We talk to Neyshia Go, senior global real estate advisor at Sotheby’s International and co-star of CNBC’s Listing Impossible, about how she uses videography, including architectural elements and lifestyle content, to tell the story of a property. Her advice is to think about the message you are trying to send with the content you are trying to create, and to know who you want to target.
Other tips:
- Think about the style of video that will show your authentic self
- Ask yourself what buyers will find most interesting about the house
- Keep videos under 2 1/2 minutes long
- Invest in creating good content
- Tailor your marketing to the specific audience you’re looking for
Links mentioned:
You can listen to this episode here, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Gayle Weiswasser:
Welcome to the Homesnap Snapshot, a podcast about digital marketing for real estate agents. Each episode, we talk to agents just like you, who are successfully using some type of digital marketing to build their brand. When it’s over, you’ll walk away with concrete ideas that you can use in your own marketing, to help grow your business. Today’s guest on the show is Neyshia Go, who is senior global real estate advisor at Sotheby’s International, and a co-star of CNBC’s Listing Impossible. Neyshia, welcome to the show.
Neyshia Go:
Thank you so much. I’m happy to be here.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Yeah. We’re excited to have you.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Today, we’re mostly going to talk about the importance of videography and floor plans, and other visual types of content that supplement your basic listing.
Gayle Weiswasser:
But before we get into that, Neyshia, can you tell us a little bit about your background and your experience in real estate?
Neyshia Go:
Sure. I got involved in real estate 10 years ago. I was actually graduating from college, from UCLA. I had always really had a strong interest to real estate. I started really young. I started in an internship, worked my way up, and happy to say, I love what I do in greater Los Angeles, brokering luxury real estate.
Neyshia Go:
That was my start, and now, for the last couple years, I’ve been one of the top agents in LA, and on track this year already to close… Well, potentially, somewhere, it’s between 150 and 200 million.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Wow. Okay. Talk about the show.
Neyshia Go:
Okay, great. I was on a show, CNBC’s Listing Impossible, where I costarred with a dear friend of mine, Aaron Kirman, where we actually visited homes all across California that were languishing. They were sitting on the market and not selling. It was a really interesting and eye opening process, not just to, obviously, experience it, because it is what we do on a day to day, but actually to see it memorialized on TV was really fascinating, just from being on the show. Because you actually start to realize that a lot of the factors behind some of the challenges in selling homes, sometimes, the sellers tend to be more emotional and psychological than they are actually physical.
Neyshia Go:
Then, you have to work at making sure that the physical changes that are needed to sell and market the property correctly for mass consumption, so people really want to buy the property and pay top dollar, how those solutions really make a huge impact.
Gayle Weiswasser:
That’s so interesting. Can you give us any examples of nonphysical issues with a home that might prevent it from selling.
Neyshia Go:
Sure. Let’s say the sellers are a couple, and maybe one of the selling parties is still attached to the home, because it still has an emotional importance to them, in the way that their kids grew up there, and they haven’t been able to let go yet.
Neyshia Go:
One of the things that we’ll see is sometimes the kids’ rooms, even though they’re 30 years old, are still decorated like kids’ rooms. It becomes an emotional block to sell their home, because they haven’t let go psychologically yet.
Neyshia Go:
In order to let go physically of your house, in order to sell it, because, again, it’s an incredible investment and asset, but it is a place where you raise your kids, you make your memories. Right?
Neyshia Go:
If you haven’t detached yourself from the house mentally, you won’t be able to do that physically. That’s one example, certainly, of a nonphysical roadblock.
Gayle Weiswasser:
That’s a roadblock for the seller. The seller doesn’t want to let go, probably not entertaining decent offers, because they just don’t want to sell.
Neyshia Go:
Exactly.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Are there roadblocks on the other side, where a home isn’t selling because you can’t get buyer interest… When you were on the show, how did you overcome that and get more people interested in buying?
Neyshia Go:
Well, I think that we are really lucky, at least over the last few years and currently, to have such an active and robust marketplace where there’s really no excuse for a buyer to not like or want to buy the house, unless it’s overpriced or not being presented properly.
Neyshia Go:
But that usually comes from a seller who is perhaps not exactly thinking so reasonably about their home to get it sold. It’s kind of like a step A, step B, step C, right? If the seller hasn’t detached themselves from the house in order to sell the property, they aren’t going to want to invest in staging, or they aren’t going to want to clean up their house as much as they should. Or they might not reduce the price at all, because they say, “I want my price, and that’s all I want.”
