In the ever-evolving landscape of real estate marketing, the power of visual content is undeniable, with image-based storytelling being a key facet of any good promotion plan. In this industry, the phrase “a picture paints a thousand words” is especially true, which is why most marketing schemes have been traditionally reliant on static images and text. However, in recent years, the real estate business has witnessed a significant shift toward a more dynamic form of presentation: real estate videos. If a picture can paint a thousand words, imagine the stories you could tell with a video.
People working to come up with the very best real estate video ideas have become more prevalent in the industry, with agents, investors, and other professionals using them for a variety of reasons. They have not only transformed the way properties are showcased and marketed but also created new avenues for professionals to connect with their audiences and build their brands.
Visual content in real estate is more important today than ever before, especially videos. As a dynamic combination of visual content with audio and even text cues, real estate videos offer a unique and immersive way to showcase properties. Unlike static photographs, videos provide a fluid and comprehensive view that travels through the grounds of a property, allowing potential buyers to experience the space more realistically and truly imagine their life in it.
This kind of approach is crucial in the real estate industry, where the visual appeal of a property can and will significantly influence a buyer’s decision-making process.
Real estate video production has emerged as a powerful tool in the arsenal of real estate professionals for marketing both their properties and their services. With digital marketing and social media platforms becoming such vital elements in personal branding, the reach and impact of video content have expanded exponentially.
Countless cost-effective approaches can be used in this practice, such as real estate drone videos, which offer stunningly dynamic aerial views of properties, providing a perspective that was once reserved for high-budget productions. Real estate video production has evolved in a variety of other ways, with various professionals incorporating elements such as storytelling, high-quality cinematography, and even virtual tours.
This rise in real estate videography is not just about showcasing properties in the most appealing ways possible; real estate videos can also be focused on effectively reaching and engaging potential clients as individuals. Videos are capable of conveying a lot of information quickly and memorably while giving professionals a way to effectively showcase their personality. These benefits make real estate videos an ideal medium for busy buyers.
Moreover, real estate video marketing taps into the growing preference of consumers for video content over text and images alone, catering to the needs and habits of a modern audience. By leveraging videos for marketing to potential clients, agents can give people a more engaging look into their personalities and processes.
Incorporating real estate videos into professional marketing strategies is no longer just an option; it’s becoming an absolute necessity for agents and sellers looking to stand out in a competitive market. From taking a look at some of the very best real estate video ideas to exploring the technical aspects of real estate video editing, this blog will delve into the various facets of using video in real estate, demonstrating why it’s become such an essential component in today’s real estate marketing mix.
Creating the best possible real estate videos is based on a seamless blend of art and technique. In a highly competitive, fast-paced market where visual content can be a deciding factor for potential buyers, it’s crucial to take the right approach to crafting your audio-visual content. We’ve put together some essential tips to ensure your real estate videos are not just seen by your audience but also make an engaging impact on them.
The technical quality of your video can make or break its efficacy. Searching for and then hiring a professional real estate videographer can make a huge impact on the quality of the footage collected. Professionals, whether specialized in real estate or known for other areas of focus, bring experience, skills, and appropriate equipment that can capture your property in the best light. Professional videographers like these can be found on sites such as Fiverr, Upwork, or ZipRecruiter. Check their ratings, reviews, showreels, and experience levels to determine whether they’re right for your business.
If you’re opting to craft your real estate videos yourself, invest in quality video equipment. This includes buying yourself a good camera, getting some stabilizing gear like gimbals, and possibly securing a drone for aerial shots. It’s not enough to just buy these products; you also need to learn how to use them properly. If you’re inexperienced, check out some video guides and online tutorials to ensure you can make the most of your investment. Remember, high-quality, well-shot visuals are more likely to attract and retain viewer interest than halfhearted clips shot on your smartphone.
Much like many other aspects of real estate communication, a good video should come with a well-crafted script. A well-planned, thought-out video will be far more effective in delivering its message when compared to one that’s shot on the fly. Before setting up your equipment and shooting willy-nilly, take plenty of time to carefully plan the structure and script of the video. This will reduce the amount of time taken on the actual shooting of the video, making it more likely to be an effective piece of content from the first couple of takes.
In the case of a property showcase video, your plan and script should include and highlight the key areas of the property you want to bring to the forefront, ensuring nothing important is missed. Consider the flow of the video, ensuring you make it through the property smoothly. When it comes to more personal videos, such as video guides, market breakdowns, and service offerings, a script helps create a clear narrative that guides viewers through the property. Not only does this help make the video more engaging and informative, but it also makes the editing process easier, as there will be less dead air to cut out.
