Real estate video marketing: The complete guide for getting real ROI

Are you making the most out of your real estate videos?

There are hundreds of guides and articles out there that will show you just how effective and “easy” real estate video marketing is.

But if video marketing is so simple, why are there so many YouTube real estate channels with no comments and just a few views?

It's not enough anymore to shoot a video, upload it and wait for the universe to reward your efforts.

If you really want to stand out, you’ll need to create real estate videos that attract high-intent leads AND give you the most value out of every marketing video you produce.

In this guide we’ll share exactly how you can do that. 

Table of contents

• What Makes Video Marketing So Effective in Real Estate?
• The Top 9 Most Engaging Real Estate Videos Formats
• How to Make the Best Real Estate Video Content (without Breaking Your Budget)
• Tools for Real Estate Videos: What Equipment Do You Need?
• How to Get Real ROI From Your Real Estate Video Marketing Efforts

What makes video marketing so effective in real estate?

You already know video content is widely considered to be more engaging and memorable than other visual formats, but aside from this, what else makes video content so effective in real estate?

• Video content helps you build deeper relationships. 83% of marketers use video to generate new leads. And since real estate is at its core a relationship-based business, and videos are a great way to nurture your know-like-trust factor with new prospects, even before they meet you in person.
• Videos help sell your listings faster. People buy houses with their eyes. In fact, real estate listings with videos have been shown to receive 403% more inquiries than those without.
• Video content offers awesome ROI. Video content can be repurposed in many ways, increasing engagement across all your marketing channels. 

Now that you know what makes video such a powerful medium for real estate agents, let’s talk about the most engaging video formats in the industry.

The top 9 most engaging real estate videos formats

#1. Video home tours

Video tours are becoming the new open houses—not so much for selling a property, but as a great way to build an audience and foster relevant conversations with potential homebuyers.

While some real estate channels have already secured millions of viewers, you can still make it to the big leagues with a bit of creativity. Just look at how Jamie Seneca and her team were able to secure 8,000+ views for a single tour in Coral Springs by adding a bit of inventiveness and of course, humor:

Source: The Jamie Seneca Team via YouTube

#2. Weekly anchor shows

This format is recommended by Tom Ferry, one of the industry’s most creative real estate coaches.

The concept is simple: create a weekly anchor show, work on its branding, and plan your episodes weeks or months ahead of the release schedule. 

Most importantly, pick a niche that will let you talk about real estate while attracting attention from non-agent viewers so that you can build a wider audience for your content. Topics can be home improvement, team building, self-discipline, or anything else you’re knowledgeable about.

By investing in the branding and content quality of your videos, you’ll gradually build a loyal audience for your channel. 

The beauty of this strategy is that you can repurpose the content from your main show as many times as you want, enabling you to create super engaging social media clips, podcasts, and blog posts on the fly.

Tom brilliantly uses his own strategy to consistently grow his channel.

Source: Tom Ferry via YouTube

#3. Listings videos

Not all listings are made equal, but as we mentioned earlier, the ones that include video walkthroughs have been known to gather 403% more inquiries than those that don’t. 

Of course, you can't create videos for every listing that comes your way—no one has time (or money) for that. But luckily, video listings are a numbers game. After creating several videos, you’ll start noticing patterns—including which properties are a better fit for being featured in your videos.

Over time, you’ll also start finding ways to produce video listings more affordably. For example, you might decide to create a training program for your agents on how to create video tours with their phones, or choose to hire a part-time video editor to help reduce the time you spend editing.

Either way, the more listing videos you create, the more optimized and efficient your process will become.

The Schiff Real Estate Team is killing it with video walkthroughs for each of their listings. 

#4. Personal real agent video ad

Many of us are understandably hesitant to “sell ourselves” via video. But how about making your pitch fun and engaging?

If you can create an entertaining video narrative around your personality, or your team, or services that you offer—your video won’t for a second look like shameless self-promotion. 

With video, good content is good content. There’s a reason Jordan Kramer’s famous “Call JJ” video is still doing rounds on social media all these years later!

(Video Source)

#5. Drone videos

Drone videos took the real estate industry by storm for a reason: 73% of buyers and sellers love it when agents use aerial (a.k.a. drone) videos in their marketing. 

But producing high-quality and engaging drone videos is no easy task.

Learning to control drones for creating dynamic sequences can take some time, so you may want to hire a real estate drone videographer to shoot your aerial video for you. If you choose to go it alone, there are myriad educational videos with quick tips on leveling up your own drone video game.

This video from Aaron Rajamoney with UAVisuals features great tips on drone photography with insight for both shooting and editing workflows.