Neyshia Go:
Because there could be factors, and there’s a lot of different possibilities, but there could be factors that are inhibiting them from wanting to make those changes to sell their house.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Got it. Okay. Well, you clearly have a lot of experience with visual storytelling, how to really use video content to tell the story of a home, to present it in a certain way. Obviously, you’ve done that both through the show, but then also, anyone who sees your other content and your website, etc., can see all of the video content that you’ve created for the properties that you represent.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Let’s talk about videography and how do you approach video when you want to work that into your marketing? What is your overall goal with video when you’ve got a new listing?
Neyshia Go:
My goal with video is to be able to tell the story of the property the way that I think it should be told. I know that it’s very blunt the way I just said it, but at the same time, I think it’s so important whenever you do something to have intention and to have narrative. Right?
Neyshia Go:
When I list a property, I think, “Who is my buyer? Who am I trying to appeal to?”
Neyshia Go:
When it comes to a video, every little nuance, the cut, the angles, the rooms that we’re showing, the music style, the lifestyle shots, it all has to do with who the buyer is and the buyer in mind. Video is so important, especially now with COVID and the pandemic, because it helps someone experience a property in real time more than they would, certainly, images.
Neyshia Go:
I personally don’t love Matterport, because I think that the software is still a little bit… It can get clunky, it can get stuck in a corner. It’s still just a physical still image, so I prefer using videography hand in hand with photos in order to tell that story to a buyer.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Do you have a whole video team that you work with every time?
Neyshia Go:
Yes. I have two preferred vendors for video and two preferred vendors for videography, and I don’t like to deviate too much, because I just trust them, and they know my vision. I had a music background when I was growing up, so I love the creative process. When you meet great other creative people, it’s nice to just stick together.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Right. Explain the difference between video and videography?
Neyshia Go:
Well, I think that there’s just a slight nuance of difference, I think. Again, videography is sort of the style of the video and how you’re telling you’re telling your story, and I think video is just something that’s a little bit two-dimensional in that sense, or narrated video. I don’t like to do that type of property video, personally. I don’t really like it to be about me showcasing the home. I want the home to speak for itself. Which, I think, again, if you have someone who really captures, for example, more architectural elements, more lifestyle, you actually end up telling a story that turns into a movie, like a mini movie.
Neyshia Go:
We’ve all seen videos that they used actors. I even saw a property video that had little dogs as the actors in the video. Well, that, to me, is videography, because it’s telling a story.
Gayle Weiswasser:
I see. Okay. Got it.
Gayle Weiswasser:
For people who are listening who don’t have a whole team, or they can’t afford to, or they’re just starting out, what are some pointers for them that you recommend that they can incorporate, even if they’re just doing the video themselves.
Neyshia Go:
Sure. I think it all goes back to, again, what is the message that you’re trying to send with the content that you’re trying to create. I think that’s always the most important thing. If you’re going to shoot a video, and everybody has the budget… I mean, when I started out, I actually was a listing agent, and I needed to budget, how was I going to be able to market my properties in the best way possible, but not necessarily with unending resources.
Neyshia Go:
Know what you want to create, know who you want to target. There’s a lot of great apps I don’t know the names of, but I know that if you Google video editing software for real estate agents, you’ll be able to find some that will help you actually create videos and content, so that you can actually market your properties.
Neyshia Go:
There are the resources out there that cost very little, if nothing at all, except your time. But at the end of the day, just know what you’re creating and for who.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Okay. Think about your audience. Think about what’s got to persuade, entertain, engage them, and then go from there.
Neyshia Go:
Yeah. Well, and also, I think it’s really important to think about your style. For example, some people might want to be more educational in their real estate video. If you want to go on camera and talk about the property, that’s great. That’s your style. Some people want to be a little bit more funny, and they might want to make it more comical. I also believe you should make it authentic to yourself, because these are now videos that you’re creating that might have you there, so you want everything to be on brand with your messaging, as well.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Sure. Okay. Sometimes, there’s static content, like floor plans. There are some dynamic ones, where the floor plans turn into these 3D things. You mentioned Matterport.
Gayle Weiswasser:
But a lot of times, agents are just dealing with regular, old 2D floor plan images. What’s the best way to incorporate content like that into something more dynamic, like a video, without losing the flow or making it feel awkward.
Neyshia Go:
Well, I actually do have floor plans for most of my properties, but I don’t include it in the first roll out of marketing material, because I usually just reserve that for people who actually are already interested in the house, or for some reason need it. Maybe they’re out of town. But I think the best way to incorporate it in the video without making it awkward or clunky is to make sure that your imagery, so all your video shots, are in the specific order, telling that story. That’s actually something I actively have to do, even with my team, while they’re great, sometimes I have to let them know, “This is the order of the floor plan I want to go in.” Right?
