — Seth Godin
They inspire us to take action, provide the most powerful impressions, and build your brand identity. They tell your story, and grow your business the most effectively of all social mediums.
We’re talking of course, about video.
Many already know the maxim: content is king—which remains true, but if we’re niching down, video reigns supreme over all the inter webs.
One of the best ways to gain exposure in the market for 2018: VIDEO, and not just any hand-held phone videos—timeless, high-quality marketing pieces that will do justice to your brand identity. According to YouTube, mobile video consumption increases 100% every year, and that’s just the beginning.
Video Fast Facts:
78% of people watch videos online every week, 55% watch everyday. [1]
92% of mobile video customers share videos with others. [2]
By 2019 it is predicted video will make up 80% of all consumer internet traffic. [3]
Video email marketing can lead to a 200-300% increase in click-through rate. [4]
90% of consumers list videos as helpful in the decision making process. [5]
Videos are shared 1200% more than links and text combined. [6]
78% of marketers say that video gives them good ROI. [7]
Businesses using video grow revenue 49% faster than organizations without video. [8]
Video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engines. [9]
Video promotion is 600% more effective than print and direct mail combined. [10]
The key for video success however, is QUALITY, which in turn reflects on you as a marketing professional.
— 62% of consumers are more likely to have a negative perception of a brand that publishes a poor quality video. [11] —
Pro Video Tips:
Start with the Basics
Stabilize! No-one likes the shaky cam effect; do your best to eliminate extra wobble, which in turn helps with clarity. Remember to make sure everything is in focus, and aim for minimal background noise. The right lighting, angles, and background free from clutter are key.
Tell a Story
Whether you’re selling a home, or your services as a realtor, try not to just list facts, but to illustrate a lifestyle. Along with the visual aspect, the words are equally important—be sure to properly explain and inform.
Get to the Point
With a constant deluge of content coming across every platform, the average attention span is now shorter than ever. You have approximately nine seconds (or less) to capture your audiences attention, so put the most important information at the beginning. Timing is everything—keep it short and sweet! One-minute videos are ideal as they can fit on Instagram and Twitter posts, and the shorter the video, the higher the viewer retention rate.
— Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer video under 60 seconds. [12] —
Distribution Strategy
Where can potential buyers find your content? Your website and social media are standard, but don’t forget about YouTube—it’s easy to build your own YouTube channel to showcase all of your videos in one spot. As the second largest search engine in the world (second only to Google) [13], it is the most popular spot for customers looking for real estate videos. YouTube videos also rank far more frequently in Google top 10 search results than videos hosted on any other platform. [14]
Most Popular Types of Video for Real Estate
— The four most common videos are: informational, product demos/reviews, how-tos, and testimonials. [15] —
Real estate videos and property walk-throughs are a great place to start, but don’t stop there. Other video types to consider:
Interview videos — Think about all the mortgage lenders, home lenders, movers, builders, and locksmiths you’ve worked with over the years. They are also likely to share the video, amplifying your audience reach.
Community Videos — Property videos are one thing, but think about context. Tell a story about the local community, do a neighborhood or local business review, cover an event, or highlight local amenities such as schools, libraries, or gyms. These can position you as a neighborhood expert.
Client Testimonials — Who better to speak for you than satisfied customers?
More topic ideas: HOA rules, tips for first time home buyers, various aspects of financing, everything related to home inspection, tips for sellers (preparing for an open house, etc), informative videos on any real estate topic, safety issues, about the realtor videos, and market forecasts.
What do home-buyers want from real estate videos?
86% want to find out more about a specific community.
70% want to tour the inside of a home.
54% want to obtain general information.
(via A Joint Study from The National Association of Realtors and Google)
You made the video ... Now what?
Recording video is only half the process—now you need views. Properly displaying your video on your website—with relevant tags and SEO optimization—is crucial, not only in getting your content seen, but for registering higher in Google search results.
Video search optimization is not only important, but an effective step towards maximum visibility, on all platforms, from social media to web.
Quick Posting Tips:
Location — Always, always, ALWAYS include a location geotag! Adding a location is a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people skip this step. It doesn’t have to be too specific, “Fort Wayne, IN” is enough—this will also help bring in new viewers searching under the location.
Title — Should be clear and informative—don’t make people guess what it’s about! Relevant keywords are a must, and don’t be afraid to use catchy or unique phrases that will showcase your personality and stick out to viewers.
Tags — This should go without saying, but tags are often left out—Don’t forget them! Tag the location, content, etc., even “video” and “real estate” will help your content be seen.
This is only the beginning however, you can get much deeper into video and web optimization as they go hand in hand. From embedding your social channels into your website, branding cohesiveness, optimizing URLS, descriptive metadata, surrounding HTML, keyword strategy, sitemaps, and creating video thumbnails—there are many ways to ensure your videos are not only found, but ranked high in search results.
Feeling overwhelmed?
DasFort offers one-on-one media consulting, tutoring, small classes, and will even do the all the hard work for you.
Whether it’s building an optimized website, and filling it with custom content, or helping you learn how to do it yourself, we can help.
Real Estate Video Stats
Listings with a video receive 403% more inquiries than those without video. [16]
85% of buyers and sellers want to work with a realtor who utilizes video marketing. [17]
Homes listed with video get four times the inquiries of homes listed without video. [18]
Realtors have seen over a 40% increase in profits from video marketing alone. [19]
At the end of the day, it's not just about the content you upload, it's the strategy behind your media campaign. The biggest thing you can do is START implementing one thing at a time. If you don't make videos currently, that should be your first step. If you already do some video, then get good at posting them for maximum exposure. Or maybe you are experienced in this, but don't have the time ... then consider hiring a media team (such as DasFort) to help give you more time. It might be intimidating, but the biggest thing when it comes to video is just start doing it. Video is here to stay ... jump on board.
[1] HubSpot [2] Interactive Advertising Bureau [3] SmallBizTrends [4] HubSpot [5] HubSpot [6] Brightcove [7] Wyzowl[8] Aberdeen [9] Brightcove [10] Diode Digital [11] Brightcove [12] Animoto [13] Alexa [14] "Also, Google has a strong bias to put YouTube videos in the top 10 results, with 74.9% of all YouTube videos we saw in our data sampling ranking in the top 10, and 92.6% of all the videos we saw ranking in the top 20." (Stone Temple: "Ranking Videos on Google and YouTube: Study Shows How They Differ") [15] Vidyard [16] Australian Real Estate Group [17] Inman [18] Inman [19] Picovico
Take a look at some of our real estate videos:
Property Tour 2225 Kensington Blvd | *Sold*(Coldwell Banker Roth Wehrly Graber)
Bob Buescher Home in Grey Oaks(Mike Thomas)
Property Tour at Woodland Lake(Mike Thomas)
12018 Sycamore Lakes Court(North Eastern Group)