Have you ever had a prospect feel like they knew you, before they even met you?
“So people call in, they request the value of their home. I send them a quick, little video. They get to feel like they know me. When I actually go out and talk to them, they like me and trust me more because of the video. I’ve taken 6 or 7 listings just because I’m utilizing video. It has really, really made a big difference in my life.”
This story, among hundreds of others, helps convey the big difference a simple video can make.
Real estate has always been, and will continue to be, a relationship-first business. To build relationships, increase connections and win opportunities, brokers are sending videos in emails to new leads, active buyers and sellers, past clients, team members, lenders and other people in their networks.
But why should you consider adding simple, personal videos into your communication mix, and how do you begin to integrate video into your email marketing?
Overcoming Facelessness
Let’s face it — every day, you’re entrusting some of your most important and valuable messages to forms of communication devoid of clarity and personality: emails, text messages, app messaging and social media. Unless you’re a good writer or you have a nice set of emoticons, you’re probably not as clear in writing as you are in person or on the phone. And, so much of our daily messaging looks exactly the same: plain, black text on a plain, white screen. Digital communication is convenient, but it’s faceless. It lacks the human element and fails to differentiate you. In relying on these channels, you’ve allowed your single best sales asset – you! – to be removed from much of your messaging. By adding video to your emails, you’re putting the messenger back into the message. You’re allowing yourself to be there in person when you can’t actually be there in person. You’re scaling yourself to get face to face with more people more often – and isn’t face to face what it’s always been about? Video keeps your communication more human. Video in email makes those human touches more convenient. You record and send on your time; your recipient opens and plays on his or her time.Relationships, Not Marketing
When you hear “video,” you probably think home and neighborhood tours, green screens and drones. Instead, try thinking about a smiling face at a desk or in a car. The former is marketing through video. The latter? Relationships through video. Though we’ve seen success with 20 million dollar listings being marketed through video email, brokers tell us that the video emails generating the most replies and engagement are the simple ones, like a handheld iPhone video. Your point of comparison or frame of reference for this type of video shouldn’t be a television commercial, movie trailer or homepage video. Instead, compare this video to the alternative – another faceless, typed-out message. Brokers win more opportunities every day by mixing in video emails using simple webcam, smartphone or tablet videos. Think of it like a voicemail, but with your face. They’re conversational and informal. Like your real estate business, they’re relationship-first.Why Use Video Email?
Nearly any message you want to communicate can be sent as a video email. Video is especially valuable when you want to convey subtlety, nuance, gratitude, sincerity, enthusiasm or anything else that comes through in our expressions and body language. It’s also valuable when you’re trying to share a detailed or complicated message in layperson’s terms – you’re often better off speaking, versus writing. Here are five opportunities for you to use video email every day:- Introduce yourself to a new lead.
- Reach back out to a responsive or non-responsive lead.
- Follow up after a phone call or appointment.
- Stay in touch with a past client.
- Say thank you!
Before You Type Out That Response…
Before you type out another message, ask yourself: might this be better communicated eye-to-eye, face-to-face? In so many cases, the answer is going to be yes. But time or distance is likely preventing you from connecting in person. Video email is the next best thing. And sending video in email is easier than you think. With an internet connection, email account, webcam and smartphone, you already own what you need to get started. Give it a try. They’ll be glad to see you, and you’ll be keeping relationships first in the digital age.How to Send Video in Email
The Screenshot Method
This is the D.I.Y. approach. Record your video, then upload it into YouTube, Vimeo, or another video hosting service. Make a screenshot of your video with the play button on it. Whether you’re in a day-to-day inbox like Gmail or a more robust email marketing platform, you should be able to put that screenshot image into your email. Click on the image and link it to the hosted video. When you send that email, the screenshot looks like a video and links to your video. There are two things to keep in mind. For highly-targeted videos, even down to one-to-one, you’ll probably want to mark the video “private” in the hosting service. And, the playback experience happens out in another channel, away from your contact information and call to action.The Mobile Method
This one’s straightforward. Record a video with your smartphone or tablet, then click “share” or similar. Choose your email app as the share method, then send it out. Keep in mind that the video file may be too big to attach. Your recipient’s email client may not accept attachments that large. Also, it’s an attachment that must be downloaded in full before even a second of it can be watched.The Pro Method
Find a service designed for this purpose. Search “video email” or similar to find options like BombBomb. BombBomb’s system was designed to make it easy for sales people to record and send video messages from a web browser, mobile device, Gmail, Outlook and even some real estate CRM platforms. Record and send the video in one pass, with fewer steps involved and less technical skill needed. Not only will your video display in a personally branded email, but you’ll also know exactly who is opening your emails, clicking your links and playing your videos. You can even get live, real-time alerts as these activities happen, so you can follow up more effectively. Ethan Beute, Vice President of Content & Communication, BombBomb