Over 70% of buyers value video tours when house-hunting and around 73% of homeowners would rather do business with a real estate agent who uses videos for listing.
If you’re working in real estate, videos are clearly a powerful tool to connect with prospective buyers and take your business to the next level.
So in this post, let’s learn how to make your real estate listings stand out with compelling videos and discover the benefits and costs involved.
The most popular types of real estate videos today include listing videos, neighbourhood tours, 360-degree virtual tours, and testimonial videos. Let’s look at what each means for your business.
Research shows that real estate listings with videos get 403% more inquiries than properties without videos.
Video listings let prospective customers get a quick overview of the property you’re selling and are a great way to showcase its amenities and highlighted areas to impress your leads.
One important tip while making property listing videos is to focus on selling a lifestyle. Use storytelling techniques and shoot high-quality footage to make your video eye-catching and memorable. Highlight the best features of the property to draw viewers in and make them visualise the way this property can fit into their life.
A property’s neighbourhood is an essential buyer consideration, and neighbourhood tours are a great way to show buyers that the area surrounding the property is safe, lively, and well-kept.
When shooting tour videos, make sure to capture the hustle and bustle of weekdays. Instead of a lazy morning when the streets are silent, film the community-centred locations around the property, such as playgrounds, parks, cafes, and shots of residents going about their daily lives.
A 360-degree virtual tour allows buyers to have a realistic, immersive view of the property, giving them a sense of what it feels like to live there without having to physically visit it.
To shoot a 360-degree tour, you’ll need a 360-capable camera with two 180-degree lenses on opposing sides. You’ll have to capture a one-shot 360 photo and then upload those photos to a 360-degree tour host.
A customer testimonial video is the best way to build trust and credibility with potential buyers. It gives them a glimpse of what your past clients think about you and can give them the final push they need to hire you.
To create a testimonial video, ask your past clients to answer questions like:
You can also request some fun pictures of past clients enjoying their new properties to spice things up.
If there are three trends you should focus on, it’s drone footage, short-form content, and augmented reality videos.
Drone tours have recently become popular because they can provide perspectives that regular camera footage can’t.
Drones can capture wide, overhead shots that are ideal for showing off the amount of space occupied by your listing and highlighting home selling points such as public facilities, supermarkets, and schools.
They’re also a great way to show off views from a house, highlight scenic features, and show the property’s location in the wider neighbourhood.
Short-form videos are the new face of video marketing. HubSpot reports that 85% of marketers say short-form videos are the most effective format on social media, dominating platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
You can use the short-form medium to create powerful, engaging reels and YouTube shorts. Lean into popular social media trends and use engaging taglines like “You won’t believe what the inside of this dream mansion looks like!” to create immersive content your audience can’t ignore.
The real estate industry has been quick to adopt AR marketing. It allows potential buyers to see the property as it would look furnished and decorated, giving them a realistic, immersive sense of how the space can be used.
Now that you understand the types of real estate videos, let’s understand their ideal lengths and use cases.
Short videos should be ideally between one and three minutes, with attention-grabbing headlines like “Buy Your Dream Home In Sydney Now!”, quick shots of the property’s best features, and a direct call to action like “Like what you see? Inbox now!” to hook viewers in.
These videos are a great way to target viewers scrolling through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
For platforms like YouTube, an in-depth tour video may be more appropriate. This gives you more time to do a detailed walk-through of the property, capture the neighbourhood, include a fun narration, and even add customer testimonials to sell the dream lifestyle.
Remember to finish with a direct CTA inviting the viewer to reach out, ask questions, and communicate with your brand.
So, are you ready to produce your next real estate video? Not so fast. Here are three tips to keep in mind before you go shooting.
Before you bring out the cameras, prepare ahead of your shoot by creating a storyboard that covers all you need to create a compelling video. Jot down a list of shot details (such as walk-in closet, highlight flooring, bathroom tiling) that can’t be missed, and don’t forget to include outdoor spaces (views from the windows, porches, decks, or balconies).
Also, create a script for what the tour guide or the voiceover says. Planning and scripting beforehand is a big time saver that ensures you’ll get the shots and narration right the first time around.
Here are the latest filming techniques we recommend:
In the editing phase, you’ll use video editing software like Motionbox or Videoshop to improve the finishing of your footage. Add video graphics, spruce up the colour and look, and clean up the dialogue and audio. If you’re struggling with editing the video yourself, hire a professional to help you create attractive transitions and an eye-catching video from start to finish.
If planning and scripting, the latest filming techniques, and editing are all a hassle for you, consider hiring a professional video production service like Ivory Media. We bring the following benefits to the table:
While you can certainly DIY the video production process, hiring professional videographers brings several advantages.
They can provide high-quality video equipment (camera, lighting, microphone, etc.) that may not be easily available to you.
They will also be knowledgeable about ideal shooting locations, techniques, angles, framing, and beyond, and will bring this expertise to the production process.
If you’re new to video production, buying the right equipment, arranging a production team, and shooting the video from start to finish can end up taking a huge chunk out of your company budget.
While hiring professional videographers may seem like a large cost upfront, it’s the more cost-effective option in terms of both time and money.
When you account for the expertise and professionalism they bring to the table, investing in a professional production team is well worth every penny.
Creating a video from scratch is an extremely time-consuming process, particularly if you’re new behind the camera and don’t have a team of professionals waiting for you.
Hiring experts allows you to leave the heavy work of scripting, filming, editing, and producing to a team of skilled professionals, freeing up time for you to focus on your core business.
The cost of producing a real estate video depends on many factors, including the video’s length, quality, and complexity.
Typically, outsourced video production costs can range anywhere from $1200 for a basic video to up to $50,000 for a premium, high-quality piece of art. In-house solutions might cost less than $5000 for the video equipment and editing software.
Remember, while hiring professionals requires a larger investment upfront, you are better off hiring a team that knows this job and can easily deliver a great outcome. Plus, many video production companies have customised pricing plans to suit your budget.
The National Association of Realtors found that 85% of buyers prefer working with real estate agents who offer video marketing — but only 15% of agents actually use videos to market their listings. This means not tapping into this huge market is the biggest mistake you can make.
If you need help with producing compelling videos for your real estate business, reach out to Ivory Media today. With over 40 years of combined experience in video creation, we can help bring your marketing goals to life.
