Are you using video marketing to share your company’s story? Social video marketing is becoming increasingly popular in the real estate industry, giving property managers and real estate professionals a fresh, new way to get their message out there. Inspired in part by the launch of our Epic Story social video contest here at Buildium (have you entered yet?!), we’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of using video to tell your story and boost awareness of the role of property managers.
On every social media platform, sharing video content is more important than ever. In fact, according to a report from HubSpot Research, more than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands—a higher rate than for any other type of content. For property managers, there’s a huge opportunity to develop a video marketing strategy that captures your audience’s attention, supports your brand, and fosters growth for your business.
Lights, camera, action: Here’s what you need to know to get started with real estate video marketing.
What is Social Video Marketing?
Video has become more important across every channel and platform associated with your business. A social video marketing strategy helps to attract and engage your audience through original video content.
However, the videos you create for social media are different than the polished, professionally-produced videos that live on your company website. Social videos don’t have to be nearly as fancy or expensive—by design, social videos should be short, conversational, and authentic. They can naturally help increase awareness of your brand and services, and broaden your reach to relevant audiences, like potential residents and owners in your community.
There are endless kinds of videos you can create for social media, and it’s important to understand which type of video is best for which platform. Each social media platform has different attributes that you should keep in mind when creating content, which we’ll dig into in the next section.
“By design, social videos should be short, conversational, and authentic.”
No matter the platform, a good rule of thumb is to keep it short and simple. Consumers love watching videos online, but their attention span is shorter than ever. Aim to create bite-sized, digestible content between 30 seconds and 4 minutes in length, and stick to just one topic per post.
Wondering how often to post videos on social media? Use video to keep your content cadence fresh, varied, and consistent. If you generally post on Facebook three times a day, swap out one of your usual captioned photos with a video. No matter the type of post, remember that quality always trumps quantity.
What Are the Best Practices for Each Social Platform?
Worried you don’t have the budget for real estate video marketing? Even small property management companies can divide and conquer to capture video content and manage different social media accounts. It only takes a few minutes to produce and upload a quick video, and it can make a big impact for humanizing your brand.
Although it takes time and practice to get video production right, it can be a totally cost-free endeavor. There is a case to be made for when and how property managers should spend money on social channels, but the first step is to understand the best practices for posting videos on each platform.
Here are a few quick ideas for real estate video marketing by platform:
LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, so your audience is likely to be other property managers, owners, and stakeholders in your community. Use LinkedIn to establish yourself as an authority in your industry by sharing advice and how-to videos around relevant news and topics.
For example, you could upload a 2-minute interview with another team member sharing real estate market trends in your area. You can also use this platform to educate your followers about a hot topic in the industry, like how to make your properties more eco-friendly.
Facebook is often the go-to network for news, entertainment, and staying connected with friends and family. Use your company’s Facebook page to talk to current and prospective owners and residents about what’s new with you and in your community. You can use videos to make your social posts more engaging, promote your brand, and to share new listings.
Your company’s Facebook page is a great place for short, bite-sized videos that feel genuine and friendly. You could take viewers on a tour of an exciting new property, or host an FAQ session on Facebook Live about what it’s like to live in one of your communities. Don’t be afraid to show your personality through social videos—it builds your brand and ultimately builds trust with your audience.
In another example, Keller Williams Realty shared a spontaneous video of community happenings in Royal Oak, Michigan to connect with local residents.
Instagram has a reputation as the most visual and young of the platforms; and that gives you license to have some fun with it, too. You can expect your audience to be mostly current and prospective residents, plus some owners and members of your community. Use your feed to share short videos (think 15 seconds to 1 minute) of property tours, company updates, and life around your community.
You can also experiment with this platform’s unique features, like Instagram Stories or Instagram Live, to tell different kinds of stories. For example, Instagram Stories allows you to create temporary video content that disappears after 24 hours, plus the option to cross-post to Facebook Stories. Why not use Stories to share snippets of your daily grind; or leverage location tagging to get videos of your listings to show up in your city’s Stories feed? And when you run into something conversation-worthy during your daily routine, just hop on Instagram Live to share it with your audience in real-time and see what they have to say.
How Should Property Managers Use Video Marketing?
Here’s the big takeaway: Real estate video marketing is about more than promoting your properties—it can also be leveraged as a way to build relationships with your current residents and owners and connect with your community. It’s about showing your audience who you are and what your company is about. Before you get rolling, here are a few quick tips to know.
Humanize Your Brand
There’s no reason to be afraid to show your face during a property tour or hold back on narrating with some humorous commentary. Social video is your chance to introduce your team and let your audience get to know what you do.
Share Updates in Real Time
Craft your real estate video marketing strategy around authentically showing what you do every day to deliver great customer service to your residents, owners, and the community. On your way to an HOA meeting? Go live on Instagram beforehand and find out which issues are most important to members.
Surprise & Delight Your Followers
Everyone loves free stuff. Contests and giveaways are a great way to bring people to your page and boost engagement. Just closed out an awesome leasing season? Show your residents some love and make a video announcing a contest that gets them interacting with your company page by leaving reviews or posting photos.
Social video gives property managers the opportunity to showcase their brand and services in a new light, and that’s exciting. This guide is a great place to start, but let the ideas we shared here inspire you to tell your stories in your own way. Get creative and use social video to differentiate your business and compel your audience to choose you over the competition, simply because of who you are.
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