One of the hottest topics being discussed today among real estate professionals is how to position oneself as your market's expert, especially through the use of social media and video. Some REALTORS® take it one step further and say it's possible to become something of a local celebrity through marketing.
Related: Marketing Through the Noise: Leveraging Video
That's the position taken by Sebastian Malinowski, a pioneer of real estate video marketing and, as a result of those efforts, a very successful REALTOR®. During his session "Building Trust, Authority & Celebrity With Video," held during the 2019 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Calif., he discussed the video content strategies he's used to become an authority in his market.
"Stop thinking like an agent and start thinking like a marketer," said Malinowski. "Be a content creator."
Malinowski discussed his own personal struggles when he first got involved in the industry and how miserable he was spending most of his day making cold calls. It was this experience that pushed him to try and obtain leads in more creative ways, and it's why he started watching Gary Vaynerchuk's videos.
The following video content strategies are very similar to Vaynerchuk's strategies, and it's the implementation of them that has helped Malinowski become a highly sought-after REALTOR® in his market:
Connection Content
Put simply, connection content is person to person. These kinds of videos are typically interviews, and they serve to elevate your celebrity status.
"Connection content creates instant trust," said Malinowski. "It helps build your platform and provides more online traffic to your conversion content."
This kind of content is one of the best ways to position yourself as an expert, and because it also doesn't come across as salesy, it should be the majority of the video content you produce.
Cornerstone Content
Cornerstone content is the best way to bulk up your video output. You don't need to set up an interview or have a fancy background. These kinds of videos can be just you with your camera discussing various topics and issues in your local market.
This kind of content should be evergreen; several years down the road, someone looking to buy a home in your area should be able to click on your video and get value out of it.
Conversion Content
Just like it sounds, this is where you need to be converting your online leads. Conversion content should be real estate-focused and designed to drive potential clients to you.
"These are the videos that show you as a trusted authority in your market," said Malinowski.
Since these should be the only videos in which you're obviously pitching yourself to your viewers, they're going to come across as a pitch. However, you should produce conversion content far less frequently than cornerstone and connection content, so your viewers likely won't be turned off by seeing one of these videos every once in a while. "You've earned it," Malinowski said.
Video continues to grow at a breakneck pace. According to Facebook, it'll be the majority of the content on the platform within the next year, and it's using algorithms to push us closer to that benchmark every day. So now is the time to leverage video and position yourself as an authority in your market.
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