Gen Z’s Top Social Media Platforms (and How It Impacts Brand/Business Marketing)

Per a Yahoo-conducted survey, Gen Z’s most-used social platforms include:

• YouTube:  88%

• Instagram:  76%

• TikTok:  68%

• Snapchat:  67%

• Facebook:  49%

• Twitter:  47%

Though Gen-Zers aren’t necessarily in-market for buying/selling homes (yet), it’s essential to monitor the trends in terms of which platforms are gaining the most adoption so you can allocate your efforts/energy accordingly.

Candidly, different polls and surveys over the past several years have produced different findings. For instance, some polls have shown YouTube as the top-utilized Gen-Z platform for years. However, per Yahoo’s recent findings, two platforms, in particular, have seen rapid adoption within the Gen-Z demographic over the past year or so:  YouTube and TikTok.

No matter the report, survey, or poll you take into account, a few trends appear to be universal:

A. TikTok’s growth is explosive!

B. YouTube definitely hasn’t peaked.

C. Instagram’s still growing—but in a less-exciting way.

That being said, here are my practical takeaways:

1. A brand without VIDEO is INVISIBLE. On search engines and social networks alike, video is the cash of currency.

2. Platforms with robust search 🔎 tools are growing. Evidently, users wanna discover the content most relevant to their interests. Go figure🙄

3. Platforms with the best content are the most desirable. It’s less about attributes or features of a platform and more about its community of creators. The point being, if the best content creators, in your opinion, are on TikTok or YouTube, for instance, then follow ‘em.

Home-Valuation Seller Lead Generation Campaigns for Realtors in 2023

About two weeks ago I participated in a MEGA listing-agent mastermind hosted by Tom Ferry. We’re talking about agents/teams listing-and-selling hundreds of homes a year.

Each member of the mastermind shared their top tactics for generating seller business and, to my surprise, home-valuation styled campaigns are paying-out dividends right now.

I know, I know… you’re thinking… “Weren’t those overplayed like four years ago⁉️” That’s what I thought too.

However, as real estate headlines fear-monger about the future of housing ad-nauseam, consequently, many homeowners are wondering about A.) the value of their home and B.) the timing of their next move.

Tools like HomeBot, NAR’s REALTOR® Property Resource (RPR), CloudCMA, or HomeValueLeads, for instance, equip agents and/or teams with websites that capture seller contact info when performing an automated/aggregated range of value to inquiring homeowners. Just like always, though:  the money’s in the follow-up. 📲

At a super high level, there are a couple different ways to deploy a campaign like this:

• PAY-PER-CLICK:  Setup search campaigns across Google, YouTube, Bing, and DuckDuckGo that link to your home-valuation landing page.

• DIRECT MAILERS:  Print and distribute a simple mailer that states the offer directly above a QR-code hyperlinked to your home-valuation landing page.

The part that was most astounding to me was the impressive rate of conversion these agents/teams have been achieving -- anywhere from 1.5% up to 10% of leads entering into signed listings w/in 30 days of initial lead-capture. In case it’s not self-evident:  WOW! 🤯

Beat Social Media Algorithms by Establishing a Content Cadence 🔂

It’s never just ONE video — it’s a video show! Lemme explain…

The typical Instagram user follows between 150 and 200 accounts and spends, on average, 53 minutes a day in the app. Moreover, they divide their attention between multiple feeds:  Home, Explore, Reels, Stories, DMs, etc.

What’s more, the conventional Instagrammer posts four times per week (per Shopify research). Bearing all that in mind plus accounting for paid promotions and AI-suggested content, for instance, it all adds up to A LOT of competition for eyeballs and attention.

The fact is, your next post will only be seen by a fraction of your followers.

And so, consequently, it’s imprudent to put all your eggs🥚in the basket 🧺 of a single video or post. Why? Simple… because not everyone’s gonna see it. In reality, every video posted is merely a cog in the ⚙️ wheel, so to speak. You’re building-up a body of work.

That means you’ve gotta get super clear on the overall mission of your content. What’s your overarching/underlying objective? Odds are, it’s to generate business—i.e., buyers and sellers. Notwithstanding, you obviously can’t just say “list with me” or “buy with me” all the time. That’d get old real quick!

My advice:  produce content that treats followers like clients. Share advice endlessly and nobody’s gonna call you salesy; they’ll just call you. 📲

A one-off video is, for all intents and purposes, invisible. On the other hand, VIDEOS—all working together—will build your brand.

How to Market Your Business on Social Media When it’s ALWAYS Changing

Social media is kind-of unstable. Hear me out…

Algorithms change at random, platforms rise and fall, media formats come and go. Instagram, for instance, is so hellbent on keeping up with TikTok, that it’ll practically abandon its core competences in reckless pursuit.

