A referral marketing strategy is an ongoing series of communication to your existing database, past clients, and anyone who would relate to your business. In other words it’s ongoing communication through sever channels that you your brand on top of mind.
And don’t overthink it because it’s a lot simpler than you think. There is nothing magical about implementing a referral marketing strategy using video as it follows the same principles of direct mail farming. When creating a video referral marketing strategy we build a local video series and that content in front of your entire database and in exchange, your brand remains on top of mind.
You’ll generate with referrals with videos once you start generating lots of attention!
UPDATED: 5-12-2020
The Video Referral Marketing Strategy- How It Works
One of the most uncomfortable conversations real estate agents have is the one asking for referrals. The gurus tell you to pick up the phone and start calling, but let’s be honest, it feels awkward. It that’s your referral marketing strategy, you might be in for a rude awakening. You go 6 months without speaking to someone and then all of the sudden you call them asking for business and favors? I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a total dick move.
The main reason you will want to implement a video referral marketing strategy is so you don’t have to do that.
This isn’t 1987 anymore and those old tactics of prospecting are washed up, but the good news is they were dated anyways. In this post, I’m going to show why implementing a very simple video referral marketing system WITHOUT having to annoy people with market updates is how you attract referrals without ever having a conversation.
When people start seeing you “everywhere all the time” ,you begin occupying the minds of your database and local community. When you have their attention, they are more likely to recall your brand when they think of real estate and YOU are more likely to generate their first call.
Generating referrals with video starts by differentiating marketing from prospecting. Marketing is your ongoing communication to your database and local community that remind them you are still in business. You do it to stay top of mind and to nurture your database. Think of “marketing” as a giant don’t forget I exist type of campaign.
Prospecting is the complete opposite. It’s what you do to generate NOW business. This is the traditional slimy stuff that the majority of agents HATE doing such as cold calling and door knocking. I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m just saying it’s not what we are talking about on this post. We’ll save that conversation for another day.
What we’re talking about on this post is how to generate consistent referrals WITHOUT having to beg for them.
“You don’t prospect for referrals. You manufacture them out of nurturing relationships”
The Video Referral Marketing Strategy- You Must Be Consistent
The best way to have your videos turn into referrals is to do it consistently. In other words, farming your network with video content. It keeps your brand top of mind and maintains a strong relationship with your audience.
What are you currently doing in your business that stays in touch with your database consistently?
The size and impact of your brand is only determined by how many people instantly associated your name with real estate. Video isn’t a real estate thing, it’s an ATTENTION thing that works for all businesses. When you own the attention of your audience, you’ll be attracting business instead of chasing it.
But if you don’t do it consistently, the chances of them forgetting you are in real estate increase. I have a podcast for the very same reason. Its allows me to continue to serve my clients and attract new ones without always having to sell something. I want to bring value to my community and in return over time I generate more sales. I want real estate agents to think of the Real Estate Marketing Dude anytime they think of video.
In real estate 72% of people use the 1st agent they speak with
A referral marketing strategy is simple, nurture your relationships with video, build your brand, generate more referrals, and repeat business. Never before has it been so easy to communicate with your referral sources without breaking the bank through social media, but the question is, are you?
If you were to poll your entire database, how many of them think of you when they think of real estate? Did you know that 80% of buyers forget their agent’s name after 6 month?
OR
Now imagine doing two videos a month that we’re emailed to your network, posted on social media, and even had Facebook ads targeted to your SOI, and you did this this for 12 months. Now I’ll ask you the same question. If we were to poll the same people, how many of them would now associate your name with real estate? That’s branding.
This is NOT lead Generation, It’s Branding.
You can only be referred when your brand is top of mind. This is why we use video to farm our SOI and local community through video email and social media. I don’t care of what kind of real estate videos you create, but as long as they REMIND everyone who sees them you are in real estate, then it did it’s job!
The key to an effective video referral marketing strategy is authenticity and consistency. You don’t build a brand overnight, you do it by consistently communicating to the same audience over time. If you and your significant other stop talking, your relationship will end. If you stop communicating with your SOI and past clients, they forget you’re in real estate.
This isn’t theory, it’s mathematical.
- 10-15% of your network is moving this year
- 100% of your network knows someone they can refer you to.
- 60+% of business each and every year comes from referrals and repeat business.
- 76% of consumers use the first agent they speak to.
Video makes you unforgettable and therefore more referrable!
Memorize these numbers and get motivated by them. ATTENTION is the name of the game in a referral dominated business, which is what you are. Generating referrals and building a strong hyper local brand is crucial for a long lasting real estate business that is NOT dependent upon 3rd party lead sources YOU DON’T CONTROL.
The goal is very simple: don’t be a secret agent. Instead, be the first person they think of when real estate comes to mind. This is what building a strong personal brand accomplishes. Don’t overthink this whole video craze, it’s a lot easier than you think. You don’t need to know how to ASK for referrals, you need to know how to attract them.
Do it with a video referral marketing strategy that farms your database.