Podcasting continues to grow in popularity, and Texas REALTORS® are stepping up to the microphone to educate listeners and build their businesses.
Prospects around the state are listening. REALTORS® report positive feedback on social media and greater community recognition.
Texas REALTOR® spoke with three REALTORS® about their shows. These members emphasized that the only things you need to start podcasting are your ideas, your voice, and a way to record them.
Educating listeners
Rosie Hayer started Austin Real Estate Podcast with Rosie Hayer to share the useful conversations she was already having with her team and vendor partners.
“Having a great title company, a fantastic loan officer, a great inspector, a great mentor, and a business coach are key factors for a REALTOR® to be very resourceful. It shows the REALTOR® to be a powerful asset to people in general,” she says. “We were having these great conversations off the phone, off camera all the time. If the public or our database got to hear them, they could take the advice into consideration at their own convenience.”
We have barely scratched the surface of this.
Rosie Hayer
Her podcasts started out scripted but grew more spontaneous as she and her team became more comfortable with the format. She blocks off a half hour to produce the shorter 10- to 15-minute clips, and an hour for the more specialized 45- to 60-minute episodes.
Her ideas come directly from her experiences in the field. Episodes include “The Many Down Payment Options for Homebuyers” and “The No. 1 Thing All Successful Homebuyers Do.”
Earlier this year, she started a related YouTube series called Level Up with Rosie Hayer, in which she profiles business owners. She likes podcasting and video blogging because it allows her and her team to portray their true selves, and the stories of the people they feature. The shows build trust with listeners. Hayer says her audience for both shows are local businesses and entrepreneurs in Austin as well as real estate prospects.
PODCASTING 101
Podcasting first became popular in 2004. A podcast is an audio file designed to be downloaded automatically from the internet. Apps for listening to podcasts, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher, can notify users whenever a new episode has been downloaded to that person’s device. Listeners can also access podcasts on websites and listen directly from a computer, phone, or tablet. Internet-connected smart speakers and virtual assistants will also play podcasts when asked.
A podcast often mimics the format of a traditional radio show, with a host discussing a topic or a holding a conversation with guests. Unlike a live radio show, a podcast is created and packaged before it is broadcast. Podcasts can be edited for clarity and may include music. Podcasts can be any length, may include commercials or promotions, and can be on any schedule the podcast owner chooses.
“My husband and I run our real estate company, The Hayer Group, together. It’s a family owned business for us. Our goal is to create wealth for people. Anybody who wants to create wealth through real estate is going to be our audience eventually,” she says.
Her podcast is connecting with listeners. When clients see her at special events, the first thing they say is that they are tuning in. She also receives calls and emails about the show. Austin Real Estate Podcast with Rosie Hayer draws around 3,000 listeners for episodes, she says.
The right mentality is essential. While good equipment is important, podcast listeners can hear your soul, she says. Be confident, and be OK with failure, as long as it is failing forward toward improvement. She has hired new team members and plans to devote more attention to this aspect of her business.
“We have barely scratched the surface of this,” she says. “The potential is unlimited.”
Promote your network
Kariliz Perez started her podcast, The Houston Real Estate Talk, roughly a year and a half ago to do something unique and different as a brokerage.
Podcasting was the best way to deliver that message.
Kariliz Perez
The Houston-area REALTOR® says the podcast showcases her as a more knowledgeable all-around real estate professional. It promotes Perez’s brokerage, STONE & Fields, as well as her professional network.
“We are surrounded by professionals who are so knowledgeable and helpful in what they do,” she says. “We have the attorneys, the appraisers, the inspectors and so on. We have so much information to share. With social media, you don’t have the space to say all that much. We wanted to inform our friends, family, and clients. We figured out that podcasting was the best way to deliver that message and help others in the industry to expand their groups and clientele.”
Perez’s guests explain complex topics, like inspectors discussing mold or attorneys discussing leases, to her core audience: prospective buyers.
Perez gets ideas by listening to other podcasts, like the Houston Chronicle podcast Looped In. She then calls friends and coworkers to brainstorm potential guests. Perez shares the questions with her guests and then the conversation starts.
