Is there really a way to determine the ROI of video marketing?

If you’re somewhat human, one of the biggest concerns to getting started with a real estate video marketing strategy is analyzing the return on investment. Real estate video marketing is NOT lead generation, it is branding and conversion.

If you were to invest in a lead generation strategy such as buying leads, it is very easy to determine a monthly ROI with it.  You either received a return on investment or you did not.  There is a difference in advertising vs. marketing and video is marketing.

Yes, video will generate leads, but I don’t consider it a lead generation strategy, but more of a branding and conversion strategy. The truth is you will NEVER be able to measure a direct ROI on your videos, but you’ll just know and feel it’s working.

Let me get a little deeper….

I must get asked this question 5 times a week at least and it’s virtually impossible to answer because of what I’m about to tell you.

Video is the MOST  impactful and fastest way to build a strong personal brand people know, like, and trust, but it’s impossible to track for what I’m about to tell you.

How We Use Video & Content Marketing To Find Clients

Let’s take my brand, Real Estate Marketing Dude for example.  I create content consistently and distribute it to real estate agents, lenders, investors, and anyone else willing to listen to me.

Some of my content is through my Real Estate Marketing podcast, which publishes every Saturday. Both are forms of media, one being audio and the other being video.  Both are forms of communication and both are being done consistently to the same audience.

Every week, I get people just like you to schedule a demo with me to check out my marketing and video services.  The very first question I ask everyone is, how did you find us?

Virtually everyone of them says the same thing, “I’ve been following your podcast or videos for a while and I’m finally getting around to reaching out now”.

I don’t know which video or piece of content caused them to schedule the appointment, but I do know that they saw the videos prior to scheduling with me.

I don’t know which video did it, but I do know that it’s just a combination of consistent communication over time.

However they first find me it’s because of content, mostly video content, but it’s more of a dating process.

You Can Use Real Estate Video Content The Same Way

The strength of using video in your business works because it’s the most impactful way to communicate.  It’s easier use video to build stronger relationships and referral sources with people you already know than meet new ones!

People who are doing a lot of video are making bigger waves than those who are not, it’s just that simple.  Our business is a giant popularity contest at the end of the day as people work with people they know, like, and trust.

How Communication From Person To Person Works

Video makes a much larger impact than any additional form of communication

• 90% of communication comes in the form of body language and tonality.
• 10% of communication is what actually comes out of your mouth (people don’t remember 90% of what you say)
• You cannot express tonality and body language on direct mail, email, or any other channel as good as you can on video

Conclusion: Video is most impactful way to get your message out.  You can deliver email not through video and in some cases even direct mail.  If you logged onto social media in the last 2 days you’ll notice that everything is video.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”People don’t remember what you do, they remember why and how you do it” quote=”People don’t remember what you do, they remember why and how you do it”]

When people decide to hire a real estate agent, work with a lender, or sell their house to an investor, the ultimate decisions is based on whether or not they like you PERIOD.

So even though it’s nearly impossible to calculate a direct ROI using video, this exercise that will get you close.

Step 1-Determine Your Monthly Real Estate Video Marketing Costs

The only way to determine the ROI is to determine how many videos you are going to do each month.   You can then see what your monthly cost of video will be.

Do you want to create video content consistently or sporadically (like for listing videos for example)?  Once you can narrow down your monthly budget for creating real estate videos, you can move on to step 2.

Step 2- Multiply your monthly Real Estate Video Marketing Cost x 12

Let’s talk some numbers and get tangible on actual costs vs. ROI so you can make a more informed decision. I can’t stand when people talk in theory so let’s get mathematical.

We are going to use the costs of hiring a Real Estate Marketing Dude for time sake.

If you were to do 2 videos a month that would run you $649/month.  If we multiply that by 12 months, we end up with an annual cost of $7,788.

Step 3- Determine How To Distribute Your Real Estate Videos

You can create the best videos in the world, but if you aren’t putting them in front of the right people, there’s not point.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”You don’t generate business creating videos, you do it by distributing them.” quote=”You don’t generate business creating videos, you do it by distributing them.”]

