I rejoined the craziness on Twitter recently. After my first few tweets I did a search for the term ‘social media‘ to find other tweeps (that’s Twitter for people who tweet). I came across Nicole Nicolay (@nik_nik) who blogs about real estate technology at MyTechOpinion. Perfect, I thought, a fellow blogger in a similar space. What better person to help me get a handle on Twitter. So I clicked the follow button. A short while later I had a DM (direct message) from @nik_nik saying “Woohoo! Thanks for following Peter! I made this video so you’d know what you’re getting yourself into! http://budurl.com/niknik“. Now that’s impressive I thought. Someone who actually cares and appreciates a follower. So I clicked on the link which took me to @nic_nic’s welcome video. And it got me thinking: Why aren’t real estate and settlement agents doing the same?
Some agents post a glossy introduction pack to prospective sellers. Settlement agents often do the same thing. Or they send a PDF. They want the seller to know a bit about them before they darken the door step. But it’s hardly original or exciting nor is it conversational.
It takes very little effort to record and upload a YouTube video. A webcam – a standard feature on most laptops these days – will do the trick. With a little practice anyone can produce a video that can then be embedded (note: embedded, not linked) into a thankyou/introduction email to a prospective seller or settlement client. Once the video is recorded it can be used over, and over, and over…until you decide to record a new one. By the time you meet the prospect face-to-face they know what you look like, what you’re on about, and they have a sense of who you are.
Notice in @nic_nic’s video that the performance is personable and conversational. It’s not a stuffy Prime Minister’s address to the nation but something short and sharp (less than 2 minutes). I lets the client know they’ll be conversing with a real person – a professional yes – but someone with passions and hobbies just like them. So don’t try and get it too right. Have some fun, share a joke, make a mistake. You too are human.
