🤖 The YouTube Algorithm for Real Estate Explained:

The biggest mistake we all make is assuming platforms are based on some white-and-black algorithm.

But the truth, explained by a YouTube employee, is that the algorithm is actually based on people.

Algorithm = people.

So if the algorithm is based on people, then we only need to focus on what they care about, aka culture.

Put yourself in the mind and shoes of the viewer and create what they care about not what you or I care about.

This is where the conversation often turns to the “YouTube meta.”

Meta = the most effective tactics available (to achieve the goal of the game).

Which is just a fancy word for what’s working vs. not currently, aka culture.

So the YouTube meta is the most effective way to win on YouTube.

While the algorithm can favor particular content because of supply & demand, and consumer behavior, humans are the focus.

But if the algorithm is people and people are all different, then if you base your logic on first principles then this tells there are multiple styles that will work.

Different people = different preferences.

So there’s a dance between the relationships of:

1. What do you want to make?
2. What does your audience want to watch?
3. And what do the platforms want?

And you can overvalue any of those 3 factors.

Case and point, the current YouTube meta in real estate.

In real estate, many people tend to only stick to videos about:

1. Living in {INSERT CITY}
2. Moving to {INSERT CITY}

But that’s not the only thing that gets real results (aka buyers & sellers).

Education videos only reach 29.8% (GWI + Hootsuite) of users on YouTube. So if that’s your only method you’ll limit your reach.

And even the talking head (direct to camera) format isn’t the only way to create content, there’s multiple different styles:

1. Vlogs
2. Interviews
3. Cinematic storytelling

And then there’s multiple different angles within different styles like talking head direct to camera, live, and screen sharing.

Talking head is just the easiest & most duplicatable YouTube format.

But then you see the best like Ken Pozek who’s engaging his audience with different styles like on-the-street interviews with Orlando residents.

Let’s take a step back for a second…

Why does YouTube matter?

• 694,000 hours of videos streamed on YouTube every minute vs. only 452,000 hours of video Netflix… (Wyzowl)
• #2 most visited website on the internet (GWI / Hootsuite)
• With an average 23.7 hours per month per user (GWI / Hootsuite)
• And if connection & trust is built over (volume of) time then there’s no better platform for building social equity currently.

This is why entrepreneurs like Ryan Pineda vividly describes the difference between when someone finds him on TikTok or Instagram vs. YouTube &

And why business owners like Mr. Beast can build a $1,000,000,000 company or Ken Pozek (team leader in Orlando) in real estate can generate well over $3,000,000 in commission solely & directly from YouTube.

Every business needs a discovery platform to get found by potential clients:

Discovery vs. Relationship platforms:

Distribution on Discovery Platforms is owned by the platform itself – you're just borrowing it.

Remember what I said about social media being rented land? That's true – but that doesn't mean that it doesn't offer value or opportunity.

Relationship Platforms

Relationship Platforms are focused on distribution that YOU own and control. Some people will say relationship platforms allow you to "own your audience" but that's not the right way to think about it.

Your "audience" is actually a collection of individuals – and you don't own individuals. You own the right to communicate with them (for as long as they allow you to).

- CreatorScience

• SEO (ranking on search)
• Reviews
• Blogging
• YouTube
• TikTok
• Podcasting
• PR
• etc.

Then a relationship platform and conversion model, but more on those later…

So back to the algorithm, aka the people.

What matters most on YouTube?

The first thing to focus on is the packaging. Packaging is the gift wrapping of a present (the content/video). Or like the front cover, branding, and title of a book.

For YouTube, this is:

1. Idea 💡
2. Title 🪝
3. Thumbnail 🖼️

And the idea is arguably the most important because everything else just trickles down from the idea.

💡 So how do you pick a great idea?

Here’s a few questions you can ask yourself:

1. Is the idea interesting to you?
2. Is it deeply interesting for your audience?
3. Does it evoke an emotional response? Or can it be emotionally evoking through packaging and presentation?
4. Does it open multiple curiosity gaps? Does it make you want or NEED to watch it?

How do you find great ideas? Research 🔬:

1. Search and other people’s content: podcasts, YouTube/videos, Google/blogs, Google’s autofill, news articles etc.
2. Ideas & inspiration from competitors, and outside the industry
3. Forums (Reddit etc.) and groups (Facebook groups etc.)
4. Comment sections on content, forums, even product comment section like books on Amazon, etc.
5. Customer surveys, interviews, client questions, DMs, comments, etc.
6. Your inbox
7. Tools like UberSuggest, AlsoAsked, VidIQ, TubeBuddy and Keywords Everywhere

✅ So here’s an idea criteria checklist to help you know which ones to execute on (from a consultant on Mr. Beast’s team, and other big names like him):

1. Does this have broad appeal? (Will it engage a new audience -> casual -> core audience)
2. Does this excite me? (use emotions)
3. Is this idea feasible/practical to create?
4. Is there evidence to match expectations?
5. Can we package this?

