Real Estate Video Matters More Than Ever. So Does the Voice.
I would happily take a little less “unprecedented” right about now. How about you?
Masks. Social distancing. Trying to figure out where you can go, who can be there, and how far apart everybody needs to stand. Even the simplest things seem to require a planning meeting.
For my friends working in residential and commercial real estate, getting prospective buyers through a property has become one more complication in a year nobody ordered.
Sellers may be uncomfortable welcoming strangers into their homes. Buyers may be uncomfortable going inside. Touring an occupied commercial building brings its own concerns for the people working there.
But houses and buildings still need to be bought and sold. People still need somewhere to live. Businesses will hopefully still need a central place to work.
How do you introduce a property when getting everyone through the front door is so difficult?
My thoughts are simply that video has become more important than ever. And so has what people HEAR while they watch.
I have previously talked about how I am a big proponent of video as a sales tool for commercial real estate and residential real estate sales. I am all in on drones as possibly the best way to get the emotional and cognitive buy-in from prospects. A real estate video gives prospective buyers a chance to explore from a distance. Ground-level footage can take them through the rooms, while aerial drone footage introduces the property’s setting and surroundings.
But when someone watches that tour at home, the agent may not be there to explain what they’re seeing.
That’s where professional real estate narration can help. And yes, this IS what I do for a living, so I’m hardly an impartial observer. But my facts check out as true…especially through all this COVID crap.
A friendly voice can guide viewers through the property, connecting the pictures with details that matter. For a home, that might mean explaining the layout, pointing out a feature, or introducing the outdoor space. For a commercial building, it might mean describing access, available space, and how different parts of the property fit together.
You’re giving people a tour they can see AND understand.
Watch this video and tell me if this isn’t a pretty effective way—second to an in-person visit—to show a residential or commercial property (this video I narrated kinda shows both)::
I’ve enjoyed doing this work for years through audio’connell Voiceover Talent, including property videos for my friends at DreamDirt. In 2016, two videos I narrated earned first and second place in the National Auctioneers Association’s marketing competition for Best Auction Promotional Video. I was proud to contribute the narration to those productions.
The purpose today is much the same, even if the circumstances are very different: help people understand the property’s story.
The voice shouldn’t sound like someone shouting specifications across a parking lot. It should feel like a knowledgeable, welcoming guide, with enough room between the words to appreciate the view.
And getting a script started doesn’t require inventing the property all over again. Agents already have descriptions, specifications, and important features that can be shaped into conversational copy to follow the footage.
Will a narrated video replace every visit? No way….agents are the beginning, middle and end of every transaction.
People still buy from people. Period, full stop.
But right now, video tours give agents a badly needed tool, offer prospects a useful first look, and help them arrive with better questions when a visit is possible.
If you’re a residential or commercial real estate agent, video producer, or drone videographer putting together a property tour, I’d be glad to help give it a voice.
We’ve got enough distance between us right now. Let’s help buyers feel a little closer to the property.
narrator for the North Carolina Victim Assistance Network recent informational and fund-raising video production, that’s the line in the script that caught my attention.
