BombBomb Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Pacinelli, gave an amazing presentation, to a packed room at RE/MAX R4 in Las Vegas this February. During this session, Steve talked with Real Estate Video Influencers and RE/MAX agents Jesse Peters, Melanie Galea, and Sue Benson, about how they’re using video in their business, and what it’s doing for them.
Being at R4, it was so apparent to see how important video is to the real estate business. So many professionals have began implementing video into their business. Walking around the conference, you could see hundreds of people grabbing their phone to create quick content, and communicate with their sphere. And it was evident that even the people who weren’t using video, understood that they should be.
Our panel of video experts spoke to this, and gave those individuals who weren’t sure where to start with video, the tips they needed to catapult their marketing efforts.
Meet our Panel:
Sue “Pinky” Benson – Live Video Pro
Melanie Galea – Listing Video Pro
Jesse Peters – All-Around Video Pro
What types of technology are the pros using?
Melanie
Melanie is clearly a technology pro, and has mastered her own video strategy. She has a good amount of equipment that she’s using to create her stellar videos.
Melanie’s Equipment:
- Canon T3i
- Tamron Wide Angle
- Konova Slider
- DJI Osmo
- Manfrotto Video Head
- Manfrotto Tripod
- GoPro
- Gimbal
- Diva Ring Light
- Sennheiser Mics
- iPhone x
Melanie says that if she had to recommend just two products from this list, she’d suggest the DJI Osmo, and the Diva Ring Light.
Jesse
Jesse went ahead and created a slide just on the “basic” technology that he believes all pros should be using.
Jesse’s Equipment:
- Mobile phone camera
- GoPro Splice
- Joby Tight ONE Mount
- Tripod
Splice is an app that allows Jesse to edit his videos on the fly.
Sue
Sue made us laugh with her “Tripod Thingy” and “the Doohickie” but the point of that all is – “Technology doesn’t matter as much as the ideas you have.”
Sue’s Equipment:
- Screenflow
- Clips
- Tripod Thingy
- The Doohickie
Sue is #2 on our Live Influencers List and that just shows you that you don’t have to be a tech expert, to thrive with video marketing.
Where are the pros sharing their videos?
Sue
Sue says she put video everywhere; Youtube, Facebook, BombBomb Email. You are able to post video on almost any platform so why not share it if you’re able to?
Melanie
Melanie does Facebook live often so she says she takes her live videos and throws them on Youtube as well as back on Facebook later on. She promotes her upcoming live videos on Facebook, executes her live event, posts the video onto Youtube, and then re-shares on Facebook. “I get four hits out of one event.”
Jesse
Jesse says for his story telling and how-tos’ he often posts on Facebook and Instagram. He also references FB Messenger. If you don’t have someone’s number, Messenger is a great way to contact them with video. Jesse also described YouTube as the “library of video” and points out the importance of posting video to Youtube and categorizing them. Lastly, he reminds us to add videos on to your website.
Overall, some of the major mediums that people might forget are:
Email
Text
FB Messenger
Instagram
Facebook Live Tips
Melanie
Melanie points out that in her Facebook Live listing videos, she goes for around 15 minutes so that she can really show great details of the homes she features. Don’t be afraid to make Facebook Live videos that are over a couple minutes long.
Jesse
Jesse gives us some great ideas for Facebook Live. He understands that Real Estate Agents live busy lives. Rather than doing it on the weekend, Jesse suggests taking your lunch break to do a quick 30 minute live video. It’s a great way to utilize that time. During Facebook Live, you can see who watched or who interacted with your video! Learn how to do this here: How Can I See Who Watched My Facebook Live
After making a list of people who viewed your live video, hit them up on messenger.
Storytelling Tips
Sue
Pinky has a background in journalism and starts by saying “Journalism 101 is who, what, when, where, why.” She says no matter the platform, if you can answer those questions you can get better engagement from your posts. “Just take a second and look around you. There’s plenty of stories to tell!”
Instagram Tips
Jesse
Jesse uses Instagram videos to generate leads – “the Goldmine is in Instagram.” With the help of his big personality and creative content ideas, Jesse is able to reach a large audience on Instagram. A big thing to remember is formatting when it comes to Instagram. Always make sure to film vertically for a story post. One pro tip Jesse gave us is to edit landscape video on Screenflow so it’s the right size for every platform. “Think of your instagram profile as its own micro website.”
Jesse is also a pro at utilizing Instagram Stories. Instagram Stories can basically be lead generating forms in a sense. Jesse does polls and asks questions on his story. People are able to respond and Jesse can filter through them and see who he can connect with.
Community Video Tips
Melanie
Melanie had some great advice regarding community videos. First she suggested creating your own hashtag. Melanie started her own hashtag and by promoting it in video, she started seeing signs around town with this hashtag. She also created a Facebook live series as well themed “Shop Local,” in which she really helped boost sales in local shops. Just a few well-thought-out videos and ideas like this can be a huge help to your community. This, in turn, makes you even more of an industry authority in your area.
Last Words of Wisdom
Sue
“I think just taking out your phone and getting started is the number one thing.”
Sue says to stop worrying about how we look. We need to own who we are. We need to start short and simple and go from there.
Melanie
“Consistency.” Melanie talks about how consistency is key and if you’re going to do anything to market yourself, video is the thing to do. “It will make a huge, huge impact in your business and it will be easier to get listings because people will know, like and trust you so much faster.”
Jesse
“Believe in you and be you.” Jesse reminds us not to be someone else. He says being inspired by others is good but ultimately you want people to get to know who you are through video. Use video to also stay top-of-mind.