This is how I recommend distributing your video content.

• Video Email to your database 2 times a month
• Post on all your social profiles 2 times a month
• Upload and optimize to your YouTube channel 2 times a month
• Multipurpose everything back on your website with a blog post 2 times a month
• Run ads to your database 2 times a month

If you followed this plan, do you think you would become more referable?  We like to say that the only time it doesn’t work is when people don’t like you.

It’s a channel in which you communicate through and the reason it’s so damn powerful!

• It is a fact that 10-15% of your friends, family, Facebook friends, IG followers, and Linked In connections are moving this year.
• It is also a fact that 100% of them know someone they can refer you to.
• Over 72% of consumers close with the first agent they meet with.
• Over 80% of ALL closed transactions come from referrals, repeat clients, or from people you personally met (open house, sign call, etc.).

National Association of Realtors FACTS

Step 3- Annual Cost Analyzation

Once you have determined the cost, you can make a good judgement if it’s worth it.

Would you spend roughly $8,000 a year to make sure everyone you knew was reminded of your existence?

Do you think you could generate more  referrals over the next twelve months?

Let’s use this for an example.  If the average sales price in your market is $300,000, yo will break even if you generate one client.

So when people ask me what’s the ROI of real estate video marketing my response is simple…

What’s the cost or negative ROI of not doing it?

Here’s another great article that might help you determine the ROI on video

If you feel slimy advertising your business, we’re going to show you how to market your database WITHOUT having to talk about real estate.  Nobody likes talking about real estate all the time so don’t do it!  Many real estate agents be default market their database with real estate related content only, but do you really need to do that?  Much like your friends, your database doesn’t always want to talk about work either.

Learning how to market your database begins with embracing  your personal brand.

The truth is…

• Your database doesn’t care how many houses you sold this month!
• Your database doesn’t want your turn back the clock emails!
• Your database doesn’t want to hear about today’s interest rates!
• Your database doesn’t want to hear about real estate until they are in the market to buy or sell themselves!

So quit talking about real estate and start creating content people would actually look forward to receiving.

Let’s walk through the process of identifying your personal brand, creating a marketing message, and then a consistent strategy going forward. The key here is creating a marketing strategy that is authentic, fun, and doesn’t rely on regurgitating boring real estate information people don’t care about.

Step 1: Identify Your Brand Theme

First, it begins by realizing you are a brand.  Yes, that’s right you’re a brand.

It was reported only 4% of consumers used the agent because of the brand they were affiliated with.  This means 96% of consumers chose the agent over the brand.  So quit marketing your broker’s brand and start marketing your own!

Your personal brand is your “story” and why you do what you do.  It’s how people know you and remember you.

Can you imagine any new business becoming successful without identifying who they are or what they represent?  Every business has a “why” behind them or something they stand for.

How Do I Find My Niche?

As in any business, the first place to start when coming up with a marketing plan is to determine where the largest percentage of sales come from.  Once you know that number, then you can begin creating a marketing plan that caters to that audience.

If I were to open up a taco stand in San Diego, I would first research who buys the most amount of tacos demographically and then craft my brand and message to cater to that audience. It makes common sense when you think of it. In real estate your database is your audience.  Learning how to market your database is not optional, it’s a necessity.

You don’t get referrals from strangers, you get them from the people you know.

We overthink our branding strategy, but it’s just being you.  If you’re a doctor, then be the real estate doctor.  If you’re brand is your name, then build a visual storyline around it that reflects whom you are as a person. The best part about this is that every agent has a brand unique to them! God only made one of you!

At the end of the day your brand is nothing more than a visual reminder and consistent story of what you do and how you roll.  Make sense?

I’m a dude.  Thats my brand.   I wish I cold be a luxury agent, but I can’t. A long time ago I realized the “Dude” is how my network remembers me.