Neyshia Go:
I want to start outside. Then, we’re going to move inside through the entry. Then, the main common areas first. Formal living, den, kitchen, dining. Then, we go to the master, and then the ancillary bedrooms. I don’t like to skip all over the house.
Neyshia Go:
I think that’s a way, without adding a floor plan still image into a video, that you can actually help tell the story of the floor plan.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). You kind of cover it yourself through the video, and then you don’t even really need that kind of black and white.
Neyshia Go:
Exactly. But also, what’s helpful is, again, you want to think about your marketplace. What are buyers going to find most interesting about the house right away, right?
Neyshia Go:
Because your videos should, A, only probably be somewhere between two to two and a half minutes long, which is important for people to know. Because typically speaking, anything that’s longer than three minutes, and people just start to lose interest. Start two to two and a half minutes long. You want to make sure you’re showing the most impactful shots, which, for us, is common areas, master and the outside. Ancillary bedrooms are secondary. But for example, during COVID, you’re definitely going to want to show the office. You’re definitely going to want to show the home gym, because those are some things that have become very important for buyers now.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Certainly, outdoor space.
Neyshia Go:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Exactly.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Outdoor entertaining space. Who knew that all of our guests would be outdoors for 15 months long?
Neyshia Go:
It’s so true. Who could’ve ever foreseen that real estate would have this spike. I mean, I’m just grateful that we’re in this position, and real estate has been so active. It’s just been a crazy 15, 16 months for us.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Oh, yeah. For sure. Last March, we run a home search app, and we’re an agent productivity tool, and last March, we just were kind of looking at each other like, “What’s going to happen to us?” We just had no idea. We thought, “Are we going to survive this?”
Gayle Weiswasser:
April, as you know, April and March, were kind of grim, and then, by May of last year, I think all of us who are part of the industry feel so lucky that things turned the way that they did.
Neyshia Go:
Definitely. I couldn’t agree more.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Let’s talk about marketing overall for you. Obviously, video is a huge component of what you do. But then, you’ve got this video, and you need to share it and get it in front of people. What does your overall marketing strategy look like.
Neyshia Go:
Overall marketing strategy is to invest as much as I can reasonably into the content first. It starts with still images, and depending on the property, I’ll do a whole gamut.
Neyshia Go:
I’ll do daylight photos, twilight photos, drones, plus the video, if the property calls for it. Again, you also want to know what your property calls for. If I’m shooting a bedroom condo, I probably don’t need a video for that. It doesn’t really help. There’s not enough content for it to be long enough. I would just focus on the still images. From there, I take the footage that I have, and then, I start to build a platform, which includes websites, digital campaign in the form of blast and direct eblast to consumers and my client list, social media posts. Then, everyone obviously has a broker. Definitely, reach out to your broker and figure out what marketing and advertising campaigns and options are available to you for your listing that make sense.
Neyshia Go:
I might have a property that I think is good for out of state buyers, for example. I might pick an option of advertising in the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times, because something about it makes it appealing to out-of-state buyers. Right?
Neyshia Go:
Or maybe it’s the fact that it has income and income potential. I might put it in a financial times newspaper instead. Again, I think it all falls back on who is your buyer, what’s your target demographic, and then finding different advertising and marketing options that work for the property.
Neyshia Go:
Again, I don’t want to discourage other agents, especially newer agents, and make them think you have to spend a boatload of money, but find opportunities that make sense, and it might just be in your localized marketplace. It might help to have flyers in a particular location, because you know that the type of buyer that’s going to want your house is going to be at particular hotels or restaurants. Those are other options that don’t cost you very much that you can market the property, as long as you tailor who you’re looking for.
Gayle Weiswasser:
It’s so interesting what you just said. I’ve done 150-plus episodes of the show, and it doesn’t come up that often, especially if you are a listing agent, to kind of do this psychographic profile of your buyer, and then let the marketing flow from there. I think sometimes people do the reverse. They have a marketing plan, and then they hope they’re going to get their buyer through that plan, rather than starting with the buyer. That’s really smart.
Gayle Weiswasser:
I kind of like what you said, also, that you may be looking for some pretty high income potential purchasers, so you’re looking at New York Times, Financial Times, things like that. But the same discipline applies if you are not looking for a super wealthy buyer. You just have to figure out who that person is, and where do they go, what do they read, what sites do they go to, and then work backwards from there. It makes a lot of sense.
