The one question I always get asked, regardless of whether it’s at live events or on training webinars in the FBM Academy, is this: “How can I go from a standing start to dominating my area on Facebook?”
The answer is a very simple one – video.
It stuns me that there are still so many agents holding out on the video revolution. Aside from the fact that there are entire social media networks designed purely to allow you to capitalize on video, it just simply doesn’t make economic sense to be holding out.
Recently at the Real Tech event in Queensland, Facebook themselves sent a representative to headline and speak about the changes they’re making to help agents dominate their area.
One of the key take-aways was this – video is king. In fact video is the king, queen, prince, princess, knights of the round table, black night, maid Marion and the Robin Hood of the digital space.
By using video you’ll get “3 times the organic reach” compared to static images – that’s a direct quote from Facebook by the way. What that means is that 3 times the number of people will see your ad for the same amount of money as compared with using static images.
From an economic stand point, that’s pure gold.
(Our testing in the FBM Academy shows that a good video campaign will gain 5x the reach of a static image ad.)
You can get 3 times the coverage, 3 times the exposure for the same budget as what you’re currently spending on boosting your photo based posts.
But wait there’s still more, using video builds your brand and profile like nothing else.
Video provides your audience with everything they need to feel like they know you and in turn, trust you.
By not using video, you’re literally costing yourself a small fortune in extra marketing spend and you’re missing out on massive brand recognition, profile building opportunities and allowing your market place to get to know you.
So where do you start?
Every listing should have a video – that’s the easiest and most cost effective way to start – property video’s are often paid by the vendor as VPA and it allows you to immediately start building your profile, while doing the right thing by your vendors – marketing their property in a manner that will get it in front of the most buyers possible.
Adding to video’s power is the ability to re-market, i.e build an audience of people who watch your video and then make a related offer to them. This could be anything from an invite to the open home or the old school “free appraisal.”
Essentially, with re-marketing, you’re marketing directly to people who have expressed interest in your product, service or content – essentially, you’re preaching to the choir.
Excuses Excuses Excuses.
The biggest concern agents seem to have is that they can’t create professional quality video. When it comes to listings, you pay a professional to do it, which immediately solves that problem.
When it comes to producing general content videos, professionalism can take a backseat to just getting it done. The goal here is to provide value, the quality of your content is vital, while the quality of your production isn’t as important.
One huge tip I will give you – subtitle everything. That way, if your audience is watching your video without sound (as MOST will), the message still gets across!
GO LIVE!
Then we have Facebook Live – the ability to go live and broadcast to your audience on the spot, no scripts, no cuts, or fancy footwork – it’s pure live action and you’re in the hot seat. This alone sounds terrifying for many agents and I do understand that. But I’m also going to say, “It’s time to suck it up cupcake!”
If you can speak in front of half a dozen buyers at an open home or auction, then you can definitely do Facebook Live! Simply pretend you’re having a video call with your best friend or your kids, it’ll help remove the nerves.
The power of Facebook Live, is that when you go live, Facebook sends a notification to your friends/likes list that you’ve gone live and that they should join in – i.e preparing your audience for you.
It’s immensely powerful.
Leave the ego at home
Firstly, to those agents who are doing video – well done! You’ve taken a massive step to building your profile, growing your brand and really connecting with your market place.
Now, lets tweak what is happening before it becomes “the norm” and get better results from our videos.
Your face isn’t not what your market wants to see – yes you should be on camera for an intro and if you’re giving video tips live, your face is all you’ve got to show in most cases – that’s fine.
But if you’re doing a listing preview or a sales result video or even a listing walk through – no one wants to see your face any longer than they have to. Video is all about “show don’t tell” – if we’re looking at your face, then you’re telling us when you should be showing us.
Make sure the property/primary content gets the spotlight!
Remember you’re not getting on video to “look like an expert” – you’re getting on video to “demonstrate that you are an expert.”