🎁 ChatGPT, Bard, Claude AI prompt examples:

🏠 Here’s some of what’s working in real estate:

• New construction videos have a large appeal to all types of different people.
• Moving to {CITY} and relocation topics will always perform well on YouTube.
• Coming soon to {CITY} topics are a new way to engage your local audience and build a deep community. These also perform well on short form.
• Home tours, new home tours, and listings can perform really well IF you’re in the video and optimize the script & video for YouTube. Meaning you’re shooting with a hook and with content that lasts 6 to 20+ minutes. Basic 2-3 minute listing videos with no agent doesn’t perform as well.
• Vlog style videos can retain viewers longer because you’re showing while you’re talking so it’s more interesting & engaging. It also feels more real and natural.
• Appealing to a larger audience with affordability will always tend to overperform because the audience is bigger. But that doesn’t mean luxury won’t (for example Ryan Serhant & Brad McCallum). People love doom scrolling Zillow to find their dream home so they’ll do the same on YouTube.

The second part of the packaging is the Title.

🪝 So, what makes a great title?

Think of the title as a magazine headline. Magazine writers are some of the best in the world because they’re creative, use an emotional angle, leave you wanting more, and they’re typically conversational phrases so they sound natural.

The 3 questions every reader asks when reading any piece of content are:

• What is this about?
• Is this for me (the viewer)?
• Why should I read it? What PROMISE are you making?

Next dial in the specifics and curiosity.

These are the 5 components we want you to focus on to bring absolute clarity in your headline:

• How many? - The number of things they can expect to get. Is it 1 or many?
• What? - What does the reader get? Reasons, Tips, Ways, Guide, etc.?
• Who? - Specifically who the audience is or isn't?
• Feel? - How do you want them to feel or how are they walking into the content?
• Outcome? - What your reader wants and why?

This is another way for you to increase the voltage or attractiveness of your headlines.

Look at your audience and outcome in your headline and ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this a general or specific audience?
• Is this a question for a lot of people or a few people?

Then punch up or down the voltage by asking:

• How can I make the audience bigger? smaller?
• How can I make the outcome bigger? smaller?
• What kind of audience, outcome, or feeling am I talking about?

Then leveraging using power words for example:

• Access
• Accurate
• Alluring
• Astonishing
• Automatic
• Bizarre
• Boosting
• Breathtaking
• Brutal
• Captivating
• Certified
• Comprehensive
• Crazy
• Crushing
• Deep
• Definitive
• Demoralizing
• Different
• Disappears
• Effortless
• Essential
• Ethical
• Exclusive
• Expert
• Fail-Proof
• Formula
• Etc. (not one 😂 I just can’t list out every single word or it will be too long)

There’s different proven formulas you can use for headlines as well.

✅ Here’s a title checklist:

• Is it simple, punchy and less than 55-60 characters? (unless leveraging the rest for)
• Does it sell the benefits not just features? (Benefit Driven not just Features)
• How can I make it unique and fresh? (Unique Positioning - Fresh Angle. Fresh language. Unique and Fresh. Fresh Words. Beware tied words)
• Does it speak to the desires and ambitions of the viewers? (Speak to Desires & Ambitions - Make more money/Wealth, Health, Love, Happiness)
• Does it call out a specific audience? (Who - Call out a specific audience. Specificity)
• Does it agitate a problem the viewer has? And make a promise to solve it? (Agitate a Problem the viewer has and promise to solve it)
• Does it create curiosity? (Curiosity - makes them want to click)
• Does it open a loop? (Does it give it away or create mystery? DON’T reveal the payoff in the title…)
• Can this video tap into fear & pain? Or help the viewer move closer to pleasure? (Tap into fear or pain or pleasure. People need incentives and are often driven by fear rather than selfish motives)
• Is there power words, emotional words & uncommon words?
• Does the video frame a question viewers ask?

🔑 If there’s anything you take away for the title & thumbnail, remember these 3 key questions:

• Is it specific enough?
• But appeal to everyone? (or a big enough audience?)
• And is it emotional?

🎁 ChatGPT, Bard, Claude AI prompt examples:

🏠 Here’s some of what’s working in real estate:

• Broad thumbnail but niche-targeted title. The thumbnail starts the story but the Title needs to continue it.
• Action words on the front end of the title can do well, “Tour, Touring, Inside, Living, Moving, Coming etc.”
• The city (and city, state) is a great attention grabber in the front of the title.
• Power words in the middle of the title but then curiosity opening phrases at the end of the title.
• You can also flip this and utilize SEO on the back end (city, state, or county), and more curiosity openers. This is big outside of real estate.
• New construction is a popular topic.
• Punchy statement titles are popular.
• First-person “I” titles haven’t broken into real estate yet (it’s extremely popular in every other industry), but I think they will.

🖼️ Last on the list is the thumbnail.

And this is arguably one of the most important pieces.

Think of your thumbnail like an ad. Ads catch our attention because they’re specific to who they’re talking to, they appeal to our emotions, and leave you wanting more.

This took me a while to really learn… 90% of the thumbnail is psychology. Only 10% is the design.

The thumbnail must be clean, obvious, and easy to understand with a glance, but think of the thumbnail more like an ad, not the title.