Neyshia Go:
Yeah. I mean, and I appreciate that, actually, because I think, without articulating every… I just do my job. Right? I wake up in the morning, and I do what I think is right for real estate. But in talking more with you I’m sort of, and more recently lately, because I’ve been asked to speak on some of these topics, what I’ve realized is you can be one of two types of agent. You can be one that takes their marketing plan and just tries to make it fit for each property, or you can tailor make your marketing plan for each property.
Neyshia Go:
I firmly believe that when you do that, and you let your clients know you’re doing that, your clients appreciate it so much more. Because if they’ve sold a house ever before, they’re going to realize the difference between you and the other agent.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Yep. Yep. That’s really smart. Then, when you think about what you’re talking about, getting new clients, you’ve got this whole story that you can tell about how you created an individualized marketing plan for each property, and how that worked.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Rather than presenting them with here’s my cookie cutter marketing plan, you can say, “Look, this is how I marketed this particular property. Thought about who the buyer is. I did these four things. And this is how it led me to the person who eventually bought the house.”
Gayle Weiswasser:
I think that’s really brilliant.
Neyshia Go:
Thank you.
Gayle Weiswasser:
You may not have realized that there was definitely a method to the madness, but there certainly is.
Neyshia Go:
Yeah. I appreciate that. I think, we get, as real estate agents, once we have a lot of balls in the air, and escrows, and clients, both buyers and sellers, I think you kind of get lost in the madness. Right?
Gayle Weiswasser:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Neyshia Go:
Because every day is so 24/7, but slowing down and putting in perspective what our techniques are, or certainly what my technique is, it makes a lot of sense to me, because I tell my stories through experience to clients. I think that also really resounds with them, is being able to actually tell them about stories about how X Y and Z worked, and this is why.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Yeah. That’s great. Then, they know they’re getting very individualized attention from you, that you’re not churning through properties one after the other, but you’re actually taking the time with each one to think through what’s going to work here and what’s going to get the best result for my client.
Neyshia Go:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Exactly.
Gayle Weiswasser:
How do you decide when a drone is needed?
Neyshia Go:
If there is outdoor space, or the profile of the house is something architecturally that I think really should be captured, or if there’s a view.
Neyshia Go:
You have to assess the house and see if a drone is going to make sense. I would say I probably use a drone on 90% of my listings, because it doesn’t cost much more these days to get a drone out when your photographer comes out, and you can capture a really interesting shot of the elevation. When I say elevation, that’s the construction architectural term for the façade of the house. If you can get something, because it’s at a peak angle, that could be the money shot, so to speak. I definitely look for, is it a good house in general, that on the exterior, you’re going to want to see all the curves and angles of the house. Right?
Gayle Weiswasser:
Right.
Neyshia Go:
First of all, do you want to shoot the façade, the elevation? Does it have a view, potentially? Does it have a lot of land that you’re not going to be able to capture on still, I mean, normal camera photos. Things like that. Just trying to figure out if there’s good angles that are going to be captured through a drone.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Can the drone footage be captured by that same team that you talked about earlier?
Neyshia Go:
Yes. Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Gayle Weiswasser:
Got it. Okay. There’s something-
Neyshia Go:
Usually, both my photographers and videographers both have drones. So-
Gayle Weiswasser:
There’s something about drone footage that feels so dramatic. If you set it to the right music, it’s so sweeping. You know? It’s amazing that it’s this simple little device. You’re imagining this swooping helicopter or something, but it’s really just this little device. It’s pretty amazing.
Neyshia Go:
I remember when we started using drones more, and I thought it was so cool. Because you’d be out in the grass, and all of a sudden, you’d have to start the drone up. It was like a tiny little helicopter. That was probably like seven, eight years ago. Again, drone footage wasn’t as common as it is now, and drones were not as affordable as they are now.
Neyshia Go:
But it makes a huge difference, because, especially with a piece of property, or a house with a lot of property, or an interesting piece of property you need to capture, you’re never going to get it in regular still images. There’s just no way. You want to be able to show the expanse of the land itself.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Yeah. It’s pretty amazing. I did some shows on drones when they first came out, and we were talking about getting FAA approval. It was so new and unregulated. But now it’s so common, and there’s hardly any barriers to using drones and launching them and getting them to capture what you need.
Neyshia Go:
Well, actually, I have a few experiences where the most recent software update for one of my videographer or photographers locked his drone because it was in the flightpath.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Oh, no.
Neyshia Go:
We had to end up calling a friend who didn’t download any software onto the drone, so we could just fly it up quickly. So, don’t tell anybody that, but you have to find tips and tricks to get those right shots. You know? There’s perseverance in that.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Right. Then, do you set all that to music? Is that a big part of your videos?
