Real estate agents used offline methods like print advertisements and open houses to reach a larger audience. Through the internet, real estate agents have found new and more efficient ways to reach potential buyers. One of the most popular online tools is YouTube for real estate marketing.

Launched more than a decade ago, YouTube is still the most popular video-sharing platform worldwide. With more than 2.6 billion active users monthly, it’s one of the best platforms to project your real estate business. 

Showcasing listings on the platform can help you promote properties without spending a fortune on advertising. However, you need detailed knowledge to use YouTube for real estate, and that’s where the real estate marketing dude’s expertise can help.

Michael Cuevas, the real estate marketing dude, has been in the real estate business since 2002. He is also the founder of Attracktor, a marketing company specializing in personal branding services, especially video marketing.

He was recently a guest speaker at the Icons of Real Estate podcast episode “YouTube For Real Estate Agents With ‘Real Estate Marketing Dude.” He demonstrated the secret of using YouTube for real estate digital marketing.

This explainer reveals some essential tips you can combine with Michael Cuevas’s expert advice to use YouTube for your real estate business successfully.

Top Tips to Help Your YouTube Real Estate Digital Marketing 

YouTube marketing, when done correctly, can generate thousands of new leads for your real estate business. Here are some tips to help you get it done rightly.

1. Create a Video Marketing Plan for the Long Term

YouTube success doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll need to be consistent and have a long-term plan to achieve your marketing goals. The best way to create a long-term strategy is by first accessing your subject matter and then figuring out the best angles to reach your target audience. 

Afterward, decide on the video type you’ll use to accomplish your goal and the posting frequency. Remember that consistency is critical even if you don’t achieve overnight success. Eventually, your hard work will pay off.

The common types of YouTube for real estate videos include:

• Listing Videos: Showcase your listings in the best manner possible.
• Market Updates: Help your audience discover the market growth in different areas based on metrics like current property values and employment opportunities.
• Neighborhood Overviews: Get potential buyers to imagine what their lives will be like in your market.
• How-to Videos: Explain the basics every buyer or seller needs to know while presenting yourself as a convenient resource.
• Interviews: Get exciting people with fascinating backgrounds, stories, etcetera, to speak on camera about their experiences to drive sales in your local market.

2. Set Up Your Channel to Look as Good as Your Website

A strong, well-designed YouTube for real estate channel can build your brand, connect with potential clients, and generate leads. However, many real estate agents make the mistake of treating their YouTube channel as an afterthought. Your YouTube channel is just as important as your website, so design it with the same care and attention.

Many realtors make the mistake of assuming their YouTube audience knows where and how to find them on social media or websites, leaving their YouTube channels’ About Page empty or half-filled. Don’t make that mistake. 

Instead, use your YouTube channel as an extension of your brand and include links to your website and social media accounts. That way, interested viewers can quickly learn more about you and your business. 

Like Michael Cuevas said while guest speaking at the Icons of Real Estate, the best real estate podcast, “You’ve got to remind people constantly of who you’re, what you do, and how they can get in touch with you. That’s the secret to staying visible.”

Consider including a brief overview of your services on your YouTube channel to educate viewers and give them a better sense of your offer. 

These simple steps can ensure your YouTube channel works hard for you and help you to build a more substantial online presence.

For instance, look at this seasoned realtor in Springfield’s website; you’ll find the link to all her social media handles and other contact information boldly displayed onsite. If you click the YouTube icon to visit her channel, you’ll also see how she lists all her contact information on her YouTube channel About Page.

3. Use Keyword Research to Create Captivating Headlines and Content to Inspire Clicks

One of the tricks for optimizing your YouTube channel is coming up with unique and catchy SEO-friendly titles and copies for your YouTube video. Crafting headlines and content for your video that include relevant keywords will capture your audience and make them want to watch your clips.

Search for keywords applicable to your clips and overall marketing strategy. Focus on keywords related to your local market. Use relevant tools to find keywords that suit your local market. Organize and distribute them across your video title, content, and copies to maximize your reach.

Optimizing your written content with relevant keywords can make your video rank high on search engines like Google. 

However, adopting Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) best practices to optimize your content can seem daunting. If that’s the case for you,  leave the work to leading SEO for real estate services like Ardor SEO. 

Ardor SEO has a proven track record of organically generating business traffic and visibility using various industry-specific keywords and techniques. This company’s team of experts can use their knowledge of YouTube’s algorithm to optimize your videos and get them in front of potential customers.

4. Always Include Calls-to-Action

You’re probably on YouTube all the time, but did you know it’s a powerful real estate lead-generation tool? One of the best ways to use YouTube for real estate lead generation is by utilizing Calls-to-Action (CTA). CTAs are essential in any marketing strategy, YouTube inclusive because they’re like fingerboards telling the audience what to do next.

A CTA could be as simple as adding a link to your website in the description box of your video or even having an end screen with links to your contact information or website. Utilizing CTAs will help increase traffic to your website and, ultimately, generate leads.

You can also use CTAs in your YouTube videos to invite your viewers to subscribe to your YouTube channel, watch other videos, follow your social media handles, like and comment on the video, etcetera. 

One good attribute of CTAs is they’re presentable anywhere, anytime, and in any manner. You can include them in your video’s beginning, middle, end, or throughout. Many YouTubers even use multiple CTAs and present them at different strategic points in their videos. Some common ways to give CTAs include:

• Casually mentioning them verbally in videos
• Placing them in the video’s description
• During a video’s start and end points
• On cards that appear during the video

Conclusion 

YouTube for real estate agents is an excellent avenue to reach a wider audience and project your business to another level. It provides a perfect opportunity for real estate agents to show off their personalities and build trust with potential clients. 

By creating compelling content and using YouTube’s search engine optimization features, you can reach many people interested in what you have to offer. Getting your YouTube channel off the ground may take some time and effort, but the rewards can be well worth it.