Nonetheless, content marketing IS modern marketing. It’s like I’ve said time-and-again:  marketing without content is like a bow without arrows. It’s empty! So don’t mishear me… because I’m definitely NOT advising that you cease your social media efforts. At the same time, don’t let it be the end-all-be-all.

End of day, WHAT are you building and WHERE else are you leveraging your content? For example, in blog posts, digital ad-campaigns, or repurposed in postcards? (Remember my “thumb-mailer” video? https://bit.ly/thumbmailer).

Frankly, content creation is way too much work to limit its distribution.

Given the ever-changing impermanence of social—it’s critical to have at least one foot of your marketing on a steady base. Like email, for instance—always there for you, steady as a rock. So build your list of subscribers! Video may be my favorite marketing “format,” but—as far as marketing channels go—email’s the G.O.A.T.

The Silver-Lining of Leads that AREN’T Ready to Transact When Generated

What’s your plan to EARN a prospective customer’s business?

Per Market Sherpa, 73% of leads (across all industries) AREN’T ready when generated. That’s no surprise—in fact, it’s somewhat of a relief. Especially in real estate… because, if your leads were ready as soon as you got ‘em, then—based on the data—your rate of conversion would absolutely tank. Lemme explain…

According to research from the National Association of REALTORS® the vast majority of home buyers and sellers opt to hire a real estate agent with whom they’ve worked in the past or by virtue of a referral. Here are those percentages over the past several years:

HOME SELLERS:

• 2017:  64%

• 2018:  63%

• 2019:  66%

• 2020:  67%

• 2021:  68%

• 2022:  63%

HOME BUYERS:

• 2017:  54%

• 2018:  53%

• 2019:  53%

• 2020:  53%

• 2021:  60%

• 2022:  50%

(Sidebar:  due to a severe lack of housing inventory in the first half of 2022, many buyers, likely frustrated with losing in multiple offer situations, resorted to contacting listing agents directly and/or inquiring about homes via yard-signs. What’s more, first-time-homebuyers—due to affordability issues, mostly—accounted for far fewer sales than in prior years. As the marketplace adjusts and “normalizes,” I’d wager REPEAT/REFERRAL percentages will reclaim lost standing.)

If you Google “Best Realtors in {CITY},” for instance, you’ll get a wide array of results:  Yelp, Google Reviews, agent-referral sites like MyAgentFinder, Zillow, and more. The tricky part, however, is that those sites hardly ever list any of the same real estate  agents, which begs the question:  can they be trusted?

Consequently, many consumers simply opt to work with a real estate agent they’ve used in the past or place their confidence in the recommendation of a trusted confidant. And herein lies your opportunity to move your leads from “friend-zone to end-zone,” professionally speaking.

With time, the intent of your leads will mature. That’s your window of opportunity to “win ‘em over”—to become the know-you, like-you, trust-you AGENT-OF-CHOICE.

Try This if Google is Filtering Your Google Business Profile Reviews

Missing or filtered Google reviews⁉️

It’s a pretty common tale because of Google’s automatic review filter, which is ever-so super keen to filter out legitimate reviews and practically defective when it comes to filtering out the actual fake ones.

Seriously… have you ever tried to get a spam review removed? It’s darn-near impossible!

That said, here’s an approach to try if all or some of your legitimate reviews aren’t getting published.

In other words, you asked a client for a review, sent them your special review intake link, and then they submitted a review. However, unbeknownst to you or them, it was filtered by Google. Later on you might’ve followed-up asking for the review again—but they claimed they’d already done one. And, in fact, they can even see it on their end—but to anyone else, it’s “unpublished.”

If this is happening to you (and only if), instead of sending folks to your custom review intake link, try this:  perform a Google search for your business. Doing so should trigger your Google Business Profile to show in what’s known as Google’s “Knowledge Panel,” as if you’re a customer searching for your business organically.

From there, copy the URL in your browser, which will preserve your search query that triggered your profile to display in Google’s results page.

Finally, send THAT link to customers and ask them to manually select the “write a review” button about midway down your profile’s “Knowledge Panel.”

Typically Google filters reviews when it suspects a business is using some unfair means to procure them—like paying for them, for instance. It’ll mark ‘em as SPAM and then they’ll be unpublished.

Between you and me, though, Google’s a downright lousy judge of what is or isn’t a SPAM review. Kind of like my dog (Rosie 🐶) losing her ever-loving mind whenever a squirrel 🐿 glances at her funny—like it’s plotting to steal her bone 🦴… but  I digress.

This isn’t a guarantee by any means, however, it removes you, the business owner, from the equation. You may also wanna peruse Google’s official review policies. Here’s a link to do so: https://bit.ly/3ReseG1.

