Lani’s article What you should read into stats about the growth of web video did a beautiful job breaking down the numbers for web video. The data is undeniable; web video’s potential for growth is enormous. Think back to just a few years ago when social media was proclaimed as the next big thing. Many agents thought it a passing phase, yet low and behold social media is well on its way to global domination. Some agents now find themselves playing catch up, and having to shell out the dough for overpriced social media tutelage.
Well if web video is indeed the next wave, you can bet there will be some enterprising opportunists hocking fancy-shmancy “webvideo packages” down the line. As the starlet of my own little unpretentious videoblog HabitatforHermanity.com, let me save you a few dollars in the future with a these web video tips you can use now.
Everyone and their grandma is facebooking, tweeting & blogging now. There is so much noise on-line, it is increasingly hard to break through. Cutting and pasting other people’s sales stats & articles in your blog, just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Starting a videoblog is a great way to stay ahead from the pack. It’s a very relatively untouched tool amongst realtors. Do it now, and do it first before everyone else in market is throwing up videos of themselves. Corner this niche now.
Short & Sweet
As a culture, we suffer from A.D.D. Attention spans are shorter than Paris Hilton’s mini-skirts. Keep your videos short, sweet & to the point. You doing a webcast, not reciting War & Peace. I am a big proponent of 1-3 minutes webcasts. Do not drone on and on. A viewer will think “If s/he is boring on video, s/he’ll be boring in person. Next!”
Smile
Start and end your video showing off those pearly whites. Be natural, personable & and let a light hearted sense of humor show. A little warmth goes a long way. Besides, no one wants to watch (much less work with) a sour puss.
Sell Sell Sell…Not!
It’s ok to highlight your listings once in a blue moon, but avoid using video as a direct sales tool. Some agents resort to solely showcasing their listings because a) they are vain b) they can’t think of anything else to shoot. What ends up happening is the viewer feels they are watching a late night infomercial. The agent appear to have an agenda (Tsk tsk tsk). The agent may want the viewer to buy buy buy, but the viewer is thinking bye bye bye.
“…and to our left, we have the local cemetery…”
If positioning yourself as a neighborhood specialist is your angle, give your viewers valuable content: demographics, what’s trending, school info, and recent interesting comp. Some agents make videos of local attractions & landmarks, as if that matters to clients. That doesn’t make you a neighborhood expert. It makes you a tour guide!
Be Opinionated
It doesn’t matter what your opinion is, just have one! That is why people will tune into your videos. They want your take on the market. They want your point of view about the right (and wrong) time to buy. Sometimes agents are scared to reveal too much about their true feelings for fear of offending people. Well, guess what? Consumers are starved for your true feelings. Your authenticity is what sets you apart and will endear you to them.
Start Simple
Before you go booking out a green screen studio, camera(wo)man, sound guy and editor, try a simple webcast from your webcam, Flipcam or Kodak zi8. Not everyone is born with my style, panache, class & modesty. Practice makes perfect. (Actually a more amateur vibe isn’t a bad thing. It lends a more accessible feel to videos.)
Look Presentable
Try your best to not look like a slob. Aside from looking unprofessional, you don’t want to be immortalized with bed-head hair. Once you post these videos, they will exist somewhere online in perpetuity. Watch your oily T-Zone too. A shiny forehead is worse than a foreclosure.
“You like me.. You really like me!”
The best thing about videoblogging is that by the time someone calls you, they have already decided to work with you. Most likely, they have been following your videos and like what they see. They are a fan! Isn’t it nice when people seek YOU out? Versus you groveling for their business? (Also, it saves clients time when looking for a realtor. They don’t have to interview a slew of agents, and then waste several weekends to find out they don’t like their agent’s personality.)
Warning: If u have a personality of a dial tone, vlogging probably isn’t for you. And that is ok! It’s like social media; it’s not for everyone. Neither are magic bullets, but both can be great extensions of your brand & business if you really enjoy putting yourself out there.
BawldGuy
December 9, 2010 at 1:07 pm
It was worth reading if only for the phrase, “…personality of a dial tone.”
Joe Zekas
December 9, 2010 at 2:32 pm
I suppose it’s useful to see all of the wrong-headed and misguided notions about how real estate agents should use video rounded up in a single post. This post does a great job on that front.
We’ve been a YouTube channel partner for over 4 years, and have nearly 2,000 real estate videos online at our YouTube.com/YoChicago1 and other channels. We have lots of experience with what works and what doesn’t, and I’ll share some of that with you.
People want to look at property, not at real estate agents, no matter how great the agent looks, or how much he or she knows. They also want to see neighborhoods through the eyes of a knowledgeable agent who can talk intelligently about what the kinds of housing they see cost, what they’re like, how they live, etc. A driving tour with on-the-spot, consumer-focused commentary works well.
