Most agents finish a day of showing homes and move on. I finish a day of showing homes with a video library. For years, I have used YouTube as one of the simplest tools in my buyer-agent business. I am not talking about polished listing videos, fancy editing or trying to become a YouTube influencer.
I use it as a client-service tool.
Every time I show a buyer a home, I take video, and over time, I have discovered that those videos do much more than help my buyers remember which kitchen belonged to which house.
They help my clients make better decisions, allow them to easily involve family and friends and, sometimes, put me in front of people I never would have met otherwise.
I record the buyer’s reaction, not just the house
With the listing agent’s permission, I record portions of the showing on my phone, but I don’t simply walk around creating another property tour.
I want to capture my buyers’ reactions.
- What do they like?
- What don’t they like?
- How do they feel about the kitchen, backyard, primary bedroom or floor plan?
After looking at several properties, buyers can quickly forget which house had the great pantry, which one backed to a busy road or which primary bathroom they hated. The video becomes their memory.
There is another important part of my process: I am very careful about where I record the buyer’s candid comments.
With Ring doorbells, security cameras and other recording devices now common around homes, I don’t want my buyer standing on the front porch talking about how much they love the house, how much they would pay or how badly they want it.
So after we leave the property, I wait until we are away from the house before getting their real reaction. That conversation can be extremely valuable later when we are comparing properties.
I do the same thing at inspections
One of my favorite uses for this system is the home inspection. If my client cannot be present — or even if they are — I can record the inspector explaining the important findings.
I use my phone with a gimbal that can follow the inspector as he or she moves around. That means I don’t have to concentrate on holding the camera perfectly steady. I can concentrate on what the inspector is saying.
A 60-, 70- or 80-page inspection report can be overwhelming to a buyer, but hearing the inspector say, “This looks worse in the report than it really is,” or explain why something deserves additional evaluation can provide context that a photograph and paragraph in a report simply cannot.
My clients can later watch that explanation again instead of trying to remember everything they heard during an hours-long inspection.
Then YouTube does the heavy lifting
Afterward, I upload the videos to a free YouTube channel. I clearly label each video with the property so my buyer knows exactly what they are looking at.
I also use a standard description template that includes my professional information, brokerage name, Realtor membership information and fair housing language.
For these client videos, I identify them appropriately as not made for children because they are not child-directed content. Most importantly, I set the videos to Unlisted. That means the videos generally do not show up in YouTube searches or appear publicly on my channel. Instead, my client receives a link.
Anyone who has that link can view the video, so agents should still be thoughtful about what they record and avoid confidential or sensitive information.
Why I prefer YouTube instead of sending a video file
This is where the system becomes incredibly easy for the client.
- I don’t have to wonder whether they use an iPhone or Android phone.
- I don’t care whether they have a Mac, Windows computer, tablet or smart TV.
- I don’t have to email a gigantic video attachment or teach somebody how to download a file from a cloud-storage service.
I send them a link. They click it. It works. And they can send that same link to their spouse, children, parents, friends, attorney, contractor or anyone else whose opinion matters to them.
That leads to another benefit I never originally planned for.
Your clients will share these videos
Believe me, they will.
Buyers get excited about homes. They want to show their family. They want their friends’ opinions. They want someone to see the kitchen they love or the backyard they are considering.
And every time my client shares one of my videos, someone else gets to see how I work with my clients.
I am not sending them an advertisement saying how wonderful I am. They are watching the service themselves.
In fact, after one inspection video I created for a buyer, the client shared it with family members, friends and colleagues. Two people who watched it later contacted me because they were interested in buying homes themselves.
The video was created to serve one client, but it introduced me to two more.
5 lessons I have learned
After using this system repeatedly, I have learned a few things.
- Always get permission before recording inside someone else’s property. I contact the listing agent first.
- Be careful where buyers discuss negotiating strategy. Assume smart doorbells and security cameras may be present and move sensitive conversations away from the property.
- Record reactions, not just rooms. A buyer saying why they loved or disliked something can be more useful later than another slow pan of the kitchen.
- Keep the technology simple. A smartphone, gimbal and free YouTube account can accomplish a lot without sophisticated production.
- Think of the video as client service first and marketing second. If the service is genuinely useful, clients will often do the sharing for you.
Technology does not always have to be complicated to change the way we practice real estate.
Sometimes it is simply recognizing that the phone already in your pocket can help your buyers remember more, make better decisions and involve the people they trust. And if a few of those people eventually call you, that’s not a bad bonus.