Google “Retires” the Google Business Profile Manager, Replaces with Control Panel

Google took something away they said they wouldn’t…

If you’re a local business, you probably don’t need any reminding of the importance of your Google Business Profile. It’s the gateway into getting discovered in Google search results by prospective customers. E.g. “Best Realtor in _____” and those types of search queries—the “money searches,” if you will.

Historically, you’ve edited and managed your profile via a backend dashboard and portal, dubbed, the “Google Business Profile Manager.” Everything was in one convenient spot! But now it’s different.

Roughly a year ago, as you may recall, your “Google My Business” listing was renamed a “Google Business Profile.” No sweat, though— it was just a name.

Sidebar:  despite the total rebranding of “Google My Business” to “Google Business Profile,” the mobile app wasn’t discontinued until this past Summer.

That’s when things really started to change. At that point, Google provided users with a means to manage their profiles directly in Google Search or Maps, on desktop or mobile.

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Looking to go fully-optimize your Google Business Profile to attract more business in 2023 (from sellers, especially)? Then check out my new course, GOOGLE BUSINESS BOSS 😎:  More "come-list-me" calls from your Google Business Profile.

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All you’d have to do is Google search for the name of the business (e.g. “Felicia Lewis Group, San Diego, CA” or whatever word-phrasing normally triggers your profile to populate) and a control panel would instantly appear directly in Google’s search results page.

So then, here we are… Google said it wouldn’t do away with the Google Business Profile Manager, but it lied/fibbed/bluffed/changed-its-mind/whatever-term-best-describes-it. Point is, the Profile Manager is gone.

The good news, however, is that (nearly) all the functionality and terminology is the same — it’s just accessed directly in Google Search or Maps.

One lost feature, though, is that the built-in “Google My Business website” has been removed. Of course, you’re still able to link to your business’s domain/URL, no problem.

Also, if you manage multiple Google Business Profiles, you can still access them via business.google.com -- only, if/when you select any of them, it’ll open up a new browser tab and you’ll be in the same control panel as everyone else.

Instagram Feed is Shifting to WAY More "Suggested Content" (like TikTok's For You Page)

During a recent earnings call, Zuckerberg said about 15% of what users see in their feeds on Facebook is “suggested content.” On Instagram, that percentage is slightly more than 15%.

Historically, users have ONLY seen feed posts from accounts they follow or paid placements, with the exception of “suggestions” – as in, “since you follow her you should follow him too” or “so-and-so commented on so-and-so’s post” types of prompts.

Now, however—in trying to keep up with TikTok—they’re slipping in more-and-more AI-suggested content. It’s the “For You Effect,” if you will.

Granted, the Reels feed has been made up of mostly suggested content from the get-go. It’s Insta’s main feed that’s changing. Who knows… maybe someday down-the-road instagram will merge those feeds in some way, shape, or form 🤷!?

You may call, back in July, for instance,  Instagram pushed a partial update whereby a bunch of users’ Home feeds suddenly went full-bleed (i.e., a 9:16 aspect ratio like the Reels feed) and 75% of the content they were seeing was “suggested.” Suffice it to say, the change was NOT well received so Instagram made a statement and reversed the update.

Welp, per Zuckerberg, the current game-plan is that by the end of 2023 the percentage of “suggested content” users will see in the main feed will surpass 30%.

How do you feel about that⁉️ Here are my (off-the-cuff) thoughts:

• Followers/Friends (really) won’t matter. On TikTok, for instance, audiences are somewhat fluid—meaning, they’re comparatively unfixed and ever-changing. Users see what they see in the For You page because TikTok’s algorithm decided it… and whether or not a user follows an account is a relatively unimportant ranking signal (all factors considered).
  
  On Instagram, though, who you follow (and who follows you) matters big-time—at least, for now it does. Notwithstanding, as feeds become more-and-more crowded with suggested content — assuming Instagram continues to parody TikTok’s approach — then who users follow will matter less-and-less (algorithmically speaking).
  
  From a marketing standpoint, FREQUENCY—i.e. when an audience sees you again-and-again—is fundamental in terms of advancing would-be customers from “attention” to “action.” In this context, its potency could be significantly diminished. So…

• Build your email list. Social media is, let’s face it, a shade volatile these days: ever-evolving algorithms, platforms pivoting their core-competences to compete with newcomers, and so forth. But email is steady as a rock 🪨
  
  🚨 If email marketing poses a steep learning-curve, make sure to check out my course, INBOX HERO 📥: Tapping into the marketing G.O.A.T. - EMAIL 🚨

• Social becomes less-and-less local. Chances are that most of your friends on Facebook, for instance, probably live proximate to you. That’s your community. Sure, you’ll have out-of-area family, friends, peers, and so forth—but the bulk of your connections probably live locally. Your Instagram is likely similar (or, perhaps, was in the beginning).
  