Combine the tips listed above with those from the Icons of Real Estate podcast episode with Michael Cuevas to get started on the right path. 

CTA

Stay updated with the latest trends, tips, hacks, and every other information you need to be successful in the real estate industry by listening to the Icons of Real Estate Podcast. 

Hear Michael Cuevas and other successful real estate agents and investors as they narrate their experiences, tell their success stories and share success tips and secrets. You’ll learn a lot!

In this post, we’re going to show you how to build your database so you can begin marketing it with real estate video. You can have the best real estate video in the world, but if nobody sees it, what’s the point? Building your brand with real estate video involves one thing,  consistent communication to the same audience over time.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Your Database is the most important group to stay in front of” quote=”Your Database is the most important group to stay in front of”]

Did you know that over 60% of ALL real estate agent business comes from referrals or repeat clients?  You don’t get referrals or repeat business from strangers, you get them from the people you know! We use real estate video content to nurture your database so you remain on top of mind.

Think about how many of your past college or high school friends you stayed in touch with through social media over the last decade.  Being able to see their pictures, videos, and stories has allowed the both of you to hold on to the relationship.  Even though you might not have spoken to each other directly, if you saw them in the grocery store, you’d still say “hi” because you feel like you still know them.

How much has social media had an affect on your business?

Now let’s do the complete opposite.  Let’s say you haven’t seen, talked to, or even heard from or about them since you graduated. Do you even feel like you know them anymore?  Would you say hi to them in the grocery store now or even know what they look like? Most likely not.

That’s why video nurtures your relationship and builds your personal brand. It makes you unforgettable in a humanizing way.

People work with real estate agents they, know, like, trust, are and referred to, but only when they are remembered!  Video leaves a larger impact, which in turn leads to top of mind brand awareness.  If you decided to do 1-2 real estate videos a month for the next 6-12 months and each video was seen by 70% of your network, would you generate more referrals?

[click_to_tweet tweet=”76% of consumers work with the first agent they speak to. Your main goal should be to become the first agent they think of when they think of real estate” quote=”76% of consumers work with the first agent they speak to. Your main goal should be to become the first agent they think of when they think of real estate”]

1.) Build Your Database Marketing Lists

The first place to start is to begin creating your database marketing lists. We want to create a list of all of your contacts with email addresses and or cell phone numbers.  It’s very difficult to attract more referrals without staying in consistent communication with your database.

You can start building your marketing lists by exporting all of your database sources.  We start by exporting your cell phone contacts, email contacts, LinkedIn contacts, CRM contacts, and any other resource that has the contact information of your database.  Once that is complete, you want to combine them all on onto one final CSV spread sheet so you can move to the next step.

2.) Uploading Your Database Facebook

Your database hangs out on your personal page, not your business page. The problem is that only about 20% of your “friends” see your posts.  This is exactly why you want to upload your database into Facebook as a custom audience.  This makes is much easier to “farm” your database with your real estate videos.

This is extremely important to understand because there is a major difference in advertising vs marketing your database.  Branding and marketing is about remaining relevant with content.

WHY?

Most of your friends are not following your business page and aren’t seeing your posts.  Asa matter of fact your business page only gets about a 3-5% organic reach. We recommend boosting Facebook ads to your database.   You can upload a CSV spreadsheet into Facebook’s “Audiences” features of ads manager so you can reach the rest of your database via Facebook ads.  You will need cell phone numbers and/or email addresses of your database to build this audience.

3.) Build Your Email List

Once you uploaded all of your contacts into Facebook it’s time to make an email list out of them.  Your email list should be comprised of relationships only.  You are going to want to take your total list and begin deleting contacts.  Email is a little more intimate so we recommend you only build an email list out of relationships and delete the acquaintances. The reason for this is simple –  nobody likes spam.  My advice is to go line by line and delete every contact who’s face you cannot recognize by their name.

Another way to do it is to use what I call the “smell test”.  If you were to be walking down the street, would you stop and say “hi” to this person? If they pass the “smell test” then leave them on your list, but if not, then delete them!

We love video email. The days of sending out crap content are over.  Sending people spam content only detracts from your personal brand versus build upon it.  If people are not opening your emails, then what’s the point of sending them in the first place? We are seeing a 40% + open rate using video email, which is almost four times the national average(13%)!

The reason we use it is simple: it generates more attention than text based emails.  If you want to learn more about marketing your database with video email I suggest you read the following article: Why Video Email is Your Best Referral Marketing Strategy.

Once this is done you just want to stay consistent with it.  Don’t overthink it, and keep it simple. Consistent communication using real estate video will build your brand among your database and attract referrals.

We have a major fundamental problem within the real estate industry right now.  The general public need another real estate sales person.  Are they correct? Service based occupations like real estate agents face competition once value becomes absent.  Don’t believe me?

• Travel agents
• Barbers
• Taxis
• Traders
• Accountants (Turbo tax)

How about the increased competition amongst less expensive options?  I just saw this graph from from Zillow’s housing trend report.  Besides the fact that Zillow is highlighting information to throw the industry that supports their existence under the bus, it’s the truth.  The numbers speak for themselves and are alarming! Roughly 1 in 5 people regretted hiring an agent and wished they did it on their own!

Yes folks,  19% of home sellers surveyed regretted using an agent. This isn’t a real estate problem, this is an industry problem and the exact reasoning behind why all of these “let’s cut the Realtor out of the equation companies” are growing.

Lack of value is the industry’s problem right now.

I believe that the answer to this problem is rooted to how we, as real estate agents, view our occupation.  Are we sales people or business people?  There is a major fundamental difference between the two and we now face an option as to how to respond to the the increased competition and the “less expensive” options. The public is speaking up and telling the industry to shape up or ship out!

We aren’t entitled to a 6% commission!

