Tech Hub: 3 Video Trends You Should Be Implementing in 2020

By Katherine Mechling

If you’re not already all aboard the video marketing train, these stats might change your mind:

• Over 50 percent of marketers say video content has the highest return on investment (Source: HubSpot)
• By 2022, video could account for as much as 82 percent of all internet traffic (Source: Cisco)
• 85 percent of consumers want to see more video content from brands (Source: Hubspot)

Video is one of the fastest growing marketing strategies out there. If you want the most bang for your buck in 2020, you should be considering your video strategy carefully. To give you some ideas, we checked in with Kelly LeClair — former TV reporter, current San Clemente-based REALTOR® and video marketing coach at Kelly LeClair Coaching — to pick her brain on three video trends she anticipates will play a big role in real estate marketing for 2020.

Trend 1: Embrace Both the Polished and the Plain

“One thing I see happening more,” says LeClair, “is agents doing both ends of the spectrum: extreme, high-end, professionally edited videos, particularly for listing videos, alongside those quicker, non-scripted, personalized videos directed to clients.” Many REALTORS® feel pressure to produce a slew of professional-quality videos without the necessary experience or budget, which tends to result in a small set of middling videos with okay production quality. Instead of aiming solely on producing content that requires drone technology and expensive lighting equipment, REALTORS® should embrace and incorporate into their strategy videos that can be made with just five minutes, a camera on selfie mode and basic editing software.

“Those quick, off-the-cuff selfie videos show dimension,” says LeClair. “People appreciate free information about all aspects of your business. So yes, listing videos and market updates are good, but telling a story about how you made it through inspections on a house when it turned out the roof was leaking can be even more useful [to prospective clients].”

This year, don’t let yourself get hung up on only producing the highest-quality videos possible. Remember there’s value in the unscripted and plan for a video strategy that unabashedly posts both professional- and amateur-quality content side by side.     

Trend 2: Dive Into IGTV

IGTV is essentially Instagram’s version of YouTube: a video app optimized for mobile that can be used alongside or independent from Instagram. In 2019, Instagram made it easier for content creators to integrate their Instagram content with their IGTV content by allowing users to publish snippets of longer IGTV videos on Instagram as “previews.” That means you can now publish long-form content to IGTV (maximum length: 60 minutes) and promote that content on Instagram with a quick preview (maximum length: 60 seconds) that links over to the longer content.

“This update is huge for real estate,” says LeClair. “When you were limited to one minute on an Instagram post, longer listing videos got cut off. But now, if a video’s over a minute, you can push the viewer over to IGTV so they can continue watching without interruption.” REALTORS® who may have shied away from Instagram videos due to the time restraints should take another look in 2020.

Trend 3: Include More Voices

LeClair recommends collaborating with others whenever possible: whether with trusted vendors, past clients or other REALTORS®. Getting more people in front of the camera with you widens your exposure and reinforces your authority as a trusted expert. In particular, LeClair says, “I’ve had a fantastic reaction from putting my past clients on camera instead of doing written testimonials. It helps prospective clients because they get to hear from the people themselves how it all came together. Plus no one wants to give Zillow any more money, so why would you push past clients to write a Zillow review? Gathering video testimonials lets you control that content yourself.”

Katherine Mechling is senior editor of California Real Estate magazine.

More from the January 2020 Issue:

Pro Tip: Sharran Srivatsaa on Sustainable Business Growth

Money Corner: How I Increased Production by 186 Percent in One Year

Marketing You: "You're Selling Experiences, Not Houses"

Getting Clients: New Year, New Lead Gen