Jen Sylvester is a Massachusetts-based RE/MAX agent who has been developing her video content generation for the past eight years. She spoke to real estate consultant Katie Lance about how creating consistent and authentic content generates quality leads who are eager to work with you as an agent.
Jen started producing occasional content on the American video email service BombBomb, but it wasn’t until she produced around 1900 videos that she committed to pursuing evergreen content.
On the #GetSocialSmart podcast, she explains why it is so important prioritise video as a lead generation tool and what traps to avoid every step of the way, from beginner to pro videographer.
It’s not all about the equipment
- โThe agents that are committed to doing video on a consistent basis; itโs not the fanciness, itโs not how am I editing and how am I shooting,โ Jen says.
- โI went from my DSLR camera to my iPhone. Iโve got an embarrassing amount of equipment, thousands of dollars and my iPhone 11 Pro is phenomenal, with good lighting and good sound of course. All that doesnโt matter if you donโt post it regularly.โ
- Jen explains that sheโs even had clients tell her they โbinge-watchedโ all of her videos.ย
- Jen recommends sending content to both buyers and sellers.
- โYes, I use it for YouTube but then I also take the links and include it in a form email for buyers and sellers to say โhereโs this reference materialโ.โ
- Jen sharedย an example of sending a cold lead a video with a small amount of information. Almost a month later, the man called her up and said they had been communicating with a lot of agents and she was the only one to send them a video, which they felt was a strong point of difference.ย
- โFrom that video, we felt like we knew you and we felt like we could connect with you,โ Jen recalls the man saying.ย
- Jen explains similar situations had frequently occurred over the past eight years and it has provided her with more quality leads.
- โItโs not just a lead. You can get a lead from Zillow. But the video lead, the quality of the lead, theyโre thanking me. They ask me questions and I answer the questions, itโs not โoh whatever, weโll go talk to another agentโ, thereโs weight to that. They were thanking me for that information at that time. Itโs definitely consistent but it’s not your imagination.โย
Make real estate your core, but also show who you are
- Jenโs videos arenโt solely real estate related, she also shares tech information and more personal content.ย
- โThe other thing too is, thereโs only one Jen Sylvester. The agent down the street, they want to do video. I used to think, โwhat if they do a video just like me, are they going to steal all my business?โ No, because theyโre personality is entirely different. When you embrace the fact that you are who you are and thatโs what you should be, you shouldnโt be somebody else.
- Jen explains she shares her “goofy” side on YouTube, as well as serious listings. ย
- For example, Jen filmed a listing house tour video with the title โMost unique & surprising home tour ever in Plymouth, Massachusettsโ but she filmed her daughterโs hamster cage.
- โItโs a ton of fun, it mixes things up. I kind of do the same thing with the home tech. I hear people say โyouโve got to focus on one thing or anotherโ but Iโm a total geek.
- “I have 65 smart home devices in my house. Iโm a nerd with this stuff. It fascinates me. Is this going to help me get a listing? Probably not, but itโs who I am. And if I can attract the nerd or the geek, you know what Iโm saying? Those are my people that I can relate to, they can come into my space.โย
- However, she says itโs important to ensure real estate is at the core of the content and other topics are sprinkled around that.ย
You’re never going to have spare time, you have to schedule your content creation
- Jen explains she has a โbusy lifeโ, she is a solo agent with two kids – one in high school and one going to university.ย
- She explains the key to keeping on top of her professional and personal life is time blocking. ย
- โI did plan for 52 weeks but I set aside time near the beginning of the month to review that month and make sure itโs timely. Sometimes, best laid plans but all of a sudden things shift and Iโm not feeling it,” she says.
- Jen also does video batch recordings, which she says is a huge component. It allows her to have back-up videos to maintain her post schedule if sheโs slammed with appointments and doesnโt have time.ย
- Jen also colour codes her planning with the different topics so she ensures her posting schedule is balanced.ย
- She says its important to treat video as a marketing tool that is a proactive activity that requires attentionย
- She breaks her video content timing down into โchunksโ, so she researches for her content at one time (including keyword research), films a lot of content all in one go and edits all the content in another โchunkโ of time. And then she goes back to planning and starts the process again.ย
- She also explains she looks out for content that people specifically ask her about time and time againย
- โA lot of people think video is the extra, video is the fun thing. Itโs for when I have time. You never have time. Itโs like โIโm going to join a gym when I have timeโ. Never going to happen.โ
- Jen explains while she focuses on produced media, somebody could do a quick point and shoot and also be effective.ย
- โThe key is to work out where you are in that and schedule accordingly,โย she says.ย
You’re also improving every time you turn on the camera
- Jen says at first she fell into the trap of comparing her content to videos with bigger budgets.
- โTheyโre on a different chapter than we are. The person who has never even hit record, theyโre on chapter one. Michael Thorne, Jesse Peters, Katie Lance, theyโre on chapter 30,” she says.
- “Maybe Iโm on chapter 15. The trap is a lot of people, myself included, look at that and go, โhow do I go from chapter one to chapter 30. It doesnโt work that way. Youโve got to go two, three, four, five, six, seven.
- She points out that having something like 700 views is a huge achievement, because thatโs 700 different people looking at your niche content and are likely associated with that niche in some way.