We aren’t entitled to be involved in a transaction!

We need to earn it!

The public doesn’t want more real estate sales people. They want more real estate problem solvers.  If  the industry as a whole began to teach agents to run their practices as small business owners vs. sales people, I believe we will redefine the value a good Realtor brings to the table. The reason for this is simple. Sales people play the short game and business owners play the long game.

Let’s start off defining the main difference in motivation between the two.

A sales person, by nature, is motivated by closed sales and personal gain.

A business person, by nature, is motivated by creating and maintaining the best product or service that can become salable at some time.

Let’s use these questions to spell out the difference in mindset the two may have.  You can then use this questions to analyze your own business.

Do You Have A Database?

A business owner has a database of their network.  They view their relationships as future business and make staying in touch with their network a priority.  They most likely have an email or direct mail list to keep in contact with network.  Agents who run businesses tend to host client events, attend many networking functions, and are constantly try to increase the size of their network. Over 60% of business comes from referral or past clients.

A sales person doesn’t care to keep track of a database. If they have one, it’s on a spreadsheet or CRM, but nothing is actively done with it in terms of consistent communication. A sales person does not consistently stay in touch with past clients.

Do You Have A Website?

A business owner has a website they fully control.   A business owner constantly invests in working on their website always looking to improve or add value with it.

A sales person may also have a website, but it’s most likely one that was given to them by their broker or a very inexpensive tool.  You may have a website but have never once updated it since the time you got it.

Lead Generation Efforts

A business owner measures successful lead generation efforts by how many listing and buyers presentation were given.

A sales person measures lead generation efforts by total number of leads they received.

Customer Service

A business owner believes in enhancing the consumer experience.

A real estate sales person thinks customer service is just in the way they communicate with clients.

Business Planning

A business owner spends multiple hours each week planning on how to leverage into a team and remove themselves from the sales process.

A real estate sales person spends multiple hours each week planning on which lead generating system to use next.

Facebook Ads

A business owner sets up multiple retargeting campaigns based on content that add value to prospective future clients

A real estate sales person goes right for the opt in or lead on the first shot.

Your Listing Marketing Plan

A business owner has a marketing plan that involves more than an MLS listing, open house, and a sign in the yard.  They have a marketing strategy uniquely prepared for each property.

A real estate sales person marketing strategy is the same with every listing they take.

Pricing Your Listings

A business owner has a pre-planned pricing strategy behind pricing their initial offering.

A real estate sales person gets on their knees and preys for a buyer to come.

Your Online Presence

A business person has their Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Facebook, Linked In, and rest of online properties completely filled out.

A real estate sales person has only a couple of these filled out, but none of these are consistent.

An Assistant

A business person invests in an assistant or hires help.

A real estate sales person thinks it’s too damn expensive.

Education

A business owner is constantly investing in their own education and attends training events.

A real estate sales person thinks everything they learned in real estate school was enough.

Branding

A business owner has their own branding, logo, slogan.

A real estate sales person uses their brokers.

Signage

A business owner invests in their own branded open house and for sale signs.

A real estate sales person uses their brokers.

Savings

A business owner sets up a certain percentage of income earned to be reinvested back into their business. They also save money for market valleys.

A real estate sales person uses 100% of their income to pay last month’s bills. They don’t think the market will ever change and typically live month to month.

View On Their Occupation

A business owner genuinely loves what they do and sees their role as one of service who helps people accomplish the American dream.

A real estate sales person views real estate as a job that pays the bills.

Creating Video Content

A business owner looks at video content as a library of marketing material that can be used over and over again sometime down the road.

A real estate sales person views video content as a way to get more leads.

Which one are you? if you liked the content on this page check out our channel.

I got news for you. You are not in sales, you specialize in real estate customer service. I’m not sure when it happened, but real estate sales people were abolished by the general public years ago. I’m with you, I didn’t even know it was happening until it was too late too, but read on there is good news!

Good news is that you still have a job, but what your future clients expect of you has changed. The way to sell today is through exemplifying exceptional real estate customer service! The agents who have the best service and create the most value are your direct competition, not the largest brokerage in your area. You are also competing against technology and “less expensive” options.

What’s happening in the real estate industry is no different than what’s been happening in just about every industry. I encourage you to look at Zappos, Xfinity, or any other brand and look at their marketing strategy.

They are bulking up on customer service.

Why The Real Estate Industry Needs To Put It’s Focus On Real Estate Customer Service…

The internet made information about properties for sale easily accessible, which empowered consumers. The flow of information has totally changed, which has changed the way business is done today. Consumers used to need us to access that information, but not anymore.

Don’t believe me?

Have you ever heard of a company called Zillow?

Zillow has won the information game, but they will never compete in the real estate customer service game. At the end of the day people hire you because of the experience. They don’t want to do all the running around taking a contract to the closing table. They also don’t want to guess as to whether or not they are making a wise investment. They are hiring you for that expertise.

We all know how accurate Zestimates are.

One of our biggest challenges is educating the public in the value of working with a Realtor. When you do a poor job with any client, it’s a reflection on our overall industry. A poor consumer real estate customer service experience creates interest in exploring the “less expensive” options.

Most Realtors get mad when they hear competition has arrived, but I get excited! Competition is what makes this country great to begin with. It forces innovation and with that comes better products or services.

This is going to be tough to hear, but the truth is buyers and sellers no longer need us.

They can easily go onto the Internet and find out anything they want to without you. They can also do it for less money too.

You might think they need you, but they don’t.

They choose to use you. Actually they want to use you, but only if you are worth your fees.

Consumers can find out anything they want without us today, but that doesn’t mean we are worthless because there are certain areas no technology can ever compete with us in and that’s in service!

