How To Use Video and UGC in a Property Downturn

Learn more about the benefits of using video and user-generated content in a downturn to build demand and engage with prospects in a meaningful way.

Over the course of 2022, we’ve seen a significant change in the property market from where it was in years prior. Through Covid, we witnessed a huge rise in interest from first home buyers, due to record-low mortgage rates and government incentives.

These incentives included the Homebuilder initiative, as well as other state-specific incentives. Lower activity during the lockdown periods also resulted in built-up demand. This saw prices increase and people willing to pay more to beat the competition and secure their dream home.

Ultimately for many marketers and sales teams, this meant you didn’t need to push to get the sale, as houses were essentially selling themselves. How the times have changed! When you’re marketing within a changing property market, guiding the consumer through their journey becomes even more important.

What to do when the market is in a downturn?

It’s the right time to pare back on hard sales and price, price, price. Instead, focus your attention on demonstrating real and tangible benefits and connecting with your audience in a way that feels authentic. It’s all about building trust.

So, with that in mind, where does video and UGC come in?

The importance of video marketing

Utilising video is a fantastic way to increase audience engagement, with videos attracting 300% more traffic for nurturing leads.

You might be sick of hearing this, but video is the way forward. In 2022, audiences are spending on average 19 hours a week watching videos online. While platforms like YouTube and TikTok are designed for video, we’ve seen the likes of Instagram and Facebook increasingly adapt to this form of media. It’s fast becoming the way people choose to research products and engage with brands.

Now when you read these statistics through a property marketing lens, that’s when it gets interesting. 50% of homebuyers find their new home online, and 84% said that the information they found online was crucial to their research.

So if your digital presence is lacking in video content, now is the time to start producing it. Video not only has great cut-through, but it meets audiences where they are and in a format that suits them.

What about user-generated content?

First up, what do we mean by user-generated content or UGC? It’s content created by everyday people talking about a business or product. And it’s changing the way we market in digital.

Studies have shown that online stores who promote this style of content found that sales where shoppers interacted with UGC increased sales by 82%.

Not only this, but UGC gets 10x more views than brand-created content. Huge.

While 84% of millennials have said that they’ve been influenced by UGC (as these are the generation purchasing their first homes, this is relevant), it’s not for millennials alone. Hearing from real people in an unfiltered way helps to build trust and feels more engaging to us. People trust reviews from people, their peers. This isn’t new news.

How can you use UGC and video in a changing market?

#1 Do walkthroughs

These can be long or short formats, depending on the platform you’ll be advertising from. Everyone wants to see their dream home before they move in, but sometimes it’s not always possible. Having a visual walkthrough of a home is a great way to increase audience engagement.

@investwithqueenie So glad I checked 😳 #fintok #moneytok #ausfinance #realestate #propertyinvesting #firsthomebuyer #apartmenthacks ♬ original sound – Queenie Tan

#2 Talk to age specific audiences

UGC is an awesome avenue for property marketers to interact with different age demographics and specify the content based on who they’re trying to target. A great example of this is the TikTok user Queenie Tan, who speaks to first home buyer audiences about investing in their first properties with helpful tips. You can see an example of her content here.

Wrap-up: 5 reasons to start using video

Here are our top reasons to utilise video and UGC in the property market. During a downturn, your audience will tend to spend more time in the research phase. When most of their research is done online, video is one of the best creative formats to build trust and have a lasting impact that translates to ROI.

• 50% of homebuyers find their new home online
• 84% of new homebuyers say the information they found online was crucial to their research
• User-generated content gets 10x more views than brand-created content
• 85% of consumers find visual user-generated content more influential than photos or videos
• 84% of millennials have said that they have been influenced by UGC