The Perfect Video Setup for Realtors on A Budget
SUMMARY
Video is the most powerful (and still under-valued) marketing asset in your business. Here are the three key items you need to get started this week:
1. Your smartphone’s video camera (which you already have!).
2. A tripod with bluetooth remote and phone holder: https://amzn.to/2ZIJMj0
3. A high-quality lavalier microphone: https://amzn.to/2VtyShF
Then, the most important thing is to start shooting video. For how to get started with what to shoot and how to create good video, watch my video training series:
#1. Basic Gear: https://yesmasters.com/video-training-realtors-_-basic-gear/
#2. Strategies to Get Started: https://yesmasters.com/video-training-realtors-strategies-get-started/
#3 Getting Video Testimonials: https://yesmasters.com/video-training-realtors-getting-video-testimonials/
SMARTPHONE BUDGET VIDEO SET UP:
TRIPOD: https://amzn.to/2ZIJMj0
MICROPHONE: https://amzn.to/2VtyShF
KEVIN WARD’S VIDEO SET UP:
CAMERA: https://amzn.to/2Zyd17X
MICROPHONE: https://amzn.to/2UHwoIh
TRIPOD: https://amzn.to/2GxDrhq
FULL TRANSCRIPT
If you want to be powerful and if you want to maximize your ability to market yourself, to put yourself out there and to get credibility and trust with people, video is the most important marketing asset that you have. Today I want to talk about video and the importance of using video in your business and then also give you a set up to help you start shooting great quality videos with great quality audio on a budget today.
Because I’ve been saying this for years and for those of you who’ve been following me on YouTube or anywhere else, you know that for the last seven years I built my entire business by leveraging video and this is how I started my company. I didn’t ever go travel to real estate companies and speak as a real estate coach. I didn’t do that. I didn’t do direct mail. I didn’t do Google Marketing or Google Ads. We didn’t even use Facebook Marketing for many, many years. Almost all of it was through me shooting simple training videos and posting them on YouTube and leveraging that.
I am a huge believer in video. For you as a real estate agent, if you want to be powerful and if you want to maximize your ability to market yourself, to put yourself out there and to get credibility and trust with people, video is the most important marketing asset that you have. I’ve been saying that for years and people are beginning to see it, but they’re still scared and I get that. Here is how you get started. One, you start shooting video. You just start shooting it. I’m going to give you a setup for how you can get set up to be shooting high quality video and audio because it’s really important that what you’re putting out at least the quality is good so you get started.
Now, I know you’re worried about I sound horrible and video or I look horrible on video or however you feel about that. The good news is when you get started, especially if you’re using YouTube, is that nobody’s going to watch your videos. Your first videos that you’re going to be shooting don’t worry about it. They’re not going to be that good. That’s okay. Nobody’s going to see them because YouTube is not going to show them to anybody if they’re not that good. If you’re putting it on Facebook, which you should be, and on Instagram and all that, now’s the time to put your bad videos up before you have a lot of people watching you and following you.
But as you get better and as your audience grows and your reach grows, your personal circle grows, more and more people are watching it as your marketing and exposure grows so that you’re bringing more people into your video, you’ll want to have had some practice at shooting videos. People ask how many takes does it take me to shoot a video? 90% of the time it takes one. If I’d have to reshoot a video, it’s usually the first 10 or 15 seconds because I say the wrong thing to get started. I mess it up or something right away and then I’m like, oops, that didn’t work. We just start it over.
This video is going to be shot one take and I’m going to actually be demonstrating two different video cameras, two different sets of audio and so forth for you to help you get started. This is also a product review to help you. I found these two pieces of equipment that I think are awesome for real estate agents to help you get started on a budget for less than $70. First, is a tripod that’s right here. I got my iPhone on it right now. Also, then the microphone that I’m using. I got two microphones on. The first mic is our Sennheiser mic which is a cordless mic that we use with our camera here.
That’s what we report our videos on. However, it’s a $600 mic set and you probably don’t need a $600 mic set for the videos you’re shooting now. A lot of you can’t afford a $600 mic set, so don’t worry about it. This other one that I’m wearing is a $33 mic set and that’s what I’m going to recommend today. I’m going to talk first about the tripod and what’s great about it and then we’ll talk about the microphone. First, if you’re shooting video, you want to be able to shoot video without holding your camera because when you’re holding your camera, one it’s going to be too close to you and two, you’re going to be moving around and it just doesn’t look right.