Yes exceptional real estate customer service. I know it doesn’t sound sexy, but trust me it’s the sexiest part of marketing you can implement right now because it’s crushing it more than that latest Facebook ads campaign you just saw on your feed connected to that super duper email auto responder.

Let me explain…

There are only 3 reasons why we still have a job and are not like the travel agencies of the 90’s. The real estate industry could very well head that way if we don’t do something about as a whole, but hear me out.

What can we do that technology cannot?

Why do people still choose to use Realtors when they can potentially get a discount not using them?

I like to go to a special barber in my neighborhood. I don’t have a lot of hair you can check out my mugshot so it’s not like one place cuts my hair better than the other. I don’t need a perm or highlights either.

The barber I go to is $28 bucks with a tip.

I can also go a block from my house and visit a Super Cuts for about $10 less, but I choose to go to the barber shop and pay more.

Why?

I love how they shave my neck with a razor. They go extra clean and my fade looks tight when I get out of there. The length is always perfect too. Most people wouldn’t notice it, but I do.

I’d rather pay more money and go to the place I prefer the service delivered. I don’t care about the extra money because I see value in that.

Example #2:

I  like to eat tacos and it’s not because I’m Mexican, I really love tacos . I have two taco places I like to eat at that are complete opposites, but I’d rate their tacos about the same.

Taco place numero uno is your typical fast food taco stand. You go in and order your food and it comes out, You eat and bounce.

Taco place numero dos is a full out restaurant. They have great service, drinks, and food, but the tacos are double the price.

If it’s a Thursday or Friday around 4-5 pm and if I feel like getting my taco on, I’m going to the more expensive option because I’m looking for more than just some good grub. I’m looking for an experience.

When I’m hungry and just need to put something my stomach to get me through my next appointment I’ll go the less expensive option.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”People don’t care what you charge, they care it’s justified” quote=”People don’t care what you charge, they care it’s justified”]

The point I’m trying to make here is that both of these places have good food and I don’t have a preference as to which I would visit except for if I’m looking for an experience or not. When I go the more expensive option I am investing more money to have a better time. The other experience is quite the opposite. I’m just trying to get through the day and need a quick bite.

What does this have to do with real estate?

You see, the level of service you provide is your “food”. You must have good food to succeed today because everything you do revolves around the service you provide.

Since we no longer control the flow of information, the only thing we can control is the consumer experience. We all know there is a lot to buying and selling real estate, but the general public doesn’t. Just because something costs less does not make it a better value simply on price alone.

“The agents and flat fee brokerages who discount their commissions today  is only because they lack value to justify the regular rate. In other words, their ‘food’ sucks”

Buying or selling a house is one of the largest financial decisions anyone will make in their lifetime so do you really think they want to fuck that up with saving a few bucks to fill their stomach?

The paradigm shift is here so if you want to compete against technology or “value lacking agents”, do it through exceptional real estate customer service. I’d like to define the 3 things we will always have that NOBODY can compete with.

1. Local Expertise– How accurate are Zestimates? Ok that’s what I thought. There isn’t a technology that exists today that can analyze values inside and out. You must become a local expert on everything in your area from schools to new developments.
2. Facilitation– Become an expert in the facilitation of real estate. You deliver your service with how you handle the transaction from pending to closed. We call this having effective Transactional Marketing Systems set up.
3. You must become a better marketer– Yes, you need to acquire new skills. The MLS is no longer your secret weapon. We all know the key to success is listings so it should be your goal to get more of them. If your listing marketing plan is popping a sign in the yard and listing it on the MLS, you are part of the problem. Get better and invest the time and energy to adapt to what the market is asking of us. If that’s’ your model then why wouldn’t people just go right to Red fin.?

Shit just got real! Adapt and adjust! Invest in your skills. Invest in your process.

The one thing I know is that we cannot count on NAR to have our backs.  You shouldn’t even count on your brokerage. You are a small business owner so find the best recipe and start serving that good food!  If you liked this content be sure to subscribe to our weekly video series.

Who’s the best audience to target in Facebook for Realtors?  Facebook targeting used to be easy until the Special Ads Category was put in place.  Trying to get your ads approved today is super frustrating, so what is the best targeting now?   This article will walk you through the different audiences that have the best return on investment you can target despite the annoying special ads category.

UPDATE: 11-1-2020

What’s Targeting?

Targeting is who you are defining or telling Facebook to place your ads in front of.  

“BOOST” or  Ads Manager?

The Ads Manager is Facebook’s advertising tool where you can set up more detailed targeting options, run multiple ads at the same time to various audiences, and define more clear objectives.

The boost button is a limited version of what you can do in Ads Manager. If you want to really dial in your targeting, you should be doing it inside of Ads Manager.

The ads manager will allow you set the objectives of your campaign as well as dial in your “targeting”. Using Facebook for Realtors can become a great source of business, but you must start off with the right game plan as every successful marketing campaign has a strategy behind it.

Here’s What Happened When Marketing On Facebook For Realtors Changed With The Implementation Of The Special Ads Category

Facebook used to be a lot easier to maneuver for a number of reasons.  First, there wasn’t as many “real estate ads” so those who were running Facebook ads were able to stand out much easier.  Secondly, you used to be able to dial in your targeting and reach people a defined target audience.  Today, you can no longer do that due to the rules of the Specials Ads Category.

This is what you used to be able to do in Facebook before the Special Ads Category came and screwed it all up.  You used to be able to target current homeowners who are likely to move in the zip codes in which you work.

But, then the special ads category came in to place, but now we have a new strategy. So we had to change our strategy.

Here are the 4 best audiences to use in Facebook for Realtors

Face Book Audience #1-Your Farm

One of the first Facebook audiences you can create is your farm.  The Special ads category limits what real estate agents can target so one of the only strategies left to a cold audience is your local geographic farm.  

Let me be clear here. If you are going to do this, you must be setting up audiences to retarget.  I’ll walk you through that next.  It’s the retargeting that makes all the difference.

