As of 2021, YouTube is the second most used social platform and the second most visited website in the world. It’s also the second-largest search engine in the world, which means that potential real estate clients are going to be searching it for help when looking to buy or sell a home.
If you’re not on YouTube, you’re missing a great opportunity. This platform is where you can engage with an audience looking specifically for videos to help them make sense of the real estate market and their personal options for engaging with real estate.
There are multiple benefits to using YouTube as a real estate agent.
- It’s the fastest way to build client relationships.
- It’s free.
- It’s comprehensive.
- It works while you sleep.
- It makes you irreplaceable.
- It’s a great equalizer.
- It’s huge.
Let’s dive deeper into why you should be using YouTube to expand your real estate business and generate more leads.
Quickly Build Client Relationships
Working in real estate is really all about working with people. When it’s time to choose a REALTOR®, most people go first to someone they know or someone they’ve seen around a lot. It’s human nature to engage in business with people we like and trust rather than with strangers.
YouTube makes the process of building relationships simple and easy. Simply consider how close you feel to a character on a TV show after years of watching the series. You’re invested in their lives, their relationships, and their futures–and they aren’t even real!
The same can be said of YouTube. If you are displaying things about your life online, people will begin to feel that they know you. They will start to be invested in your life and your real estate journey. And when they want help with their real estate journey, they’ll come to you.
You can build relationships with clients even before meeting them by using YouTube. And since your videos can be viewed anytime of day or night, you can technically be building relationships even if you’re actually out to dinner with your spouse!
Earn Business for Free
It doesn’t cost a thing to set up a YouTube account. And as soon as you set it up, you can start creating content with a device as simple as your cell phone. While you may want to seek professional editing services in the future, there’s no cost to begin building an audience.
Create Comprehensive Content
Unlike in other aspects of real estate, YouTube allows you to develop a comprehensive library of content for potential clients to peruse. Other marketing strategies usually begin with a phone call, which gives you limited time and space for answering all your clients’ questions.
YouTube, on the other hand, allows you to create videos specifically designed to dive deep into various topics of concern to your clients. You can cover all the basics of a topic in a single video or create a playlist to highlight an entire process in a serial format.
Of course, you always have the option to leave one or two “teasers” in your content as well. Mention special situations people may run into and invite them to call or message you with questions or concerns. Because you’ve already given them quality answers to their initial questions, they’ll be more inclined to reach out to you for personalized support.
Generate Leads While You Sleep
YouTube is available 24/7, 365 days a year, all around the world. While you may do your best to be available to clients, you can’t beat that! When people are looking for a quick answer, they can head to YouTube and find your video at any time of day or night.
You can be sleeping, busy with other clients, or just relaxing on a day off and you’ll still be getting leads from your YouTube channel. There’s nothing that can block your reach if you continually develop and distribute high-quality content on your channel.
Become Irreplaceable
If you’re like most professionals, you may worry about the rise of software and big businesses. It can sometimes feel like real estate agents are becoming obsolete. But this doesn’t have to be the result, and YouTube can help you maintain your significance in the real estate space.
It’s true that technological innovations and big businesses with automatic processes are doing well. People are often less interested in working with real people if there’s a digital option available. But this isn’t always the case–in fact, at least 70% of retail consumers still prefer person-to-person interaction.
As a real estate agent, your job is to help people by offering them a real interaction without the hassle. YouTube allows you to connect with people face-to-face without forcing them to call you, which can meet their need for both human “interaction” and ease of service.
Start from Anywhere
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in real estate–you can still create a YouTube channel. Even if all the information you know is from your initial real estate education, you can still provide that information in a digestible format to people who have never attended such a school.
YouTube is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business or how many homes you sold. If you can create and maintain a strong presence on YouTube, you can attract clients. People will trust you because you’re putting valuable content online for them to view.
Reach the World
As mentioned above, YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. Billions of visitors dive into its archives daily for help solving their problems and overcoming their challenges. If you’re on YouTube, you have a bigger audience than you’ll find just about anywhere else.
No matter where you live, engaging with clients on YouTube is easy. It’s fast, cheap, simple, and effective. It may take some time, but if you maintain consistency, you will develop a powerful audience and client base on YouTube.