You need a video. However, you need a tripod. Most of you though, one, you could buy cheap tripods. You can buy them inexpensively but they take up space, they’re bulky and so forth. I love this one because it’s not bulky, it’s light and yet it’s very, very functional. I’m going to show you what it does and I’m actually going to demonstrate shooting in Nashville video with it. This is the actual tripod as it’s set up right now. But the cool thing about it is that you just adapt the little thing right here and it slides right up. I’ve got this microphone plugged in which I’ll demonstrate in a minute.
Now, with this right here, it literally is that small. I take the phone off of it and this tripod will fit into this little bag which you can put in your backpack. You can throw it in your car, you can throw in your trunk. It doesn’t take up any space. It’s very, very cool. You can also with this little adapter right here, this thing right here, it’s really simple. I just loosen it and then as I loosen it I can adjust the angle of it. Now I have a selfie stick. It actually works as a selfie stick and it’s also adjustable. I can just clip these. It’s three different adjustment parts and I can extend it as long as I want it to extend.
I can extend it that far. Now I’ve got a real long selfie stick or if I want to make it shorter I can do it that length and so forth. But the nice thing about it is as a tripod, I can do it this way. So I can do it as a tripod. Oops, let me get that. I’m going shut down. I can get it as a tripod like this so that I can set it on my desk and it’s right here at eye level. I can stand up and it’s there, I can raise it high level. But when you fully extended out like so… And I’m doing this all mic’d up. This is a corded mic that you’re seeing connected to the smart phones.
I can stand it on the ground right there and I’ve got my video camera which is right at eye level which is great angle for me to be able to shoot a video. I can be sitting in a chair, I can be sitting with somebody else and do a testimonial video. I can do an interview. If I’m getting testimonials from clients, I can set it up like this and the microphone set that I’m about to show you that I got for $33 on Amazon. This is a Fugetek tripod. I’m going to put the links in the description of the video down below and also the mic set which I’m going to get to in just a moment.
This is so cool because it’s so versatile and it’s so simple. You can make it short, you can make it tall, you can turn it into a selfie stick if you want to and I can set it up for shooting video and so forth. Check this out. This is really, really cool. I’m going to turn it on now. Now, I’m just setting it up. It is in the selfie mode for shooting video. I’m actually going to let you both see the video quality when you shoot it with this compared to what you’re watching me on right now and let you see and compare both the video and the audio.
Because with your smartphone and this audio device’s microphone, you’re going to be able to shoot great quality video and audio that is going to be great for YouTube videos, for social media and even for your website. For those that are my coaching members, I train them on how to shoot video to go onto their website which we call an online Vortex because most real estate agent websites people just come to it and they bounce off of it. A Vortex actually draws people in. That’s a different conversation. But I’m going to shoot some video here so you can actually see it.
Another really, really cool thing about this tripod is if you look right here there is actually a little Bluetooth remote control that is very simple to pair with your phone, whether it’s an iPhone or a Samsung or a Google phone, whatever it is. That you can pair with it and then it just pops right out. Now I have a little remote that I can use to actually start the video for me. What you’re going to be seeing here is actually video shot on my smart phone and the audio, which is this, that’s going to be plugged in and you’re going to get to hear the audio and the video.
Now, let me tell you about the audio real quick. The tripod is a Fugetek FT-569. The link is in the description below. And then this is a PowerDeWise easy vlogging interview set. Now, the interview set, I didn’t keep the box because I don’t really care about the box. But the cool thing about this is that you’ve got the microphone which I’m wearing the microphone right here, but it’s a whole set. Check this out. With this set you have two microphones. This is if you’re doing a video testimonial, getting a video testimony from clients and it’s a couple, it’s a husband and wife.
