How Top Agents Are Using Video Emails to Convert Real Estate Leads

July 21, 2020

Lee Bressan

With so much of our day-to-day business moving to digital interfaces, your prospects are being inundated with communications, and you’re looking for new ways to stand out. You’ve probably leveraged video in your marketing at some point, but now, more than ever, it’s a critical tool to deliver some much needed “face time,” humanize your marketing message and really connect with your prospects.

Adding video to your emails can seriously boost your results too. According to BombBomb, the industry’s leading video platform, have some compelling stats on agents who incorporate videos into their marketing:

81% get more replies
68% convert more leads
56% report more referrals

In the BoomTown CRM, BombBomb’s video email technology is seamlessly integrated so users can create video campaigns, add videos to drip plans, and use the tool to build trust, convert leads, and get referrals by getting “face-to-face” more often.

There’s more than just email messages though. We talked to two of our video veteran clients and gathered their must-have video strategies to add a (safe and virtual) personal touch in this new normal

Offer a Variety of Video Content

Kyle Whissel, of Whissel Realty in San Diego, California, is no rookie when it comes to real estate video marketing. He was even named BombBomb’s #1 Video Influencer. Don’t get stuck in a rut of video content. It doesn’t have to be limited to staring into a camera and talking through your listings. Kyle likes to work with a variety of video content, covering everything from market reports, educational content, and thorough listing videos, to less sales-y topics like local events and engaging community videos. This makes for some serious impact and reach.

Here’s a snapshot of Kyle’s video stats to-date:

• 600+ YouTube videos
• 338K+ YouTube views
• 3.6K+ Subscribers

Deliver branded real estate videos for consistency and engagement

From your company colors and logo, to your team culture and individual personality, it’s important to highlight these key differentiators so your viewers recognize your style, service, and value. Kyle has a high-energy style, and appears in nearly every video. That’s some serious face-time! Viewers feel like they know him, they laugh and learn with him, and they build a relationship with him without ever actually meeting him in-person.

Some of his most popular videos are from his “Community Series.” This is one of his branded video series that is tailored to his community, highlighting neighborhoods, events and happenings that people want to know about. It keeps viewers connected, and it highlights his expert, neighborly know-how.

It’s also a prospecting gold mine. And, with its own hashtag, it’s easy for prospects and potential buyers and sellers to follow along and join in on the conversation.

Kyle also has a live show/podcast every Wednesday (#WhisselWednesdays) that are educational in their approach. For example, he offered a tour of smart home technology and walked viewers through the latest bells and whistles in the “connected home.” These helpful, general interest pieces are wonderful for building up an audience (read: database) and keeping them engaged with helpful and interesting content.

Liven up data and market updates with personal real estate video emails

His video marketing emails through BombBomb are usually simple, quick shots of him updating prospects on the housing market, sharing his own personal insights, and leveraging valuable information to connect with buyers, sellers, and past clients in a more personal way. (He’s recorded and sent over 100 video emails through BombBomb!).

Get the whole team involved in real estate videos

Ann Rudd, of the Ann Rudd Group in Charlotte, NC gets her whole team in on the fun. Even when team members get nervous at putting themselves on screen. It can nerve-wracking to put yourself out there at first, but Ann has some advice:

“Just screw it and do it.”

So far it’s worked to motivate the team. They regularly incorporate video messages into their email campaigns. It’s a fresher way to present information and really drums up rapport between agents and prospects with the face-to-face experience so many of us are lacking right now.

Here are some of their tips to get the best results:

Don’t Shoot Vertically – We live in a widescreen world — from laptops to social media sites — so turn your smartphone on its side and start filming.

Leverage Good Lighting — The wrong light can cast shadows on your face. If the lighting in your office isn’t great, try facing a window and use the sun to gather some natural light.

Speak with Energy — People naturally respond more when the person talking is enthusiastic. The emotion is contagious, in a sense.

Minimize the “Ums” — Whenever we pause and think about something we say, “Um….” or “Uh…” or even “You know…” Eliminating this filler text as much as possible will make your video go smoother (and not cause disruption in the viewer’s mind).

Film for a Headshot — Viewers don’t need to see all of you. But you also shouldn’t get too close to the camera. Angle the shot to show a little bit of your upper torso and your face.

Deliver a personal touch with quick, custom real estate video emails for prospects

Ann also encourages the team to create quick and easy video messages that are tailored to specific people and groups. It takes that personal face-to-fact approach even further. After a few sends, her team even finds these quick video messages simpler than drafting and proofing a lengthy email message. Not to mention it’s a more personal experience that they their prospects and clients can still digest on their own time. A win-win for the consumer experience.

Ann had an online lead come in this week in her typical price range. They began a text conversation, and set a phone appointment for later on. “I ended the conversation by asking them what type of information they’d like me to gather. Once I had the info, I sent them a BombBomb video through BoomTown that answered all their questions.”

Track and measure your real estate video engagement, tweak where needed

When video messages are integrated with your CRM, there’s no guesswork when it comes to tracking follow up and engagement. Ann saw that her prospect viewed her video 35 times. (We think this story will probably end happily.) The team monitors video performance and plans their marketing accordingly.

Just starting a video marketing strategy?

Try different topics and content forms and track their performance religiously
See what types of videos are resonating with prospects (and do more of that!) and keep an eye out for things that may not be working well with your team or your particular market
Once you find a sweet spot, leverage branding and consistency (a hashtag, a dedicated day/time, appearance in a newsletter, etc.) to build your following

Leverage your CRM to integrate your real estate video emails

The right technology and marketing tools make creating new content and seeing what works a breeze. Make sure you have tools that let you leverage videos in your email marketing campaigns, drip plans, and bulk emails. With BoomTown’s BombBomb integration, you can even record a new video directly from the CRM that can be used in any way you choose (drop it in an email, text from the mobile app, share on social media, etc.). And most importantly, the data is housed in one system, served up in clear reports, so you can make better decisions based on real insights. Cheers to more virtual tools that help connect us, and putting a face to your brand.