Tag copywriter

13 Essential Real Estate Marketing Videos You Should Be Making

This article originally appeared in BHGRE’s Be Better blog on August 2017.

The real estate mantra used to be location, location, location. With the impact of social media, it should now be connection, connection, connection. Videos are an excellent way to expand your reach by engaging with those who are interested in either buying or selling.

ComScore recently reported that online videos increase consumer preference by up to 25 percent. With numbers like those, it is time to review 13 of the most popular types of video to expand your reach with every upload. 

1) Interview

Testimonials are essential to building your reputation online. Video is the wave of the future, and it is time to climb aboard! No need to panic when it comes to finding willing participants; past clients are a great resource. If they are happy with your work, they will most likely be open to filming a short testimonial video.

Don’t forget that your colleagues in the real estate industry can also polish your reputation. Ask clients and colleagues for a brief interview explaining your professionalism and results. Make sure to ask sensible questions, like how you personalize the real estate process,  that will result in usable sound bites.

 Include a brief introduction in the beginning so viewers can connect the testimonial with your face. This is not the time to skimp on quality – invest in your future by doing research and selecting professionals who can help you look your best with the right equipment. 

2)  Informational

What is common knowledge to you might be mind blowing to someone else. Become the expert by sharing valuable information with brief, educational videos. If you are not sure what to discuss, it might be best to start with FAQs and do a short video on each answer. 

Brevity is key here as you don’t want to overwhelm viewers. Harness the power of social media by becoming a shareable source of reliable information. Practice your script a few times before going on camera and take the time to figure out which background you will use when positioning yourself as an expert. 

3) Local business reviews

To potential clients, a new neighborhood can be intimidating.  Show viewers the inside scoop on a community by answering the questions you would want to know as a potential buyer. For example, where would you like to eat? Which restaurant is the best and worthy of some viral attention? These types of topics will work to your advantage as people’s loyalty to local eateries are almost as strong as their devotion to local sports teams. This will start a conversation that others will want to join, which might boost your views. 

Local business owners will appreciate the free attention and may give you perks such as the best table when bringing in clients. Other videos can include community features such as great parks or landmarks. 

4) Local culture

Similar to local business videos, local culture videos are a way to showcase the community within a neighborhood. Show off popular gathering spots and those that are charming, such as parks or wishing wells. Ask clients that have just moved into the neighborhood for testimonials.

Every community has at least one event that makes it unique. Parades, celebrations or even a charity garage sale shows neighbors enjoying something that brings them together. Make each neighborhood personable and welcoming with engaging videos. 

5) Livestreaming

People want to see homes in real time and livestreaming is on trend. The advantage here is that it allows you to communicate in real time and engage a broad audience. Virtual open houses can be seen by those who are considering a move to the area. Go with the standard Facebook Live and make sure to create an event page for the property a few days beforehand to emphasize the address and time. 

Repeat the ihouse details multiple times throughout the broadcast. Other livestreaming options include broadcasting a Q & A session. Viewers can engage with you in real time, allowing you to nurture  new client connections.  

6) Listing 

Each listing is unique and should be treated as such. Now, you have the opportunity to share a home’s value with the world. Listing videos are a way to customize how a home is presented to the world. By taking viewers on a private tour, you can engage them with your expertise and welcoming personality. The starting point is figuring out which features of the home are stand-outs. It could be a great pool, Brazilian cherry wood floors or stunning views. 

Pick features that are so amazing they just have to be shared. Center the video on these features and get creative with background music or descriptions. Make your virtual tours must-sees. 

7) Brokerage/office promo 

Bragging, in the case of office promotional videos, will work in your favor. Agents and brokers now have a chance to talk about what makes them special. You can start by discussing the successes you have found in your specialty. Show off any awards you have won and explain their meaning. 

Brokers can discuss culture and why it works in the client’s favor. Be sure to go beyond the clichés – instead, take viewers on a short tour of the office and introduce them around as you would if they were right in front of you. 

8) “About Me”/agent profile

The human connection is the most powerful force on the planet. Harness the desire to know and be known with a video that shows a more personal side. This will not detract from your positioning as an expert as it will make you more human – more likable – to viewers.

 Share personal information that viewers can relate to. You can share that you love dogs or that fishing trips with your parent were a touchstone in your formative years. Once you have made yourself human, start sharing your credentials and why you are passionate about helping others find their ideal home. Stories are also a great way to connect. 

Talk about selling your first home or something industry-related that you are proud of. Future clients will feel as if you are now an acquaintance rather than a stranger. 

9) “How-to” 

A video that demonstrates your expertise is a great educational resource. Share hacks or advice to navigate topics that are complicated for those outside the industry. Ask friends and family for topics, or research which ones are trending on social media. People want to know things like how to pick an agent or how to read an inspection report. SEO counts here, so make sure “how-to” is included in the title. 

