In March’s Marketing and Branding Month, we’ll go deep on agent branding and best practices for spending with Zillow, Realtor.com and more. Top CMOs of leading firms drop by to share their newest tactics, too. And to top off this theme month, Inman is debuting a brand new set of awards for branding and marketing leaders in the industry called Marketing All-Stars.
Marketing gurus have been asking agents for years to embrace content creation, and now that the market has slowed and everyone has a little extra time on their hands, we are really seeing an influx of content into the interwebs.
So what can an agent do if they don’t like to bounce around and point at text bubbles in the air around them? We have five fast suggestions that do not require rhythm or rhymes but will give you a reason to create some light-hearted, short-form content.
Pro-tip: This takes practice and patience. I highly recommend hiring a professional to help you create longer-form content that will be the foundation of your portfolio. Short-form content is just one way to work on your branding and connect with your audience. Remember to make content that feels like you rather than trying to make yourself fit the content. Trends come and go, but your authentic message is a classic fit that will not go out of style.
Quiet working B-roll
This is one of the easiest to set up. Grab a tripod, a friend or a stack of books, and film yourself working. You can pair this with trending music and a few educational facts.
@the.millennial.realtor Life of a 26 year old real estate agent in Dallas Texas📍 #dallasrealtor ♬ Lofi Hiphop Chill – naoki osawa
Take a walk
Take some photography or short video clips at a local park, pedestrian mall or trail you enjoy. You can grab an easy-to-use gimbal to help you generate quick content. You can use an app like storybeat that has quick templates to help you pull this together quickly with a polished look.
@heider_realestate 20-second neighborhood & condo tour – can you see yourself living here? Offered for $979,000 in Washington, DC📍#apartment #tour #hometour ♬ Glimpse of Us – Joji
Share a quick story
Use an app like captions to add text and graphics to a quick story you want to share. This app works with videos under 3 minutes and is very user-friendly. The AI features are great but speak slowly so it has time to adapt to your cadence for the best results.
@jenngstyle Careful who you hire, people. #realtoroftiktok #theft #storytime #realestatenightmare #TREC ♬ original sound – JennGStyle
Share community events
Help promote local events, and connect your audience to them. You can create a simple graphic that suggests some fun activities. You can do several themes: family-friendly, date night, pet-friendly, grab-your-friends and budget-savvy. Create a graphic in Canva or just simply read them off an easy script.
@visitsouthflorida It’s that time of the year again! @southfloridafair is back until Jan 29th 🎡 grab your sweaters and head on over to Palm Beach County’s iconic community event 💙 #southflorida #southfloridablogger #fair #fairfood #palmbeach ♬ original sound – City Destination
Use Instagram’s Reel templates
It really doesn’t get any easier than this. Instagram has pre-built trending templates for you to drop content into. Check out this quick tutorial, and jump on board. Templates are a great way to get ideas and generate quick content that looks great.
Pro-Tip: Jot down how many clips you need and the length of clips, and go search your camera roll. If you take time to document your days with photos and video you should have plenty of interesting collateral to drop into these ready-to-share templates.
Stay focused on your audience and your goals
Going viral doesn’t matter unless you are trying to become an influencer. If your primary focus is to connect with your core audience, then don’t sweat the views. Check to see that your top fans are engaging with your content, and keep experimenting with different types to see what types your audience likes best.
Don’t try to game the algorithm, don’t try to be someone you are not, and don’t make content complaining about your job (it may be time to consider other career options if grumbling is what you want to spend time and energy on in this market).
Be patient; making great video content takes a ton of practice and skills. You will not be an overnight success, it’s going to feel uncomfortable at times, and you will definitely make mistakes. Block off time on your calendar each week to make some quick content, or it will never happen. Remember, you don’t have to dance, but you do need to make an effort to have a modern marketing content plan.
Rachael Hite is a former agent, a business development specialist, fair housing advocate, copy editor, and is currently perfecting her long game selling homes in a retirement community in Northern Virginia. You can connect with her about life, marketing, and business on Instagram and Twitter.
