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If you surf the web looking for Fort Lauderdale homes for sale, you’ll see countless videos from Realtors showing off their latest listings. Some are polished productions, many are rough cuts. But all show a home and property in a way that augments the beauty of still photography.
As you’ll learn from this video on my YouTube channel, I’ve been shooting and sharing videos of my listings since 2010. They began as rough shots, and evolved to professional productions. Some peers and home sellers wonder how I got started.
As with many pursuits that we may be nervous about, I just started. I first would shoot photographs of my clients’ homes, then create a montage using my smartphone. I would drop in captions and some voiceover, including the property’s attributes, the address and my contact details. Then I would post to my website or social media.
It was fast and easy and very DIY. Sure, I had to do multiple takes. I flubbed some images or mispronounced some words or terms. But in those days, it was impressive. Even today, it’s passable.
I eventually scaled up my efforts, hiring professional videographers to shoot and produce high-quality productions using hi-def imagery and drone video. For many, it’s almost table stakes for real estate videos.
How do you start?
Then as now, with any endeavor, just do it. Start where you are. Everyday you wait is another day you won’t have taken a step along your eventual path.
With today’s smartphones, you can definitely DIY it. Watch YouTube videos from professional real estate photographers to see how to light and stage a home or how to capture that perfect angle. You also can learn about production tips, like how to add captions, audio or other elements to your video.
Better still, hire a professional photographer, or work with your brokerage to see who they use. Professionals bring years of experience, and the latest in camera and lighting equipment, even drones, to capture your property in the best light.
They also should capture you. Nothing sells like a friendly face on the screen. Get comfortable speaking on screen. Like public speaking, most of us aren’t born “a natural” in front of the camera or an audience. It comes with time and practice.
I won’t get into the nuance of social media posting. But it’s best to create a YouTube account and channel specific to your real estate practice (not under your personal account). This way, a video of your vacation or birthday party doesn’t come up after a video of your latest listing.
How many should you shoot, edit and post? Start with one. Take your time shooting and producing it. Once you get the hang of it, you can ramp up to two to four a week. Working with my video producer and livestreaming consultant, Chetachi A. Egwu, Ph.D., we’ll shoot a half dozen or more videos in a single session. I’ll bring a few different shirts or jackets, and switch up the backdrop – just to add variety as you add to your library.
As any video-focused Realtor (or entrepreneur in general) will tell you, video drives business. I had no history at all in video production. Yet since I went to video, my business soared. I went from being a single agent to a real estate company to having my company acquired by Coldwell Banker and becoming the leading team in their Fort Lauderdale Beach office.
Some of the agents I counsel on real estate video production have seen similar results.
The one thing I tell them all, though, is “just relax.” It may be awkward or uncomfortable at the beginning. But in time, you’ll grow comfortable with video production; I bet you’ll even come to enjoy the process.
Gary Lanham is team leader for the Gary Lanham Group at Coldwell Banker Real Estate Fort Lauderdale Beach Office. To learn more, visit www.instagram.com/garylanhamgroup or call 954-695- 6518.
