I have shot many videos throughout my real estate career and attribute much of my success to these videos. Often times, I will work with professional crews and production companies that deliver a polished, sharp video complete with drone shots, color correction, and all the extras. Then occasionally, I’ll shoot a video with my iPhone and edit it myself. Obviously the $50 million dollar homes and celebrity homes receive a lot of views and traffic, but what I’ve noticed is videos shot on my phone are equally as effective. I can get just as many views on a video I shot on my iPhone as I would if I were to pay for a professional crew. The key is putting myself in the video. Speaking to the viewer directly as the agent is powerful because it is real and authentic and potential clients can see my personality.

When you are in your own listing videos, it resonates with the buyer watching, gives them someone to connect with, and provides them with a story about the property. Your presence in the video offers them valuable information and intrigues them. People love that it's really you. It’s honest, genuine, and original, and brings the viewer one step closer to connecting with the property.

When you shoot on an iPhone, the quality of the video is remarkably good. That level of quality is what people are used to seeing and producing themselves, so these videos feel more genuine and unfiltered. There are wide-angle lenses, lights, and correctors to make things look more attractive, but an iPhone gives the true perspective that people love. More evidence of the value of this authentic, visceral movie making is the big-name companies, including IKEA and Nike, who are spending millions on found footage campaigns. They are noticing that this is the kind of content people want to see.

I created the app Roofshoot to give every agent the ability to shoot amazing real estate content right from his or her iPhone. We have found that videos need to be dynamic, relatable, and entertaining. You can’t just do a one-shot walkthrough and leave it at that. It is important to make your video entertaining by cutting to different angles. It should be like watching a TV show or a movie. How boring would it be to watch from just one angle throughout the whole show? You need to edit your videos, and that’s the amazing part of Roofshoot. This app enables you to cut and edit the footage and add fonts, titles, and music to narrate the story in a way that engages your audience. I encourage agents to shoot a lot of content and use the app to edit it into an eye-catching, effective video.

Roofshoot offers other awesome templates that give you the opportunity to show you’re the expert in the neighborhood. ‘Cool Spot’ and ‘Neighborhood’ videos are both great ways to show potential clients your personality and highlight your areas of expertise. The real estate industry is all about prospecting and meeting potential new clients and video is the next best thing to being face-to-face with someone to make a connection. By posting a video, you can potentially reach thousands of people in minutes.

Download the Roofshoot app here!

Ben Bacal is a leader in the Southern California luxury real estate industry and founder of Roofshoot.com. Selling nearly two billion dollars in residential real estate, he has carved his niche and driven prices in the most prominent neighborhoods in Los Angeles. His excellent relationships with home owners and developers alike, along with his knowledge of inventory allows him access to properties that are not available to most agents and gives him the ability to easily connect buyers with the best property for them. After his proven success through video marketing, Ben started Roofshoot, an easy to use app that allows real estate agents to shoot professional looking videos right from their smart phone and share with the world.