Every property has its unique features and selling points, and as an agent, they should always be at the top of your mind and the tip of your tongue—it’s your job to communicate just how attractive these features are to your potential clients. Make sure that any property showcase videos focus on these aspects clearly, with a combination of visual, audio, and text-based language. Your footage should be shot and edited to highlight what sets the property apart, whether it offers access to a stunning view of the ocean, a spacious backyard prime for gardening, or a state-of-the-art kitchen with cutting-edge fixtures.
Highlighting these features in your real estate videos will catch a buyer’s eye and help them connect emotionally with the property. Carefully consider how to best capture these features on camera while including all the vital information in the video. This can be achieved with text overlays, narration, or both.
Lighting and staging are as crucial in real estate videography as they are in traditional photography. Good lighting ensures your video looks professional and inviting. Make sure the best features of both the inside and outside of the home stand out clearly. For interior and exterior shots, natural light is always best, so try to complete your shoots during the day when the light is most flattering. If you have to, get a hold of some professional lighting rigs to shoot during the evening, ensuring your videos are never compromised by your schedule.
Staging the property effectively is also a surefire way to significantly enhance its appeal. The processes of proper home staging might involve decluttering spaces from personal belongings, rearranging furniture for the best possible shot, or adding temporary decorative elements to make the space more welcoming and aesthetically pleasing. Remember, you want the audience to feel like they can envision themselves in the home. Hence, you need to make the property look inviting and livable without having too many signs of the previous owner’s personality in the footage.
Music and narration can greatly enhance the viewer’s experience of a real estate video. Music is a consistently effective way to engage with an audience member’s emotional profile, with background music being a great way to enhance the atmosphere of the footage. When using music in real estate videos, make sure it is thematic, positive, and relevant without overpowering the visuals. If you plan on monetizing videos, such as market breakdowns or vlogs, only use royalty-free music that won’t get flagged for copyright infringement. If making videos for TikTok or Instagram reels, consider using trending songs to engage with the modern audience.
If you’re doing a property showcase, use a well-written and professionally delivered narration to provide valuable information about the property in an engaging way. These can be used in place of or with text overlays, ensuring all the footage of the property is supplemented with any necessary information. Proper narration helps to guide the viewer through the property and highlight any key features and unique selling points.
By following these tips carefully, you can create effective real estate videos that not only showcase the property efficiently but also engage and captivate your audience. In a competitive real estate market, having the most well-crafted videos possible can be the edge you need to make your property or business stand out.
While following the best real estate videography practices laid out in this blog will make a huge difference to your content, coming up with effective ideas can still be tough. Sometimes, to make the most of your content, you have to seek inspiration from preexisting businesses and their videos. We’ve put together a list of our 15 favorite real estate YouTube channels, breaking down an effective video from each of them.
Whether planning property showcases, market breakdowns, or funny real estate videos for your business, you can take inspiration from this list.
This channel creates videos for realtors and real estate agencies alike, with a specific focus on some of the most luxurious homes in the United States. They’re notable for using techniques such as drone shots, close-ups, and slow, considered camera movements to highlight property features as attractively as possible.
For the best possible example of their work, check out this Tour of the US’s 80 Most Expensive Luxury Homes. This three-and-a-half-hour video compilation is a long showcase of exactly what they do, with plenty of the cinematography they’re famous for clearly presented.
RUHM Real Estate Video produces high-end listing videos that combine large-scale shots with detailed premises overviews, using camera-ready professionals to guide viewers through properties. They use people in their footage to help viewers envision themselves in the homes while putting the spotlight on the lifestyle their properties offer.
Their Creative Real Estate Home Tour is a great example of what they do, featuring plentiful footage and information about the property and giving an insight into the culture of the surrounding area. The video host is great on camera, injecting humor and making the content more accessible and feel less pretentious.
This channel focuses on showcasing beautiful luxury housing around the Miami Beach area. The creators make use of positive, uplifting music and never fail to show the surrounding area as well as the property, making these videos as engaging as they are informative.
This video is a great example of their formula at work, using a variety of dynamic camera moves and techniques to showcase the impressive property in the most attractive light possible. Note that most of their videos are free from text or narration, allowing the visual style of storytelling to communicate the key information on its own.
Described pretty accurately as a complete resource for real estate investing, BiggerPockets provides hundreds of videos where their team members offer a variety of actionable strategies and tips. Topics include house hacking and dealing with analysis paralysis, among others.