“The episodes I enjoy the most are the ones where I am truly learning,” she says. “I think the guests also enjoy the spontaneity of coming up with questions and the curiosity I have through the process and the interview.”
She has seen her guests post the episodes on their social media platforms and receive positive feedback.
Like any good marketing strategy, consistency is key.
“We try to consistently do two or three every month,” she says. “If somebody else wants to do the same, create a plan and stick to the plan. Don’t only do it for three months and stop because you only have two followers. You have to continue and be consistent and give it time to grow and expand.”
Just jump in
Steven Randolph started San Antonio Realty Pros in late 2018. The Karras Randolph Signature Property Group REALTOR® was already an avid podcast listener.
“When I got into real estate, I saw that there weren’t a lot of podcasts for our local market. I just saw a void. I was nervous about it at first, but then thought, What’s the big deal, you know? I enjoy listening to podcasts, and I thought this might be a good opportunity for me to put my name out there and give clients a good source of information to listen to.”
It keeps us top of mind with our clients.
Steven Randolph
Randolph and his business partner, David Karras, don’t script their podcast. They try to keep episodes between 20 minutes to an hour—something a listener could finish in one sitting. They find topics from what’s going on the market or from their own experiences. Seasonal content, like the real estate market during the holidays, are staples.
“We always say we want to give out good information that somebody can use. We’re not on the podcast to just run our mouths,” he says. “We don’t want to waste anyone’s time. We’ll go a couple of weeks or a month without an episode. Maybe it’s because we’re super busy or there’s not that much to put out there. We don’t want to put out episodes that are just filler material.”
Tools of the Trade
Podcasts can be as simple and affordable—or as complex and expensive—as your ideas need them to be. All you need to create a podcast is a device that can record your voice and create a sound file, and a way to upload it to the internet for distribution. Some podcasters use nothing more than their phones, while others rely on microphones and other recording equipment to get a clearer sound.
If you plan to have remote guests on your podcast, programs like Skype and Zencastr allow you to make and receive phone calls that can be recorded.
Audio editing software enables you to improve how the podcast sounds, add music, and otherwise edit your recording. GarageBand for Mac computers and Audacity for PC or Mac are two popular programs.
Once you’ve recorded your podcast, you need a place to put it on the internet where people can find it. There are free podcast hosting platforms, such as Anchor and audio streaming site SoundCloud, as well as many paid sites, such as Buzzsprout, libsyn and Transistor.fm. Each has its own features and advantages, so it is worth researching options to see what best fits your needs.
From there, use your podcasting host platform to submit your podcast to major distribution platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. You may need to fill out an online form and wait before your content appears. When it does, let people know you have a podcast and why they should listen.
No matter how you record, produce, and distribute your podcast, the best way to grow your audience is to consistently generate new and interesting content.
Like Hayer and Perez, Randolph invites industry professionals onto his show. Randolph says his episodes average around 1,300 total plays, but notes some episodes are bigger hits than others. “I think it keeps us top of mind with our clients. A lot of people who listen to our podcast are actually clients and friends of ours,” he says.
Randolph’s listeners are prospective buyers and sellers as well as investors. He says half of his audience is 28 to 34 years old, and the next largest category is 23 to 27 years old. He also draws older listeners.
While he hasn’t gotten any business directly from it, the podcast did attract two new real estate agents to his firm. “I wasn’t expecting that at all,” he says.
Randolph’s message for aspiring podcasters is to be genuine and just press record.
“I mean, it’s not really that hard. My advice is just to do it. Just record, and there’s not a lot of work to be done. You hear some of these podcasts and they’re really edited and they’ve got a lot of music going on. Ours is really simple.
“The barrier to entry is very low. There’s not really anybody telling you, ‘Hey, you’ve got to do these five or 10 things in order to qualify to do this.’ You can just pick up your phone and start recording your own episode, upload it right there to the platform in five minutes, and you’re done. Just do it and work out the bugs as you go.”