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Video Marketing Real Estate : Are All Video Views The Same?

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more views on real estate video
Are All Views The Same?

Everywhere you look everyone is talking about video. And it’s almost impossible to talk about video, any kind of video, without talking about one thing…. views. “Oh you did a video…. how many views did you get?” To some people, views are the biggest indicator of success and frankly, they shouldn’t be. Yes, if you are a YouTuber, views are everything, because views are how you make your living, but for the rest of us mere mortals that use video to grow our business and our brands, views don’t mean shit.

Heres why.

I uploaded my first video to YouTube on March 14th 2010, Back when it literally took an hour to upload a video to YouTube and that was after compressing the video with something like mpeg steamclip or Compressor. I was in to video early on, long before most of you that will read this post or watch the eventual video I will make out of this blog post (yes, I repurpose my content 🙂 ). Back then views were the furthest thing from my mind. Luckily.

In those days I was most worried about how to avoid fainting in front of  my camera, my fancy Flip Mino HD camera (Google it), a far cry from the 4K and 6K Cinema Cameras we use today at Hub Media Company. Back then I was so nervous. I remember my heart pounding through my chest. I didn’t have then what you have today…. a road map for success. Today there are literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of videos by thousands of real estate agents, coaches, trainers, mentors, gurus, experts; all of them with their own take on video marketing.

I get it, you see another real estate agents video with 100,000 views on it and think “wow, I want that, he/she is killing it!” but who are those views from? It’s natural to think they are from buyers and sellers but are they? There is a good chance, the views are from other real estate agents especially if the video has been featured on a real estate blog, podcast or YouTube channel.

Not Always What Is LOOKS Like

Look, if you are going to go through the trouble of making a video you want it to be watched right?  But the bigger question is by WHO? Do you even know? One thing I have become keenly aware of over the years is this: there is a strategy to video marketing, it’s not usually something you can wing and have success with.

Speaking of success, how do you define it? Success. How will you know when you get there? What it look like? Speaking of looks, they can be deceiving.

Did you know there are real estate agents out there driving $300,000 cars, living in multi-million dollar homes, eating at 5 star restaurants every night….. posting it all on Insta, YouTube and TikTok…..that are completely broke?  I swear there is and even better, you know who they are (you just don’t know it). And did you know there are real estate agents that have videos on YouTube, Insta and TikTok that have hundreds of thousands if not millions of views that have generated absolutely no business for them and likely never will? Yes, another fact. Why? Because all views are not created the same. An example.

Let me ask you this. Let’s say you are a real estate agent here In Phoenix, Arizona. Would you rather have a video that has 60,000 views all from people outside of your geographic and target markets, that have no interest in you, Phoenix real estate or Arizona for that matter or a video that has 6 views from people in the Midwest interested in learning more about Phoenix real estate? The 6 views right? Why? Because in this instance you can clearly see the views are not the same. Yet there are those out there that would have you believe one of the most important metrics, if not the most important metric, should be views. As you can see I disagree. I think you do too.

Video is hard enough without putting the added weight of views on your shoulders. Your goal isn’t to go viral. In fact, no one can tell you how to go viral, there is no rhyme or reason to it, no secret formula. And I have a secret for you…. (come closer)….. if there was a formula to going viral, everyone with the means to do it, would. The truth is almost all viral videos involve some aspect of extreme humor or controversy.

The Who, What, Where & Why of Video Marketing

To be successful with video marketing you first have to understand who you are talking to. WHO are you making the video for? WHAT problems do they have? What questions do they have? What do they believe? Then you have to know WHERE they search. Is it Google or YouTube? (yes they are different) Then you have to know what they would search for when they are attempting to gather information online. Once you know this, you can then search for the keywords and keyword phrases they would use so you can use those same search terms in your video content to help them find your video and therefor, you online. If you have done this right this is when they watch one of your videos and say “I felt like you were talking straight to me!” (because you were). This is WHY you will be the go to agent in your market.

Speaking of videos and views, where you put your videos matters as well. By and large, social media…… Facebook, Instagram, Instagram Reels, TikTok, is where consumers discover content BY ACCIDENT. Not saying there is no value in that but it’s not the same as a platform where consumers go to specifically search out video content like “things to do in Phoenix” “homes in 85248 near intel” or “4 bedroom homes near Hamilton High School” which is by and large Google and YouTube, not TikTok and Instagram.

