YouTube For Real Estate Agents: Everything To Know (2023)

YouTube for real estate agents can generate thousands of new leads for your real estate business. But if you’re thinking of starting a channel, it can be hard to know where to start. In this post, I’ll share the strategies and tactics you need to have a successful YouTube channel as a real estate agent in 2021.

Getting Started

First, find a few real estate channels that inspire you. You can model your YouTube channel on other successful real estate YouTube channels. Take note of what their channels look like, what kinds of videos they make, and how often they upload. 

Next, you’ll need to create a publishing plan. Determine which days and times you’re going to upload and publish your videos. In addition, decide how many videos you can consistently post each week.

Consistency is key when it comes to your posting schedule because YouTube favors channels that publish regularly. Plus, your viewers will know when to expect your videos. One to two videos per week is a good goal. Be sure to upload not only on the same days but also at the same time each day.

In terms of real estate video equipment, don’t worry too much about having the best camera gear and top-notch quality.  Filming on most iPhone and Android smartphones is typically all you need to create a YouTube for real estate agents. Just try to make sure your face is well lit and there isn’t any external noise in the background.

Set Up Your Channel

Name  

When it comes to naming your channel, it’s best to keep it simple and use your name. It’s always a good idea to use your name because that is something unique to you that won’t ever change.

“About Us” Page

This page lets people know more about you before they subscribe. Also, the information here shows up in search engine results for your channel, which will help more people discover you.

Header Image

Your header image should be simple and include some brief text that lets the viewer know exactly what your channel is about and what value they’ll get from subscribing to it.

Profile Image

Many real estate agents just use their logo as their profile image. However, this is a mistake. Instead, use a high-quality, professional picture of yourself. Using a photo of yourself will drastically improve your audience engagement.

Channel Trailer and Description

When people first come to your channel page, they’ll see your trailer video and description. The description should briefly describe who you are, what type of content is on your channel, and give a reason why someone should subscribe. 

In the trailer video, introduce yourself, welcome the viewer to your channel, and briefly tell your backstory and why you are qualified to create the videos you make.  Then, explain the value they’ll get from subscribing and share your posting schedule. End the video by asking them to subscribe and turn on notifications.  The entire trailer video should be no more than 60 – 120 seconds long. 

Creating Videos

Keyword Research

The first step to creating a YouTube for real estate agents is keyword research, which helps your video appear in search engines.

As a real estate agent, you’ll want to focus on keywords related to your local market, particularly ones that include your city’s name. Use tools such as KWFinder.com to identify keywords that have a high search volume, but low competition.

For my videos, I start my keyword research by going to the YouTube search bar and typing in my city’s name, San Antonio. When you type in your city, you’ll see some suggestions for related keywords.

Then, after I type in “San Antonio,” I type the letter “A” and see what suggestions come up. I then do the same thing with the letter “B” and all the other letters of the alphabet until I’ve identified a list of keywords. Then, go through the same strategy again. But this time, type each letter in front of your city, instead of after it. For example, “A San Antonio.”

Once you have a good list of keyword phrases, type each one into the YouTube search bar and see if any additional keywords come up.

TubeBuddy

An excellent tool for doing keyword research is TubeBuddy. It shows you the estimated search volume on YouTube, the amount of competition from other videos, and can help boost your organic views by identifying opportunistic keywords. Click here for a free trial of TubeBuddy.

Choosing Topics

Don’t think that every video you make has to be specific to real estate. Create videos that answer questions people might have about restaurants, activities, and other topics related to your local market. These types of videos can get you in front of your target audience, which can lead to them reaching out to you if they need a real estate agent.

Another way to find good ideas is to look at other real estate channels. Sort their uploads by date published, and then see which videos received higher than average views.

Filming Your Videos

Hook

Use the first 15 seconds of your video to hook the viewer.  Be sure to use the exact words as your title because this will give the viewer confidence that they are watching the right video. In addition, let them know what they can expect to gain after watching the entire video.

