The new live-streaming mobile apps Periscope, Meerkat and Stre.am offer real estate agents compelling new ways to interact with a broad audience in real time.
There’s always a steep learning curve for mastering a new medium. Two brokerages, upstate New York-based Houlihan Lawrence and North Carolina-based Triangle Real Estate, are experimenting with how to incorporate Periscope into their businesses.
They shared a set of best practices from their early pilots of the new technologies. Here’s what they learned:
- Connect to Wi-Fi. Video quality faltered when just using cell data, even in locations with a strong signal.
- Make the live-stream its own event. When part of another event, like an open house, disruptions were common.
- Bring a friend to help shoot the video. It’s more engaging with someone on screen giving the tour.
- Consider a script.
- Advertise that you’re planning a live-stream broadcast. Consider putting live-stream dates and links in property descriptions.
- As Periscope serves up some metrics immediately after the stream that may not be available at a later time, be prepared to take a screen shot as soon as the live-stream ends.