Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Using Video Marketing To Grow Your Real Estate Business

The following post Using Video Marketing To Grow Your Real Estate Business Find more on: MD Internet Marketing Solutions SEO Blog

Using Video In Your Real Estate Business

Now days, an internet presence is probably the most effective way of advertising and marketing for any Real Estate business, from Realtors to Investors and everything in between. But it is a very fast paced world that is constantly changing. It used to be just having a website was all you had to do. Now with Social Media, and all the different platforms, there are many more ways to reach your target audience. Probably one of the best and most engaging is - Video.

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When someone is searching for your business services and they come across your website and a video of your services, chances are they will watch the video. Thanks to short attention spans and American's wanting more information in a hurry, just clicking a button to watch a video usually wins out over reading text. Video allows people to connect more with you on a human level. They feel like they are getting to know you. All Realtors know that video works well to sell homes. Videos can also be used to promote your services. Hard Money Lenders can talk about their services and programs they offer. Investors that are looking for Motivated sellers can make a video to explain how they can help sellers who have a problem and can't sell the conventional way. The list goes on and on. However, you may not want to be on camera. Then what do you do? Actually there is one really good option - White Board videos, or explainer videos. Waqar Hassan created a post on Examiner.com that gives 3 benefits of using explainer videos and what they are:

Top 3 benefits of using explainer videos to sell real estate

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Before looking at the benefits of using whiteboard explainer videos to sell real estate, it’s important to define what explainer videos are. Explainer videos can be defined as marketing tools used to explain products, services or concepts in a simpler and more straightforward manner. In most cases, explainer videos are made using animation and dynamic text among other motion graphics. The videos are usually a few minutes long and mainly used to explain products, services or concepts better as the name suggests. A whiteboard explainer video is a special type of explainer video that utilizes a whiteboard backdrop. The videos usually feature hand drawing images in color or black marker on a white background, hence the name whiteboard explainer videos. The videos are very captivating and perfect for relaying complex ideas in a very instinctive or intuitive way. In this article, our focus will be on the main benefits of using whiteboard explainer videos to sell real estate. Let’s get down to the three main benefits; 1. The videos offer you a perfect opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competition. Let’s face it. The key to becoming successful in business is making sure you always have competitive advantage over your competitors. Whiteboard explainer videos give you a perfect opportunity to stand out and offer a unique selling proposition. Given the fact that real estate offers relatively similar products, i.e. property, real estate sellers need to utilize every avenue they can get to stand out. Whiteboard explainer videos offer real estate sellers a perfect avenue to capture the attention of customers better as well as allow better presentation of real estate products using moving images, animation, music, text and voiceover. With a whiteboard explainer video, you are a step ahead of your competitors who are still stuck on marketing using still images and boring PowerPoint presentations. Continue Reading Here...
We agree with everything that is in that article. It's also important to point out that these techniqes not only apply to Realtors trying to sell a house, but every other Real Estate profession as well. One thing that he points out is the use of still images when selling a property. That is one of our biggest pet peeves. Usually the still images that make up the video are the same images that are with the listing. Using the same images just seems kind of lazy and not very professional. When it comes to making a video for a property that is for sale, you don't have to be on camera. You can take a camera through the house and you can talk about all the good points and explain what all the property has to offer. Later you can edit the video on a PC. Almost all new PC's come with Windows Movie Maker installed already. Just take the extra step for a more professional outcome.

Video Hosting

Next is where are you going to host the video. Vimeo, YouTube, DailyMotion, Flickr, Vevo and the list goes on. Our favorite platform for hosting videos is YouTube. This is where we always start, and then we also upload the video to several other video sharing sites. 1000px-Youtube_icon There are several reasons we prefer YouTube over the other platforms. #1, YouTube is owned by Google. A video that is hosted on YouTube can show up in Google search as well, if it is properly optimized and linked to correctly. #2 You can optimize your YouTube Channel in conjunction with your website. YouTube can actually help power your website to rank better in the searches. It becomes a Semantic hub where you can list your site as well as connect up to 15 other sites (FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest etc.) #3 Once you have connected your YouTube Channel to your website you can place annotations and cards in the videos that are clickable links to drive customers directly to your website. These annotations and cards are usually available and clickable no matter where they find the video on the web. There are a few things you can also do to your YouTube channel to optimize it to get more traffic. Irina Jordan wrote an article in the HuffingtonPost about how to get more out of your YouTube Channel:

Amplify Your Video Marketing Success With YouTube

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With over a billion monthly unique visitors, YouTube has an audience for just about any type of video content. You know a ton about your area of expertise, so share your knowledge by establishing your own YouTube channel. There are tons of benefits to incorporating YouTube into your video marketing strategy. The main one is: Google owns YouTube, which means videos published on the platform rank really well in search results. Additionally, creating valuable videos that help buyers and sellers understand the market also make leads feel more connected to you. If you execute your video marketing strategy well, you can turn 10 minutes of your time into an invaluable, evergreen, trust-building marketing tool! Follow these 5 steps to establish a successful YouTube channel: Produce engaging content: Create content that is engaging, informative and entertaining. I recommend creating a combination of evergreen educational videos (that will remain relevant over time) and fun videos that are short and highly entertaining (e.g. showcasing a local event that’s really unique). Come up with memorable video titles: Titles that get people curious will drive traffic to your YouTube channel, so spend some time brainstorming great titles. Be sure to include relevant keywords and keep the length at 50 characters or less for greater reach and better search engine optimization. Pro Tip: Use this blog post brainstorming worksheet to come up with creative, catchy video titles. Customize your channel: Creating a visually appealing channel not only helps establish your brand identity, but it also shows that you know what you’re doing. Be sure to optimize your channel bio and custom URL to maximize audience appeal. Continue Reading Her Article Here...
One thing we would add, or change in her article is what she says about catchy titles. In the title of your video you should definitely try and add your keywords to give it a better chance of ranking in the regular search engines. There is a lot to be said for video marketing. It's not going anywhere anytime in the future. In fact it keeps evolving. In fact now even FaceBook is getting in on the act with their own hosting platform. We are still testing it, but chances are YouTube will still be our platform of choice because of it's Semantic abilities and being able to connect it to our sites. Be sure and click here to find out more about our services and how video and internet marketing can help grow your Real Estate Business.  

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