Your brand needs to do the same thing. It has to be authentic and should reflect whom you really are.  Don’t overthink this as it’s really that simple. This is the single mindset shift needed when learning how to market your database.

Step 2: Create Consistent Marketing Through Multiple Channels

The first goal when marketing your brand is to create impact.  When I create marketing content for my database, I am not doing it to generate a lead, I’m doing it to generate attention of my database.  My only goal is name brand recognition.  This is the first mental mind shift that occurs with learning how to market your database using your personal brand.

Over 80% of  home buyers and sellers find their agent from referral, repeat client, or they personally met them.    This means the vast majority of business comes from the people we already know not strangers.   The reason it’s so important to stay in communication with your entire database is because 10-15% of them are moving this year and 100% of them have a potential referral for you.

If I had 100 people in my world who knew what I did for a living about 10-15 of them are moving.  At the same time all 100 of them knows at least one person who is moving this year they can refer me to.

Generating referrals from your database is much easier than you think, but it requires consistency in communication to do it. You will begin attracting referrals just by staying in touch with your database.  Often times we overthink the mechanics of how to market your database, but it’s very simple.

Marketing your database is simple.  You want to stay in touch with your database through direct mail, email, and social media.  I’ve tried this with countless agents all with different levels of experience and it has worked every time.  The only time it does not work is when and if people don’t like you. Real estate is one giant popularity contest and when you have the RIGHT branding strategy, you become unforgettable.

Everybody lives somewhere and has the potential to refer you business too, but it’s not their job to do so, it’s your job to remind them. If you’d like to learn more in depth about the marketing your database with direct mail, video email, and social media, then check out this article.

The name of this game is TOP OF MIND BRAND AWARENESS!

Once you define your brand there is no shortage of content to create around it.  If you’re stuck trying to figure out how to market your database, schedule a demo with a Real Estate Marketing Dude now.

Are you feeling stuck with what you should be doing to generate more business? What kind of real estate marketing activities do you really need to be doing? One set of gurus is telling you to prospect until the cows come home and other set it telling you to do the complete opposite and it leaves you feeling confused as to which is more important?   In this article we’re going to discuss the differences between real estate marketing and advertising because they are night and day.

What’s the difference between real estate marketing vs advertising?

As a Realtor and small business owner (YES you are), you need to know the difference and the truth is you should probably be doing both as BOTH are crucial to building your real estate business long term.

Real estate “marketing” is  anything you do to keep your brand on top of mind.  It’s your ongoing story of how your brand relates and interacts with others.  It’s what you do to keep your brand in front of your audience so you are not forgotten about.  It’s things like branding on your signage to your monthly direct mail or email communication with your existing database.  I like thinking of marketing activities as something you do consistently to stay top of mind with your past clients and future potential ones.  

“If you aren’t marketing your database, then someone else is”

Your largest source of business will come from people you already know.  It’s a fact that over 60% of business comes from referrals(51%) and Repeat business (12%).  This means people choose to work with agents they already know, like, trust, but more importantly REMEMBER.  Only about 13% of consumers use the same agent again, but over 70% say they would use the same agent again post closing so what happens?

Agents tend to lose touch with their clients after closing, which ends up costing them the repeat business in addition to a source of referrals over the course of time.  However that DOES NOT mean you stop communicating with them.

You create real estate marketing activities to nurture the relationship you have with your audience (SOI and past clients).  Marketing should be all about maintaining and generating attention around your brand. Real estate marketing activities are not meant to generate a lead, they are meant to generate attention!

Real Estate Marketing Using Direct Mail

The first marketing campaign you can easily run and automate is a direct mail campaign to your entire database.   Instead of farming a bunch of strangers, why wouldn’t you farm your relationships first? The thing I love about direct mail is that everyone gets it.  Even if the recipient throws it in the trash within 1 minute of seeing it, they still make a mental acknowledgment of your existence.   