#6. Personal video blog

A personal video blog is a great way to build a deep connection with your viewers by simply giving them a glimpse into your life. It’s also an amazing way to build a loyal audience and a personal brand that will help set you apart from the competition.

Pretty much every aspect of your work as a real estate agent can make for interesting video content: communication with clients, team dynamics, lifestyle, local community, and so on.

But again, there’s no free lunch with video marketing. First, your blog has to be captivating. Second, you have to be consistent, uploading new videos regularly. Think of your personal video blog as a reality show. You need to captivate your viewers or they’ll switch channels.

Start by publishing at least one engaging video per week to ensure you’re regularly putting out great content.

The production quality of personal blogs has increased dramatically over the last few years, so it’s not always easy to compete in the “my life” style of personal blog. As a workaround, consider making your blogs hyper-focused on a certain niche or market.

Chastin J. Miles with eXp Realty LLC has amassed over 40,000 subscribers on his Youtube blog by creating entertaining and value-packed videos with insights into his daily life as a Dallas Realtor and energizing team leader. (Source)

#7. Personalized video emails

Now, for our favorite video marketing tip.

An email that includes a video can easily triple your click through rates and some of the most successful real estate agents have been using this tactic for some time now to help convert leads faster.

But some agents are taking it one step further. By seamlessly integrating tools like BombBomb with their sales platform or CRM system, they can create and send highly personalized videos to their entire database in a matter of minutes. 

“Those [emails] almost always get opened,” shares Anthony Malafronte, the owner of My Tampa Agent, one of the leading low-inventory agencies in Tampa, Florida. 

Brian Curtis, real estate coach and leader behind the #1 North Arkansas Curtis Realty Group, agrees, adding that these videos can be almost as effective as in-person meetings. “Of course you can’t interact back and forth, but you can communicate emotion and personality,” Brian shares. “A video is about 95% as effective as a meeting with that person.”

Brian also takes it up a notch and creates whole sequences of videos that he uses in his drip campaigns to nurture leads and keep in touch with past clients. 

(Source)

#8. Video interviews

Interviews are tricky—first you need to find someone with interesting insights, then you need to make sure you ask the right questions in order to extract something of value for your target audience. And if you’re doing the interview via video, you need to make sure everyone has decent internet, audio, etc.

But the upside of interviews is huge. 

You don't need to spend thousands on costly equipment and studio rentals—a recorded Zoom call or a Facebook Q&A session can do the trick, and score big with viewers.

To attract more viewers from your target audience, focus on the value you can provide to your local community: record interviews with residents, school principals, and local business owners so potential buyers can learn more about their future place of residence.

Additionally, consider interviewing experts who can provide insights about the market, mortgage rates, and renovation techniques to generate interest from local sellers. 

A great example of how interviews can help you generate traction and build a great relationship with your audience can be found in our own blog content here at Follow Up Boss.

Filled with unique firsthand insights, our solo agent and team leader interviews help our audience level up their real estate business by providing specific advice and real world case studies on how to do things bigger and better. 

The best part? Even though they provide thousands of views and interactions, most of them were recorded on Zoom!

(Source)

#9. Market and community video updates

At the core of every real estate transaction lies trust between an agent and their client. 

And trust is something that your video marketing strategy should absolutely be built around. 

Many agents create market update videos, promoting the best opportunities for people to buy and sell houses, but how trustworthy is their advice? 

Meet Diane Cohn, former top producing Realtor and current a director of Digital Strategy at Chase. Dian is also the owner of a rapidly growing YouTube channel.

Even though Diane started uploading real estate videos just a few months ago, some of her videos are already collecting thousands of views. 

Her recipe for success is simple: Diane is straightforward with her analysis of the current market, actively engages in discussions with commenters, and acknowledges when her analysis was off. 

We all know that no one really knows exactly how the market will unfold, but being honest with viewers and giving them accurate information can go a long way towards building a highly engaged community via video. 

(Source)

How to make the best real estate video content (without breaking your budget)

Video marketing can get expensive fast. So, before you start creating real estate videos, you need to think about your budget.

There are several ways to produce effective real estate videos, each with their own benefits. 

Let’s take a look, one by one.

Budget lower than $1000? Produce videos by yourself

One of the easiest and most affordable ways to produce videos is to record them yourself. 

There’s no need for fancy equipment or costly editing software here: simply use your phone or webcam.

Although you may not want to produce luxury home tours, you can use your phone or laptop cam to record updates on the state of the market, interviews, and livestream Q&A sessions.

Cost: None!

Positives: 

• Simple way to gauge interest around different content topics
• Completely free!
  

