Edutainment is here to stay!
Edutainment is here to stay! Have you noticed a big trend in social media these days?
American illustrator Peter Catalanotto coined the term Edutainment in the 1990s while teaching students about writing and illustration* but it’s also relevant for REALTORS® in this day and age. It’s hard to ignore the rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels and even the new
When it comes to social media and real estate, I’m often asked “what is the best type of content to create and post?”
It is important that brokers avoid creating content just for the sake of content, but there is tremendous value in building a content library that goes with you wherever you go. Social media is rented ground.
Over the last year and certainly during the pandemic, we saw more and more entertaining forms of video content come to fruition. We’ve all seen the dancing and lip syncing that happens over on TikTok — and don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest you become the next dancing REALTOR®. However, it’s hard to ignore impact that these platforms have. How can REALTORS® employ the use of edutainment when it comes to building their brand, generating business and promoting their listings?
First, I think it’s important to understand why TikTok and Instagram are so addicting for many consumers. This past year and a half, there has been a tremendous amount of angst and noise in our news, and to be honest, it can be refreshing to watch short form entertaining videos.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t also create these types of videos for your business.
What do all these videos have in common? They’re all short form — under 1 minute in length. In fact, the faster the better. Most of them are all vertical videos, which is the opposite of what we have been teaching many years ago and that is to only focus on horizontal video.
I still think there’s a big place for horizontal video especially when it comes to YouTube content, but when it comes to short form video, vertical is the way to go. We are also seeing a huge amount of fun, and creativity poured in the each one of these videos. The good news is you can still be informative and educate your buyers and sellers as well as potential prospects by being creative, and quick.
Here are three edutainment ideas:
One: You don’t always have to be on camera.
Good news, right?! The next time you have a new listing take out your phone and record 5 to 10 – 2 to 3 second Clips on your phone. This might be a short clip of the kitchen, the backyard, opening the front door, walking to the home, etc. Now, you have a handful of clips of that house that you can work with.
Open up TikTok or Instagram Reels, add some trending music and a little bit of text and voila— you have now created a quick and simple piece of content and informative but fun and playful.
Two: Tell a story of a milestone.
I love using the 1 Second Everyday app to capture one second clips throughout the course of a year. You can use this to create a quick video highlighting the progress of a year, but for real estate you might use this tool to create a quick video showcasing a local community, or a home being built, or the process of getting a home on the market.
I love using this app in conjunction with the Videoshop app to speed up the video and add pictures or videos to create something fun and engaging. Add music through Instagram reels or TikTok and again you’ve created something fun.
Three: Share a quick tip.
What are questions you get asked all the time that you could answer in less than 30 seconds. Brainstorm a list of 10 to 15 quick tips that you could give when it comes to your community, relocation, moving, listing a home, buying a home etc.
When you go to record each video instead of recording it all the way through, record a few clips separately. You may record a quick introduction, then two or three points and then a separate clip for the ending — then, open up Instagram Reels or TikTok upload each one of those clips had a little bit of text and voila there you go!
Now you’ve created a great piece of content that’s quick but also extremely helpful and can help establish yourself as an authority in your local area. The key to incorporating edutainment into your content in 2021 and 2022 is getting a plan together for planning, creating and editing and then distributing your content.
Don’t forget that Instagram reels and TikTok can be shared outside the platforms. I love sharing ours to our e-mail database as well as sharing them on other platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter event Pinterest. I would love to hear from you, are you creating edutainment? Let’s connect over Instagram @katielance
www.instagram.com/katielance and let me know!