The YouTube Hype Examined: How does it get your listing in front of more buyers?

Posting real estate videos to YouTube has become a hot topic in real estate marketing. We’ve been asked on numerous occasions, “Will putting my listing on YouTube really get me in front of more buyers?” The answer is yes, but not for the reasons many agents think.

Are the majority of homebuyers are pulling up YouTube and searching real estate listings at the start of their search? Probably not just yet.  The vast majority of YouTube users are more likely to be going to the popular video sharing site to check out clips of their favorite shows or of people sharing their most embarrassing moments. At this point, the average home buyer is probably not going directly onto the YouTube site to search specifically for real estate listings. But that doesn’t mean they’re not seeing your YouTube video. In fact, YouTube reaches 9.2 million people a month who have researched real estate information online (MRI, 2009 Doublebase).

How does that work you might ask? 75% of searches for ‘homes for sale’ are conducted on Google (Hitwise, 12 weeks ending, 10/10/2009). And what shows up higher in Google search results every day?  Yep, you guessed it, YouTube videos! YouTube is actually owned by Google.  Therefore, the benefits of putting your listings on YouTube largely reside in the enhanced search engine exposure it provides.

Being that YouTube is a free service that could put you in front of potentially thousands of buyers seeking homes in your area, we’d give this service a big thumbs up and highly recommend it as part of your real estate marketing.

This post was originally featured in the April News Editorial section of our RE Marketing Revolution eNewsletter