I would focus my marketing efforts on this audience to the following marketing campaigns;

• Local Community Videos
• Business Owner Interviews
• Neighborhood Tours
• Just Sold Case Studies

Facebook Audience #2- Your Database

Over 60% of all agent business is directly attributed to referrals and repeat business.  Facebook is a great way to stay in front of your database and very inexpensive too.

Using only your personal page, to market your business for referrals and repeat clients is not as effective because of the algorithm. Last I checked it was only about 17% of your “friends” see your posts, which means 83% of them are not.

You must stay in front of your database(audience) in order to receive their referrals and repeat business because out is sight is out of mind.

First you need to create a “Custom Audience”.

Then you need to choose “Customer File”.  This will allow you to upload your database emailing list into Facebook. You should definitely have an email list of your database you are also marketing to and this is why.

Then just upload your CSV list and Facebook will then have a saved audience for you.

Facebook Audience #3- Retargeting Audiences

Retargeting is any time you put your ads in front of anyone who previously took some kind of action.  Have you ever visited a business online and then realized you started seeing their ads on Facebook and all over the place?  That’s because you were being retargeted.

Marketing to retargeted audiences in Facebook is really ALL you can do around, but more importantly the only thing that works.  In my opinion using Facebook for Realtors has turned more into a branding play than a lead generation play.  Don’t get me wrong, people are still generating lots of leads on Facebook, but I mean overall.

People don’t go to Facebook to buy or sell real estate, they go there to socialize online.  And with the limited ability to target buyer and sellers on Facebook, the name if the game is now retargeting! I would even say the only reason I run ads primarily anywhere is for the targeting.

So what kind of retargeting audience can you market to in Facebook?

Website Visitors

One of the best audiences to target are your website visitors.  Wouldn’t you want your ads to be seen by people who have visited your website recently?  If you are driving any kind of traffic to your website, you should be retargeting that traffic.  The fact you are reading this blog post on my website right now will put you into one of my retargeting audiences and you’ll start seeing my ads on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google.

I am trying to get you to take notice of the awesome video marketing services we provide people in the real estate industry and just maybe one day you’ll hire us.  However, I have to stay in front of you because it’s a very busy world out there.  The longer I do the more likely you are going to check out what else Real Estate Marketing Dude Services entail.

Video View Audiences

You can target people who have watched a certain percentage of your video ads.  Don’t you think someone who watched more than 50% of your video, would be interested in learning more than someone who didn’t?   You can retarget specifically people who watched a percentage of video #1 and then show them video #2.

Engagement Audiences

You can also retarget people who have engaged with your page as well.  They might have shared or liked  an ad or post on your business page.  I think you are starting to see the point.

How do you create retargeting audiences?

If you want to start creating audiences to retarget inside of Facebook for Realtors, then you need to start creating some real estate content.  You cannot create any type of retargeting without first creating content they engage with.

Content creates engagement. Engagement creates conversation. Conversation creates trust and likability.  Then you get hired.

I would love to help you with your video content creation. Real Estate Marketing Dude is a done for you video content creation company that can help you with any kind of videos wherever you are in the country.  If you are interested in learning more, check out the rest of our site here and schedule a demo.

Hope this helps:).

What is real estate content?  Why is everyone talking about real estate content and how does it apply to my business?

My goal of this article is to explain how and why creating real estate content works so that you can decide if this is a business practice for you.

Let me be blunt. If you want to attract business, especially online, you must create content.  In this article I want to give you an overview as to how it works. If you want a further explanation on WHY you should be doing this, then read this article:

Should Realtors Be Creating Their Own Content

Let’s go through the steps of exactly how it works.

Creating real estate content allows you to sell without selling by sharing your expertise. How many times do you find yourself struggling to market your brand? What do you say? How do you say it?

“Hey do you know anyone who wants to buy a house”

“Hey do you know anyone who wants to sell a house”

This is prospecting, which is self serving. When you are always selling, it’s hard to attract business. Many real estate agents are told this is the only way.

You are told you must make x amount of calls a day, 5 days a week.

This is the old school train of thought when it comes to real estate marketing. I believe it’s these hard core sales tactics that are taught by the large majority of trainers and brands that is a major reason why 87% of newly licensed agents do not make it 5 years in the business. It burns people out!

When you create real estate content you take a different approach. Your main focus becomes serving vs. selling and this is exactly how you attract business. Creating real estate content allows you to share your expertise and become the expert without having to say it. You take on an educators role. People want to work with experts, not rookies.  Content builds that authority.

Let me share a story…

I was sitting on my couch about 8 years ago after Easter dinner and felt like a whale. I looked at myself in the mirror and decided that I was going on a diet and wanted to get fit for the upcoming new year. I weighed 225 pounds!

I started researching everything I could to lose weight so started searching online. I found site after site and was narrowing down my choices as I was determined to find the right plan for me.

I found a diet plan and workout to go along with it online that was on one of the first pages of my search.

Once I clicked on the ad, I was taken right to a sales page and pitched a product right off the bat. I was very close to buying it, but then this 30 minute infomercial came on tv for a product called P90X. I never heard about it before, but it looked intense.

I saw this dude jumping around that was like 45 years old, but ripped like a college kid. I remember feeling embarrassed about how good of shape he was in as I looked at the donut forming around my waste.

Anyways, I am in my living room depressed and tired watching all 30 minutes of this infomerical.  I learned about heart rates, plyo, 15 minutes abs, and many details of how to turn up my metabolism.

I ended up buying the MORE expensive P90X product because I felt totally educated and more attracted to it. It was the content in the infomercial that taught me about how the body worked for weight loss that really sealed the deal.

You see the 30 minute infomercial P90x created is content educating people on a good workout and how the body works.  I felt more comfortable as a consumer because the content earned my business and to this day I still drink Shakeology.

