Want to grow on social media? You need to be creating video content. Luckily, we have 3 tools you can start using straight away to up your video content game on social media.

But first, why should you want to?

Well, we all know that Facebook and Instagram prioritise video and will continue to do so. Even considering recent complaints about changes to the Instagram algorithm, video and reels still reign supreme on the platform.

This should be reason enough to want to jump on the video content train, but if it’s not here are a few more:

• Facebook video posts have an average engagement rate of 6.01%.
• Video content is a great tool to repurpose across multiple platforms because it’s popular on all of them!
• Making good video content is easier than you think

Here’s what you need.

Tool 1: Your Phone

When we think about creating video content for our business, the first things that spring to mind for many are in-house videographers, expensive lighting equipment and even more expensive cameras.

But, that doesn’t have to be the case! The camera on your phone can be just as, if not more, useful for you. Social media users love authentic imagery and this applies to your videos as well.

So get out your phone and do a walking tour of your latest listing or take a video of your vendors celebrating the sale of their home! You don’t have to worry too much about camera angles or editing – let the videos be as natural as possible.

You can also turn to tools like Facebook or Instagram live to increase that authenticity. We know a lot of agents who feel nervous about ‘going live’, but it is well worth it because Facebook users like live streams more than recorded videos. They are 4 times more likely to watch a live video than a recorded one.

Similarly to pre-recorded phone videos, your lives should be as natural as possible! But, before you press record we recommend considering some best practice tips to make the most of your content. For instance, Meta suggests engaging directly with your audience – saying hello to commenters by name and replying to their comments, asking questions on-air or pinning comments to the top of the chat.

Have a look over some more of the best practice Facebook live tips from Meta. 

But, to keep your content fresh and engaging, you do need more than just your phone…

Tool 2: Virtual Tours

Many of you are already using 3D virtual tours for your listings and the data speaks for itself on why so many agents have turned to these tours.

Our friends at Little Hinges have revealed that 95% of people are more likely to call about listings with 3D virtual tours. Viewers are also 300% more engaged with 3D virtual tours than with 2D imagery. 

You can capitalise on this engagement through social media! 

Rather than simply posting a link to the listing on your website, we recommend screen recording a section of the virtual tour and sharing that across as a preview of the full tour. 

A virtual tour is also perfect for upping conversions on your social media advertising. 

Virtual tours allow your listings to be seen in as much detail as possible by as many people as possible when advertised through social media. The detail in these tours helps to convert more buyers because they offer a level of transparency that doesn’t exist in glossy real estate photos.

Josh Callaghan, CEO of Little Hinges, expands on the difference between virtual tours and glossy photos – 

“I’ve said it before, glossy photos get eyeballs and attract buyers, virtual tours qualify and convert those buyers while eliminating effort on time-wasters.”

Now let’s consider how you can also use video to promote market reports, sales results and showcase multiple properties at once.

Tool 3: Branded Videos

Real Estate Brilliance’s, Ryan Thompson recently shared his social media content guide with us! He advises that you should be splitting your content types into fun content, educational content and selling content. 

Put very simply, your content needs to be about more than just selling properties. This is where educational videos like market reports come in.

Luckily, video marketing is more accessible than ever for businesses with smaller budgets and that’s largely due to platforms like epik video making it simpler to produce professional quality real estate videos for less.

For instance, epik video’s monthly market reports are entirely automated. These videos use data from Domain Group, Pricefinder and ABS to automatically create engaging video reports that are relevant to your audience and highly watchable!

Once you have your monthly videos it’s super simple to share them across to your websites and your social media pages. Try using these videos as a jumping off point to a call to action. Encourage Facebook users to message you directly for more information on the suburb or link the video to a lead form when you next run an ad.

There are also plenty of simple online video creation tools that you can try your hand at. You can use these for a number of purposes like creating unique video tips, in-depth looks at new listings or run through some local highlights. Sites like InVideo, biteable, canva or animoto also offer unique features to get you started. Keep in mind that these video tools all offer different price points.

Takeaways

If you’re not using video content in your social media marketing you should be!

Start exploring options today to find tools that will save you time without diminishing the relevance and quality of your content.