YouTube & You, Part 1: The Future of Real Estate in Viral Media

How often do you find a friend, family member or even a co-worker mentioning the latest YouTube hit? For me it seems to be several times weekly; likely is it the same for many of you. What does this mean? Well simply put, a lot of people watch videos on YouTube, and that traffic translates to a tremendous amount of opportunity for the clever-minded and opportunistic REALTOR®. What type of REALTOR® am I talking about? One who isn’t afraid to show a bit of personality and who wants to find a low-to-no-cost advertising method for which there is nearly limitless potential for high traffic volume and that connects you with where TODAY’S MARKETPLACE IS. Does this person sound like you?

For those that say “Yes”, keep reading. Even if this advertising method doesn’t sound like your bread and butter – I suggest you keep reading anyway. You might just find a few useful tips and tricks to help maximize whatever advertising campaign you’re currently conducting or planning to conduct.

For starters, do you have a YouTube account? If not, create one. In order to get your video campaign going smoothly, you need to learn to effectively use the time you spend on YouTube, and to do this, I suggest reading up on a few key articles including Uploading Videos, Promoted Videos and everything else Help related. Choose the articles that you find helpful to read, but don’t forget to bookmark this excellent resource!

Next, let’s look at what types of videos you should upload to YouTube. Here’s a list of all the common real estate-related videos:

• Virtual Open House – Often called a “VideoTour”, it is an easy way to showcase the house by guiding a viewer through it. Start in the backyard, work your way inside and through the various rooms of the house – this provides you with ample time to describe the property’s highlights – and finish by walking out to the front yard, panning around the house to give the viewers’ a full range of views. (Be sure to schedule the video to not occur on garbage day!) Perhaps end the video with you next to a For Sale sign on the lawn, a simple tactic that gets you and your phone number prominently displayed in the closing seconds of the video to help reinforce who you are and how to contact you.
• Video Bio About Yourself – another easy video to help build your channel. Talk about yourself! Let your personality shine. Talk about your passion for the industry, your experience and education. This is a great time to brag about your skills and expertise and your charitable or volunteer work, but do it subtly – most people dislike a blatant show-off> By the same token, however, people are generally impressed by someone who can show they have proven results. Just think about what people want to hear, not what you want to tell them.  See our Blog Post “How To: Adding a Bio”.
• Walk Around the Neighbourhood – Trying to woo out-of-city buyers? Start with a short video of you walking down the  driveway of your listing and around the neighbourhood, showing off the street and talking about the nearby amenities. Are there schools and parks nearby? What about grocery stores? Is it a gated community? Show them what they’re paying for – which isn’t just the house itself, but also the surrounding community. Plus this soft sale video is another way to simply let your personality and knowledge of the area do the talking.  This strategy also works for any neighbourhood you focus on, not just where you have listings today.  Of course you may want to edit out the footage where you walk by a competitor’s For Sale sign.
• Past Client Testimonials – After you’ve sold the property, get your clients on camera saying how much they valued your services. This type of testimonial can go a lot further than those done by pen and paper. People are typically more prone to being reassured of a REALTOR’s capabilities if someone else is willing to genuinely vouch for them on camera. If you’re multilingual and specialize in dealing with people of foreign languages, you can use their testimonials to help bridge a gap that other non-native English-speakers might wish filled, if they are to turn to you for their real estate needs.
• Home Staging Tips – Are you an Accredited Home Staging Professional? If so, put those skills to use and help out your viewers! Even if you aren’t, I’m sure you can think of a few useful suggestions on how to better stage your house for a quick sale. Set a goal of adding a new tip each month. You can even use your own house or condo as the worksite. Mess up the living room and discuss how a cluttered room works against a seller- … then tidy it up and stage it to emphasize its features – size, windows, wall colour, crown mouldings, or even the type of flooring. Not only do you get to clean your house, but you’re also making a worthwhile contribution to your collection of videos. In fact, if a viewer likes your design style, they might contract you out for more than just the purchase / sale of their property!
• Curb Appeal Tips – Is the front yard lacking the “wow” factor that makes a person slow down as they drive past to get a better glimpse of the property? Help your viewers solve their yard dilemmas with simple, easy to implement solutions. Plant some flowers. Rake away any dead leaves, mow the lawn and trim any nuisance branches overhanging the driveway or obscuring a window. Repair and re-paint the fence if you have one. You don’t necessarily have to have a before and after example either. Just talking about the tip is enough for this type of video.
• Mortgage Tips – Are you also a licensed mortgage broker? Share your insights on today’s market. Talk about the current interest rates or how the HST affects the market from first time homebuyers to veteran house-flippers.
• Importance of Using a REALTOR® to Facilitate a Good Deal – Similar to your bio video, think about creating another video explaining in greater detail WHY someone should use their REALTOR®. Use this video to better position your knowledge and skills as the answer to the question of – Why Me?
• Short videos on explanations of real estate mumbo-jumbo... I mean, terminaology – Home buyers and sellers are often confused by descriptions of properties and other terminology used, especially first-timers.  They are often unsure of what to expect when they see a house with “Elfs”, though most have them.  Assuring them that this doesn’t not mean they will have to share their home with Santa’s helpers and explaining what it means is good, useful info.  What defines a “Victorian-style” home or a Cathedral ceiling?  If you release these videos gradually, people will keep coming back to your site for more.
• First Time Home Buyer & Seller Q&As – Sit down with a list of common questions posed by First Time Home Buyers or Sellers and answer them! Put potential clients at ease with your insights into the market, and how to get them the most property for their buck. Good, useful free advice is hard to come by – and if you’re the one fulfilling that need, people will find out and come to rely on and refer others to your videos.

Now that you’re familiar with the types of videos you can create – the next question you should be asking yourself is, “What video will I make now?” Stay tuned for next week’s entry, where we’ll discuss how to promote your videos on YouTube and your website!

Authored By: Bryan Coughlin, Client Relations