P90x as a company creates tons of content on Youtube, social media, blog posts all with the intention of attracting business through educating the public.  Their content identifies potential customers who are searching for a health solution online.

The 2 Ways Creating Real Estate Content Works

Creating real estate content in your business is no different.  If you started creating real estate content consistently, you will begin attracting business as long as it’s good and gets found (2 totally separate blog posts).

Creating real estate content helps you in two ways.  First, is that creating real estate content allows you to keep your brand in front of your largest source of business, your database.  Over 60% of all agent business comes from referrals and repeat clients.

You should always place your real estate content in front of your database or network. It allows you to keep your brand at the forefront without having to always come off as a slick salesman.

You can post your content on social media, video email, email, and so on. Creating real estate content is a way to consistently nurture your relationships.

The second way you can use real estate content is to attract new potential clients.  The same way that I found P90x is the same way you can find new potential buyer and seller clients.

Let’s take this article you are reading right now.  Maybe you found me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Google. I purposely place my content so that it gets found by real estate agents.  I want you to read this article so I can build a relationship with you and down the road you may become one of our members of Attracktor (that’s my soft sales pitch).

I’m not hard core selling you anything, but I am teaching you about creating content.  You will ultimately decide if you like my style or if what I’m teaching can help you attract more clients.

I’m talking about doing the same thing for your real estate business.

I’m not sure what kind of real estate content to create?

There are two types of content to create.  First is educational.  This is content that you share your expertise on various real estate topics.  It should be focused around the questions that typical buyers and sellers have in real estate.  I can list a many different topics for your to create content on. If you need some ideas, just check out my real estate site by clicking the link below.

Visit My Real Estate Blog now..The Chicago Real Estate Dude

The second kind of content to create is more for branding and staying on top of mind.  It can be holiday videos, just listed, or just sold case studies to give you a few examples.  This kind of content allows you to share your daily real estate story. You don’t create this kind of content to pick up leads, but more for nurturing your relationships and remaining on top of mind amongst your database, prospects who are not ready to make a move yet, and your local geographic area.

When you consistently remain on top of mind with the people you know, referrals and repeat business occurs. This is a visual on how simple the process really is.

Heres my question to you.  Would you rather spend 4-5 hours a week cold calling, prospecting, and being one of 50 Realtors to reach out to an expired listing on the same day?

OR

Would you rather spend 1-2 hours creating a real good piece of content each week and then distributing it?  That’s what is comes down to.

Does this all make sense? Are you ready to create some real estate content? if you enjoyed this article share it with the world and help me get the word out!

Do I Need A Real Estate Website?  It’s a valid question, but the short answer is YES. In this post I’m going to share why.

The problem you most likely have if you don’t already have a real estate website is overwhelming…

Where should I start?

What do I post on it ?

How do I manage it?

My goal of this post is to simplify what the purpose of having a real estate website so you can determine if it’s something you should pursue or not.

Your business is based on your personal brand, not your companies.  The only way to create a larger personal brand is through consistent content creation, which needs to be hosted somewhere.  That somewhere would be your real estate website.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Content creation creates engagement that initiated conversations which leads to building trust that gets you hired.” quote=”Content creation creates engagement that initiated conversations which leads to building trust that gets you hired.”]

In other words, Modern Day lead generation.

The most important thing you must do to build a strong personal brand that attract clients is to be consistent at content creation.

I am blogging once a week and produce a podcast once a week for my site visitors. It has become a part of my overall marketing strategy to get my name out there.

If you are going to creating content, you will become familiar with the term content marketing.

Content Marketing & Why It’s Important To Understand For Your Real Estate Website

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. –Content Marketing Institute

Why Adding Content To Your Real Estate Website Is Important

1.) Create content in video and repurpose it back on your real estate website.

2.) Get your content distributed.  Your content is meaningless unless people are able to find it. Your real estate website is where your content will live so you must distribute it so people come back to your site. For example, I would optimize my article for search(SEO), send it to my entire database via video email,  and post on all my social media accounts.

3.) Create Conversation.  The only goal of the content I create for my real estate blog is to create a conversation.

4.) Earn Trust & Establish Your Authority.  This happens naturally as long as your content is good and answers someone’s question.

Your real estate website needs to do one thing, be used as your digital marketplace and home base.  The more content you have on your website, the more marketable and popular your personal brand becomes.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Nobody books the vacation without reviews and nobody calls the business without a site either” quote=”Nobody books the vacation without reviews and nobody calls the business without a site either”]

Your real estate website is your online business card and online store front.  Every business should have content that demonstrates they are the expert in their field.  We’d advise filling your website full of real estate content using video, but regardless of how you do it, you need something.

Your real estate website will be a direct reflection of the way you do business, at least in the eyes of the public.  People don’t hire you for what you do, but for how you do it.

In other words your real estate website is a sales tool and can be used for a lot more than just home search, but to host your content for client conversion.

Think about connecting vs. selling and questioning yourself as to whether or not you’d hire yourself based on your online presence. Don’t put a front on and be natural.

The last thing I would tell you that’s very important is that you should know about keyword research. You want to create content on questions people are searching for. You then need to define a keyword you are trying to rank for and make sure it’s sprinkled throughout your blog post.

I can write another article on this section, but I’d recommend reading the blog on Easy Agent Pro website.  You can learn quite a bit from it..

I hope this article simplified why you should have a real estate website.

Are the real estate industry trends pointing towards trouble for the industry?

Yes in big trouble!  There’s no sugar coating it, but don’t worry this isn’t all doom and gloom because any time there is any kind of “shift” in business, there is also enormous opportunity.

The future of the real estate industry trends has been on my mind a lot lately.  I see a good representation of what’s going on across the country so I want to spell out the big picture for you so you can be prepared.

