How Video Makes Real Estate Agents Stand Out


If you’re a real estate agent you’ve probably noticed that it’s getting harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. With more agents joining the business everyday, it’s a real challenge to constantly find ways to be unique. So what can you do to differentiate yourself?

Noah Rosenblatt of UrbanDigs.com has posted a creative example of how to showcase your unique real estate knowledge – Video. Now you may be thinking what’s so unique about this? I’ve seen dozens of videos by agents on places like YouTube. Why is his video different?

It stands out for a number of reasons. The first reason is because he’s from New York. Just kidding :) His video is unique because he tells a story. It has a theme, flow, personality, information and advice. Buyers and sellers who see this video will quickly appreciate what Noah brings to the table – professional knowledge & likability. It’s a creative way to win over a potential buyer or seller. Everyone loves a movie star:)

The next time you have an open house, bring your camcorder or camera with you and be spontaneous. Ask buyers questions. Make them famous. Video the neighborhood. Ask neighbors why the like/don’t like living there. If you’re selling in a hi-rise building, video the the staff. I’m sure they’ll spill all sorts yummy beans. Interview random people on the street. Ask them weird real estate questions. You never know, you might get a gem of a response. Interview other agents or real estate professionals. Ask them to give you tips that would help buyers or sellers. Ask them what has worked for them. What makes them different? If you are an expert in a neighborhood or niche use video to broadcast it. Remember, some people are more visual than others. Show them that unzillowable view and explain to them why that view makes that home more valuable than an identical one next door without the view. As the saying goes, seeing is believing.

Now, you may be thinking that you can’t make a professional video like Noah did and you don’t have to. He’s lucky enough to have the skills to create his video but people love homemade videos too. Ever seen America’s Funniest Home Videos? You get the point. What’s most important is that you provide valuable information that will help buyers and sellers make informed decisions.

User generated content is what empowers us to be proactive rather than passive. Consumers will appreciate your creativity and will be able to bond with you even before they meet you in person. They will become more than just customers and clients. They will be your fans. And what do fans do better than anything else? Talk about what they are fans of = YOU. You can’t buy yourself that kind of advertising. Their word-of-mouth will pay big dividends for you. All it takes is some creativity and passion.

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  • Great stuff and Noah is really able to pull it off well. There's a couple of points in the video where numbers seem to be be flying pretty fast and furious so he might want to give that a bit of thought.

    I hope more agents will find a way to incorporate video. I know I'd like to. Perhaps you've seen this already but I think this kind of video would be great personal promotion for an agent. It's sort of unscripted. I come away from this video loving the old guy that's in it. I feel like I trust these people in under two minutes.

    http://www.sunpop.com/content.asp?id=281
  • Great post, as usual. Video is something that is on my Wish List for 2007. It takes time and talent to do it right. I just hope I can find both sooner than later.
  • Thanks guys! Im tryin! Its fairly time consuming to put together a script, get a good angle for a story, get the data together to back it up, and get people to interview to help out the story's point. At least that is what Im finding thus far.

    Also the video editing is tedious. If you have the time, get a canon elura camera or similar and play around. After a while you'll get it.

    Good Luck!
  • Great work. Run with it Noah...youll gain market share hand over fist. Our CondoCast movies get downloaded over 1000 X a day. People seem to love them!
  • This is a great article! I really feel this is an area that will blowup in 2007.
  • noah - no pain, no gain. i think you have what it takes to be the rocketboom of real estate but on a more serious level. looking forward to the next one.
  • condo blog - 1000 x day? wow!

    reggie - happy you liked it. we agree. video in 07 will be hot!
  • Here's one by an L.A. real estate agent, Lois Gerace, who wants to star in her own reality show.




    Folks who do video well can make an emotional connection with potential clients -- kind of like a blog. Actually, a blog is a good place to put your videos. If they are only on YouTube, it's easy for them to get lost when they are getting 65,000 new videos a day.
  • matt - thanks for the tip on lois. she's great. we just may have to call her :)
  • Hey, great post!
    I think it really estatblishes a point of difference. I recently did this video of a new $4.5M listing and also included the builders. They were PSYCHED! And, as Matt suggests, I put it on my blog.

    While the bigger companies are still trying to figure out how to get their agents to put virtual tours on their listings, we're off to the future (thanks, Brad Inman, for pushing us). md

    Here's my movie post:
    http://thehamptons.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/mov...
  • Video, done well, can be a great vehicle.

    Back in 2003, I invested $15K in video equipment to do first-class streaming video tours. It was a lot of work - and I was a little too far ahead of my time. I sold the camera and related equipment, but did keep the video editing system.

    As more and more people are on high-speed Internet connections, I believe this avenue will be a good road traveled... especially for personal promotion.
  • Doug, we agree. The challenge will be in where and how to market the video to attract clients. YouTube is a vast ocean of video so I'd only post videos appealing to students. Other focused venues may be better suited to attracting clients.
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