While all their videos are great examples of their effective formula, this video guide on Rental Property Investing is a perfect distillation. While it’s not particularly visually exciting, its simple, to-the-point presentation is ideal for the practice of producing fact-based informative content.
A subsidiary of BiggerPockets, Real Estate Rookie provides beginner-friendly content in the same vein as the primary channel. Their videos cover how to analyze, find, and fund deals as a newcomer to the industry and include interviews with successful real estate rookies, making it an excellent resource for new starters in the business.
Their interview with a landlord super couple is a great example of their informative content, with an engaging, aspirational narrative showing the kind of work they do on this channel.
Graham Stephan, a real estate agent who became a millionaire by the green age of just 26, shares his experiences in buying, renting, and selling houses. His channel offers advice on investing, making passive income, and retiring early from a real estate investing career, combining entertainment with insightful content.
While his channel also showcases various other entertaining pieces, such as videos about culture, one of his best videos is his guide on how to buy your first rental property. His insights, text overlays, and camera presence make this video a great example of an agent’s informative guide.
Mark J Kohler’s channel is a treasure trove for those looking to understand real estate tax strategy in greater detail, putting an emphasis on the financial side of the industry. As an experienced CPA and attorney, Kohler breaks down complex strategies related to capital gains and legal aspects of real estate.
His video on how to buy a rental property in an IRA is a great example of his real estate-focused content, using an easily digestible vocal style and on-screen infographics to ensure everything is absorbable.
Ryan Serhant’s channel provides behind-the-scenes looks into luxurious multimillion-dollar properties and creates motivational videos for real estate professionals. His content is both inspiring and educational, with his high profile enabling him undiluted access to some of the most exciting homes in the world.
His tour of the world’s highest penthouse is a great example of his content style, offering a range of dynamic drone and interior shots while showcasing his great camera presence and speech style.
Max Maxwell’s channel focuses on wholesaling real estate strategies, which is an interesting niche when compared with other channels on this list. He provides practical advice on property walkthroughs, evaluating investment opportunities, and finding good deals, along with demonstrative videos of his processes.
His video of making $35,000 in 30 minutes of wholesaling is a great example of him stepping outside of his vlog format to show just how effective his techniques are in a real-life context.
Focusing on wholesaling and flipping properties, Flipping Mastery TV offers insights into finding flippable houses, securing financing, and making offers. His style of videography is valuable for those interested in flipping homes or wholesaling real estate.
While his wholesaling walkthroughs are all great, he also has house-flipping videos that showcase how different properties can be after he’s worked with them. The videography is simple but effective, with text overlays making them more informative.
Lili Thompson’s channel is about using the BRRRR strategy for real estate investment. She documents her journey of buying and holding properties, offering inspiration on the best ways to add value to distressed properties.
Her most popular video tracks her process of converting a garage into a duplex, with her personable style coming through clearly.
For in-depth knowledge of tax planning and accounting in real estate, this channel is the perfect choice. It offers detailed video podcasts and tackles hard topics in real estate tax and accounting, covering concepts such as properly claiming tax benefits and many more.
One of its best videos is a guide for claiming depreciation when renting a property, offering actionable tips to the average citizen in a nice on-camera manner.
While not strictly a channel for real estate agents, AD’s approach to filmmaking is admirable and noteworthy when reviewing real estate videos. Their video breakdowns of celebrity homes have become massively popular, not just for their subject but for their stunning cinematography and attention to detail.
Our favorite example of their work is their tour of Robert Downey Jr’s Windmill home.
Josh Altman’s channel is a bombastic joy ride for those who enjoy touring luxurious Beverly Hills mansions. His videos offer personality-forward tours of incredibly expensive properties, showcasing them in a detailed and engaging manner.
Altman’s style is highly entertaining, with his biggest video being a bodacious tour of a 45-million-dollar mansion with its very own basketball court.
Producer Michael’s channel stands out for combining luxury mansion tours with uniquely British humor. As a music and television producer who became a viral sensation, Producer Michael’s videos are highly entertaining, offering a glimpse into some of the most extravagant properties in the world.
His most notable video is his tour of the most expensive house in the world, where he guides us through his experience, allowing us to share his feelings of amazement.
These channels and videos offer a wealth of knowledge and inspiration for anyone interested in real estate videography.
Real estate videos have become an essential marketing tool in the property industry. This article has not only highlighted the importance of these videos but also provided practical tips for creating them effectively. Whether showcasing a property or building a brand, incorporating well-crafted video content can significantly enhance your marketing strategy and overall success in the industry.
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