Another consideration is whether to have DIY project how-to videos. These can be targeted to Millennials who see DIY projects as an investment in their homes (include stat). Ask local experts to contribute for utmost credibility. To get more shares, show a unique way to do a common project.

10) Housing market updates 

The housing market can be a mystery to clients. Some reports are optimistic while others predict doom. It can be confusing to a person who is unable to decode sets of circumstances on a local or national scale. Clients can be clueless about terms like “buyer’s market” and “seller’s market.”

Whatever it all means, they want to be on the right side of the equation and want a friendly insider – you – to tell them if now is a good time to buy or sell. Give clients and potential leads the inside scoop on trends and rules. By consistently posting videos on the housing market, your clients may start thinking of you as their personal expert, which will lead to  great references. 

11) Humorous

 Explore funny options such as parodies of songs, sketches, and tours with amusing narration. The lesson here is to be careful with jokes and banter. However, if you’re naturally funny, there is a need for humor in the industry. The trick here is not to play the fool. You cannot expect to be taken seriously if you are purposely intending not to be. Make sure viewers know that you are in on the joke.

12) Instagram 

Social media is as much a part of real estate marketing as direct mailing. The key is harnessing the power of platforms and knowing how to reach your audience with curated videos. Instagram takes advantage of the inherently visual nature of real estate.

Content can include listings and open houses. Try to engage followers by giving an inside peek at your life or something personal you would not mind going live for a full day. 

13) Year-in-Review 

Let people know what a good year you have had by putting together a year-in-review video. Highlight your successes over the past 12 months. Include snippets of listings, open houses and events you have sponsored. 

Want a marketing plan that works? Text me at 786-208-0451. 

Miami Copywriter

How Do You Measure Your Return on Investment with a Copywriter?

A copywriter is a cheerleader, content/copy generator and a fellow human being. Of all these things, being a mind reader is rarely included. When you decide to hire a copywriter in any capacity, you must be clear what you want from them. 

Decide what you want your results to be. Here are a few examples of marketing goals you may want to set: 

SEO

Topping SERP can be a great goal with the right time frame. Much like physics, for every piece of SEO knowledge acquired, you realize how little you actually know. Black hat techniques get you the results you desire. They can also get you banned from Google. 

Slow and steady SEO with white hat tactics includes effective keyword research and conversational blog content. It takes time to gain approval from the crawlers and build up your backlinks. Don’t set up a goal that would require a hacker to achieve. 

A practical goal is to increase engagement and provide value via your blog content. While you don’t want to be on the second page of Google (supposedly where all the well-hidden bodies are) making the front page after a certain period might be attainable. 

Funnels

Getting a client to open an email is a victory in itself. When they actually convert, it seems like a miracle no matter which industry you are in. I recently wrote an abandonment campaign that had the best conversion of any series in the history of the company. It took a bit of in-depth research to understand the needs of the audience and the secrets of higher deliverability. 

<Insert snip> 

My initial goal was to set a record and understand deliverability. I am happy to say it was achieved. 

Press releases

The main goal of a press release is to boost company visibility via traditional means. Small businesses need to consider implementing press releases to gain consumer mindshare. This can be done by understanding that these communications are part of a long-term strategy. 

Press releases are a great way to announce new products and services while demonstrating why clients need you. Opt for your new copywriter to generate at least one press release a month to gain and maintain visibility. 

SMS

Short. Personalized. Valuable. Getting a text at the right time with effective microcopy converts. Mobile marketing is essential to boost brand awareness, engagement and sales. This type of marketing usually requires an opt-in, so clients will want to know about flash sales and event-related promotions. 

You can offer Black Friday deals to maximize sales to a select group of clients. How mobile marketing differs from email marketing is in the results. An email must be deliverable and immediately stand out in a crowded inbox. 

Most texts are read within three minutes of being received and almost half of recipients respond. Use a copywriter to try out the hottest form of marketing to get results. Include SMS in every campaign strategy and track results. 

You may just find yourself preferring SMS over email once you start using them. 

Editorial calendars

A common mistake with social media is doing everything on the fly in the hopes of coming across as authentic. This hardly ever works. You need a copywriter to plan out your messages to the world. Have them research your target audience and give them the space to be creative. 

You can track results through engagement and conversions. 

Web content

Traffic is the easiest way to gauge web content results. A skilled copywriter optimizes any webpage. Measure your results through traffic first and engagement second. Just like on a social post, comments are seen as valuable by the crawlers. 

Landing pages

When you have a sale or a new product, a landing page is a must. The right copywriter optimizes it with the best keywords and makes it as conversational as possible. If it’s an e-commerce landing page or something related to sales, conversions are the best way to track your new copywriter’s results. 