Negatives:

• Hard to achieve a high-quality outcome
• Requires more of your personal time

‍
Best for:

• Personal blog
• Client testimonials
• Personalized video emails
• Interviews and livestream sessions
  

Budget of $1000 or more? Hire a videographer

Videographers, or professional video editors, can dramatically increase the production quality of your video content, while also giving you a few tips on how to make your videos more engaging and interesting.

Consider hiring a videographer once you’ve found your niche and are ready to create the best quality content within it. 

Cost: Shooting videos: ~$100 per hour and above; Editing videos: ~$50 per hour and above

Positives:

• Higher visual quality
• Advice on the most relevant video formats in the industry
• Saves hours on editing
  

Negatives:

• More expensive than recording videos yourself
• Requires time to find and hire a good videographer
  

Best for:

• High-quality listing videos
• Weekly Youtube shows
• Drone shootings
  

Pro Tip: Some video editors specialize in certain formats, such as listings, interviews, or home tours. If you plan to produce many videos within a certain format, consider hiring the best in the niche.

Budget of $5,000 or more? Hire a marketing agency

If you’re already producing high-quality real estate videos and have a loyal audience of viewers, you might start thinking about expanding your reach.
At this point, you’ll need to become more strategic about your approach and the goal of each of your videos.

Consider hiring a marketing agency when you are ready to invest significant resources into your branding and online presence.

Cost: $5,000 per month and above

Positives:

• Highly systematic and strategic approach to video marketing
• Access to industry-leading experts
  

Negatives:

• Production can be extremely expensive
• Low level of control over production
  

Best for:

• Branding
• Comprehensive marketing strategy
  

Tools for real estate videos: What equipment do you need?

No matter where you are in your video marketing journey, you’ll need some kind of equipment for shooting videos, and special software to edit them.

Some of the best free video editing software tools include:

• OpenShot
• HitFilm Express
• iMovie
  

Some of the best paid video editing software tools include:

• Adobe Premiere Pro for Windows ($20.99 / month)
• Final Cut Pro X for Mac ($299,99 one-time payment)
  

Great equipment for shooting real estate videos includes:

• Webcam (~$50 and above)
• Phone (~$300 and above)
• Stabilizer (~$70 and above)
• Selfie Stick (~$25 and above)
• DSLR or a mirrorless camera (~$800 and above)
• Drone ($~700 and above)

How to get real ROI from your real estate video marketing efforts

According to the Wyzowl annual report on video marketing, 89% of marketers say that video gives them a good return on investment. 

Note: good does not equal great. 

Here’s how you can maximize your return on investment for every real estate video you produce. 

Repurpose your video content

One of the main advantages of video marketing is how easily your videos can be repurposed for your other marketing channels.

Consider creating short clips with highlights from your long videos and distributing them on your social media channels. Use videos in your email newsletters to boost open rates. Transcribe interviews into text and publish them on your blog and website.

There’s almost no limit to how many times you can repurpose your video content, which means that when used creatively, a single video can keep driving business months after it’s been shot. 

Know your numbers

In a recent survey by McKinsey, only 36% of chief marketing officers reported using quantitative analytics to measure the impact of their marketing.

When it comes to video marketing, however, quantitative analysis is really the only way to ensure your strategies work. 

While there are many metrics that can be tracked from your videos, it’s crucial to remember that context matters. A market update video may have only 300 views, but if all those views are from local homeowners in a city of 3,000, you’re effectively engaging 10% of your target population!

Follow Up Boss makes reporting easy by letting you see which of your outreach campaigns are gaining the most traction with your database.

Know the purpose and cadence of each video

You should know that for some video formats, ROI will be delayed.

For example, your insights on the local market and personal blog updates will likely need to be regular for a period of time in order to form trust-based relationships that eventually convert to sales.

A catchy real estate advertising video, on the other hand, is usually a one-off project with the main goal of putting you on someone’s radar quickly.

Learn more about your distribution platforms

Every video hosting platform has its own features and workflows to help users maximize their viewership and conversion rates.

With YouTube videos, for instance, engaging in the comments section can maximize organic search rankings and boost the chances that a video will be recommended to others. On private platforms like Vimeo and Wistia, you may have less control over engagement but more control over the content itself.

Make sure you take the time to research the unique benefits and drawbacks of each video hosting platform so you can make the right choice for you.

Make the most out of your real estate videos

Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that marketing your real estate via video is an ever-evolving skill.

The first TV commercial aired more than 75 years ago, yet we still find new ways of using video in our marketing every day. Stay on top of local and national trends and don’t be afraid to color outside the lines. Use video as a powerful medium to convey your opinions and offer unique value for your audience in a way that they’ve never seen before.