  Suggested content will change that. Interest-based algorithms like TikTok’s For You page, Instagram’s Reels feed, or, per Zuck's comments, Facebook and Instagram’s main feeds will distribute content to users here, there, and everywhere. It’s not a bad thing, per se—it just means that the local impact of organic content on social will most likely shrink.
  
  Personally, I’m encouraging my coaching and consulting clients to promote their content with paid ads that target locals in their marketplace.

Why You Should be Focusing on Customer Experience Throughout Your Business

(Photo 📸 courtesy of @followupboss from their epic FUBCON event earlier this month.)

Customer experience isn’t one BIG thing you do especially well; it’s all the little things added up.

From listing to close, search to sale — the differentiation of your services is in the details. Especially now, as the market’s adjusted.

Days-on-market is up, conversations with buyers and sellers are more-and-more complex, and the competition is intense.

My advice:  get super clear and granular about your customer experience. Do that, and it’ll radiate into EVERYTHING else you do:  your marketing efforts, your prospecting conversations, and all through your business — you’ll become known it.

4 Tips to Power-Up the Performance of Your Instagram Posts

One of the top factors Instagram evaluates to determine whether your next post is gonna be widely distributed through the feeds or not is dubbed, “time spent on post.”

If someone sees a post of yours—in the Home Feed, Reels Feed, Explore Page, or wherever they might see it, for instance—do they immediately scroll past it OR do they spend a bit of time with it? That’s the question—because, if they park for a bit, it signifies INTEREST in your content. 

The way it works is that Instagram will essentially distribute your post to a sample-size audience, see how it does, and then, based on that, distribute it to a wider audience (or not) – and so on.

Fact is, Instagram is deeply motivated to retain users in the platform for as long and often as possible. The more cumulative time users spend on Instagram, the more abundant its opportunities to place ads that generate company revenue. That’s the game!

Hearts, comments, and post engagement are certainly valuable data points Instagram takes into consideration – however, time spent on post, is (in a way) tied directly to Instagram’s ability to make money.

What’s more, whenever you publish new content, the clock ⏳ starts ticking. Instagram is programmed to showcase “recent” posts — not old ones. That means, the quicker your next post is able to garner attention—while it’s fresh and new—the better it’s bound to do in terms of overall reach and distribution.

If you wanna ensure your next Instagram post is primed to perform, here are some tips and best-practices to keep in mind:

• Think about how you start your videos. Does it immediately hook the viewer? Recent Facebook research found that viewers who watch the first 3 seconds of a video are more likely to go on watching for longer durations. The battle of “attention” is in the beginning.

• Add eye-catching subtitles. Keep in mind, the sound is set to mute 🔇 in certain feeds, like the Home feed, for instance. If folks don’t know what you’re saying, they’re gonna scroll.

• Beef-up your post caption. If folks are scrolling and tap “more” to expand your caption, that’s just your post racking up the time spent on post points!

• Don’t neglect the comments thread. If you can drive comments, mentions, replies, pin different comments, and so on—that thread, in its own right—is a time-spent-on-post magnet. 🧲

Seller-Focused Marketing: “ Your Home Deserves the Spotlight”

During a coaching session last week one of my clients said he’d received three “come-list-me” calls from ON-MARKET SELLERS 🏡 who were looking to make a change in representation. Be warned… sellers aren’t waiting for listings to expire to replace ineffective listing agents (even if it isn’t the agent’s fault, per se).

They all said they’d looked him up online and got the sense that he prioritizes marketing — which is what they all cited as the likely culprit of their nonsuccess.

For instance, they Google-searched the “best realtor in____,” his Google Business Profile ranked, they perused his reviews, clicked and surfed his website, and even looked him up on Instagram.

Customers are doing WAY more than just Googling businesses these days. It’s a full forensic audit 🕵️ of your online presence. When customers look you up, will they say about you what they said of my client?

My advice:  show sellers what they’re missing in your marketing. (Constructively… don’t ⛔️ go off hating on other agents.)

For example, try out a tagline like this: “Your home 🏡 deserves the spotlight.” Integrate it across ALL your marketing channels:  videos, postcards, ads, billboards, emails, referenced in reviews, PDFs, website headings, you name it. Make it your own, standardized program for sellers. Why? Because sellers expect more... so show ‘em what they’re missing!

Just talking linguistics for a moment… In the book “BUILDING A STORYBRAND,” author Donald Miller discussed the difference in addressing external problems versus internal problems in your marketing communications.

