What are the three words that describe what we do as real estate agents?

  • Sales
  • Marketing
  • Service

If at any moment we stop driving any of those three, we’re basically done. 

Tom Ferry talks about this all the time. What are you doing right now, this week, to drive more sales in your business, to put out more marketing, and to provide more service to more people?

Before you can sell anything to anyone, you need to lay the foundation with effective marketing and extra-mile service. Don’t stop at what Sharran Srivatsaa calls “of course marketing” – the type of marketing that all consumers have grown accustomed to and expect as bare minimum service. 

Instead, go above and beyond what the “of course marketers do.” And you can start with one-to-one content that adds value.  

Tom Storey’s one-to-one video content

Tom Storey, a real estate agent in Canada who recently appeared on the Over Ask Podcast, shared how his one-for-one video content is working way better than his one-to-all content. 

What’s one-to-one content? For Tom, it’s a health check on every home that he sells for the benefit of the homeowner. He creates a green screen video for each homeowner with a personalized message regarding their home:

“Hey, [Homeowner’s Name], I know you just bought the house three months ago. I do this for all of my clients. This is a twice-a-year health check, just like you see your doctor… ” 

Throughout the video, he has two or three sales scrolling behind him—which could be shown on Zillow, MLS, or Realtor.com. He discusses the sale prices for those homes, the number of offers made, and any other details worth mentioning.  

“Anyway, [Homeowner’s Name], I know you’re not moving, but this is your twice-a-year health check. I’ll check back in with you at the end of the year. I thought you might want to know this information.” 

And that’s it. He sends those personalized videos out to each of his clients. This is not one of those videos with a generic message that leaves people thinking, “Wow, thanks. You just took 30 seconds of my life, and there was nothing there besides a hello.” 

It’s personalized content that adds value—and keeps clients coming back to you as the local market expert. 

Marketing that respects people’s time

As agents, you need to be respectful of other people’s time. And part of that is not wasting it with low-value or no-value texts, voice messages, or emails. 

Tom Storey keeps his one-on-one videos 20-30 seconds long, and they are packed with high-value content. In essence, he provides a condensed version of the annual equity review. And it probably takes him less than five minutes for each video. 

The key phrase in his message is “I know you’re not looking to move,” followed by “but I just wanted you to have this information.” 

After all, every homeowner wants to know what’s happening with their property. 

Instagram DMs and staying within the app

Now, this is where the marketing chops really come in. If Tom knows his client uses Instagram, he DMs the video to them. 

With this many DMs going out, it boosts his one-for-all content that appears in his Feed or Stories. The algorithm sees that his DMs are getting opened more and he’s having more conversations on the app. Instagram likes that. 

If I want something to do really well on Instagram, I will spend 10 minutes going through DMs, answering them, and cleaning them up. I’ll also post some type of organic Story—one that doesn’t link out to a different platform. 

Because I know if I include a YouTube link, those Stories are going to get 50% fewer views than a Story that keeps everything within the app. So, I post an organic Story, hit the DMs, and then make the post in my Feed. I know it’s going to perform well because I’m giving the algorithm what it wants. 

Tom’s doing the same thing for his clients who use Instagram. And by sending those videos via DM, he’s more likely to get better engagement on his other Instagram content. 

Obviously, if your client is not on Instagram, you can send that video to them via text.  

Constant creation and follow-up

We’re always talking about how we can come up with the next video or the next thing on social. I’m a huge believer in creating as much content as you possibly can. 

But the one-to-one content is absolutely going to crush for your brand. 

Then, when you have the conversation that starts with, “Hey, thank you for sending that to me,” that’s where you open the dialogue. 

Obviously, start with listening to whatever feedback or concerns they have. 

And if there’s a nice opportunity to ask for somebody that they know—someone who might appreciate a similar video or an introduction with valuable information on their neighborhood—it’s always good to meet new people.