My Prediction: The real estate industry, as we know it, will drastically change.  Online home selling sites and discount brokerages will take larger market shares. Agents will continue to compete against one another by dropping rates and offering rebates. A select few traditional models will survive, but they will look much differently than they do today.

Why?

The Internet.  Technology has created competition.  The truth is that consumers don’t need us to find homes anymore. They need us to open the doors for the homes they find.  Nearly every buyer I’ve worked with in the past finds properties as fast I do simply by having an account with Zillow.

Prior to the current real estate online search, consumers had to use a Realtor to find out about properties for sale, but not anymore.

Online Home Selling Services & Search Engines– It’s not hard to get listed on the MLS.  A seller can find a flat fee service or just list by owner and reach almost the same amount of potential buyers that a licensed real estate agent can because nearly all MLS’s syndicate to the same feeds controlled by the big four search sites. As long as a seller is on the MLS they will get on all of these sites.

So What Now?

The Internet has innovated nearly all industries and it’s coming our way next (it’s already here).

Do you remember travel agents?  What happened to them?  You used to need a travel agent to plan a family vacation, but now you just go online to Expedia, Orbitz, or one of the other 90 travel booking sites.

Do you still see tons of used car lots in your area?  What happened to them?  Companies like CarMax completely revolutionized the playing field by offering car buying opportunities across the country by going online.

Do you remember Nokia? Once a mobile phone giant, but was bought out by Microsoft because they didn’t keep up with the evolving technology and demand for new features their customers wanted.  Read article here.

In each of these examples, there were plenty of existing businesses that simply expired because they failed to adapt to the changes occurring in the market place.

I see the same situation occurring amongst real estate industry trends today.

Gary Vaynerchuk wrote a great article the other day, “Uber and AirBNB Never Should Have Happened The Way They Did“.  His article is all about how these companies came into existence.

Gary states that Uber was only created because of the failure of the taxi industry to see where the market was headed.  He blames Hilton and other hotel chains for not seeing the the opportunity AirBNB saw.

“The answer is simple: they innovated where traditional rivals didn’t”,  Gary V.

All real estate industry trends show it’s happening right now and here’s the proof:

Look at all the flat fee brokerages in your market along with the rebate brokerages. They would not be around if the demand did not exist.  Everyday competition like this diminishes the value a traditional real estate agent brings to the table in the eyes of consumers.

Have you seen Ten-x yet? This is an online company that was repositioned from Auction.com.   It’s every Realtors worst nightmare and they are in test markets right now.

Guess who is behind this?  Yup, Google.  We can’t compete against that or can we?

Their business model makes a lot of sense and I think it’s going to take off.  In summary, its Auction.com for residential real estate.

Realtor.com I just heard has a for sale by owner option. I have not confirmed this yet but I did see chatter about it.

It’s coming people, just a matter of time.

OK, so now that I scared the living daylights out of you, lets talk about the opportunity this creates. You see, true entrepreneurs see innovation as an opportunity.

Let’s take Gary V’s advice and examine what we could do differently in the real estate industry.

Don’t get mad get BETTER!

We have to sit back and look at what we have that no gadget, software, or technology can take away.

Human Intelligence.

Have you seen the Zestimates?  How accurate are those? Regardless of what pops up next, you can never replace human intelligence, especially in real estate.  Knowledge of the market will remain in demand by consumers because buying or selling real estate is a HUGE financial decision that the majority of people want advice on.

You need to know your local market in and out from values to the landmarks.

Problem

The real estate industry has a lot of bad agents.  This is one of the largest threats because it could eat us alive. Consumers today tend to put all real estate agents in the same category. We know that’s not true, but Im telling you the average buyer or seller have no idea.  They think that piece of paper we have (real estate license) makes us qualified to give them advice.

I 100% disagree. That piece of paper allows us to legally get paid selling houses, but that does not mean we know what we are doing.  An agent’s true worth is the knowledge inside their head. That knowledge is worth way more than any savings a rebate broker could give any buyer.

Solution

Become an authority.  You need to consistently let people know how good you are at what you do. You can do this through creating good content relevant to your area and expertise. It is your job to educate your database and your market of the difference between you and one of your competitors.  You also need to educate them on the difference between you one of these “discount” selling options.

It’s never about price.  It’s about proving your worth. Buyers and sellers may think saving money using one of these “discount” options is the way to go because that’s how people tend to think, but when they realize how not using an agent to buy a house could allow them to overpay 10-20k, they will think differently.

When they are selling a house, they might feel like they are saving money on commission, but in actuality if the home was “positioned” correctly  they could have gotten 8%+ or more.

Why can I go to Super Cuts and get my haircut for $15 or I can go to one of the man salons and pay $35 for the same thing?  The man salon rubs my neck, massages my head, and provides a much better experience.  Depending on my mood that day I may go for the man salon because I like the experience better. It’s no different in your real estate business.

Service.

Real estate industry trends suggest customer service is one of the most important skills, but nobody talks about it. Instead all the gurus tell you it’s more important to go door knocking and cold calling strangers. Nobody talks about what makes people want to work with you. Would you rather slime your way into a sale or have people call you directly wanting to work with you?

There’s no right or wrong answer, just a matter of preference, but I know which one I like better.

I got news for you.  You are not in sales anymore.  Or at least you will not be in the future.

You will be in the business of serving others with their house problems.  The agents who will remain hard core salesmen will eventually be weeded out much like the car salesmen were prior to companies like Car Max.

People don’t want to be sold, they want to be served.  If your marketing efforts started focusing on helping people with their housing problems and not how great you are, you will start attracting business vs. chasing it.

Your service consists of everything you do.

What are you doing other than popping a sign in the yard and listing the home on the MLS? Sellers can do this with a flat fee brokerage and you are going to have to do better. This is where you need to innovate.

Solution.