• External Problem:  the property is sitting and needs to sell

• Internal Problem:  the agent should do whatever it takes

We could probably tweak the language of those problems, but I think the point conveys. Using words like “deserves” addresses an internal dissonance—that something isn’t as it could or should be. YOUR home DESERVES the spotlight.

TikTok Search VS. Google Search: a new era of SEO?

Bold prediction:  TikTok is and isn’t going to replace Google as the dominant search engine.

Per a Google exec, approximately 40% of 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 when looking for a lunch🌮spot, for instance, don’t go to Google Maps or Google Search. – they search on TikTok or Instagram. But there’s a catch…

And it isn’t just TikTok and Instagram encroaching on Google’s search-supremacy turf. For instance, 55% of product searches start on Amazon. And, let’s not forget about YouTube (Google-owned), which has been steadily gaining search volume year-over-year.


It’s funny… Whenever I post something about the importance of Google Search on TikTok, I always get angry comments about how TikTok is a more popular search engine and Google’s dead 🙄… blah blah blah. Not quite!

First off, that sort of commentary conflates terminology. TikTok isn’t the same type of search mechanism as Google. Google uses a more scientific process for ranking results by order of relevance. It’s an 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵-𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭 whereby I ask and it answers. TikTok, on the other hand, isn’t quite so linear. It’s more of a visually immersive “discovery engine.”

In other words, users don’t search as if TikTok’s a calculator solving a math problem. They search, in a way, without expectation—that is, they’re not necessarily looking for an “exact match,” which definitely signifies a behavioral shift in online search. Granted, if you’re hungry and looking for a lunch spot nearby, surely there’s some expectancy in terms hoping to find some decent dining options.

Nonetheless, relevance on TikTok is more about social influence—i.e. what a user thinks about a business’s posts or infers about that business by way of other users’ posts about it—versus Google’s system of empirically ranked results.

To be honest, though, I’d argue that method of usage is functionally no different than placing confidence in online reviews. What I mean is, searchers will still have to be able to find 🔎 that business on TikTok in order to decide whether or not  they vibe with it. I suppose TikTok search is more like a magic 8-ball… the results are a bit of mixed bag versus “exact-match”—and maybe that’s the fun of it.

Again… there’s this big debate that TikTok is a more popular search engine than Google and that it’s a totally new way of discovering businesses and content. While TikTok is definitely gaining adoption as a search platform, Google still reigns supreme. What’s more, online search still is and has been a two-step process:  A. find options, B. pick one.

So… here’s the moral of the story:  as the titans of search and social fight🥊 it out, keep making content and publishing it everywhere!—videos, blogs, reviews, and more! Be relevant no matter where customers may find and “vibe with” you.

Top Marketing Channels to Build Your Agent-Brand in 2023 (for Realtors)

If you wanna insulate your real estate business from peaks 🏔and valleys 🏜… then invest in your agent-brand.

As the real estate market continues to adjust, consumers will (naturally) become more scrutinizing of agents. They’ll wonder:  “Why should I listen to you?”

Notwithstanding, every time you share a video, publish a quality review, or, for instance, send an email that showcases your expertise and trustworthiness – it’s building your agent-brand.

I promise… your leads or any other would-be customer is gonna look you up online—Google, Instagram, and/or elsewhere. The question is, does your brand back-you-up OR hang you out to dry?

Here’s what I advice:  become the “I see you everywhere,” agent-authority in your local marketplace.... Or don’t… but don’t expect buyers and sellers to come running either.

Here’s a list of marketing channels you maybe oughta consider:

• Over-index on vertical ↕️ videos (Reels, TikToks, and YouTube Shorts).

• Every week or so, run a FB/IG ad-campaign that promotes your existing posts (those videos up there ⬆️) in your local marketplace as well as to your database contacts. (Tutorial)

• Knocks, drops, pickups, & pop-bys go a long, long way! Get yourself into hustle mode.

• Email Marketing is the G.O.A.T. 🐐—make sure to check out our #MarketingPRO course, Inbox Hero 📥

• Don’t miss out on YouTube In-Stream Ads – i.e., the commercials that play before, during, or after YouTube videos. (Tutorial)

• Google Display Network ads are, frankly, cheap & easy! Make ‘em part of your marketing mix. (Tutorial)

• Invest in EVENTS:  open houses, community get-togethers, buyer/seller seminars, investor meetups, client parties, happy-hours, and more. 

• Mailers, signage, publications, and other physical-marketing mediums—though on the pricier side—have distinct advantages. Don’t brush them off w/o serious consideration.

I could go on-and-on (and on-and-on… 🤣) — but that’s not my point. The point is to build your AGENT-BRAND.

