video

Now that you’ve got some quality video in your back pocket, be it community tours, a model home showcase or buyer testimonials- it is time for you to find and engage some eyeballs! Here are some basic tips and tools that you should be using to drive interaction and visibility from your videos in general and on YouTube.

Tags- Tags are a helpful way to categorize and sort content which in turn helps pull related videos into the sidebar in a generic YouTube search. These tags are important to include popular phrases or keywords relating to your location and product. For instance, for a home builder located in Austin, Texas, I would be sure to tag “New Home in Austin” or anything else that is relevant to your specific video. Maybe it is a Tuscan style home, so be sure to tag it “Tuscan” as well. Being descriptive is a great way to draw viewers in from related searches!

VMovie-media-player-film-slateideo Titles- Video titles are important to not only highlight keywords that your video includes, but also to catch a viewer’s attention! Would you rather click on “Cool Home in Cedar Park” or “BEAUTIFUL Tuscan Style Home in Cedar Park”?

Length- With today’s need for instantaneous information, it is best to keep videos under 5 minutes long. The target length however, runs at about 1 minute 30 seconds. If you have one large community video tour, consider breaking it up into segments for a more enjoyable viewing experience and to maximize your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts.

Description- Once again, optimize your description with keywords to help Google better index your content. Descriptions should be succinct and give an overview of what the viewer will see in your video.

Content– Strive for quality! With high quality video production becoming easier and less expensive, viewers are demanding to watch higher resolution video over a gritty one. This is especially important in the home building industry! You’ve put a lot of thought and branding into your homes, so you will want to have that come through clearly in your videos.

Transcriptions- As a best practice, it is always a good idea to include a transcription of your videos just in case someone is having technical issues or hearing impaired, as well as to improve your SEO. Simple text is still a favorite SEO technique to entice better SEO rankings.

Shareability – Beautifully done builder videos can travel quickly via social media. By making sure the video is captivating, such as including gorgeous community shots or important information, the videos will connect with buyers wanting to share their home building process. Also- if you want your video to be seen, get the word out and share it! Distribute links to your content in your monthly newsletters and through your social media accounts.

In-Video Interaction- We LOVE when viewers are interactive and responsive to our builder’s media. That is why we’ve partnered with a company called Dilogr that specializes in video response optimization. It is a revolutionary way to gather lead information, feedback, and engage in a conversation real time. Targeted questions, hotspots and polls can outfit your online videos on YouTube to enable customers to ask questions and speak with the builder through the rich video content. According to searchengineland.com, YouTube places high authority on number of views and engagement. This means that YouTube pays attention to how long viewers watch a video, and tends to rate them higher or lower based on that figure. If you have any questions about Dilogr or are interested in having us run your account, contact us at info@thebdx.com.

A great video tour of your homes and brand is imperative to reach today’s home buyers. Use these video SEO best practices to reach new customers! Don’t have great video? BDX can help! Contact us today to put your homes in the spotlight.

BDX offers a range of dynamic and rich media online banners to help our clients achieve their marketing goals. Below are examples of creative assets we can host and launch across BDX web properties or other advertising channels. Please contact Info@theBDX.com for more information regarding rich media ads.

Video Banners:

Video banners provide a unique format to captivate and engage users within the online ad space. Many advertisers repurpose videos they produce for websites, commercials and sales materials into short-form videos to be displayed on top real estate websites like NewHomeSource or Realtor.com or as part of their BeBack (remarketing) program.  Video Ads produced by BDX can also be used for advertising on websites outside of the BDX network providing additional reach.

There are several formats available for advertisers. At BDX we set videos to play automatically but muted. Consumers can easily click on the ad to adjust volume. Video ads can play in the traditional sense but can also be configured to include a lead form or have questions overlaid to gather consumer sentiment.

Repurpose Existing Community Video Footage:

BDX can help you edit existing videos to fit the standard 300 x 250 ad position.

B-roll footage of community plans and amenities can easily be crafted into a short-form video for an attention getting experience.

Data Driven banners:

Leveraging the listing data used on NewHomeSource, these ads update every 24 hours to ensure communities and price points are always accurate. Data Driven banners have robust features including multiple calls to action as well as dynamic click thru links providing a deeper more meaningful click thru action. These ads allow customers to shop homes within the ad by scrolling through home plans and searching specific properties.