Editing

A copywriter is not always an editor and vice versa. However, the best copywriters know enough about correct usage and syntax to know when something is off. Not having proper wording or punctuation makes your company look like a scam. 

The reason why the Prince of Nigeria emails are so awful is they are written poorly on purpose so only the most gullible believe them. People who understand proper English are much more discerning even if it is a deal that will supposedly change their life. 

If your budget allows, hire a copywriter and editor. If you can only hire a writer, give them enough turnaround time, at least the next day, so they can look at their copy with new eyes. 

How to find the right copywriter

Once you have enough steady work to welcome a copywriter to your team, the next, hardest step is finding the right one. 

There are plenty of people claiming to be copywriters. While every writer must start somewhere, you should hire someone with at least five years’ experience. 

What should I look for in a copywriter? 

• grit

• versatility

• personality

Just as a blind squirrel eventually scores a nut, a person can come up with a few good or great ideas in their lifetime. However, being able to do this every day for hours at a time requires the type of discipline that only comes with/from experience. 

Grit

If you decide to hire a rookie, make sure they have the grit to put in all the hours required and to take feedback well. The ability to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to what the client actually wants is immeasurable. 

Sometimes it’s hard to describe exactly what you want, especially when you don’t know copywriting standards yourself. Look for a copywriter who can effectively translate your needs into results-driven copy.

Writing six to eight hours a day is challenging when you don’t have enough experience. It can be challenging even when you do. Think of all the times you may have tried to write a social media post or attempted to crack the SEO crawler algorithm on top of all your other business responsibilities. Chances are, you gave up and looked for how to hire the right copywriter to handle everything. 

A rookie will most likely be Googling how to do things and find the correct lingo when generating your reports. Finding one is as easy as going to a job posting board or typing a hashtag into Instagram. 

Rookies usually charge no more than $15 an hour. Some are quite confident in their prices or try to ask for more once you are happy with their work. Set a fair price once you have reviewed their samples. 

When deciding to hire a rookie, understand that saving money may result in wasting time. 

When you go cheap, you run the risk of ruining your reputation and business. You may be able to find a novice copywriter who really will help your business. However, chances are they are still learning and may ghost you. 

You can measure your investment in the money you have saved with a rookie. However, keep in mind that they may not understand how to write for your target audience since they are so new. 

Versatility

Every copywriter must learn to pivot. This ranges from finding their lucrative niche and learning the seemingly unending SEO and social media algorithm updates to being able to sell their services on the fly. 

Controversial opinion: A versatile copywriter should have experience in every niche. 

Many copywriters do not agree on this point. Some feel that specialization makes them experts in their chosen field. When someone feels confident enough in their skills to call themselves an expert, they have stagnated. 

Copywriting is a tough business, so niching is safe. This sense of security makes for duller writing and a hesitation to be wrong, but you have to be wrong a few times in order to be right. 

The industries I have written for include:

spa

real estate

financial

telecommunications

self-improvement

home décor

marketing

business

restaurant

law

welding

pet

cosmetic

I have done: 

SEO

funnels

press releases

SMS

editorial calendars

web content

landing pages

editing

Chances are that you need someone who is comfortable with print and digital. Most writers will not have extensive experience in any industry but can learn enough through writing for a client. How much experience is not always as relevant as how much a business owner is willing to sit down and explain. 

Ask yourself how much time you are willing to invest in a rookie. 

Personality 

One of the biggest lessons I learned when I first started working with other copywriters is that you can either have the talent or the temperament. Rarely can a writer have both. An experienced writer understands that hardly anything is personal. Another writer may have a fit if they have received too much feedback. 

Make sure to have at least one phone conversation with whomever you hire. Try not to ask too many personal questions. Deadly global virus notwithstanding, most copywriters want to stay in their homes as much as possible.

As a business owner, establish a support system that allows you to focus on client relationships and cash flow. Having the right copywriter saves you time and money. Use the goals above to track the results you seek with an experienced copywriter that is perfect for your needs and business. 

When you are ready for the right copywriter, contact me at 786-208-0451 for a quick consult to see how we can work together and get you the results your business deserves. 

How to Stay on Top of Your Business with Relevant Content

Every marketer tries to sell you on the value of evergreen content. They tell you it will make your website a destination for your industry and save you money. This is not true. I recently listened to the audiobook of Dan S. Kennedy’s The Ultimate Sales Letter. The legendary advertiser kept mentioning how his content was evergreen. All the talk of fax machines, postcards and landlines drowned out the relevant content. Had the editors trimmed those bits and added a few chapters about email or texting, the book would have been relevant. Kennedy’s marketing concepts will always be universal; however, the presentation needs to be changed to keep interest. Without refreshed or new content, Google will consider your website dead, effectively killing your ranking. 