Marketing isn’t “One-and-Done” – it’s a commitment!

Nobody mails just one postcard, posts one video, or sends one email and expects it to suddenly start raining deals. It doesn’t work like that -- as if it’s one-and-done. 

The RESULTS are in the REPETITION. 🔂.

So trust the process. Your ongoing marketing activities—bit-by-bit and day-by-day—are developing into something BIG. ↗️.

Instagram Reels to Generate Repeat & Referral Business (for REALTORS®)

Pop-quiz:  What do you sell!?

You might respond that you sell “yourself.” Honestly though – what does that even mean? Alternatively, you may reason that you sell houses. Hmm… kind-of, sort-of. Technically speaking, you provide brokerage services to people who are doing the buying and/or selling. There’s a difference.

Fundamentally, the reason folks hire you boils down to your expertise (and how you impart it). That’s what you sell‼️And, bear in mind, EXPERTISE is a distinctive term. It’s not one-size-fits all. Like I’ve said before:  “Nobody does YOU better than Y-O-U.”

Real estate is a know-you, like-you, trust-you business—that’s the winning combination with consumers. Question is, when prospective clients look you up on social, for instance, does your page adequately showcase your expertise?

Take Jeffrey Sabel, for instance. Just over a year ago he started posting Reels almost every day in which he deftly demonstrated his competence. No surprise, his page started to gain new followers quickly. Why? Because folks follow accounts that confer value.

What’s more, his Instagram efforts kindled a frenzy of REPEAT and REFERRAL business from his sphere-of-influence contacts—most of whom were already following him. That’s the secret sauce, right there!

Lots of conflicting messages about the state (and future state) of the marketplace are competing to win consumers’ confidence. If headlines say X and you say Y, for instance, who are buyers and sellers in your market gonna trust?

That, my friends, depends on the strength of your agent-brand.

3 "Easy to Produce" Vertical Videos (for Real Estate Agents)

VIDEO is VERTICAL – that’s the trend to embrace:  Instagram + Facebook Reels, TikToks, and YouTube Shorts.

Trouble is, making and sharing videos is a significant undertaking. Top social platforms like Instagram and TikTok, for instance, have practically insatiable appetites for more and more content—video content, in particular.

You’ve gotta work smarter 🤨 when it comes to video-marketing nowadays.

Bearing that in mind… here’s a list and instructions for three “easy to produce” video shows to step-up your vertical ↕️ video game now and into next year:

3 (Easy-to-Make) Vertical Video for Realtors

1. Talking Heads 🗣 - (Not the band 🤣) Close-up, camera-facing videos in which you provide real estate market commentary, share tips and advice, or explain nuances/intricacies about real estate.

I’d recommend batch-filming to record videos in bulk. You may opt to shoot in the field or at a set location, with your smartphone🤳 or perhaps a DSLR/mirrorless camera 🎥. That bit’s up to you.

Be sure to prep your points in advance, maybe bring a few changes of clothes, and I’d definitely advise outsourcing the editing.

• Here’s an example: Sarah Roy - Farr Group NW

2. Gimbal Tours🏡 - We all know people like watching home-tours. (Ever heard of HGTV⁉️) Nonetheless, some myths that might be holding you back from making more of these videos:

MYTH 1:  The subject property has to be your listing.

That’s not the case so long as you obtain proper consent. In fact, the properties don’t even have to be, quote-unquote, “for sale,” just as long as you don’t misrepresent/mislead otherwise.

MYTH 2:  You can only produce polished videos or it’ll present the home improperly.

Before I get into this, let me be clear: I have no qualms with pro-quality listing videos. (Far from it, actually.) However, because social algorithms are burning through content so rapidly, the odds of ALL the right people seeing any one post is mathematically improbable.

If you’re bottlenecking your output of content because each video, for instance, is overly time- and labor-intensive, a pivot to your approach may be in order.

TRY THIS:  get a gimbal (i.e., a handheld mechanical stabilizer to help you shoot smoother video) for your iPhone (e.g. DJI Osmo) and shoot a selfie-styled video that begins with you introducing the property. For example:

“Wanna see what $500,000 can get you in South Nashville…”

Then, with your gimbal, rotate the camera to forward-facing and begin touring the property. Step to the corner of each room and pan from left to right to give viewers a full view of its interior spaces. Film in 4K, 60 frames-per-second (fps), and at the 0.5 magnification setting to get that wide-angle lens look.

When you’re done, load your video into an editing app like Splice. Pop-in a few transitions, speed-up or slow-down the footage to your liking (that’s called “speed ramping”), and edit your video in like two minutes flat—done and dusted!

