Action! 12 Ways Agents Can Utilize Periscope and Meerkat

If reality TV has taught us anything, it’s that audiences crave a backstage pass to virtually every business and personality out there. From watching bosses go undercover to witness the dynamics of their own companies to observing what goes into a complete home remodel, people want to see what’s behind the curtain — and they want to see it right now.

Meerkat and Periscope are free live streaming apps that send real-time video directly to your audience. You can stream your video to a private audience or to anyone who has the app installed. The live videos aren’t just one-way communications: Viewers can comment as they watch; you will see their comments on the screen and can respond instantaneously. Meerkat and Periscope allow the audience to “be there” with you — to see what you see and hear what you hear — and engage with you in real time.

Here are 12 ways you can use Periscope or Meerkat to market your real estate business.

Expand your reach

One of the things that makes Meerkat and Periscope so compelling is that your live stream is viewable by anyone on the planet with an Internet connection.

1. Regional appeal

You don’t have to limit your marketing messages to local audiences; reach potential buyers around the world. Help curious out-of-town viewers get to know your area and position yourself as their go-to real estate agent at the same time. Answer questions about the climate, schools, commerce, housing market, activities, public transit systems, sports teams, the regional personality — anything that helps viewers understand why it would be great to live there.

2. Home tours

A real-time home tour is a unique way to present yourself and the listing, and increase the home’s exposure to potential buyers who can’t be there in person but are still interested in it. In your pre-event marketing for the open house, ask buyers to email any questions ahead of time so that you can be sure to answer them when you’re on site.

Once you begin your broadcast, encourage viewers to direct your walk-through in their comments so that they can see details up close and personal. For example, remind them that you can zoom in on the crown molding or pan back to the kitchen if they want to see something that caught their eye.

One quirky way to use Meerkat and Periscope is to have a passenger in your car live stream the route to your open house as you drive there. Attendees who don’t have the address with them — or who decide at the last minute to drop in — can look for the same landmarks along the way and make it to your showing safe and sound.

Be the local expert

A short, live broadcast where you answer questions or impart real estate knowledge can help you stand out from your competition.

3. Q&A sessions

Host a real estate question-and-answer session and clear up the issues you get asked about most often. Ask your audience to send their questions to you beforehand and let them know they can also query you during the broadcast. If you receive a question you can’t answer immediately during the live stream, promise to research the topic and address it in your next session.

4. How-tos and tutorials

Sometimes there’s nothing like “being there” to show someone how to accomplish a task. Stream a video for sellers on staging their home — a different room per broadcast to keep them short and simple — so that they can see a live “before and after” affect. Step outside for broadcasts that offer landscaping tips to tidy up the exterior.

Why not do a live stream that guides buyers and sellers through some of the more challenging real estate documents? It provides the opportunity to educate all real estate consumers about the process and just might speed up a transaction if any of your viewers have a pending sale. It can also remind potential clients how helpful and knowledgeable you are.

5. Professional interviews

Take the opportunity to shore up your network relationships and do a Periscope or Meerkat interview session where you chat with other professionals. Your guests can include industry thought leaders talking about trends, local vendor partners providing tips and tricks, and your peers or colleagues discussing what they love about real estate.

6. Learning sessions

A unique way to position yourself as a real estate expert, educate consumers and network with other professionals is to host a live broadcast about architecture styles. Collaborate with an agent in another town to give your audience an inside peek at the differences in regional home styles. For example:

• “What does a REAL Cape Cod look like? Jackie is standing by in Hyannis to show you.”
• “Join our friends in Lahaina as they showcase a fascinating use of teak wood.”
• “Check out this classic Kansas City shirtwaist home that’s all dressed up for the holidays.”

Be sure to return the favor and offer to be other agents’ go-to expert for your area.

7. Tradeshow, seminar and conference sidebars

While you can’t broadcast an event that others paid to attend, you certainly can step outside the ballroom or classroom and share with your audience where you are, why you’re there, and how your takeaways will help your potential leads and clients.

8. Business profiles

Stream impromptu interviews with some of the business owners in your nearby towns and ask what they love about living and working there. Do engaging man-on-the-street interviews by quizzing locals on town trivia and the best places to eat, walk their dog and watch a sunrise.

9. Local exploration

Take viewers with you as you walk along a local trail, explore a nearby park or stroll around your town’s signature avenue. Mount your phone on your dashboard and stream a driving tour of the town or neighborhood, the route to nearby hot spots, or even a typical commute between residential areas and commercial districts.

Amuse and inform

Even though you pre-plan and promote your broadcasts, the live format gives Periscope and Meerkat a sense of fun and spontaneity that you can leverage to attract and increase your audience.

10. Milestone announcements

Celebrities aren’t the only ones who can hold a press conference. When something distinct happens for your business — maybe you opened a new office, hired a new agent or are announcing a special offer around your services — do a live broadcast and invite potential leads, clients and other interested viewers to join in and hear your news.

To shine the spotlight on clients, you can broadcast a key ceremony for the buyers’ friends and family who aren’t able to help celebrate in person, but want to offer their congratulations at the moment their loved ones purchase a new home.

11. Contests, sweepstakes and raffles

Use a live stream to kick off your promotional contests, sweepstakes and raffles, and then again to announce the winners. It eliminates the need for “must be present to win” and gets viewers anticipating your next broadcast.

12. Events

As a vested resident in your area and a steward of your community, Periscope and Meerkat give you a way to share your commitment while promoting your business. Start a volunteer drive and do a live stream that encourages people to come on down and pitch in while there’s still time. When you hold a fundraising event, broadcast interviews with participants, sponsors and beneficiaries as well as videos of the activities going on.

Put on a scavenger hunt and give live clues that are timed so that competitors stay engaged and excited for the next broadcast. At your annual summer or winter parties, stream brief videos where you thank your clients, introduce yourself to potential leads and invite people to drop by before the festivities end.

Real estate is a relationship-oriented business and people only connect on a meaningful level if they feel they know the “real you.” Live streaming lends a sense of urgency and authenticity because you give the audience an unedited, somewhat unscripted view of your life right at that moment. Using Meerkat and Periscope is an ideal way to put yourself out there and attract an audience that likes your style and is eager to engage with you.