We just finished remodeling our website: new photos, new apps, new blog posts. A little video content seemed like a natural addition.
Below, you’ll find the story of how a “little video” turned out to be not so little at all. Big decisions, doubts, goals, costs and time questions were suddenly up for discussion.
We’ll update you in real time as we figure video out. I hope to show that it’s possible to learn how to do this, even if you know next to nothing about it, which is more than I knew. I’m hoping to share the process with other agents and get some coaching, too.
It’s not that I have been unaware of videos for real estate. They were all the rage about seven years ago, but at that time I did not think that I would be good at video on any level, so I tabled the whole idea. So why video now? Here are three reasons we integrated video in our digital marketing.
Videos are more real
You don’t have to be all that tech savvy to know that Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook Live are moving into the space of everyday communication among people.
I don’t do any of the above, but my kids do. I get that this is where communication is trending. And, it’s clear to me that videos on our website can be powerful communicators of who we are.
I looked up “Austin real estate market” and clicked on a video link. It turned out to be a poor example. Scant information, a creepy background and a gargling noise in the microphone caused by wind.
But, still, the agent’s presence in the video made an impression. Could we take that personal presence and improve on it? If we are not willing to be in front of the camera, we lose the value of the video for our business.
Videos travel
We want to have more chances to be found on Google and YouTube. It appears that real estate search today has coalesced around homes for sale. And, home searches are dominated by large companies.
You know what I’m talking about. I don’t think I can win the battle for leads against large companies by simply putting a search tool on my website.
That is not a level playing field. But, with video, maybe we can move the field. We know our neighborhoods. We can speak directly to visitors. We can produce good content. We can be real. Big data cannot do that as well as we can. But to do this, we will have to get a handle on video.
Videos are more dynamic
We want to liven up our website. We just posted an update on our building project blog, and as an afterthought, popped in a 15-second clip that someone had taken. It gave a little live window into that day on the job.
I’m intrigued by very short clips. Short clips, say 15 seconds, are almost a photo alternative, a live photo. We will need longer video also, but not too long, maybe two minutes.
People can skim text, but they are either in or out on videos. Our viewers are people interested in real estate in Austin, Texas. The most obvious places to put video would be on a listing page, a market update or a neighborhood page. We could start here, and be open to other ideas.
But before going on to deal with practical issues, the fundamental question needed to be asked. Is this worth doing? We don’t add on work lightly, so the motivation has to be compelling. I think that it is. I think we should give video a try.
Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2, where I’ll share what we’ve learned along the way in implementing video in our marketing strategy.
Roselind Hejl is an associate on the Hejl Team at Coldwell Banker United Realtors in Austin, Texas. You can follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.