September means Back to Basics here at Inman. As real estate navigates the post-settlement era with new commission rules, real estate professionals from across the country will share what’s working for them, how they’ve evolved their systems and tools, and where they’re investing personally.
This post was updated on Sept. 9, 2024.
The passive prospecting of having YouTube videos marketing your business while you do other things is unmatched. In this article, Noah Escobar shares the easy-to-follow, step-by-step process he’s utilized to generate over $150,000 in GCI in the past 15 months.
Escobar is a 24-year-old agent who began his career by interning for me at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida and has found early success utilizing three specific types of YouTube videos.
When asked why he decided to start recording and posting on YouTube, he said, “Before I came on as an intern for you, I was doing video production for my church, so I had a little bit of experience with a camera. Once I began my internship and began shooting your videos, I saw how powerful those videos were for your career. Based on that, when I graduated from college and started my sales career, I knew I wanted video to be a large part of how I built my business.”
Escobar started getting serious about video and his YouTube channel in the first quarter of 2023. “I wanted to utilize it to help me with the ‘know, like, trust’ sales funnel process of my business,” he said. “I focus on three specific types of videos. Each of these complements the others and helps me build an awareness of my business. The videos fall into these three categories: community videos, infrastructure update videos, and listing tour videos.”
Escobar has seen steady growth in his channel; his success proves you don’t need a large audience to generate business on YouTube. The key is to stay focused on the types of videos your ideal clients want and are searching for.
YouTube is now the second-largest search engine behind Google. This means most people who are viewing videos on YouTube come there looking for specific information. This is completely different from video views on Instagram or other social platforms that are not as search-driven.
“My first sale from YouTube came from a community video where I was discussing the new homes being built and planned in a specific neighborhood. I was at the beach with my girlfriend, and when we came out of the Gulf, I saw that I had a voicemail. The voicemail said, ‘I saw your video highlighting Watersound Origins. I’m coming to town in a few days, and I’d love for you to show us that neighborhood.’ Within five days of seeing my video, they came into town and were under contract for $1.2 million on a home that had been closed for cash two weeks later. I’ve since closed six homes in that one neighborhood,” Escobar explained.
The video his first client called on only had 600 views. This showed him that it isn’t about the number of views but the quality of the views. He started by shooting the videos himself but quickly pivoted and found a videographer who shoots and edits the videos for him now. He highlighted this fact to make sure anyone considering shooting videos realizes that it can be done, whether they have past video experience or not.
The following is a breakdown of each type of video he shoots and includes slides he provided that detail the flow for each style.
Community videos
The community videos are the top-producing videos for lead generation for him right now. These are videos where he highlights the amenities, location, types of homes, etc., for a specific neighborhood.
By focusing on the keywords people would use when looking for information about these specific neighborhoods, he has been able to rank at or near the top of organic search on YouTube for the communities he has highlighted. He’s found that multiple videos highlighting different phases of a community compound his ability to be seen as the expert for that neighborhood as well.
“When I have multiple videos for a specific neighborhood, the viewers typically watch more than one of my videos. The more time they are watching, the more opportunity I have to build virtual rapport with them,” Escobar explained.
The following is the flow he utilizes and his thought process in each section of these videos:
Infrastructure update videos
Infrastructure update videos have given him the ability to produce content on areas that are under development when most people are wondering what is coming. In these videos, he goes over the project, the amenities and how this project will affect the surrounding areas.
By being the first person to post videos on many of these projects, he has seen most of these videos open up at the top of organic searches for the neighborhood name. His subsequent follow-up videos, as the project develops, add to his authority in search for the new development.
He’s highlighted national builder communities by interviewing their onsite sales members building relationships that have led to referrals due to the value and exposure his videos bring to the builders and the communities. He’s done the same with local builders. These have given him exposure and additional searchable content. This win-win video type has led to listings with builders along with buyer leads.
The following is the flow and thought process he has for the infrastructure update videos:
Listing tour videos
Listing tour videos serve several purposes. The first is to professionally market the listing in a way that attracts a buyer. The second is to showcase himself as a professional marketer leading to additional listing opportunities. The third is to have these videos as examples of the type of marketing he does for clients who list with him. He shares these in his listing appointments to help him highlight his value and close more listings.
When Escobar first started, he had very few listings. To overcome this, he offered to pay for the listing videos for listing agents. He gave the listing agent credit when he introduced the home in the video and then highlighted the home.
This created a win-win-win situation for the seller, the listing agent and for him. The seller received additional, professional exposure of his home to potential buyers. The listing agent was able to provide additional marketing for his/her seller at no cost to them, and Escobar had additional content he could use to attract buyers and show potential listing clients.
The following is the flow he follows and the process he uses to produce these types of videos:
“When I first started in the business, I knew I couldn’t do business without actively prospecting. YouTube videos have given me a way to passively prospect on a consistent basis. Now that I have been doing this for over a year, my videos are being watched day and night.
The analytics YouTube provides show me that I’ve had 240.6 hours of watch time over the past 28 days. When I break this down to an average daily amount, it means people are watching my videos for 8.6 hours per day on average. That is exposure and prospecting that is promoting me and my business at a level I could not maintain if I was having to be on the phone that much,” Escobar said.
If you’ve been on the fence about leaning into producing YouTube videos for your business, now is the time to commit. Follow this blueprint, and you will have success.
To see Noah Escobar’s videos and model your local content after them, check out his YouTube channel.
