Our Agent First Summit presenter last week was Hola Franco. Franco started his YouTube channel in February 2021 with zero previous experience. After a slow start, he is now getting over 200,000 YouTube views monthly (as of this talk, it’s only October).
Our Agent First Summits happen every Tuesday morning! It’s a perk for all our real estate team members and any of their guests who want to join us. To get an invitation, RSVP here: Save Your Seat!
In this session, Franco shared the strategies that he has used to build a massive YouTube following that is doubling every single month!
Developing a Vision for YouTube
Before you jump into YouTube (or any new strategy), you always need to start with a vision. Think of what you want from this business–do you want to travel more? To save up extra for a special trip or purchase? To send your kids to a good college?
Pick your goal and keep that in the center of your mind. That way, when you hit hard moments, you’ll remember what you’re working for and you won’t quit, though it’s going to take a lot of work to get you where you need to be.
The truth is, someone is already doing what you want to do. There are people on the internet doing every marketing strategy out there. If you want to work on something specific, don’t worry about whether or not it’s already been done. If you work massively hard on it and do it your way, you will eventually get the results.
Getting Started With YouTube
Now that you have established a vision and goal, you can get started working on YouTube. One of the great things about this platform is that it allows you to put out important information and get people to come to you. You can build real relationships with people by helping them without necessarily trying to sell them something.
The most important thing to remember when using YouTube is to always be yourself. As said above, tons of people are already on YouTube. You’ll stand out only if you add your personality to the mix.
However, there is a way to do YouTube that works–tons of agents and other marketers have already succeeded with it. These are the steps to get started:
Work On Your Thumbnails
Thumbnails are important. You want people to see a professional and attractive front to your videos or they’ll be much less likely to view your content. Good thumbnails increase the click-through rate on your content, so make sure you get them looking good (you can use Canva to find some simple but professional options).
Edit Your Videos
For simple editing tasks, you can use FinalCutPro. However, you’ll likely want to hire someone to help you edit your videos as well, as this will ensure they look more professional and attractive. With the huge popularity of Netflix and other online video services, people have grown to expect quality. If it doesn’t match the quality they’re expecting, they’re likely to be unimpressed and not give you another look.
Set a Budget
You don’t want to overspend while you’re waiting for viewers. Make sure you know how much you can handle spending and then budget that into how many videos you want to produce (you’ll have to pay for editing services if you hire someone to help you).
Create a Variety
To gain more traction, try creating a variety of different types of videos–shorts, professionally edited, and live. If you do one of each every week, you’re going to get a lot more traffic than if you only put out one at a time. Some people love live streams, while some prefer short and quick videos. The right mix will get you much more YouTube views overall.
Commit to a Certain Number of Videos Per Week
You want to remain consistent with your channel to get the most traction. Commit to making a set amount of videos every week to ensure consistency and encourage YouTube views.
Keep Learning
No matter how long you’ve been doing it, you aren’t ever going to know everything about YouTube. Not only will algorithms change, but so will your audience. Keep studying the analytics YouTube provides and making changes as appropriate. Get the most out of your channel by learning from YouTube and from your audience.
Tell Stories
Everyone resonates with a good story. While you’re relaying important real estate information, try to incorporate plenty of stories. This will engage your audience more effectively and make them feel closer to you, thus generating more YouTube views and leads.
Use Facebook and Instagram Stories
These days, the Stories on Facebook and Instagram are becoming ever more popular. People love to see short, impactful content right away. Use these Stories to your advantage to quickly engage people and encourage them to visit your channel to see more.
Make the Content People Want to See
YouTube’s algorithm is highly advanced. It can attract people who may be interested to your channel without any trouble. You just have to make valuable content so that when the algorithm does its work, you’re ready to engage and educate your audience.
Have a CLEAR MESSAGE
To make sure that you are engaging your audience, you need to put forth a clear message. Don’t try to jump all over the place and share too much. Make every video succinct and devoted to one clear point so people get the information they’re looking for.
Become a Student
Be a student of the information you’re sharing, yes, but also of the way your personality shines. Again, keep an eye on analytics to decide what people like best in your content and what they don’t. Take note of what you share and how you share it in your most and least popular videos and use that information to build your strategy.
Have Videos Ready to Use
Create banks of videos and thumbnails ready to use so you have something to put out there if you’re on a trip or something unexpected happens. Dedicate a day or two in your week or month to develop this bank so you’re ready for anything.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be Yourself
You’re a unique person, and you can’t be afraid to show that. No one wants a cookie-cutter REALTOR® showing them the same things everyone else shows them. Don’t be afraid to be genuine and even to make mistakes, as this will endear you to your audience.
BE CONSISTENT
No matter what, keep doing what you’re doing. It will take time to build an audience. Franco started with about 1,000 YouTube views in his first 5 months. But when his videos finally popped, his audience expanded quickly!
Since July, he has gone from 89 subscribers to over 3,000–gaining about 100 new subscribers each day! With a little consistency, you’ll eventually see the results you’re looking for.
Tools You Need for YouTube Success
There are a few things you’ll need to make it on YouTube. Once you invest in these tools, you’ll be ready to get started building a successful channel.
- iPhone with a cable to upload videos to YouTube.
- Good audio microphone such as a lapel mic.
- Good lighting to make you appear bright and available.
Once you have those tools set up, it’s time to create. Find a set period of time each week when you can create your videos (for example, create them on Tuesday and Thursday). Then simply post your videos regularly throughout the weeks and watch the leads come in.
As your channel grows, you’re going to start getting leads who genuinely want you to help them in their real estate transactions. When you get tons of people seeking to meet with you, it’s a good idea to set up a Calendly account so people can schedule meetings easily without bombarding you with calls.
On Calendly, make them fill out a questionnaire in order to set an appointment so that you can tell immediately how qualified they are and if they’re good clients. That way, you’ll know what you’re getting into before the meeting.
Some great pre-qualification questions include:
- What is your credit like?
- In what area are you looking?
- What size house do you want?
- What is your income from 2020-2021?
- How soon do you want to buy?
After they’ve answered those questions, leads should be able to set up appointments so you can talk to them. Within no time, you’ll have tons of leads filling your time and increasing your profit–and all of them from YouTube!
So, there you have it. A few simple tools and strategies and you can win YouTube views for your business and start building a strong clientele. Just remember to be yourself, give valuable content, and use the tools available to you. And with that, your YouTube channel will be up and running in no time.
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