The question you should ask yourself is if you had 100-200 people on your direct mail list that you sent one piece to a month for one year straight, would you be more memorable than if you didn’t?  None of this is theory either because statistically, because out of this list, 10-15% of them will be moving and 100% will know at least one person they can refer you to.

Real Estate Marketing With Video Email

Another channel you can use to stay in front of your database would be a consistent email campaign, but one geared at staying in touch with your rolodex of relationships and past clients.  The goal is not to generate a lead, but more so to stay in touch.  

The key is in the type of content that you send.  I’m not talking about sending just listed emails or anything that related to real estate but something more along the lines of holiday greetings, local events, or happenings that are newsworthy.  The same reason you don’t always talk about work with your best friends is the same reason you don’t always talk about work with your database either.  

We have found extreme value in using video email to send personalized messages to our database as opposed to real estate related ones.  They get more opens, responses, and overall is a much better form of communication as video allows you communicate visually in a way traditional email cannot.

Real Estate Marketing & Content Creation

Blogging would also be considered a real estate marketing activity. The content I create on my website is meant to drive traffic and build my authority as an agent.  I create it to build trust with my audience. It also gives me a reason to keep my brand in front of them so I’m not forgotten.  People who read my content are more likely to be attracted to working with me as it allows me to showcase my expertise with complete strangers without sounding like a narcissist.

This is the same reason I am writing this post.  I may find some agents who need to hire a dude, but I was found through the content I created and not through some kind of direct response advertisement.  I can also use the content I create to market my database no differently than you would market yours.  The concept is all the same regardless of what type of business you are in.  

You create content to generate buzz around your brand which can then be used to be put in front of your database and local community.

Real Estate Marketing With Video

Creating videos is another form of content that would fall on the real estate marketing side of things.  We create fun neighborhood videos like you see above to serve as an excuse to remind our database what we do for a living, but also create new relationships with people we have not previously met. .  I can host these videos on my You Tube page and then optimize them to try to attract new clients.  I can also post on my site, blog, and social media sites to multi-purpose them for further brand and authority building.

Marketing is all about maintaining and creating attention around your brand that doesn’t necessarily involve a lead generating activity

Real Estate Advertising

So now let’s talk about real estate advertising activities. Real estate advertising activities tend to have a goal of generating direct business or a lead.  These are things we do to create “NOW” business.  Regardless of what kind of campaign we are running we are looking for a direct return on investment for an action taken to generate a lead as a result of our efforts.

If you are running ads any kinds of lead capture ads, buying any kinds of leads or online placement, or targeting direct “prospects” with direct response type of campaigns, I would then classify this as advertising because you are looking to generate an action directly as a result of your advertisement. 

Pay Per Click ads would also be considered an advertising activity. You are buying placement at the top of Google search results to generate a lead.

Zillow is an advertisement activity. You are paying a monthly fee to generate leads directly.

Anything you pay for in exchange for a direct lead is considered an advertising activity.

Real estate marketing is all about attracting business while real estate advertising is all about creating business.

The key is what you do with the “leads” once they come in. There are many ways to make your phone ring, but what you do once it does is the difference between an agent who can turn an ROI on their advertising activities to one who’s losing money.  Especially in the online space, most “leads” are far out from taking action, so how do you get them to convert?  This is where the marketing side of things come into play.

Your ongoing “marketing” campaigns are what keep you in front of the leads while at the same time humanizing your brand.  Your marketing plan would look more like the image you see below.  The key is not scaling into too many advertising campaigns until they are profitable.  Focus on turning a positive ROI in one at a time and then scale on up.  My personal goal in advertising is to extend the reach of my audience vs the reach of my leads, because I know it’s just a matter of time until people move.  

“72% of them close with the first agent they meet with”

I want to be the first once they think of.  The model looks something like this.

So, Which One Is Better?

You should have both working in your business at all times for the following reasons.  