So whether you are starting out in video marketing or you are a seasoned pro that isn’t getting the attention you know your videos deserve, keep at it, up your video game by upping your content marketing game. Understand who you are trying to attract, the questions they have and how you can help. Create valuable content, optimize it to get found by your ideal client online and your ideal client will find you, I promise. Oh and for the love of Unicorns and puppies….. don’t just put your valuable content on social media and YouTube, make sure your videos get embedded into the pages and posts on your website as well 🙏

 

Real Estate Video Marketing | Different IS Priceless

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Stand Out From The Competition
Stand Out From The Competition
Video is hot, particularly in the real estate space. And for good reason. There is no better medium to market real estate and real estate agents than video.

Not only do consumers clearly prefer video, videos says so much more about a property, an area, your team, marketing plan, the lifestyle and the real estate agent than any other medium possibly could. This is because video is emotional.

Emotion is a necessary aspect of any sales process. Unlike the traditional mediums real estate agents used to market themselves and their properties like pictures and direct mail (postcards and flyers) which only use one sense – sight, video uses sight, hearing and can even convey feeling when done right. Given the choice, 80% of consumers will choose a video compared to pictures. Read: Zillow Now Supports Pro Level Video

Different Is Everything

Last year we created over 600 property videos. That’s a lot of properties and a lot of real estate agents. It used to be good enough to just “do” video. That was when only the top agents were using video. This is no longer the case as their competition has started to move towards video as well which means different is everything.

Last week I got a call from one of our luxury real estate agents. He said “don’t take this the wrong way but you work with us and all of our competition which means our videos need to be different than theirs”. He is exactly right, different is everything.

The Story

As a real estate agent you want to stand out from your competition. You want to be different. This starts with the story. But who’s story?

When a real estate agent calls us they often have an idea of what they want their completed video to look like. Often the examples they send us are videos we’ve done for other agents here in Phoenix or areas of the country like Southern California – Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Rancho Sante Fe, San Diego or even Australia where real estate video is more risque etc. Often they want to copy what another agent did, often because it was different.

But by copying it, it’s not different anymore. It’s the same. Often real estate agents are crafting stories based upon the story they want to tell without thinking about the story their target audience, their ideal client wants to be told. The best real estate videos will focus on the needs and the wants of the consumer – not necessarily the real estate agent. As a real estate agent you want to differentiate yourself from your competitors not imitate them. Read: Where To Find Real Estate Content

Different Gets Noticed

Most consumers are now spending most of their time on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat etc. You only have a few seconds to grab their attention. Today’s consumer is quickly scrolling past pictures and text updates but they just might watch the video, and watch it to the end. So your videos need to be different.

You Need To Be Different

I remember when I learned how important different was in marketing. As a sales exec for numerous title companies here in the valley I started out trying to be like my competitors. I said the same things “we have great escrow officers, we are a fortune 500 company, we have locations across the valley, we do postcards” and hanging out where they did to get business – SEVRAR, SAR, WEMAR, trade shows, office meetings, walking through brokerages – and got mediocre results. It wasn’t until I had MyTitleGuy.com built and started filling it with content – blogs, videos, tutorials, white papers, classes – that my business began to grow. This is the path that brought me to video in 2008. While my success provided a road map for future execs I was still the innovator. I was different. The top agents were sick of hearing the same message, receiving the same sales pitch – they wanted different too. Different is entertaining.

The Consumer Wants Different

If your marketing is like everyone else’s you will still have a percentage of consumers watch it, but they will start to lose interest as the space is filled with the same style of video marketing. Like I did, you need to find who you are and more importantly – who you are not. Be controversial. Controversial is different. You want the viewer tuning in to your videos to see what you will say, what you will do next. Draw inspiration from TV commercials, what are they saying, how are they saying it, how is it being presented? Repurpose those videos into the real estate space and add your own spin on it. Your goal in the first 5 seconds of your video is to get them to watch the next 5 seconds and so on.

Level Playing Field

In the old days the only way to reach mass audiences was though expensive mediums like TV, radio and billboards. Social media and websites has leveled the playing field because this is where the consumer is. As a real estate agent you have the same playing field as national ad campaigns, production companies, national real estate companies and real estate brokerages. But your message needs to be entertaining. It needs to be exciting. No one wants to do business with a person or company that is vanilla or boring. Read: Videos Uploaded To Facebook Receive More Engagement

We Can Help You Be Different

As a leader in the real estate video space in Phoenix we can help you be different. We work with some of the most talented videographers, editors, animators and copyrighters in the space. If you can think it, we can help you realize it. Whether you are looking for a story told about your team, brokerage, market, community or listing – dream big, come up with something different. Maybe it’s a property video told from the dogs point of view or a child’s, whatever it is you can count on our team of professionals to bring your vision to life – differently.

