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Bungalow sold on Facebook

Earlier this year, Shanty Helim became the fi rst person to successfully sell her home via Facebook Live, says Tara Dulake, so what can we learn from her?

Tara Dulake

Shanty Helim bungalow imageThe East London homeowner created a 25-minute video tour of her three-bedroom bungalow, that was viewed 60,000 times and quickly received three offers through Facebook Live. Simple and convenient, this new method may be what this industry has been missing.

Tara Dulake

Tara Dulake

Due to such a high housing demand, buyers are spending less time viewing their potential new properties and placing offers quicker than ever before. With the evolution of social media showing no signs of slowing down, more and more companies are thinking of ways to keep up to date with the latest trends and how to incorporate them into their marketing.

FACEBOOK LIVE

Facebook’s ‘Live Video’ feature launched in April 2016 and has grown rapidly in popularity. Facebook reports that 1 in 5 videos is a Live broadcast, proving that users are regularly making use of the tool. Viewers of Facebook Live videos can ask questions at any point during the clip, just by commenting underneath – which will be seen by the video host immediately. This feature works very well for live house viewings as potential buyers are able to have their questions answered, just as they would in a face to face viewing. Another strength of Facebook Live for property sales, is the convenience. Many more people can tune into the live video wherever they are, whereas not as many people may be available for a viewing with their local estate agent.

YOUTUBE

Although posting videos to a YouTube account helps lead to a higher search ranking on Google, there are many other benefits to creating a YouTube account for your business. Your account shouldn’t solely be used to upload videos of show home tours. Yes, this is a great way of showcasing property availability, but this should also be a platform where you share your expertise and build a strong personal brand for your company. YouTube and Vimeo share very similar features and functions, the main difference being the maximum size of video that you can upload. YouTube allows up to 20GB whereas Vimeo is much smaller with a maximum of 500MB.

VIMEO

The tips for Vimeo and YouTube remain the same: upload varied and diverse content to your account. Videos are a great way for viewers to digest lots of information easily, as opposed to reading copy from your website. Video should be a chance for potential customers to get to know your staff, their expertise and what your brand is all about. Whatever you are posting on either Vimeo or YouTube, be sure to include a clear call to action directing people to either your website, or providing a number to call to book a viewing appointment.

SNAPCHAT

Snapchat is a video messaging app where you can send photos and videos – and edit with text, draw with a pencil tool and add emojis and bitmojis. A new 2017 feature has seen the 10 second limit of photo and video viewing extend to ‘infinity’ snaps or loops with no time limit. Snapchat is the perfect app to showcase real estate. Being a very visual industry, Snapchat is a tool that solely showcases videos and photos – a match made in heaven! A Snapchat story is a great feature to use when showcasing parts of a home viewing. Using this app will make your content much more engaging and fun for the viewer to watch.

INSTAGRAM

Yet another perfect visual tool for real estate, Instagram is again ideal for showcasing both videos and images. 2016 was a big year for the photo sharing app, it saw an update increasing the length of videos that could be uploaded from 15 to 60 seconds. Videos should be created purely for Instagram with special previews or show home tours being posted in anticipation of a viewing, sparking interest from potential purchasers. Again, there is a ‘Story’ feature on Instagram that can be used in the same way as Snapchat to show highlights or ‘coming soon’ clips, a great way to generate engagement from your followers.

Using video to promote your business doesn’t have to mean sticking to a strict script or endless hours of editing post recording. Video is becoming more creative and fun, with less emphasis on production values. The smartphone is quickly changing the way we watch video and its evolution has meant that any one of us can now record our own content, at the simple press of a button.

Tara Dulake, The Oracle Group, www.theoraclegroup.co.uk

December 12, 2017

One comment

  1. You could write “for Sale” on a post it note and stick it to the front gate and it will sell in East London… don’t think it would be quite so effective in East Hull, Rotherham or Huddersfield…

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