Tips for using property marketing videos
Everyone’s talking about property videos but where to start? What is the ideal format, where do you host them and how do you encourage engagement?
We’ll try and cover a few basics for agents who are keen to dip their toe in the water.
Why use video in your property marketing?
In a world where we are overloaded with information, there are plenty of statistics that show how effective video is for grabbing attention, whether hosted on your website, posted on social media or surfaced by Google.
On social media, videos enjoy far higher engagement rates than text and images combined and a staggering 1200% increase in shares.*
When you post video to a multitude of platforms (eg. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube) you can start generating leads before launch and reducing your reliance on the portals.
Hosting videos on your website will also assist with your search engine optimisation strategy (SEO), helping prospective vendors and buyers to find you more easily. Google places more value on pages that have embedded video and of course, the higher your page ranking, the more web visits you will enjoy.
And once you have a web visitor, a listing that utilises video has been found to receive 403% more enquiries than one without.**
You might think it a costly addition to your marketing budget but when bolted onto a typical marketing visit for photos, floorplans and EPCs, video will only cost a minimal extra amount. Find out more.
Tips for getting the most engagement from property marketing videos
The purpose of video walkthroughs is to give prospective buyers a little taster. You want them to quickly get a feel for a place and leave them wanting more.
To reach your local community, Facebook and Instagram are likely to be the effective channels and there are a few ways you can maximise engagement:
- Make sure they are short and to the point – ideally no more than a minute in length.
- Have a direct call to action to encourage viewers to book a viewing.
- Ensure they are consistent in style and clearly branded so a viewer knows within seconds which agent is marketing the property.
- Work with the algorithms. Post regularly and encourage feedback or questions, as the more engagement you receive, the higher your future posts will rank.
- Research the right hashtags to further a video’s reach to prospective buyers. Online tools such as RiteTag can assist you find trending hashtags for property searches in your area and don’t forget to promote the location.
- Consider paying to boost a video via social media advertising. Facebook and Instagram ads are inexpensive and can be targeted to your ideal local demographic in the postcodes that are relevant to you.
Tips for using property video on YouTube
Embedding a YouTube video for every listing will encourage Google to rank your website more highly. Here are a few tips for making your channel as visible as possible and encouraging prospective buyers to hit play.
- Create an enticing thumbnail design, rather than rely on a screengrab from the video.
- Rename the video file with a target keyword or phrase, eg. ‘Cotswolds four bed family home for sale ’.
- Use the same phrase in the video title but try to keep it concise. HubSpot recommend putting key information in the first 60 characters.
- Similarly, front load the first 100 characters of the description with the most critical details as after that, viewers will have to ‘click to view more’
- Make sure you add your video to a relevant category under “Advanced settings” as it will group your video alongside other similar ones.
- Tagging the video with relevant keywords will also help YouTube associate your video with others like it to broaden your content’s reach.
Cutting edge video will help you get ahead of the curve, generate the maximum number of leads, secure an offer as quickly as possible and achieve the highest possible asking price.
All NicheCom photographers have now been trained to produce creative edits (a short and snappy video that features speed ramping and more artistic edits) as well as a more classic walkthrough, while out on a typical visit. The raw footage is then professionally edited and branded so you will receive, alongside your photographs and other marketing assets, a link to a high-quality video that has been optimised for all your channels.
Find out more about our property marketing videos or get in touch to arrange a free trial.
*Forbes
**Wordstream