Destination copy

Most business owners do not have the time to sit down and write content every week. They may have done so when launching their website, thinking their content was evergreen enough to garner continued interest. Another challenge is many are exceptional at their jobs but do not know how to communicate their expertise through their blogs or online presences. How can you make your website a destination? By generating content that is relevant. Google’s website crawlers are always looking for new content and rewarding those sites with higher rankings. 

SEO 

Search engine optimization is complicated. Search engines are primed to provide a list of solutions for users through web crawlers that scour the internet for keywords, keyword phrases and relevancy. You need to evaluate your website to determine your most popular posts/pages, products and services, yielding top keywords. This will allow you to generate topics for high-quality content that will spark engagement and address pain points/interests to align with your audience’s goals. Set yourself up as an expert with first-person details and plenty of fresh statistics, studies, information, and research, which will provide an opportunity for other websites to link to yours.

Relevancy 

Content communicates your expertise to the masses. Demonstrate your relevance through frequently updated content. What is the best way to get inspired/write besides knowing your keywords? Take a few moments to research your industry’s trending topics, especially now. Right before the new year, every industry does a recap of lessons learned and how to set the right goals for January’s fresh start. Keeping an eye out for what your peers and competitors are talking about will allow you to offer the same content but with a branded spin. 

Most business owners don’t have the time needed to stay relevant to Google’s web crawlers. Hire Siren Publications to generate all your content to reach the top of search engine results pages organically. 

A Miami Copywriter Explains Anchor Text

Highlighting a page with anchor text is one way to attract attention with quality in-bound or outbound links. You can write an article that references another article on your website, or an outside source can highlight a link to your website from theirs. Start by figuring out the best SEO keywords and group them. For example, go big with ‘real estate agent’/’Realtor’ and break it down using a modifier, such as ‘Miami real estate agent’ or ‘Miami Realtor’. Go further with ‘Miami real estate agent Victorian houses’ or ‘Miami Realtor single-family home’. The key is to understand what your target audience would type into the Google search bar and use that as a foundation for your keywords.  Understanding anchor text is easier than you think.

Understanding link building strategies 

Links between different pages on your site matter. Anchor text is the clickable, usually blue text of a link inserted into an article. It is easy to find and is used to attract users and web crawlers. The actual text matters as a ranking element. The href attribute contains two components: the URL, which is the actual link, and the clickable text that appears on the page.  

Types of anchor text

Exact match – uses exact keywords such as ‘luxury homes’ or ‘affordable homes’

Partial match – uses a variation of the keywords, like ‘designer luxury homes’ or ‘affordable homes for sale’

Branded – only the brand acts as an anchor, for example ‘Siren Publications’ 

Image – linking an image, where the clickable hyperlink is the image itself

Naked URL – uses a straight URL, such as ‘sirenpublications.com’

Generic – uses a basic, unrelated phrase as the anchor, including ‘click here’ or ‘learn more’ 

Strategy

 Back in the old days, a link that was supposed to be about luxury homes would take the user to a site about cheap shoes. When Google realized keywords were being used in an abusive way, the Penguin update was formulated, using anchor text to create additional context. The best way to go about anchor text is to use partial matches. Maximize anchor text opportunities by using concise and descriptive text. Format links so they are easy to spot and consider the best context for internal and external links. As of now, guest blogging is the best way to secure authenticity for your links without stuffing the hyperlink with keywords.

By understanding anchor text, Siren can ghostwrite your articles to build your credibility. 

A Miami Copywriter Explains the Value of Knowing Where You Are with SEO

It is estimated that 75 percent of web experiences start with a question. Those answers that are presented in a list after we type a few keywords into a search engine allow us to choose which ones we like best. If a potential lead types in keywords that are directly related to your business, where will you rank in the Google search results? You want to be at the top of the page because the first five listings receive 67 percent of all clicks. This is where search engine optimization comes in with valuable exposure. 

The SEO process

Realize the promise and opportunity of SEO by understanding it is a process that goes beyond a few shortcuts and tweaks. It includes linking, coding and knowing the right keywords. SEO solutions can be divided into on-page and off-page elements. On-page aspects include code design, internal links, platform, page titles and header tags. Off-page elements include development, targeting, keyword authority and identifying related link networks. 

SEO is a must for these top five reasons: 

  1. Your reach must increase

With the right optimization, a small business in Hawkins, Indiana, can take advantage of SEO and go international.  

  1. Credibility equals money

Get into the black with a higher ranking that clients will trust. 

  1. Branding and visibility matter 

Sophisticated buyers don’t just click and buy. 

  1. Harness your ROI 

Using SEO as an in-bound strategy is dynamic and by staying updated, the rewards will exceed traditional marketing methods/tactics. 

  1. Understand customer behavior

Online behavior analytics can provide feedback to help you make business decisions. 


Siren creates website copy that will put you at the top of any page! Email or text to get started today.