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Video is the preferred content for the platforms you’re engaged on and the people you’re seeking to attract, so your ability to generate this kind of content has never been more critical.
These 12 video ideas will help you build value for your audience and answer the questions that potential customers have before they even ask them.
12 videos every agent should make
1. What people love and hate about living in (your area)
Share with your audience all the things residents love about living in your area and the things they don’t love. Whether you’re talking about a city, a neighborhood or a subdivision, people are curious about what it’s like to live there, and these videos will draw them in.
Whether we like it or not, negativity often attracts attention. If you share that you don’t love living in your area during the summer because July and August are incredibly humid, you’ll be a bit more relatable to the people trying to learn more.
2. Renting vs. buying in (your area)
Use this video to highlight the area you service, and include the area’s name in the title of your video. Then, really break down the specific options for your audience.
Show them the numbers of renting versus buying. Include how much an average house would sell for and a rough idea of their mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance. Then break down the monthly expenses of the lease payment versus the mortgage payment. Highlighting the potential for capital appreciation, the tax advantages of ownership and demonstrating that their payments will actually be lower than if they rent will usually reveal the value in purchasing.
3. Virtual open houses
Facebook has given us unbelievable reach for virtual open houses, even if we live in an area with the option for in-person events. Although our in-person open houses might draw 10-12 people, a Facebook video allows you the opportunity to reach an audience of hundreds of people.
It demonstrates to your sellers that you’re using unique methods to reach buyers, and it helps you draw a larger audience.
And if you live in an area that hasn’t fully reopened yet, virtual open houses allow you to engage with an audience until things fully reopen safely.
4. My favorite places in (your area)
People who are thinking about moving to an area want to see a highlight reel of the best things around you, so highlight a variety of offerings in your area. Include places to take the kids, places to take your spouse and any of the things you love to do.
Shoot video at the local park, a restaurant, the farmer’s market or on a bike trail you love to ride.
Providing this insight allows potential buyers to begin to picture themselves enjoying the area. It also shows potential sellers that you are actively marketing the area to attract more potential buyers for their home, should they list with you.
5. Coming soon
As soon as you take a listing, shoot a video — even if it’s with your phone — and tell your audience how excited you are to bring this house to the market in a few days. Give just a few details, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and invite interested people to private message you for more details.
These videos will demonstrate a willingness to do something different on behalf of the sellers, and you might even get a chance to double-side some of your listings.
6. Neighborhood highlights
Create a video of the area you’re farming or a neighborhood that you love, and highlight amenities like a pool, neighborhood gym, dog park or anything else that will interest your audience. You can shoot this with your phone, or you can hire someone to shoot this for you.
If you want to draw more traffic, you can spend a little money to buy a domain that you can point people to at the end of your video. If you’re highlighting Live Oaks subdivision, for instance, point your audience to a website you’ve created called LiveOaksSubdivisionHomesForSale.com, where they can see pictures of the homes that are available. Then point them to your website with an evergreen IDX feed of homes currently for sale in the subject neighborhood.
We use BoomTown for this because it allows the visitors to see pictures of the houses that are for sale, and it has a built-in lead capture prompting for them to opt-in to see more photos. It’s a great way to add value to your farm and build your reputation as the expert in that neighborhood.
Posting these videos on YouTube with proper titling, tagging, description and professional thumbnails has been highly effective for us over the past few months.
If you aren’t sure how to correctly title and tag your videos on YouTube to generate the most organic traffic, try the tools Keywords Everywhere and TubeBuddy.
7. Cost of living in (your area)
People want to understand what it will cost to live in the area they’re considering, so start by figuring out the markets that are feeding people into your area. Doing a simple Google search for demographic information for (insert feeder city) and for your area will give you the ability to create personalized comparisons.
In your video, compare the price of a house where the audience currently lives with a house in your area. The people searching for this kind of information are likely close to a buying decision, so you can help them gather the information they need and potentially engage with them before any other agents in your market.
8. About me
Customers want to do business with people they know, like and trust, so tell your story. Tell them about your family and your background in the industry. Explain why you love the industry, activities you enjoy and anything that helps people better understand who you are.
About me videos give you the ability to connect with clients before you actually meet them in person.
9. Testimonials
These videos are critically important because they effectively tell people that you’re safe to do business with. Begin the process by contacting your previous clients and asking them to share their experience working with you. Ask what they liked about working with you.
You could even record these at closing using your cell phone while your clients are happiest. Then, share these videos and begin to build rapport with your future clients.
10. New listings
Every single time you take a new listing, do a walkthrough video as proof of the business that you’re doing. Not only does it add value for the seller, but it also increases the odds that you’ll find the buyer who’s a good match for your property.
Customers are drawn to people who are doing business and generating activity.
11. Area demographics
To help people get comfortable with your area, gather statistics about crime, school performance, available churches and other information that’ll help them decide whether your area is a good fit for them. They want to know whether their family will be safe, whether the schools are good and what activities will be available.
Give them the information before they even ask for it, and they’ll be far more likely to call you when they’re ready to find a house.
12. Interview local business owners
Give a shoutout to your favorite businesses in the area by interviewing the owners and giving them a chance to promote their businesses. These shoutouts can include restaurants, handyman services, service providers or any other businesses in your area. When you post this on social media, tag the business to cross-pollinate your audience on social media with their audience.
This win-win proposition helps promote their business, and it draws potential clients to your network.
When you share information about local businesses and service providers, people will consider you a resource for all things, especially real estate.
Additional tools to use with these 12 videos
Here are a few video creation tools that will help you rank higher in searches:
Keywords Everywhere
Keywords Everywhere gives users a list of terms that people search for every month. So after I create a YouTube video, I search to find the most popular terms. The point of this exercise is to be specific rather than finding those terms that have 2 million searches for the month.
I’ll search for phrases like “Live Oak subdivision” or “cost of living in (your area),” and I’m ultimately looking for phrases that have between 100 and 1,000 views for the month. You could potentially shoot a video that 70 people view after searching for the terms you used, which is always better than 1,000 viewers for whom your content is irrelevant. It gives you the power to focus on the people you really want to reach.
TubeBuddy
TubeBuddy allows users to test titles to determine if there’s too much competition for terms and if people are searching for those terms. It helps you understand how likely you are to rank on the first page of a YouTube search. It also enables you to identify the terms that will most likely help you rank for your content. These leads will be organic leads that won’t cost you anything.
These 12 video templates, together with the two tools that help you rank for search terms, will help you reach the people you’re most interested in connecting with, and they’ll help you answer questions before the audience even asks them. When you do, you position your business for growth.
Did we miss anything? If there are any videos that you think every agent should make, please share your ideas in the comments section below.
Jimmy Burgess is the Chief Growth Officer for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida in Northwest Florida. Connect with him on Facebook or Instagram.