Forget video blogging. It’s stupid and a waste of your time, and will only accomplish what agents have historically been good at: trivializing, trashing and cluttering any useful media so that the agents who know how to use it well gain no competitive advantage from doing so. Taking dumb slide shows and adding irritating music is a huge step in the direction of killing real estate video – consumers hate that stuff and hate the people who bait them into thinking they’ll get to watch a real video.
If you want to kill real estate video as a useful tool, by all means follow the advice in this post.
Benjamin Ficker
December 9, 2010 at 2:53 pm
What a ridiculous response to the article. Nowhere does the author say to “Taking dumb slide shows and adding irritating music…”
You may be correct in talking about listings for your videos, if your target is buyers who don’t necessarily care who sells them a home. That’s fine. My target audience, and other agents I know (that get 10+ listings per month from their video blogging efforts), is an audience of home sellers who want to know who they are working with. They want to know that the agent knows what they are talking about.
I believe that no matter who your target audience is, you need to be the expert. I don’t think videos of walking through a home make you an expert. I agree with Herman that “they can’t think of anything else to shoot.”
Joe Zekas
December 9, 2010 at 3:49 pm
I know what the author said. What I said was that I’d offer some of what we’ve learned about using video. That’s what I did.
Agents who get 10+ listings from their video blogging per month? Sorry, but you’ll have to give links to those blogs for anyone to believe you. And, responding that those agents can’t be publicly identified for any reason just increases suspicion that they don’t exist.
Benjamin Ficker
December 9, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Fred Weaver and Kevin Kauffman with Group 46:10 in Tempe AZ.
ShortSalePowerhour.com and MyFirstShortSale.com
I’ve thrown those links around in MANY of my comments lately, I didn’t want anything to think I was schilling for them.
The line about picture slide shows is in a paragraph that is trying to discredit the use of video blogging, which is what the author is talking about. And then you end it with “If you want to kill real estate video as a useful tool, by all means follow the advice in this post.” You are not talking about what you do, you are telling everybody that reads this article that it is a waste of time. Which it maybe in your market, not in everyones market.
Joe Zekas
December 9, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Some pretty funny stuff. Note the YouTube user name on the first link you provided: YumaCriminal96. Bet that has strong appeal to sellers. In any event, the channel’s good for another warning to real estate agents: don’t pirate other people’s images for captioning your videos. Unless you’re a Yuma Criminal.
Of the 64 videos online from your second link (same dudes, no?), none has received more than 3 dozen views and most haven’t even been viewed 10 times. Anyone can see those stats on YouTube and measure your claim that the agents get 10+ listings per month from them against the hard numbers. And wonder how many of those views are from other agents.
And anyone can watch these guys in action and guess just how much confidence they inspire in potential sellers. You can probably guess my guess.
I own a company (Data Based Ads) that does print ads for major brokerage firms across the country and Internet applications for major newspapers from the Chicago Tribune to the LA Times to the Wall Street Journal. I suspect I’m familiar with agent behavior. I suspect that I’ve had far more contact with far more agents in far more markets than you have.
Marc
December 9, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Third Reich?
As William Goldman once wrote, “sometimes, the best lines get left on the cutting room floor.”
That include the not so great lines either.
A little editing and sensitivity is a cheap but wise accessary for any writer or content producer. Consider these along with your collective embrace of social media.
Benjamin Ficker
December 9, 2010 at 6:32 pm
@Joe – They have 58 active/active with contingency listings and 107 closed listings year to date. That’s not including buyer sides. If I had a way to send you the pdf of their business as evidence, I would. So yeah, I think they are great at inspiring confidence in their clients. I know these guys personally. I have worked with them. I know that their business comes from their websites and word of mouth. Good luck in the print ad business.
FlatFeeRealty.com
December 9, 2010 at 9:04 pm
I think I should stay out of this conversation. Not a fan of the corny video blogging.
Bruce Lemieux
December 9, 2010 at 9:10 pm
I find Fred and Kevin to be very informative and engaging. Herman’s 1-3 minute rule is a good one. I’ve got ADD and will click ‘next’ if I’m bored after 10 seconds. I can’t get through one of my own videos, but I can watch 5 minutes or more with these guys.
Looking at just their YT plays, they are doing exceptionally well. Each recent vid has at least 100-300 views and they are really consistent. And their niche – short sales – is clearly defined. Arizona must be the most competitive RE blog market in the country, yet they seem to have a very loyal following.
From all accounts, they appear to be a very good model for what an average agent can do with video to attract business (not saying they are average, because they aren’t)
Herman Chan
December 9, 2010 at 11:17 pm
hi y’all!
it’s really not that complicated. do what works for u & your market, be it print, vids, door knocking , prayer, yadda yadda. . that’s what makes this business so great. we run our individual business the way we want.
have a prosperous 2011!