Tom Ferry shared a video called ‘Why You Should Go ALL IN on Video + 10 Videos You Should Shoot Now’, and there are so many helpful things in it that I wanted to share it with you:

Why should real estate agents do video?

Tom starts by laying out some of the reasons why video is so significant. It is understandable that a lot of agents look at video and assume there is already so much out there, but that’s not the case:

“It doesn’t matter if you’re watching this and you’re already feeling behind … The good news is there aren’t enough agents who are doing video.”

YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms post a lot of fresh video content every day, and consumers love it! Approximately one billion hours of video are watched every day on YouTube!

Video is also the preferred form of content for a lot of people as this statistic from the article in Oberlo makes clear:

It’s clear that consumers prefer to hear from brands they trust, and that includes real estate agents. They wish to be educated. They want to know what is happening in their markets, and they want to know how to buy their first home or sell the family house.

Given this demand, the numbers are clear – video marketing equals profit.

The agents that have already invested in video are seeing the return on investment for them. As Tom mentions about 10 minutes into that video:

“When I was an enormous advocate for video launches on your listings, starting in 2010 … and people would say, ‘Oh, the cost to do that, and it didn’t directly sell the home.’ Fast forward to my client Tim Smith – he did the Duffy video on a $45 million house across the harbor from my place in Newport, and got two buyers to write offers after watching the video. Two buyers. So what we know today is video is where it’s at.”

Having looked over those statistics from Oberlo:

“Video marketers get 66 percent more qualified leads per year. Why? Because if I know you, like you and trust you, if I’m watching you on video, if you’re educating me as the local professional in your town, if you’re showing me you’re the mayor of the community, then of course I’m going to be way more likely to say, ‘I choose you’.”

11 video ideas for agents

The video also features Tom Ferry’s thoughts on what real estate agents should be creating.

We’re not just talking about listing videos here.

The idea is to sell you as an agent by being highly visible online and by introducing yourself via video. This is before you meet your buyers or sellers face to face. Obviously, a lot of agents don’t like appearing in a video and that’s why they don’t do these yet, but as Tom points out:

“No one cares what you look like. Don’t surprise people when you get there. … This is for the people who are like, ‘I don’t like how I look on camera.’ What? Do you look in the mirror every day? It’s the same exact thing. You’ve got to get over this narcissistic, I’m not enough, someone’s going to judge me. 

… Your vibe attracts your tribe. People are buying and selling with you because you’re a good human being, you’re good at what you do and if you put that out on video you will amplify your goodness and you will find more people that like people like you.”

So if you’re reluctant to appear on video, don’t worry about how you look. People will see you eventually anyway, you might as well establish some familiarity before meeting them.

Here are the video ideas that Tom shared:

And just note that you’ll need to watch the video to see Tom elaborate on these ideas, starting at 15:30 into that video:

• 1. “Moving to Northern Virginia, or Moving to Virginia – 7 things to help you get started.”
• 2. “What does $XXX,000 dollars get you in Leesburg”.
• 3. Do a driving tour of different communities or suburbs to show what it’s like to live there.
• 4. “How’s the real estate market in Winchester, VA?”
• … and note that this ought to be a weekly or monthly video so you keep people informed.
• 5. “Buying investment properties in Charles Town, WV”.
• … and also ones on “Buying a duplex in …” or “Buying a condo in …” or whatever is popular amongst investors in your area.
• 6. “7 mistakes to avoid when buying your first home in Virginia Beach, VA”.
• 7. “Selling in Reston? Avoid this $XXX,000 marketing mistake.”
• Tom suggests discussing the poor photos that some listings have online as a marketing mistake, and showing it as a major mistake agents and sellers make.
• 8. “Downsizing from a spacious home in Purcellville”
• 9. “Selling in Virginia and moving to West Virginia – 7 things to avoid.”
• 10. Answer 30 questions about real estate in 30 days and share it live on social media every day.
• 11. Write down how many years you’ve been in real estate and share that many lessons about real estate that you’ve learned selling homes in your area.
• For example, if  you’ve been selling homes for 13 years, create a video called: “13 lessons I’ve learned in 13 years of selling homes in (Insert Your Area)”.

What is the most appropriate frequency for posting videos?

Tom suggests that you do at least one video per week, and that’s the “How’s the market in CITY” video. However, it would be helpful if you could say something about your community every week, as well as a video about buying or selling in your area.

By doing those three types of videos – data, community, and education – you’re going to build a robust library of content and within 12 months you should be one of the dominant agents online in your market.

How do you create those videos each week?

Tom suggests bringing in a videographer, or doing it yourself if you have to (though the ROI on hiring a videographer to create professional content is huge), and setting aside one day a week where you do all of your video content for the week ahead. So maybe Monday is your content-creation day, so every Monday you dedicate a few hours to doing all of those videos.

You might bring along 2 or 3 jackets to your video shoot, for example. This will make you look different for each video and then slowly drip the various videos out over the week ahead.

It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but as we’ve seen, the return on investment for this is enormous and your business will grow.