You can put both microphones on both of them and recorded it into your smartphone because it has this very cool little splitter right here that plugs directly into your iPhone or into your phone. If you’re using an iPhone, then you’re going to need this. You’ll need the little adapter to your lighting adapter that you plug into it. And so I’m actually able to take and plug this into the splitter and then I plug one microphone into this side and then the other microphone which comes with it I can plug into this site. I can use the splitter if I want to do two. Now, if it’s just me and I’m just shooting one video as I am here and I’m the only one, then I just plug in the adapter.
If you’re using a Samsung or whatever with the regular adapter like this. That’s 3.5, whatever they’re called. I don’t know. I’m not a techie guy, but I just know what works. I can plug this in and with this kit for $33 I get two microphones. I get the splitter and I get two extension cables that are 79 inches, which is over six feet each. Right here I’m close to the camera which is great. I’m sitting here and the camera is two or three feet away from my face. But if I wanted to be six feet away or even eight or nine feet away, I can do that with the microphones and the extension cables.
All that goes inside this little bag right here that I can then throw in my backpack. You can throw in your backpack or in your glove compartment and you can carry it with you everywhere you go, or your purse and so forth. And then I’ve got the little thing, you just turn the switch on. There’s a little little switch on it, turn it on. Now I am going to demonstrate exactly what this looks like when I go from this camera to this camera. Now I am talking to you on my iPhone. There’s just an iPhone. This is actually the front facing camera on my iPhone 10 so it’s not even the best camera.
The other side has a better camera but I like when I’m shooting the video to be able to see myself so I can see that I’m aimed right and so forth. I am using this microphone which is this $33 PowerDeWIse. For the $33 you get the interview set. Again, will put the link down in the video description below so you can get this. Now what you’re actually hearing is the audio. This is a $33 audio set. Now, the camera over here, this other camera is a Panasonic GH Lumix GH5 which is a $2,000 camera with the Lens and everything and a $600 mic set.
What you have been watching has been a $2,000 DSLR camera with a $600 mic set. What you’re looking at right now is actually a smartphone front facing camera with a $33 mic set. I let you see that while there is some difference in the video quality, no question about it, and there’s some difference in the audio quality, no question about it. It is still a very high quality video and audio that you can use that would be great to get you started. There’s a few more things you can do to tweak it, but this is a simple setup and I’m actually doing it on a $23 tripod that’s totally adjustable and that you can set up to use.
When I’m done then I just simply click the little remote control button. My hands aren’t having to move up and punch it off or anything like that. All I’ve got to do is click the button and it stops recording. It’s that simple. It is the Fugetek FT-569. It is the PowerDeWise easy vlogging video. It’s a two speaker interview set. Again, I’ll put the link down below and with the link you can also see if you don’t want the two mics, you can just get one mic and it’s like $22 instead of $33 or something like that. You’ve got that.
But here’s the most important thing my friend, use video. You need to be leveraging video right now in everything you’re doing. When you’re doing a follow up, instead of just sending somebody a text, shoot a quick video for me. If you meet somebody at an open house, they’ve been out looking at 10 or a dozen other houses talking to all these other realtors. They’ve seen so many people, they’ve seen so many things. They’re not going to remember you. There’s nothing special. You give them a card, cool.
However, when you shoot a quick video and you text that video to them and say, “Hey Bill and Sarah, it was great to meet you at the open house today at one, two, three Elm Street. I’m going to send you a link to the property itself so that you can get more pictures and stuff so you can remember it. If you have any questions on anything, any help on it, let me know. Also. if I can help with anything in buying or selling a property, feel free to reach out to me. It was a great pleasure to meet you.” Boom. I just shoot a quick video like that. I can text that video to them.
Now, when I’m doing that, it’s way better if I’m using a set up like this so that I’m not holding the video camera, but I want good quality and I want it on my phone so I can immediately text it. It’s just so, so powerful. With the PowerDeWise microphone and the Fugetek tripods and my little thing here, I don’t even have to do post production, editing or anything, clipping it, trimming it, all of that because it’s immediately done right here with just a simple click of the button and I can start the video and boom, I’m recording, “Hey, great to meet you guys.”
And then I click the button again, I turn it off and it’s that simple. If this video has been helpful, make sure you give it a thumbs up. Click on the links below to check out the products on Amazon and get them. Most important thing, use the video. If you have any comments or questions or other great pieces of equipment that you’re using, let me know. Post them down below and I’ll see you soon.