Vlogging for Real Estate Agents Part I: Getting Started

Why should real estate agents vlog?

A vlog is one of the most cutting-edge ways to market yourself (and your listings). For one, broadcasting yourself online in short video clips is a great way to brand your business.  Seeing your face while they learn about the latest market stats in your area, or watch a virtual tour of your newest listing, people feel connected.  That's especially critical in real estate, where success really hinges on your ability to connect with your clients and prospects.

On top of that, vlogging is also a great way to drive traffic to your website.  Just like a blog, your vlog draws traffic into your site from around the web (when you address topics people want to hear about, that is).  Plus, when you cross-publish your vlog within your social media network (on your YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter, ActiveRain, Trulia, etc.), you drive traffic toward your website, where you can turn visitors into leads.  All that helps boost your search engine rankings, which drives even more traffic to your site (as people searching for "Real estate agents in Phoenix" for example, find your site).

Yet as helpful as a vlog can be for your success, only 1% of real estate agents are using video marketing.  This gives you an incredible opportunity to really stand out from the crowd.

Let's get started

To make vlogging easy and productive, you'll need a few simple tools:

•       A video camera (we use a simple flip cam; if your Smartphone has a high-res camera, that can work too - if you have someone else to film you) or webcam (which will work fine if you'll just be filming yourself talking)
•       A computer
•       A YouTube account - it's free and relatively easy to set up

How vlogging works

1.  First create a YouTube account. YouTube is the hosting site where you can broadcast your videos for free.
2.   Next, upload your videos onto your computer.
3.   Then go to Youtube.com and follow their instructions on importing your videos. Soon your vlogs will be posted for the world to see!  (You can combine Steps 2 and 3 and upload your vlog directly to YouTube if you've filmed it on your Smartphone.)
4.   Last step, cross-publish your vlogs (or at least link back to them) on your blog and your social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, ActiveRain, etc.).  Doing this will maximize the exposure your vlogs generate.

Now that you're set up, for ideas on what to say, check out Vlogging for Real Estate Agents Part II: What to Say?  Happy vlogging!