• Here’s an example: Ray Ellen - Pixel Properties

3. Selfie Spotlights🤳 - Using similar filming techniques as the selfie-gimbal video aforementioned, hit the town to document its hotspots and amenities. Try using the voiceover (VO) functionality that’s built into Reels, for instance. That way, you can just film to your phone’s camera roll while you’re out-and-about the town and then add your footage into a Reel/TikTok/Short after-the-fact.

• Here’s an example: The One Team

If you plan to conduct interviews with locals, for instance—and wanna record quality-sounding audio—consider investing in a LAV or condenser/cardioid microphone.

• RODE Wireless GO ii

• Deity Pocket Wireless Mobile Kit

• Deity V-Mic D4 Duo Microphone

• Rode VideoMic GO Lightweight On-Camera Microphone

The simple fact is, social algorithms are greedy — they want more content than ever (especially, vertical videos). If your videos are overly difficult to produce in bulk, then you oughta explore new methods/concepts to streamline your process.

5 Subtle Indicators Your Marketing is Working

We all know real estate is a relationship business—a know + like + trust form of business. What’s more, as the market normalizes/decelerates, the typical customer lifecycle is returning to its normal time-frame—which can be up-to a two-year process (for some).

Marketing—just for the record—won’t produce any sense of immediate gratification. It’s a long-game‼️—to which you’re either interested or committed.

So what are you doing to position your business at the forefront of consumers’ minds so that when the time indeed comes to BUY, SELL, INVEST, or REFER—it’s you and no one else! That’s marketing:  mindshare wins marketshare. 

• fast markets, slow markets

• up markets, down markets

• strong markets, weak markets

… No matter the circumstances, remember:  NEVER STOP MARKETING! 👊

SEO is Social Media Afterlife 😇: How to repurpose your social posts as blogs

Social media algorithms (like Instagram) tend to favor your most recent post when distributing content through the feeds:  e.g the Home Feed, the Explore Page, the Reels Feed, and so on.

And it isn’t just Instagram. Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and other social sites function similarly.

So here’s the dilemma. They (the gurus) say you’re “supposed” to post daily (or even twice-a-day) in order to reach the widest-possible audience. However, by doing so, each new post is essentially burying its predecessor post alive 🧟‍♂️ – one after the next.

Essentially, the more frequently you post, the less time each respective post has in the feeds to garner engagement from followers and viewers (e.g. hearts, comments, etc.). Notwithstanding, if you only post infrequently, your content just won’t go very far. The struggle is real.

Fret not, friends… SEO is here to save the day!

SOCIAL NETWORKS VS. SEARCH ENGINES

On social platforms, users discover content mostly by means of scrolling through feeds. Thus, once an account posts something new, it takes its shift in the feeds until the next post. It’s the whole “buried alive” concept aforementioned.

On search platforms, though, users discover content predominately by way of search—meaning, a blog posted long ago retains its eligibility to rank in Google search results, for instance, so long as it’s relevant to the search query. This same idea also applies to YouTube videos because search is a considerable source of video views on that platform.

SEO IS SOCIAL MEDIA AFTERLIFE

So why not publish each of your social posts as blogs on your site?

1. Simply embed your video (or upload an image if that’s your post’s associated media) into your blog.

Embedded videos are actually posted/hosted on sites like YouTube, or Instagram, or Facebook, or wherever. However, they appear as if they’re within your blog—thus, viewers can click to watch the video without leaving your site.

Either your blog platform auto-converts the URL of the subject video for embedding purposes or—with Youtube, for example—you can simply press the Share button and copy/paste its embed code.

I generally embed the YouTube videos because it’s an easy process and, since Google owns YouTube, I figure it can’t hurt. 

2. The next step is to simply repurpose the caption of your social post for the blog copy. 

If you’re concerned the caption text lacks a sufficient word count to constitute blog copy, look into an AI copywriting tool like Jasper.ai. Literally, you can copy/paste your caption text and Jasper, for instance, has copywriting tools that’ll instantly lengthen your word count. Even if your subject matter is technical, Jasper’s a quick study.

The average post on social media lives a relatively short life – days, at most. Even so—though your posts may perish quickly—their blogs will endure in the SEO afterlife, ranking forevermore (kind of, sort of 🤣).

13 Real Estate Listing Marketing Ideas (That’ll Attract MORE Listings)

Now’s the time to listing launch “your face off,” friends 😅

As the real estate market continues to adjust and decelerate, far too many agents are slashing their marketing budgets, essentially cost-cutting their way into “feeling safe.”

Listing agents are reducing their property marketing efforts to “save money” – super bad timing, if you ask me. For them!—it’s GREAT for you. Why? Because when homeowners see what you’re prepared and able to do versus your competitors, chances are good you’ll have it in the bag at your next listing appointment. It’s a simple matter of VALUE.

