When it comes to marketing your real estate business, video is king.

Global statistics from 2023 show that people watch videos an average of 100 minutes a day, with millennials — the largest share of homebuyers in the U.S. — spending 10 to 20 hours a week watching videos. 

From short Instagram reels to longer videos on YouTube, video is here to stay.

Here are 13 video marketing best practices for your real estate business.

1. Understand your audience

Your video marketing strategy starts with your audience. 

You wouldn’t show the same scary movie to a 5-year-old child as you would a 25-year-old adult. Videos for your real estate business are no different. 

Watch videos on YouTube aimed at luxury homebuyers and compare them with ones tailored to first-time homebuyers. Chances are good the script, the angles and the highlighted features will be very different.

Ask yourself:

• Who am I selling to?
• What are their priorities?
• What do they need to know?
• How can I meet their needs?

Then create your videos accordingly. 

2. Tell a story

It’s easy to click away from a boring video that rambles on and on without a point.

To capture a viewer’s attention, you need to tell a story about the property you’re showing. The story might highlight the historical features of the home or explain how a starter home helped buyers build their lives together. 

Whatever it is, tell a tale that keeps them on your page. Just like an in-person walkthrough, viewers need to see themselves in the home to imagine how they will make it their own. 

3. Use better technology 

If you are marketing a home with expansive grounds, beautiful architectural details or gorgeous scenery, invest in a drone and learn how to use it properly.

Drones capture details that regular photos cannot. They also reveal the scope of a large property and illustrate clearly where outbuildings and other landmarks lie in relation to the main house and the homes around it.

4. Add virtual walkthroughs

Record and post virtual walkthroughs for potential buyers. Your written listing is easier to visualize if it’s accompanied by a narrated walkthrough, especially if the viewer can move and turn in each room.

Virtual tours can also highlight the exterior of the home, plus neighborhood features and amenities.

5. Spend time in production

There’s a time and a place for a quick Instagram reel, but in some cases, you’ll need a beautifully produced video.

Invest in good video equipment, and spend time editing your footage. If it’s in your budget, hire a professional videographer or purchase quality editing software. 

6. Choose an appropriate length

Whether you’re posting drone tours, virtual walkthroughs or TikTok videos, size matters.

In many cases, home buyers want to see short clips, not a 15-minute video. If each room in a listing deserves 15 minutes of fame, break it up into shorter clips.

Aim for two-minute clips, especially on Instagram and TikTok, and try not to exceed five minutes.

7. Utilize SEO best practices

Search engine optimization (SEO), which determines where a website appears on the search results page of Google, is critical in the age of video.

Most organic search results list the top three links as videos, and you want to be as close to the top of that list as possible. 

On YouTube, this means:

• Adding keywords in the title and description of the video.
• Naming your video with keywords.
• Tagging topics relevant to your video.
• Customizing a thumbnail.

Captioning videos on Instagram and TikTok is also helpful, as is using relevant hashtags in the optimized comment section of your videos.

8. Optimize for mobile

Because 99% of homeowners begin their search online, your videos must be viewable on a variety of devices. This means optimizing for mobile.

Optimizing for mobile streamlines the content so it isn’t cluttered or hard to navigate on a smaller screen. Optimized videos won’t have lags, skips or take forever to load either.

9. Don’t forget a call to action 

When a potential homebuyer finishes watching your video, what do you want them to do?

Most viewers wait for instructions, and if you don’t provide a call to action, they’ll keep scrolling. Consider directing viewers to contact information or asking a question and requesting answers in the comment section.

10. Share across platforms

Millennials might love YouTube and Gen Z might stan TikTok, but both are potential homeowners you want to reach. Market to different generations by sharing videos across platforms, where possible.

For example, the same company (Meta) owns Facebook and Instagram, meaning one simple click posts in both places. 

You might need to tweak the description or add tags for different platforms, but sharing across the big three — YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram — casts a suitably wide net for potential clients. Don’t forget to share videos with your email list, too.

11. Engage with viewers

Good or bad, the comment section of any video can be illuminating, heartbreaking and infuriating. Don’t ignore it.

Engage in a professional way with the people who reach out to you. Many homebuyers want to see how a real estate agent handles conflict and roadblocks. Engagement builds relationships and trust — exactly what you need to build your business.

12. Analyze and improve

Don’t post a video, answer a few comments and walk away. Use simple analytics tools to determine how your video is performing in reach, views, and conversions. 

Specifically look at:

• How many people have seen the video.
• How many people have clicked links or visited your profile.
• How many people have contacted you via direct message or email.

If your numbers are low, your description or tags may need work. You won’t know until you look carefully at what’s working and what needs to change.

13. Keep posting

If the first video doesn’t get a lot of traction, keep going.

There is a lot of noise on the internet, and it can take time to build a following. Just like it takes multiple home showings to find the right buyer, it can take a series of videos before potential clients reach out. Keep posting high-quality videos, and your efforts will pay off.

Luke Babich is CEO and co-founder of Clever Real Estate.