September is Marketing and Branding Month at Inman. Tips for better branding and in-depth features on how to take advantage of marketing tools provided by Zillow, Redfin and other platforms are all in the works in addition to insights from experts. You’ll find it all at Inman, as well as our two-day virtual, flagship event, Your Playbook for the Fall Market, in October.
This article was last updated Sep. 15, 2022.
The ability to skillfully market listings has historically been one of the biggest differentiators between average agents and great agents. As listings sit on the market longer, this skill becomes more important than ever.
Andrew Undem, owner and managing partner of Sure Sales Group in Baltimore, Maryland, constantly searches for ways to effectively make his listings stand out from the crowd.
Here, Undem shares his philosophy on marketing listings along with a strategy that is yielding tremendous value versus the cost. The best part? You can put this strategy to work in your business immediately.
Why do so many agents lack the skill of marketing when it comes to listings?
Over the past few years, we’ve seen listings sell in a matter of hours with multiple offers. The need for a fully engaged marketing plan seemed so pre-pandemic and a skill whose time had passed. But times, they are a-changing.
With increasing inventory, a growing number of average days on market and a decreasing number of transactions, it’s essential for agents to develop an understanding of how to market listings for success in both the current and future market environment.
Of-course marketing vs. next-level marketing
Undem takes a holistic view when it comes to marketing his listings.
“There are a lot of ways to market a listing. There’s of-course marketing, and then there’s next-level marketing. Of course, agents will put it on the MLS, of course it will be on Zillow, of course there will be a sign in the yard.”
“But next-level marketing is the process of creating compelling content by telling the story of the home on video in a way that — if you just saw the pictures — you might miss how great this house is,” Undem said.
Two-step process: Creation and distribution
The first step in this process is to create compelling content. Hiring a professional to shoot high-quality video tours is not an expense. It’s an investment that pays dividends when it is coupled with the second step of the process, which is distribution.
Distribution is the process of gaining exposure for your video. Not only does this distribution help in the marketing of this home, but it helps market you as a listing and marketing expert. When done correctly, the investment in video marketing for a listing not only helps sell the home, it attracts future listings for you, as well.
The advertising strategy that attracted more than 33,000 views for $200
Undem used YouTube ads to generate 33,000 views, highlighting a four-minute tour of his listing. These ads were run in the city where the listing is located, and the watch time for the video was an incredibly high 80 percent average for a total of 94,000 total minutes of watch time off of $200 worth of paid ads.
This strategy created an amazing amount of exposure for this listing and for Sure Sales Group. Here’s how to duplicate the strategy is easy to duplicate in your market:
1. Create a YouTube channel and Google Ads account
The first step is to understand that, to run ads on YouTube, you will need a YouTube channel to house the video you will be running the ads with. YouTube is owned by Google, so to run YouTube ads, the second step is to set up a Google Ads account, if you do not already have one in place.
If you are unsure about how to do either of these steps, simply type in the search bar of YouTube “how to set up a YouTube Channel” or “how to set up a Google Ads account.” This search will provide thousands of videos showing you how to get them set up.
2. Go to studio.youtube.com
YouTube Studio is where you will find your channel dashboard showing your channel’s analytics and activities. On the left-hand side of the page, click the link just below the dashboard that says “content.” This will open the page where you will find all your videos.
3. Identify the subject video, and start the ads process
Once you find the video you want to run ads to on the content page, hover your cursor over the line for the video, and click the three vertical dots. This will bring up the five options, and you will click “promote.”
Because you have already set up and connected your Google Ads account to your YouTube channel, you will be moved over to your Google Ads account to begin putting together the ad.
4. Broader is better for the ad
Once you are connected to the Google Ads account, they will pre-populate an ad to the right side of the page showing you what the ad will look like on mobile. The ad will give you the opportunity to enter a webpage where you want to direct any clicks from the video. This could be to the property’s page on your website or simply to your website’s homepage.
After clicking “next,” the next option Google Ads provides is the ability to choose your location to run the ads. Google provides the opportunity to run ads by city. Undem chooses the city where the listing is located.
Next, you will have the opportunity to choose interests that the ad will target. Undem said he likes to keep interests as broad as possible. Because he is targeting people by city, he prefers to not rule anyone out through limiting interests.
Lastly, you will have the ability to set your budget for the ads. Undem said they like to do $20 per day with the ad running for 10 days. Then you will have the ability to review your campaign. If it is correct, click “next,” and your ad will show pending, awaiting approval.
If this written explanation of how to run the ads is difficult for you to follow, the video above includes a screen share portion where Undem walks through each step as he runs an ad.
Update your marketing to what works right now
Traditional marketing still works, but if you are going to provide the highest level of marketing possible in today’s environment, it will involve video and YouTube. Add this strategy to your listing marketing plan today. By doing so, you will increase both the exposure for your listing and the recognition of you as the marketing leader in your market.