Create a specific process or workflow for each buyer and seller you work with.  You will need to provide a level of service that makes people want to do business with you. This includes small personal service touches like a “nice to meet you” gift to the closing gift you get your clients. Stop being so professional and focus on being more personable.

If you want to read a great book check out , The Customer Service Revolution, by John Di Julius. He is spot on and that book speaks directly to the real estate industry.

This also includes sharpening up your marketing skills. You must know how to really market a house for sale. If you don’t your broker should have a system in place for you. Things like using video, Facebook ads, direct mail, and blogging are just a few of the things you will need to learn.

Marketing skills are what sellers truly seek in a listing agent.  Your job is to market the house and create a higher level of exposure than they can do on their own. It’s your fiduciary duty.  A sign and a MLS listing is not a marketing plan.

Exceptional real estate customer service can be defined as the way you interact with your prospects and clients, but it’s also part of your marketing expertise. Great customer service is marketing! Everything you do in your customer service should be marketing oriented to assist in creating referrals and repeat business. It’s this reason the need to become a marketer exists.

Have you ever watched The Profit on T.V.?

One of the things Marcus focuses on is People, Process, and Product. You are the person. The process needs to be streamlined and enhanced to build your brand. The product is the overall experience consumers have with you in regards to buying or selling real estate!

There is no doubt that something is happening within the real estate industry trends.  Unfortunately, if you are going to compete you need to provide what no online company or discount brokerage can.  I know its sounds like a very simple answer, but the way to compete is to provide is level of service that they cannot match.  

If you’re stuck with how to use your Facebook business page vs personal page, I want to make it super simple for you on this post. Over the last 5 years there has been many changes at Facebook, but it’s never been more clear the distinction between the two.

Do you need a Facebook business page or personal page?

It depends on what your goals are as each are used for two entirely different objectives.  I believe you should use your personal page for referral marketing efforts and your Facebook business page for cold marketing or advertising efforts.

FacebookBusiness Page vs Personal Page:  Which is best for marketing your database?

I cannot tell you how many referrals I’ve received from Facebook since 2011, but it’s one of my best real estate marketing tools for referrals. Using Facebook as one of your lead sources is not just suggested, IT SHOULD BE REQUIRED! The most important part of your business is marketing.

Referrals come from the relationships, not strangers. Your personal page on Facebook is nothing more than a large relationship center of everyone you know of and knows of you. It allows us to stay relevant amongst your “database”, but you must remember that Facebook is a social media platform and not Craig’s List.  Therefore the way you market yourself on Facebook should be in a “sell without selling type of way”.

Why couldn’t you just tell your daily story on Facebook as it relates to real estate? 

Don’t you come across some pretty interesting things on a daily basis that other people would like to see?  Cool views, sweet kitchens, moldy houses, or even happy clients?

Any one of these can be a Facebook moment that reminds people you are in real estate.

The goal of  referral marketing is to stay on top of mind and Facebook allows us to continuously remind our database what we do for a living so that they can remember us when they come across a referral opportunity or need our service directly.

Many agents try to build a business page and use that to post, but the truth is that the majority of your “friends” will not like your business page and its reach will be very low.

Think about the traditional real estate marketing tools you would use to  with communicate your “database” or sphere of influence.  We call this our audience. You might have an email list or a monthly mailer you send out. Social media has given us a 3rd dimension to stay on top of mind with more people in a visual way. Referrals and repeat business are the lifeblood of all agent business (60+%!).

Real estate is not something people buy frequently, but if they remember that you’re an agent and they personally like you.  It’s a much better strategy to just keep reminding them in a “sell without selling” type of way so that you are thought of when real estate comes to mind. That’s how simple it is.

Common Objections About Posting Real Estate On Your Personal Page

“I don’t want to feel sleazy posting about real estate”

Don’t post sleazy stuff then.  Don’t treat it like a classified ads section and share stuff that is funny, cute, fun, cool, and whatever else you think that would create engagement.

“It’s not professional”

It’s not supposed to be. Be you.  You don’t want to be a slick salesman always trying to sell something. Sell without selling and be human. It’s ok to make mistakes and be like everyone else.

“How much should I post?”

As much as possible, just don’t be annoying with it.

“I don’t want creepers on my personal page”

Don’t accept their friend requests then.  The more “friends” you have the more opportunity you will have for business. You should be friends with anyone you know or knows of you. If you want to double your business, then double your audience.

Facebook Business Page vs Personal Page : Your Business Page Is To Run Ads Only

Your Facebook business page should be the complete opposite of what your personal page is. You only need one if you’re going to invest in Facebook ads.  It’s organic reach is said to be as low as 5% of your likes so it’s become a pay to play thing, which doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, you just need to define your strategy.

I love Facebook ads.  They are great if you know how to use them the right way.

Some of the audiences you can target will be your database.  Did you know you could upload your database right to Facebook and target them in ads?  The reason this is so important is because only about 15-18% of your personal page will actually see your posts.  You can increase the amount of your database who sees your posts through running ads.

With recent changes at Facebook, generating leads has become more difficult. I like to treat my Facebook marketing as more of a branding platform nowadays.  You don’t need a big budget and it’s extremely easy to stay in front of the RIGHT people with custom and retargeting audiences, but that’s another post.

If you would like more information on how to run ads on Facebook you should check out Grant Wise’s software Witly.

in Conclusion when. it comes to using Facebook business page vs personal page, your personal page is for reminding your relationships you’re in real estate.

You don’t need a Facebook business page until you are ready to pay to play.  It’s a great tool to use to drive traffic to your website, but you have to have the right offer and the right content to create that engagement.  It will be interesting to see where Facebook goes in the future as it’s changed so much but stick with the advice here for now.

If you have any additional questions or need help with your real estate marketing check out some of our services, especially if you want to build your brand with video!