Marketing campaigns keep your brand at the forefront and nurture your relationships.  If you don’t build a brand amongst your SOI, then you’ll always just be a sales person chasing a bunch of leads. Building and maintaining a database isn’t optional, it’s mandatory because in real estate over 75% of all agent business is directly attributed to referrals, repeat business, or people you run into.  You don’t get referrals and repeat clients from complete strangers, you get them from the relationships you have established in life.

If you consistently stay in touch with every person you have a relationship with, you’ll have a better chance of getting their direct business when they are ready to make a move.  If you had 100 people you stayed in touch with consistently, about 15 of them are moving this year.  Do they remember what you do?

More importantly 100% of the people you know, knows someone who is moving this year.  If you consistently keep your brand in front of them, how many referrals could you generate?

This is why you may want to look into implementing both into your business.

The topic creating more real estate content is starting to infiltrate marketing discussions, but which is the right type to create for you? Do you have to create your own real estate content or can you use someone else’s?

You need to create your own real estate content.

What Is Content?

Let’s first define what content creation is.  I know this may be obvious to many, but not all agents are up to speed on the whole “content marketing” thing.  Content is anything that you share about your business that others could find interesting. In our business you can create articles (blogs), create education videos, or even market your listings.

Content is anything that “reminds” other what you do for a living.

There are many services online that can “ghost write” content for you, but do they work?  Are these services better than creating your own real estate content and are they worth it?

I believe everyone should be creating their own content, but let’s face it, most of us can’t find the time to do it consistently…can we?

If you can’t fit in time to create content consistently then I would suggest paying a service to do it for you. Having something to keep your name out there is better than not doing anything at all.

BUT….

Here’s what I want you to consider.

Pre-written articles are going to sound very robotic because it’s impossible to outsource authenticity.   The key to your content is not creating it, it’s having it leave a lasting impression.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Does your real estate content create attention or is it white noise in the background?” quote=”Does your real estate content create attention or is it white noise in the background?”]

For example, there are many services that offer pre-written email marketing campaigns. One of the things I hate about pre-written “done for you” email marketing campaigns is that they are very cold. When you send “robotic” emails to your database it feels more like spam to your recipients.  This has a better chance of annoying your database than nurturing it. This is why we only teach and preach video email marketing for all referral generation efforts.

Do you get those financial planning and mortgage monthly news emails?  What do you think?  

There’s your answer…

The same concept applies when you have articles written for you.  The entire point of blogging is to establish yourself as an expert in your field and use your real estate content to attract more potential prospects to you. People do business with people they like first and foremost.

Should I Share Others Real Estate Content?

Absolutely, why not? Anytime you are sharing content on social media or to your email list, you are reinforcing in the minds of your database what you do for a living, which is referral marketing. You should always be sharing articles you think your network will find interesting, but you want to make sure to throw some of your own content  into the mix as well.

Creating content allows you to sell without having to ever sell anything at all. Focus on serving others and helping people get the answers to the most pressing real estate questions and it will start turning into money for you.

A while ago I was looking for some case studies about what makes consumers choose their real estate agent. I came across the Keller Center Research findings who did a study on this.  The first answer was through referrals, which is obvious.  This is what else they found;

Top 5 Things Buyers And Sellers Want In An Agent?

1.Comfort– Will I feel comfortable working with an agent over a period of time?

2.Honesty– Will the agent respect my wishes? Will I get straight forward answers? Do I trust them?

3.Establishment– Is the agent established? How long they been in business?

4.Experience– Does the agent have the experience to handle my situation?

5.Knowledge– If I am buying does agent know the in and outs of area? If I am selling does agent know marketing, technology, and staging in a way to justify their commission?

Creating your own real estate content solves all of this.

When you create your own content;

people get an idea if they will feel comfortable working with you;

they will get an idea of how honest and genuine you are;

it will give people an idea of how established you are in the industry;

your level of experience will speak for itself;

and your knowledge will shine.

Creating content will attract more prospects to you and more importantly warm them up for you.

So the final answer is, YES you should be creating your own real estate content.

It’s not about the content, its about the impact it leaves.