Neyshia Go:
Yes.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Do you have stock music that you use? How do you pick the music that you’re going to se for the background?
Neyshia Go:
Honestly, I think it takes me more time, and this is my own nuance. This is my own idiosyncracy. Because I came from a music background, music to me is so important. It probably is one of those parts of the video making process and video editing process that takes me the most time when I’m reviewing it, because I’m very particular about music.
Neyshia Go:
We do have a stock library that the videographer will then suggest a few tunes. I sold a Spanish house recently, and I said I want the music with sort of either acoustic guitar… Some of that flair. You know? So it’s not just… Because you don’t want to set, for example, a classical or traditional or a Spanish home with very modern music. Right?
Gayle Weiswasser:
Sure.
Neyshia Go:
It doesn’t fit the buyer demographic, and it doesn’t fit the aesthetic of the house. I end up spending a lot of time. We go through, obviously, approved music selections. But sometimes, I’ll find something I like, and then, we’ll try to find either if we can use that song or a variation of it.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Got it. Yeah, I can see how you need to pair the right music with the right style of the house.
Neyshia Go:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Absolutely.
Gayle Weiswasser:
All right. Well, this has been great. I love your approach. I love how you think this through. What I really think is important to take away from this episode is that even without a team of videographers and drones and music library and all of that, there is a way to be very deliberate about the content that you’re creating for your properties. Like you said earlier, thinking back… Or looking at the expected buyer and then moving backwards from there to develop the marketing plan and the marketing content, I think, is really key. There’s just some very basic, but super important, lessons to draw from what you’re doing that I think anyone listening to the show can get.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Before I let you go, I do want to ask you what I always ask people who come on the show, which is, can you tell us about some apps that you’re using? They don’t have to be related to real estate or marketing or anything else, but apps that maybe our audience hasn’t heard of before, that you use for entertainment or productivity or relaxation, that other people might want to check out.
Neyshia Go:
Let’s see. Well, I do actually use Homesnap a lot.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Oh, wonderful. I love hearing that.
Neyshia Go:
Just for the record, I think I got an email that I won some award for how much I use it. I mean, that was like, I was like, “Oh, God.”
Neyshia Go:
I use Homesnap. I also use the Health app, because frankly, I’m always trying to monitor. I don’t get as much exercise as I would love to because my work schedule is pretty hectic. I do try to monitor how my health is doing, and how many steps I’m taking, and how much I’m moving around, just to make sure that I am still in good health, even if I am drinking coffee all day. That’s one. Let me think of what else I use, actually. Postmates?
Gayle Weiswasser:
And when you say the Health app, you mean the app that comes with iOS, that’s the Apple-
Neyshia Go:
Yes.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Health app. Okay. Got it.
Neyshia Go:
I’m actually only 30 years old, and yet I’m probably the least tech friendly of anybody I know my age. I’m pretty basic when it comes to apps. But I do have a few. I mean, I use Waze every single day, because… It’s funny, because my fiance and I were in the car yesterday. He goes, “Why are you using Waze right now? We’re going to my office.” Which obviously, I’ve been there a hundred times before. I said, “Well, I want to map out for real time traffic.” Because I live and work in Los Angles… I happened to be in Santa Barbara with him at the moment. We live both in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. I said, “I’m so used to constantly mapping real time traffic, because I never want to be late.” That’s one thing I definitely use a lot. WhatsApp for telecom communication with my international clients. Those are the apps I use the most. They’re not that interesting.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Well, you started out by mentioning Homesnap, so I can’t take-
Neyshia Go:
So that’s all [inaudible 00:25:37].
Gayle Weiswasser:
I can’t argue with anything you said.
Neyshia Go:
Exactly.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Yeah. That’s great. All right. Well, Neyshia, thank you so much for coming on the show. It’s really great to talk to you. Tell everybody where they can find you online.
Neyshia Go:
So, my name, N-E-Y-S-H-I-A-G-O. Neyshia Go. You can Google me. You can go to my Instagram handle, @neyshiago. My website is neyshiago.com. Yeah. It’s been great. I’m glad we got to do the show today.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Yeah. Thank you so much. Have a great rest of your week.
Neyshia Go:
Thank you. Take care.
Gayle Weiswasser:
Thanks for listening to another episode of the Snapshot. Please leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps us get new listeners. This podcast is part of Industry Syndicate, a curated media network containing the highest rated real estate and mortgage podcasts. Find other excellent real estate content at industrysyndicate.com, home of real estate’s first media network.e