I will go on and on about how great a resource YouTube is. Outside of writing real estate content, I run my own personal YouTube channel and some of my videos continue to bring me results years after I've posted them. Some of them show up on the first page of Google for people researching particular businesses.
With that said, there is a simple formula to generating business with YouTube.
1. BE CONSISTENT
This is the hardest part of making videos. It's not first chronologically, but it's the most important. Have a regular schedule for uploading and shooting. Bonus tip, is you can shoot 4-5 videos worth of footage in one sitting and then upload those 4-5 videos weekly for a full month! Trust me, I know how hard it is to make a weekly video - but it really pays off to stick to a schedule.
Consistency also comes in the form of video format. So if you have a clear intro, middle, and outro - it will encouraage more people to subscribe to you after they binge through more of your videos. If you switch video styles every video (selfie cam, to a polished Q&A, to a picture slideshow), people have more reason to tune out.
2. KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS HOME BUYERS AND HOME SELLERS ARE ASKING
Before you even shoot a video, you should have topics to talk about. What are your prospects asking? Possible questions are:
- What are the best family friendly places in the city?
- What are property taxes like in this neighborhood?
- What mistakes should I avoid as a first time home buyer?
- What homes are available for sale in this city in this month and year?
If somebody is asking that question, chances are they are using either Google or Facebook to get the question answered. For Google, they have a small section at the top of the 1st page for relevant videos. THIS is where you can show up - so think up some topics so you can rank easily!
3. PROMOTE ON OTHER PLATFORMS
You should let people know when you have a new video out. You can also embed the video on your website. If you mention another business in your video, then that gives you a reason to tag them in the social media post. This will increase the likelihood of more shares, and thus more eyeballs.
4. HAVE MULTIPLE CALLS TO ACTIONS IN THE VIDEO
It's fantastic that YouTube allows space for multiple URLs in your video description. So in any point of the video, you can reference "click the link in the video description for more information". This can send people to your website, IDX homes search, sign up for a home evaluation, etc.
What questions do YOU have about YouTube? I can perhaps answer that in a future post.
Here is our obligatory call to action:
