As a realtor, getting face-to-face time with clients is important. But because of the ongoing pandemic, we know that getting people together these days is not a great option. If you’re brainstorming ways to close on a sale while safely distanced, rest assured—there are still plenty of virtual ways to make the final walkthrough perfect! It just takes a little coordinating. 🤳✨

Virtual Listings

Want to show a property in a safety distanced way? All you’ll need is your phone to get started. Don’t worry about getting too fancy with equipment—the most important thing is having good light for your walkthrough and a relatively steady camera hand. If you accidentally mess up (we’ve all done the thumb in the corner frame thing), don’t worry. You can simply edit or try another take. Practice makes perfect! (Plus, according to The Close: 73% of homeowners say they are more likely to list with a realtor who uses video to sell property. So it’s in your favor to start using videos if you haven’t already!)

You can post your finished listing videos on YouTube or a video platform of your choice. To maximize views, use popular real estate keywords in your title, tags, and description. (Check out some of them here: https://realtyna.com/blog/real-estate-seo-keywords-2020/). Creating playlists of listings from the same neighborhoods is another way to get more clicks on your videos overall. Adding a call to action at the end of the video or in the description (such as your contact information) is another way to give prospective clients an opportunity to reach out and take the next step!

Some advice from The Close: “Web traffic to Facebook is down an astonishing 50% over the last two years, and YouTube’s algorithm has changed into giving people more of what they think they want rather than what’s relevant to the video they’re watching.” So make sure to send your finished videos out via email, in order to reach your network directly. 

Another tip: Developing an online presence on social media—whether on Twitter, or Facebook or Instagram—is an especially great way to connect with younger buyers. Those channels are also new avenues where you can link out listing videos, outside of an email newsletter!

Q&A Webinars

Going on live video might sound a bit intimidating, but it’s a great way to connect with potential clients and answer some pending questions they might have. Zoom is a popular choice, but there are other options out there. Join.Me is free for up to 50 attendees, and can be recorded so if attendees missed out, they can tune in later to whatever platform you choose to host the recording. (Youtube is always a nice go-to, since it ranks high in search engines.)

Pre-planning is key to Q&As. Decide on a topic well ahead of time, whether that’s discussing certain neighborhoods, housing trends, or more. Making sure the topic is clear to your viewers is important and will also help match you up with your ideal audience. Making sure people know well in advance when you’ll be going live is essential. Send out email reminders for your webinar at least a week in advance and also the day of!

Another tip: For the social media savvy, going on Instagram Live is a great way to connect and do Q&As—especially if you’ve already established an Instagram account as a realtor. You can pin your Q&As to your profile for easy referencing. One downside? The vertical video format on Instagram doesn’t play well with other video platforms, which are generally horizontally framed. But if you like using IG and already use it for your business, why not give it a try? 🤷🏽‍♀️

Let us know if you’ve tried these tips or any others. We’re always looking for new ideas to help!