Contact Us

Thank you for your interest in HMC. We provide the highest quality business, commercial, event video productions, classes and services. We look forward to meeting you. Please fill out the form below or call 480.223.8113

Viral Video | Why It’s Not Worth Much In Real Estate Marketing

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real estate video phoenixSo, I’m at home editing a cinematic HD real estate tour for a client when I get an email forwarded from another client. It’s a video marketing class being taught here in Phoenix, Arizona; of course I have to check it out.

Real estate video marketing is to today what “REO” was in 2007, “Short Sale” was in 2009 and “Green” was a few years ago – EVERYONE wants to talk about real estate video marketing so vendors (title, mortgage, appraiser, home warranty, real estate brokerages) want to teach about it. Why? To get in front of you, their target audience.
But there is a problem.

Very few real estate professionals are qualified to teach about real estate video. Why? Because there is no theory in real estate video, you can only teach on something IF you do it and very few real estate professionals do real estate video and even fewer do it well. Combine this with the fact that 80% of what we say is communicated through our body language and you can start to see why you better know your stuff – it’s not hard to pick out the poser in real estate video marketing. Thankfully, this particular class is being taught by someone that knows a thing or two about a thing or two.

The GIMMICK

As I looked over what was going to be covered in the class I saw it, the gimmick. We all have one. For some real estate agents it’s their “21 point marketing system” when in reality, it’s a THREE point marketing system, you may have heard of it, it’s called – M. L. S. This gimmick was titled “How To Go Viral”.

Now, in this guys defense, maybe he doesn’t know that “going viral” is a gimmick or that it ain’t worth much in real estate marketing, but I do. And now, so shall you.



NO $$ In VIRAL Videos

When you think of viral videos you may think of YouTube sensations like “The Evolution Of Dance” or “The Old Spice Guy” or “Charlie Bit My Finger”. These videos have hundreds of MILLIONS of views on them. You have seen them, you have shared them. They are hysterical. Unlike most viral videos these viral videos actually made $$ for their creators in the form of advertising dollars. The creators made money because YouTube sold advertising space on and next to these viral videos. These are few and far between, the fact is 99.9% of viral videos make no money for their creators.

The reason is pretty simple.

Viral videos are a MISTAKE

Viral videos are a mistake. There is no rhyme or reason as to why viral videos occur. There are companies established to analyze what makes us likely to share a video, some promise you can go viral too! Can You? Probably not. Viral videos usually incorporate something shocking or funny or controversial or goofy or unexpected in them, this is what makes them unique, this is what makes them share worthy.

Viral videos are an ACCIDENT

Viral videos are an accident. Think about it. If there was a way to make a video go viral, wouldn’t everyone have one? Wouldn’t President Obama have one? Your PTA? Your kids school? Your church? The bakery down the road? Your daughter? Son? Of course! Yes, if it was that easy, if there was a science to viral videos EVERYONE would have a viral video. Do they? No. Why? Because viral video is an accident.

But why is viral video not worth much in real estate marketing?

Where do you sell real estate? Atlanta? LA? Miami? Minnesota? Phoenix? Question: does it help you if someone looking for a home in Atlanta watches your video if you sell homes in Phoenix? Probably not.

Quality over QUANTITY

I know real estate agents that have 1000 friends on facebook. Sounds impressive huh? Until you realize 950 of them are other real estate agents. Having other real estate agents on your facebook page likely won’t help you. In reality, they are your competitors. I would rather have 50 people on my facebook page that are likely to watch and share my videos than 1000 of them that couldn’t give a damn.

NOT ALL VIEWS ARE CREATED THE SAME

Same thing with real estate video. NOT ALL VIEWS ARE CREATED THE SAME. Again, I would rather have 5 views on a video where those 5 people searched out and cared what I was talking about than 1,000,000 views by consumers that found me by accident. Marketing is all about a TARGET AUDIENCE, viral videos don’t have one

Sure,  you can make the argument “there is no such thing as bad marketing” and while this may be true, marketing that is not placed in front of your ideal client is a waste. This kind of marketing ain’t worth much in real estate video though as we deal with niches in real estate.

Takeaway

Viral video is an accident. Viral video is a mistake. If you are going to use video in your real estate business, and you certainly should by the way,  you should be creating video content that consumers not only would search out but also watch. This content should be created for a specific niche, “Val Vista Lakes”, “Buying a home in Phoenix”, “Phoenix homes for sea near Intel” etc. Why you are the best agent in the world is worthless. Why your brokerage is better than another is a waste.  There are so many benefits to using video in real estate, but that video needs to ultimately be  of value for the consumer. Anything else is a waste.

Contact Us

Thank you for your interest in HMC. We provide the highest quality business, commercial, event video productions, classes and services. We look forward to meeting you. Please fill out the form below or call 480.223.8113