What’s more, with mortgage interest rates more than DOUBLING in the past year, the pool of prospective buyers is extremely transitory—as in, here to day, gone tomorrow. That is, unless your seller is willing to drop the price to keep downward pace with them!

It’s simple math: when rates increase, budgets shrink. Thus—if you over-price or under-present—the listing is gonna sit. Tick-tock, says the clock ⏳

So, whatcha gonna do to promote that property? Here are some ideas.

13 Real Estate Listing Marketing Ideas (that’ll attract MORE listings)

1. Publish vertical videos galore! For example, hyperlapse walkthroughs, selfie-gimbal tours, “What $###,#### get’s you in {CITY}”-styled videos, and more.

2. Target the neighbors/area with skippable YouTube Commercials. Pro tip:  make sure your opening line addresses the subject audience. For instance, “Hey South Nashville homeowners…” That’ll capture their attention. (Click HERE to review a YouTube ads tutorial.)

3. Try out TikTok ads. These ads are super affordable and TikTok has less restrictive geo-targeting limitations than other ad platforms.

4. Facebook/Instagram ads still work. In fact, try running multiple ads! Target your database, your marketplace, Boost your post(s), utilize new placements, like Reels and/or Story ads, and more. There’s a lot of potential with FB/IG ads.

5. Run Google Display ads — i.e., the banner ads you see as you peruse the web. Your ads should feature images of the property with your FACE and NAME superimposed. It’s strategically critical for the neighbors to see YOU outworking your competitors. (Click HERE to review a Google Display Network ads tutorial.)

6. Bring back the MEGA Open House!Run this Google search🔎:  “Tom Ferry MEGA Open House”—you’ll find endless content and resources.

7. Step-up your signage:   yard-signs, directional signs, QR code signs, et al. Figure out what is/isn’t allowed in your marketplace and get to work 👊

8. Send postcards to the neighbors. You also oughta consider sending them to your database contacts — it’ll help to position you as an established listing agent. Maybe even consider handwritten-note announcements using a tool like Audience.co.

9. Email blasts.  If you’re sending a weekly newsletter, for instance, try featuring your listings within its contents. When the time comes to list, your subscribers will wanna see their listing in that email. Don’t SPAM people (obviously).

10. Try to get your listings featured in notable publications or popular social accounts that feature select listings.

11. Post your listings on buy/sell forums like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Btw, these sites are good spots to generate leads/inquiries.

12. Utilize profile links::  e.g. your link-in-bio (like Liinks.co or LinkTree, for instance), the Products section of your Google Business Profile, and so on.

13. Doubtlessly, your listing will be distributed/syndicated from your MLS to all the real estate feeds. On your own website, however, make sure to showcase your listing using an optimized landing page. Make sure it’s properly indexed with Google for search-ranking purposes, integrate geo-tagged images, embedded videos, keyword-rich text, and more.

As a listing agent, it’s on you to expose a property to the LARGEST pool or ready, willing, and able buyers... So get the word out 📢

Use Google Search Console to Monitor Your Website’s Ranking Performance in Google Search Results

Have you connected Google Search Console to your website? If not, you oughta! 

At some point you’ve probably installed Google Analytics on your website—which shows you WHAT visitors on your site are doing while perusing its pages. Google Analytics provides data points like:  the average amount of time site visitors spend on any given page, the destinations they navigate to-and-from, buttons they click, and so on. Put simply, Google Analytics shows you WHAT visitors do while on your website.

What it doesn’t do is show you HOW visitors got to your website in the first place. However, Google Search Console, does exactly that—it shows you how website visitors navigate their way onto your website.

For example, it’ll show you the top Google search queries that rank your pages, how often those pages rank versus how often they’re actually clicked, and all sorts of other valuable insights.

In addition, Google Search Console is also a powerful tool to keep optics on which of your site’s pages are or are not properly indexed by Google. However, that’s not the focus of this video.

Point is—if you haven’t already done so—you should install Google Search Console so you can monitor your site’s performance in Google search results. Here’s how:

• Navigate to:  search.google.com/search-console/about and press the “Get Started” button.

• Enter your site’s URL in the Domain “property type” box and continue.

• Finally, you’ll need to verify that you own your website, which may require your site developer’s assistance. Follow the on-screen steps to copy/paste the unique TXT record into the DNS configuration, which can be located by logging into your website hosting service account. For example, GoDaddy, Dreamhost, etc. If you don’t have access to the DNS, simply send that TXT record to your developer with the same instructions.

Once you’re logged in, you’ll be able to see data on your top-performing web pages, Google search queries in which your site/pages rank, and a bunch more advanced SEO tools, like sitemaps, page indexing, and so on.