With the proliferation of electronic communication, real estate buyers and sellers have become more and more wary of sharing their contact information for fear of being assaulted with unwanted communications. This is understandable, as some real estate lead conversation programs advocate reaching out to potential home buyers up to 43 times. In other words, real estate clients can expect to be bombarded with a combination of emails, text messages and phone calls beginning as soon as they start searching on a website.
Here at Springs Homes we’ve realized how overwhelming and impersonal the online real estate market has become. It can get incredibly taxing for a client who’s looking for advice and guidance from an agent they can trust, but instead, they’re bombarded with vague communications from a stranger. As an independent, boutique real estate company, our greatest asset is our agents, and one of our primary responsibilities is to promote them by helping them connect with potential clients. We don’t want to collect potential clients to put on an aggressive mailing or calling list; we want to connect real estate buyers and sellers to the Realtor who is right for them.
We know that finding the right agent can make all the difference in the real estate market. Every situation is different, and our goal is to show potential clients that every agent is different too, so we built our website to showcase the skills, knowledge, and personalities of each of our agents and to promote them through real estate agent marketing. The bottom line is we want real estate buyers and sellers to get to know the agent before hiring them. Being an independent brokerage means that we are always open to unique real estate marketing ideas. It was clear right off the bat that the classic head shot and text description wouldn’t be adequate for featuring the different personalities within our company. We wanted people to get a feel for who our agents are first-hand, not just in a stiff photo and insincere narrative, so video was the obvious choice for us. It gave us the ability to introduce each agent authentically, in a way that still images and text didn’t have the capacity to.
Our agents aren't actors, and we felt like going through a professional studio would make the process too intimidating for them. In order for their personalities to shine through in the videos they needed to be relaxed, so we decided to do the videos ourselves. Luckily our company had already been making videos of our listings, so we had all the necessary equipment and knowledge to use it.
The first step to making the videos was figuring out how to direct the content. We wanted enough overlap in the questions that viewers could adequately compare the agents, but also questions specific to the individual in order to highlight their skills and personality. Our marketing staff knows the agents individually, so they put together two sets of questions per person: the first set was on general real estate topics, and the second was more personal, tailored to each agent and intended to start a dialogue about their hobbies and personal goals.
In order to ensure that the videos didn’t come across stiff or scripted, the agents weren’t told what the questions would be prior to the interview. The questions were relatively simple, designed to be answered easily – we weren’t trying to test our agents, we just wanted them to share what they already know.
The Setup:
- We set up in an office, with seamless white background paper for a backdrop. We flooded the room with light from several "Daylight Equivalent" LED bulbs, which can be found at any home improvement store. We chose this setup because we wanted a very clean and even look, with the agent as the focus and no distractions.
- We used a full frame mirrorless digital camera with a 55mm lens positioned on a tri-pod approximately 6 feet from the agents. We set the focal length to a shallow f2.2, which blurred the background and helped emphasize the focus on the subject.
- For the audio, we used a "Blue Microphones-." The microphone sat roughly 8-inches from the agent's head, just out of the frame. This proximity allowed us to capture their voices in a warm, true-to-life manner. The "Yeti" is a quality voice over microphone and has an added advantage of USB connectivity.
- We recorded the audio onto a separate track with the USB input connected to the computer, into "Adobe Audition CC." We merged the audio tracks with the video clips in post-production, using "Adobe Premiere CC." Our company uses the "Adobe Creative Cloud" suite, but all of this can be accomplished with almost any video editing software.
The Interviews
There were two people in the office aside from the interviewee: one person operating the camera, and the interviewer. Since our goal was to keep the focus on the agent, the interviewer stayed behind the camera.
The agents were instructed to briefly repeat or summarize the question before answering so that the voice of the interviewer could be edited out of the final clip. If the answers sounded scripted, stiff or out of character, we asked them to answer the same question again. We were looking for interesting answers to highlight their individuality, not sound bites. It proved difficult at first; it seemed like their go-to was quick, generic answers. When we pushed for better answers they got a little bit frustrated, but the answers improved. In retrospect, this made the videos much more interesting.
During the interviews, each agent was asked about what they do outside of real estate. We decided to ask about their personal lives because at some point it becomes clear that they all have real estate expertise, but what makes a client choose a specific Realtor is often on a more personal level. To make the videos a little more interesting, we also filmed them outside of work in parallel with their answers. For example, one of our agents with a background in Music Education teaches and conducts a string group for the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony. She mentioned this in her video, and we know that many clients find it interesting, so her interview included footage of her conducting her orchestra.
The Results
We are very excited about this use of video marketing, and so are our agents! They regularly tell us that a client chose to work with them specifically because of their video. Our clients confirmed what we thought – they appreciate the ability to get a glimpse of each agent’s skills, interests and personality before choosing who to work with; it gives them confidence that the agent they chose is right for them.
Through this experience, we learned just how much clients appreciate transparency. When looking for a Realtor to work with, we all know that real estate expertise is important. If knowledge was the only factor, there wouldn’t be an explanation for the number of people who simply "have a friend in the business." The outcome of our videos has proven to us that our clients are looking for a knowledgeable agent who also resonates with their values and lifestyle.
Transparency helps build trust, which is vital in a Realtor/Client relationship. In today’s online environment where potential clients hesitate to expose their identities for fear of digital waterboarding, videos like these go a long way to help hesitant buyers and sellers find the right Realtor.
We see the proof at the closing table and while scoping out homes from the car. When marketers hear, "We picked you because we watched your video and you're just like us!" or, "We saw in your video that you value education, and that made up our minds," it's music to our ears. But the best part is that these videos enable clients to choose a Realtor for who they really are, even beyond the workplace. We can't think of a better way to reach out to new clients and connect them with the right Realtor.
Here is a sample of how these videos turned out:
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