Produce It Yourself:
Before You Begin

Small Business Marketing Video Production for:

What equipment and skills will I need?

What Should Your Real Estate Agent Video Include?

Before you begin writing a script or planning your shots to produce a primary video that introduces you to clients, review the following marketing research findings. (Collected 2/8/18 to 4/26/18).

Maximum Video Length Average: 142 seconds (2:22)

Video Element	Recommended?	Want	Indifferent	Do Not Want
Owner Narration	Yes	86%	10%	4%
Animated Logo Intro	No	14%	45%	41%
Background Music	No	23%	45%	32%
Types of Houses Sold	Yes	86%	12%	2%
Interacting with Clients	Yes	66%	21%	13%
Agent's Office	Yes	53%	33%	14%
Agent's Vehicle	No	15%	44%	41%
A Funny Skit	No	6%	31%	63%
Commissions & Costs	Depends	87%	5%	9%

Industry Overview:

Consumers generally want a real estate agent that presents him or herself well and is a good communicator. So speaking on video is a must. 91% of the people we surveyed would use the internet to find and choose a real estate agent if moving to a new state and friends did not have any recommendations. (Note that 34% of people surveyed have never worked with a real estate agent to this point in their life, and 25% said they most likely never will.) 19% of all respondents said they would not watch a video before choosing a real estate agent. On the flip side, 81% of consumers say they would watch a video when choosing a real estate agent if they didn't already have one recommended to them.

Things that Improve Customer Interest:

Sales statistics are provided and good/past success/gets results 18%
Warm personality (friendly 3, personable 2, down to earth 2, connects with anyone 2, engaging 2, approachable 1, respectful 1, warm 1, caring 1, likable 1, family oriented 1) 17%
Honest/Straight forward/total transparency/genuine/authentic/sincere 15%
Qualifications fit needs/good experience/knowledgeable/good negotiator/has good approach 13%
Houses sold/for sale fit interests/similar tastes 11%
Attentive to client needs, listens/good client interaction/puts client’s interests first 9%
Appearance (attire, grooming, attractive) 7%
Costs are clearly provided/appealing 6%
Good communication skills/well spoken/intelligent/articulate 5%
Personalities are a fit 5%
Doesn’t just sell or show expensive homes/sells variety 5%
City specialized in fits need 4%
Calm/casual/relaxed/laid-back demeanor 4%
Complete information/what to expect 3%
Concise/short and to the point/just the facts 3%
Professional 3%
Testimonials/reviews 3%
Claims made are verifiable 2%
Confidence/poise 2%
Well-prepared content and video production quality 2%
Good reputation/rating/BBB 2%
Has availability 1%
Trend information/good time to buy 1%
Does not try to up sell 1%
Office is organized, well-kept 1%
Positive attitude 1%
Simplicity 1%

Things that Scare Customers Away:

Exaggeration, dishonesty, insincerity, fake, opportunistic, pushy, aggressive, overly enthusiastic, sounding like a used car salesman 19%
Ego (boasting, know it all, shows off car, arrogant) 16%
Specialize in houses not like my own/what I want 11%
Unappealing appearance, (attire too perfect or too messy, flashy, glossy, shifty, slicked back hair) 11%
Failure to keep it professional (comedy, overly friendly, offensive, intolerant, racist, political) 9%
Personality not relatable 8%
Limited transparency, leaving out important information (such as past success) 6%
High costs 6%
Lack of experience/qualifications (No past sales) 5%
Negative attitude or demeanor 5%
Poor communication skills or poor client interactions 5%
Unappealing tone of voice (annoying, accent) 4%
Unfriendly 3%
Signs of poor grammar 3%
Not listening to the client 3%
Failing to be concise 2%
Off-putting body language or mannerisms 2%
Too much about them, not enough about what we want 1%
Agent has limited availability 1%
Disorganized or run-down office 1%
Unsympathetic to low budget 1%
Not seeing an eclectic mix of clients 1%
Poor video production quality 1%
Little effort in making a good presentation 1%
Impersonal 1%
No promises 1%

General Advice

32% of consumers said they would not watch a small business video online. The 4 most popular reasons they gave were that videos are…

Biased, exaggerated, overproduced, flashy, only showing the business in the best light, not a true representation
Cheesy, dated, gimmicky and annoying
Too long, too slow, failing to get to the point, not concise, clear, rambling
Fail to provide the needed information, waste of time, adds no value, only necessary for visual products/services

On the flip side, 68% of consumers surveyed say they would watch a video before choosing a small business. Some of the top things consumers are hoping to see in a video are…

Real footage, true representation, authentic, honest, not overproduced
Message is concise, clear, short and to the point
Full footage and information provided, nothing is left out
Message is calm and sincere, not pushy or aggressive
Does not try to entertain

Many consumers said they would rather watch a video review from an unbiased third party than to watch a video from the business itself. Small business owners tend to want to show only the best aspects of the business in the best light. It may feel counter-intuitive, but including the business's shortcomings demonstrates honesty and earns customers.

Review over 130 real estate marketing video and listing video examples here: Real Estate Video Examples.