Intro

Next, explain to your viewer who you are and why they should listen to you.  Share a little bit of your story so that you can make a connection to the viewers who are watching you for the first time. This part of the video should be around 15 to 30 seconds.  

Content

Your main content will be the bulk of your video, around 7 to 12 minutes. You can create an outline ahead of time to keep you focused and prevent you from rambling. You can also write out your script to help you finalize your thoughts and make you seem more prepared.

Offer

Lastly, be sure to end your video with a call-to-action. Remind your viewers to like, comment, and subscribe. You can also include external actions, like setting up zoom consultations with you or contacting you for more information.

Editing

There are plenty of programs available to help you edit your real estate video, both paid and free. For my videos, I use Final Cut Pro X, which is more expensive.  However, free options like iMovie and DaVinci Resolve will work just fine.  Most programs make it pretty easy to learn the basics, like cutting and splicing clips together and adding transitions and text to your video.

Uploading Your Video

To upload your video, head over to your channel and hit the upload button. Upload your video with “Unlisted” visibility at first because this gives you time to add tags, write a title and description, create a thumbnail, and schedule the video for your designated publish time.


Add Tags

Tags tell YouTube what your video is about and help the platform share it with the relevant audience.  Most of your tags should be specific to the topic of your video. However, you should also include some that are broader and related to your name or brand. If any of your tags are off-topic, you’ll confuse the algorithm.  


Write Title

Your title should contain your keyword phrase and a strong hook to get someone to click.  For example, “Pros and Cons of San Antonio – 5 Things You Need to Know.”  Try to keep the total length to less than 70 characters.  


Create Thumbnail With a Hook

The video thumbnail is the visual hook that will grab the viewer’s attention and get them to click on your video. It is the most significant factor for getting views on your video. Take note of the thumbnails of popular creators that you follow, and use them as inspiration for your own YouTube for real estate agents. Some best practices are to use a close-up photo of your face or another image, bright colors, and as few words as possible. 


Write a Description and Include a Call to Action

The description of your video should be 200 to 300 words.  It should contain your keyword, a brief overview of the video, a few relevant hashtags, and a relevant call to action.  This could be a link to sign up for a buyer or seller consultation, join your email list, or contact you for help buying or selling in your area. In addition, you can add links to other helpful videos you think the viewer would like to watch.

Promoting Your Video

Once your video is public, you want to have as many viewers watch it as possible. The initial reaction to your video tells YouTube if they should recommend it to other people across the platform.

For this reason, you’ll want to promote your video to your email list and social media following as soon as it is released.  Be sure to ask people to like, comment, and watch your video to the end. These three metrics determine how well your video ranks on the search results page, as well as how many organic views you will get. 

In addition, you should be sure to respond to every comment on your channel. Not only will this demonstrate your responsiveness to your audience, but it will also help your YouTube for real estate agents rank higher.

Video Analytics

I recommend waiting until you’ve published 10 to 15 videos before you take any of your analytics too seriously.

Click-Through Rate

This benchmark determines how many people see your thumbnail and then actually click on it.  Anything above 4% is good. Ideally, you should aim for a 6 to 8% click-through rate. If you can get up to 9% to 10%, that is amazing!


Initial Retention

It’s essential that you keep people watching your video past the one minute mark. Aim to have 75% of your viewers make it to this point. If your initial retention is low, experiment with different hooks in each video until you achieve this goal.

Overall Retention

Overall retention tells you how many people make it to the end of your video, which is another important ranking factor for the YouTube algorithm. Your goal should be to have at least 35% of your audience watch your entire video. If it’s anything less, this may mean you have to work on shortening your videos or creating more engaging content.


Final Thoughts on YouTube for Real Estate Agents

YouTube for real estate agents can have a massive impact on your business. These tips will help you get your channel up and running, and create high-quality content that gets views organically. As your channel grows, it’ll help your real estate business consistently bring in new leads.

So what’s holding you back from starting a YouTube channel? Or if you’ve already started one, what’s your biggest struggle? Let me know in the comments below!