People will see the thumbnail before they read the title.

🔑 This is why these 3 factors help you get more attention and more clicks to watch your video:

1. Specific wording
2. Emotionally compelling
3. But with broad appeal

And we want the viewer to be so curious they need to read the title and want to click to learn more.

Here’s the main components with thumbnails:

1. Background image
2. Text
3. Person: Facial expression, emotion, and action
4. And other imagery & visuals

When it comes to faces & people on a thumbnail there’s 101 different options, and combinations, so here’s some battle-tested variations:

1. Pointing (up & diagonal to the right and left corners) is most universal, either with a smile or a shocked face.
2. Looking towards the thumbnail and pointing behind you
3. Unsure or confused.
4. Shocked face, plus hand expressions can make it even more compelling.
5. Covering your mouth, and a shocked face.
6. Smile + power pose.
7. Sad or disappointed face + thumbs down
8. Smile + thumbs up.

And if you shoot them in a few different clothes you can stretch them out a couple of months.

🏠 What’s working in real estate?

• Showing the scale (size) of the video - meaning drone shots of the property, neighborhood, community/area, or a map.
• Exterior photos of houses generally do better than interior photos.
• Big numbers about money always grab a large audience.
• The less text the better, generally only 1-5 words.
• In location photos pointing to a main feature in the background like a vlog perform well.
• Telling a story with the thumbnail but making them wonder & be curious enough that they need to read the title.
• Then the story of the thumbnail + title must be so compelling they need to click because they want to learn more.

Now that you know how to package a video with a:

1. Great idea
2. Click worthy thumbnail
3. Compelling title

📊 How do you gauge success?

There’s on-platform feedback such as:

• click through rate (CTR)
• average view duration (AVD)
• comments
• likes
• subscribers

And then there’s off-platform feedback:

• lead generated
• buyers & sellers reaching out
• verbal feedback from friends, family, and your community

It’s common that people will never like or subscribe but then say “I’ve been watching your videos…”

As a business owner at the end of the day, your focus is driving business results, not being a creator.

This is something Ali Abdaal (4-5 million subscribers) talks about often too.

He doesn’t focus on views, subscribers, and even click-through rate & retention. He focuses on long term, is it driving the business?

Granted, he has a team focusing on CTR and AVD, but his message still stands.

You don’t need a big channel with tens of thousands of subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views on your videos to get business from your channel.

We’re finding success with getting buyers & sellers organically reach out from $300,000 to $5,000,000+

Consistently getting 3-30 leads on every video when you leverage lead gen CTAs (calls to action)

Small channels with a few hundred or thousand subscribers can bring you $5,000,000 or $20,000,000+ in sales in real estate.

In real estate, unlike other industries, you only need 1 buyer buying a $500,000 or $1,000,000 house, to cash in a $10,000+ or $20,000+ check.

And when you get multiple buyers a year then the YouTube channel can pay for itself.

Other industries have to sell way more to make the same or less money.

They need YouTube’s monetization, ad money, affiliate links, and all of these other revenue sources.

So it’s better to focus on “is the channel bringing in business?” and the best way to audit that is:

1. Output - are you producing x4 videos a month?
2. Views - Packaging (CTR): is the idea/topic, title/headline, and thumbnail compelling enough that it’s getting clicks & views?
3. Retention - Presentation (AVD): is the hook, content, and payoff rewarding the viewer enough to watch the entire video?
4. Leads per video - lead magnets, ending CTA
5. Clients (buyers & sellers) - # of leads per month x volume of videos x time x value exchange

But like Ali Abdaal, real estate can focus less on metrics like CTR, AVD, comments, likes & subscribers if the videos are driving business results.

Now, having better metrics can help drive more, so that doesn’t mean you can just 100% neglect them.

🔑 This means you have more flexibility and don’t need to focus on being perfect and being a creator.

Hopefully, this deep dive helps you with the first two, output & views (CTR).

I’ll touch more in a part 2 & probably part 3 about retention/presentation (AVD), and also leads per video, and clients in a later edition.

As well as dive into relationship platforms.

So stay tuned for more deep dives like this!

🧱 An Unfiltered Conversation with NY's #1 Mortgage Lender (Top 10 in US) | Brian Scott Cohen

Watch Now

Meet Brian Scott Cohen. This is an unfiltered conversation with Brian Scott Cohen, NY's #1 mortgage lender, top 10 in the US, and the most reachable mortgage lender in NY with over $6 billion in loans & 9,000 homeowners served.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• 00:00 - intro
• 02:15 - his story after 19 years
• 07:34 - 19,000+ TikTok followers: embracing digital
• 10:25 - overcoming tough markets
• 16:54 - high volume but high touch
• 22:55 - work life integration as a high performer
• 25:38 - over prioritizing communication
• 32:08 - becoming the knowledge broker
• 34:36 - meeting & working with Ryan Serhant for 15 years
• 40:25 - Brian's secrets for long lasting relationships
• 46:23 - educating & expanding into new markets
• 57:06 - world class leadership