5 Things Every Real Estate Listing Video Should Have
Video can be a great way to make your property listings stand out. If done right, a video can give potential buyers and renters a much better sense of a property than a series of photos; it’s the next-best thing to a real-life visit. But some real estate listing videos are more effective than others. We’ve put together a list of 5 things your listing videos should include if you want to stand out from your competition and sell some properties.
Tell a story
Effective real estate videos don’t simply show the features of a property – they tell a story. Through images, video, captions, and voiceover or an on-camera personality, you can make the viewer think about how they would feel actually living in the property. Turn a simple living room into a warm space you can spend quality time playing board games with your family; turn a plain dining room into a place where you can entertain friends and loved ones.
NYC premier broker Brian Lewis, does a great job of telling a story through his property videos. Check out one example below and read our interview with Brian Lewis from earlier this year to find out more.
Showcase unique property features
When showing off a property, focus on the features that make it truly special and unique. Does it feature a pool? Granite countertops? Beautiful crown molding? A fireplace? Make sure to highlight these features as they help contribute to the story that’ll lead the viewer to picture themselves actually living in the house.
When shooting a property, take both photographs and videos of the space and its unique features. Video, or a mix of photos and video clips, can give viewers a much better sense of what it’s like to be in the space than photos alone.
Include the property address
At the beginning of your video, you should always include the exact address of the property. This is helpful for potential buyers or renters who want to check out Google Street View, or drive by a property to see what it looks like from the outside before scheduling an appointment to come see the place. Additionally, it provides your clients with the opportunity to research the neighborhood.
Pro Tip: You can provide a neighborhood video alongside your property listing that showcases some of the unique features of the neighborhood – schools, amenities, entertainment, and recreation – so your customers don’t have to do all the research on their own.
Include your contact details
Include your contact details – name, phone number, and email – as a title within the video itself. This ensures that, no matter where your video winds up, viewers will know to contact you to get more information. This is ideal for videos you’re posting on your own website, on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and listing sites that allow branding.
If you’re sharing your listing video on a platform like Realtor.com that doesn’t allow you to include any branding or contact information in the video, not to worry. With Animoto, you can make two versions of your video – one with branding and one without.
To copy a video, go to the My Videos page in your account, click the gear icon on the video you’d like to copy, and then click on “Copy” to create a copy of your video. You can then simply remove any branding and contact information. Your original video will remain the same.
Include a call to action
Finally, it’s important to include a call to action in your video that describes the next steps a viewer should take if they want to get more information or come see the property. This could be information about an open house, a call to contact you directly, or to visit your website for more information.
If you’re making your video with Animoto’s Professional or Business plans you can actually add a call-to-action button to your video player. Include a clickable link back to your website, or a contact button. For more details, check out our blog post on three ways to include a call to action in your videos.
Are you making videos for real estate? We’d love to see what you’re doing. Share a link with us in the comments or reach out to us on our Facebook page.
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