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Creating video content is hard. It’s why most Realtors don’t do it. It’s why it continues to be the greatest advantage you can give yourself in your business. Yet, you are not leveraging it. Why? You have the most powerful tool on the planet in your hand.
This changes now. Here’s my five-step, fail-proof way to get consistent with video.
1. Download Marco Polo
Marco Polo is a free app that acts like a video walkie-talkie. Get a couple of friends or your spouse, and commit to using that app to communicate back and forth for a couple of weeks.
You’ll start practicing the rhythm of the video without most (if not all) of the fear. You get to see yourself, hear yourself, and get used to looking in an eye hole, but the worry of what others will think isn’t there. A couple of weeks in, you’ll be a different version of yourself in front of the camera.
You can also accomplish this by texting videos to your people. Get good at it. It’s incredibly powerful.
Consider using Marco Polo to communicate with your buyers and sellers. From a psychological point of view, they’ll be so entrenched with your voice, mannerisms, energy, etc., that your referral rate will go up!
MP also keeps every video you send so that nothing will get lost. You can go back to previous videos as many times as you need.
2. Create video in your stories
Using your stories is the next step as you get comfortable in front of the camera.
Stories are still one of the favorite features of Facebook and Instagram. So, your presence there is important. This video could be 5 seconds or just under a minute. Make it easy on yourself. Go behind the scenes, show people where you’re eating, do a quick video with your kids, and keep it simple.
Our stories go away in 24 hours, so we don’t have to overthink them.
Here are some ideas to consider when you’re using your stories:
- Behind the scenes of your listings.
- Trying new local restaurants.
- On one of your kid’s field trips.
- Promoting who you’re hanging out with.
- Your morning/evening routine.
- Pages from the book you’re reading.
- Ask questions, both personally and professionally.
- Date night.
Remember, stories help you deepen the relationships you already have. Your posts help new people find you. Don’t lean too heavily into one versus the other; you need both.
3. Add video to your processes
You’re doing videos in your stories now. Way to go! Now, it’s time to start creating videos that are a little more permanent. The greatest place to start is in your processes. When you look at how many touches you put on a buyer or seller through your process, you should have a video associated with each step.
Some of these videos can be “evergreen.” This means that you can record them once and use them over and over again. You won’t use names, dates, times or days of the week. They work for every client.
Then, you’ll add in a few videos that you shoot in the moment, specifically for the client, and you will be unforgettable through this process. This will increase your ability to be referred a lot.
Your “para-social relationships” will go through the roof.
Just kidding. I’ll tell you about para-social relationships right now. This phrase was created decades ago to explain the one-sided relationship between famous people from movies and TV shows and normal people (like us). This is why celebrities must act normal when fans act obsessed or excited to see them.
Well, now this type of relationship is available to you and me. Our brains don’t know the difference between seeing a movie star on the big screen versus me on a Reel on Instagram. You’re missing out on these opportunities if you’re not creating consistent video content.
Everywhere I travel to speak, people come up to me and say, “Can we take a picture?” It’s a para-social relationship. How much could you benefit from dozens of those in your city? Get in front of the camera!
4. Record your first Reel, TikTok or YouTube Short
Short vertical videos are the best way to be in front of people right now. This also happens to be the first time in social media history that all the main platforms value the same type of content.
If you commit to vertical video, you’ll put your best self out there on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. It’s a no-brainer. And you don’t have to shake your booty or try extra hard to be funny. Be the educator that you are!
Remember: The right content won’t go viral. Quit worrying about getting the most views. Quit worrying about begging for shares or comments. Trust that the right people, your people, local people, will see your content.
Hopefully, this statement will change your mindset forever. Don’t create video content for who you have; create video content for who’s coming. People are out there talking about you right now; they are starting to look you up and make assumptions based on what they see.
If you’re only making content for the needs you have today, you’ll come off in a very selfish manner. But, if you’re creating content for your future audience, you’ll fill your social channels full of stories, tips and opportunities for them to connect to you as a human, not a salesperson.
5. Use live video
Do you want to rip off the bandaid over your insecurities? Go live! A live video keeps you from starting over every time you mess up. A live video keeps you from being a fake version of yourself. Live video gets real-time reactions from your people.
Don’t overthink it; go live. Your people will love it. Here’s an example of one of my recent ones. I do most of my live videos through StreamYard.
You should go live once a week. Give your people at least one opportunity a week to see you in an authentic environment. Do the video when you know one of your kids will come in, hope that your dog starts barking, and just be yourself.
Remember, your people already know you, so there’s a good chance that the current version of yourself you’re giving back to them isn’t the same version they already know.
Love serving people more than you care about looking stupid. That’s my superpower. You can have it too.
Bonus tip: Change your Soundtracks
Finally, for this to work, you need to change your soundtrack. If you haven’t read Soundtracks by Jon Acuff, buy it on Amazon today!
It’s incredible. It talks about how each one of us plays soundtracks in our heads. The average adult has 60,000 thoughts a day, and 80 percent of those are negative.
See why it’s so hard to be consistent in front of the camera? You want to be out there, but your soundtracks are screaming at you that you’re not good enough, you are too fat, or you don’t know what you’re talking about. Then, you turn the camera on, look at yourself, buy into the lies, and then do nothing.
Try adding a couple of these Soundtracks to your daily life:
- “My life is dope.” (from the book)
- “My people value my opinions.”
- “My people need my advice.”
- “I am not selfish. I will create content that adds value to people. I will always come from contribution.”
- “I love serving people more than I care about looking stupid.”
Your people, right now, are on the verge of saying yes to someone who cares about them far less than you do. How much longer will you allow them to be taken advantage of because you can’t get over yourself? This is your moment. Seize it.
Kyle Draper is the CEO of EMPWR Media in Fort Worth Texas. Connect with him on Facebook or LinkedIn.