Grand Opening / Interest List Opt-In Ads:

Specifically designed to help foster interest for coming soon communities, these ads include an opt-in field within the ad where consumers can submit their email for more information. Use Opt-in creative to build an interest list or encourage real estate agents and consumers to register for a Grand Opening event. Each ad is custom built to mirror your brand and leads are received in real time. For consumers not comfortable submitting their email they can still click the banner and will be directed to your websites.

Now Open In College Station! Castlegate II & Creek Meadows.

 

Want to get off to a great start for 2014? Each day for the next two weeks, we will be posting a marketing resolution for the New Year.

#5: I will upload a video with my listing

Did you know that adding video to your new home listings on NewHomeSource.com can increase leads by 28% and click-thrus by 36%?

Video not only brings your brand to life, but also elevates the performance of your website and a properly optimized video can improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings.  Did you know that a properly optimized video is 53X more likely to have a front page result on Google?

Video allows you to begin building trust with home shoppers by giving the history of your company, showcasing testimonials and highlighting the products that make up your homes.  Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about ways you can use video to drive your business:

  • Outside The Gates (Why Live here? Lifestyle.)
  • Company History/Philosophy
  • What sets us apart? (New Initiatives)
  • Behind the scenes
  • Our process (What to expect)
  • Financing (You can do this!)
  • Educational (Viral)
  • Design Tips
  • Move-in (How your home works)
  • New vs Used (Consumer Education)

From templated web videos to full scale national broadcast level productions, our media experts can produce projects to meet any budget.  Learn more about enhancing your listings with video here.

I’m not sure if you’ve seen it yet, but Realtor.com is launching a new redesign of the Search Result pages.  Currently the site is only in beta with plans for a full launch later this week.  The Realtor.com Product Team has adjusted the layout to improve navigation and help consumers better manage the thousands of homes available via the MLS.

With the redesign they’ve also changed the layout to include a 300×250 ad position at the top of the page.  When I first saw this position I thought ‘this is the perfect place for video.’  The 300×250 ad position closely mirrors that of the 3:4 formats you’d see with traditional TVs.  The above the fold placement and proximity to content further peaked my interest.

I’m a fan of video ads because it’s captivating. And, when reaching a consumer who’s in the market video can help them picture the home they’re looking for and make them aware of amenities they may not have considered.

We often espouse the benefits of how display provides ‘consideration for search’ but video takes it to the next level by allowing advertisers to highlight multiple features.  Consider pans across home plans, green spaces and community amenities.  With an ad like this, I’ve changed the search from looking for a home to looking for a neighborhood or a lifestyle.

Moving beyond the value of ‘just a home’ is important for builders and developers as they try to differentiate their product from the re-sale market. Online video ads are an easy and cost effective way to achieve this goal – especially if the materials are already produced.

Brad Smith, our Director of Video production has done a great blog series on video best practices. When translating video to an ad there are a few best practices I’d encourage.

  1. The video should tell your story WITHOUT SOUND. A lot of publishers have restrictions on video ads to improve the user experience.  Can you imagine shopping for homes while a work only to be interrupted by a loud video ad popping up?  The video should work independent of sound and the VO should highlight new points.  Considered graphics to capture key elements.
  2. Maintain a consistent Call-To-Action.  I like using space at the bottom of the ad to provide a consistent CTA for my home shoppers.   Consumers should clearly know what action you want them to take and that maybe before the video ends.  On average consumers only watch about 50% of a video so having a consistent on-screen call to action is important.
  3. Keep your video ads short. The goal of the ad is to captivate and drive action. If you have a long format video you’re looking to drive traffic to consider a teaser video ad that directs the consumer to the full length video.  Keeping videos short also improves the load time for the ad and ensures that consumers will see your message instead moving onto the next page while it waits to load.

If you’ve run video ads in the past I’d be curious to learn about your experience and what worked and what didn’t. If you’ve not considered running video ads or would like more information about how to repurpose your existing videos for online marketing contact The BDX for more details.

For more information about this blog post or BDX Video ads, contact Thane Tennison, Advertising Manager or contact your local Representative.