What Makes a Real Estate Video Go Viral?

 Through these 5 best video search engine optimization practices, or VSEO, you can make a significant impact to your overall real estate SEO strategy.

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When YouTube was launched, the real estate industry was one of the first industries to embrace the platform and use it for Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO) purposes. However, for every real estate business that employs the best practices, there are hundreds more that create ineffective videos that fail to convert and attract prospects. With 92% of homebuyers using the internet in their search process, the material you post to the internet must be of high quality and carry information that will help your target audience resolve their pain points from the start. The following are 5 bulletproof tips to improve your real estate lead generation efforts with video marketing.

 Tip #1: Insert Logo and Contact Information in the Title

Insert your real estate company logo and contact information at the start and end of each video you post onto YouTube. The spotlight feature on the platform allows you to make particular slides and image appear longer than other slides. Use the feature to your advantage, and give viewers a chance to copy the information without having to rewind or press pause.

Tip #2:  Treat Slideshows and Videos as Separate

Slideshows and videos are not one in the same. Although realtors can post slideshows onto YouTube and other video platforms, you should not substitute them for high-quality videos. That is because videos are able to connect with viewers on emotional levels that most slideshows cannot.  Emotional, yet effective real estate videos that connect with viewers do not simply show the features of a property – they tell a story. Through images, video, captions, and voiceover you can make your prospective client think about how they would feel living in the home. Turn a dull living room into a cozy, welcoming space you can spend quality time with family and friends; turn a basic dining room into a place where you can entertain friends and loved ones etc.

Tip #3: Shoot from the Corners

 Many realtors erroneously film their real estate marketing videos directly parallel to a wall, and attempt to shoot straight into it. This not only makes videos boring, but fails to give viewers a good sense of depth for most rooms and exaggerates lens distortion. Shooting from the corners creates a lot of diagonal lines, which viewers (and prospective clients) a visually more impressive composition.

Tip #4: Add a Call-to-Action (CTA)

It should come as no surprise that the Call to Action (CTA) is an important component of real estate SEO, and the same could be said for all real estate VSEO.  An effective CTA describes the next steps viewers should take if they want to get more information or visit the property.  If you are creating a video slideshow, you can actually add a CTA button (i.e., link back to website or contact button) to your video player.  A number of platforms, such as YouTube, as also enable you to add annotations after publishing your video. You may also dedicate the last page of your video to conveying important information, such as your website URL, phone number, email etc.

The aim is to add CTAs liberally throughout the video. You do not want to have one CTA at the beginning or at the end of the video. At the same time, you do not want to bombard your viewer with multiple requests out of concern it will turn them away. Find the middle ground and use the analytics portion of your platform to help determine whether your campaign is working or not.

Tip #5: Keep it Short

If you go through the most viral videos on YouTube you will notice that the majority of them are less than five minutes in length. There is no magic number for how long your videos should be. However, from our experience the standard length is 2-3 minutes.  It is better to chunk the information into multiple videos than to cramp all the information into one 10 minute video that will not be watched to the end. As it is, few homebuyers and home sellers have the time to watch lengthy videos about your company and need to be “wowed” the first few seconds if possible.