Stand Out with Video: The Future of Real Estate Marketing

Virtual tours on demand. Neighbourhood highlights at your fingertips. At-a-glance agent bios. This is the new normal for real estate marketing in 2023. Video is dominating the industry like never before. 

Why?

Bring Listings to Life with Video Tours

Imagine scrolling through listing after listing of static photos. Then suddenly, you’re immersed in a property video tour. You’re walking through sun-soaked rooms, admiring modern finishes, and noting spacious layouts.

Video makes you feel like you’re right there touring in person.

In a recent survey by Homejab, 87% of buyers said video walkthroughs help them get a better feel for properties than photos alone. Take advantage of this by showcasing your listings with professional video tours. Work with a skilled production team to capture the property’s unique features and help potential buyers envision it as their future home.

For example, in this Harmony project, 2C Media highlights home features captivating high-end buyers much more than photos could.

Foster Connections with Agent Videos

Here’s the thing about working with an agent sight-unseen – it’s kind of awkward.

That’s why you need video to build familiarity and trust with potential clients. Short intro videos let buyers get a sense of agents' personalities - their passion, expertise, style, and commitment to service.

No more Zooming with random names and faces.

EXP Realty agent Mike Sherrard does this exceptionally well with his engaging videos on social media. In two minutes, you feel like you know Mike and would love working with him.

Video also allows buyers to go behind the scenes of your agency, team, listing, etc. Let them meet the team, see the office, and get a look at the company culture. This level of transparency establishes trust and authority.

Rank Higher with Optimized Video Content

In a sea of listings dominated by photos, video stands out. Motion, sound, and visuals command attention and boost engagement. According to Motionbox, web pages with video see 260% more time on site than non-video pages. This signals to Google that viewers find your content more relevant and valuable.

Creating videos optimized for search also improves your chances of ranking for terms buyers use like "Calgary real estate tour", "Calgary luxury apartment views", or "Best Calgary retirement communities". Appearing in Video Packs and getting more impressions means more potential clients for you.

Contrarian View - Video Content is Expensive and Time-Consuming

Some may argue that producing quality video content is too expensive and time-consuming for real estate agents. Hiring a professional videographer, lighting crew, and editor can get very costly very quickly. Trying to film videos yourself without the proper equipment generally yields poor-quality results.

Many agents simply don't have the budget or in-house resources to regularly produce high-quality videos. The time spent conceptualizing, shooting, and editing videos also takes away from time spent on other important business development activities.

Response

While it's true that producing professional video content requires an investment, the ROI is well worth it. Consider partnering with a cost-effective video marketing agency that can handle the entire process for you. They take care of the script writing, filming, editing, graphics, hosting, and more.

You simply provide some guidance on content and approval. Most videos can be shot in just a few hours at the location, saving tons of time.

And even if you pay a few thousand dollars for 3-5 video assets, that one-time investment will continue generating leads and enhancing your brand visibility for months and years to come. The long-term value far outweighs the upfront costs.

Contrarian View - Videos Can't Replace In-Person Home Tours

Some home buyers argue that no matter how amazing the video tour is, it still can't fully replace an in-person walkthrough. On video, it's impossible to get a true sense of the size and flow of the home. Important details like smells, textures, and noises get lost. Staging can make spaces seem larger than they really are.

For high-ticket luxury homes especially, buyers want to experience properties first-hand before making an investment. They don't want to rely solely on virtual tours when making such an important purchase.

Response 

It's true that video has its limitations in conveying all the nuances of a home. However, the purpose is not to replace in-person showings but rather complement them. Videos provide that initial immersive experience when buyers are first discovering listings online. This gets buyers excited about the property so they're motivated to schedule an in-person tour.

During the pandemic, we saw many buyers make offers after only seeing virtual tours because there were no other options. But of course, once restrictions lifted, they always visited the home before closing. Video and physical tours work together to give buyers complete information.

Think of video as the top of the funnel getting buyers interested. In-person showings then seal the deal. A multi-channel approach is best.

Contrarian View - Videos Invade Privacy

Some homeowners worry that showing the inside and outside of their homes in detail through video tours could be an invasion of privacy. They are concerned about security issues if too many details about layouts and valuables are revealed to the general public. There is also a discomfort with having strangers "tour" your home virtually at any time.

Response

Privacy concerns with real estate videos are understandable, however, there are ways to mitigate these risks. Be sure to get clear written approval from the homeowner on what will be filmed and shown. Reassure them you will only showcase spaces relevant to buyers like living areas, bedrooms, yard, etc. Avoid filming private spaces like closets and drawers.

You can also use security features like watermarks, restrictions on downloading/sharing, and having videos hosted on private listing platforms vs. YouTube. Explain these measures so homeowners feel comfortable providing video access while protecting their privacy.

The Power of Video Marketing

Today’s buyers expect a video-first experience. Give them the property tours, neighbourhood views, and agent introductions they crave. Video simultaneously builds trust, captures attention, and drives organic reach better than any other medium.

Here are some video marketing best practices:

• Invest in professional equipment and editing software to make cinematic quality videos or partner with an affordable video production company
• Optimize videos with captions, transcripts, and meta descriptions so they rank well in Google and YouTube search results
• Promote videos across your social channels, and email lists and embed them prominently on your site
• Analyze video performance in YouTube Analytics and Google Analytics to see viewership and engagement
• Continually test new video styles and topics and watch the data to refine your approach
• Feature both listings/property tours as well as agent bios, testimonials and neighbourhood overviews
• Remind clients that video tours complement but don’t replace in-person showings which are still critical
• Be transparent about filming and provide video access in a secure way to respect homeowner privacy

The data shows that video drives lead, builds authority and differentiates you in a competitive market. But focus on quality over quantity and continually refine based on performance. Just a handful of strategic videos can have an outsized impact on your real estate business.

To learn more about amping up your video marketing, contact us today for a strategy session where you walk out with a video content plan you can execute.

We’ll showcase how video can take your agency to the next level.

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