By: Dearborn Real Estate Education

Preparing Students for Real Estate Career Success with Microlearning

In the 2018-19 Dearborn State of the Real Estate Education Industry report, we learned how schools feel about the job they’re doing preparing students in the prelicensing classroom. Approximately 90% of survey respondents feel they are informing students well on the topics required by their state’s real estate commission. And 88% feel they are preparing their students for success on the real estate licensing exam. But only 71% feel they are preparing students for a successful career in real estate.  

There are many contributing factors to this reality, but it makes sense. Instructors are teaching the curriculum as dictated by the state, and that curriculum is designed to prepare individuals to pass their real estate licensing exams. Even after the student is licensed and comes back to our schools for continuing education, it can sometimes be difficult to get state approval for CE topics that teach some of the critical skills that lead to success in the business, like digital marketing techniques and lead generation.

But what if there was a way you could prepare students for their licensing exam or offer a state-approved continuing education course and teach them the skills they need to be successful in the real estate business? That would be a significant win for both you and your students. Microlearning might provide the channel you need to accomplish it.  

What is Microlearning?

Microlearning is a unique way to deliver educational content to students—it is defined as the delivery of brief, targeted content designed to teach a very specific lesson. Where a course might teach someone to golf, a microlearning lesson would focus on teaching the learner to sink a 4-foot putt. If you’ve ever watched a video on YouTube to learn how to cook an entree or fix a bathroom sink drain, you’ve been a student of microlearning.

How Can Microlearning Prepare My Students for Career Success?

Professional development is something real estate agents rarely make time for. The biggest reason it isn’t prioritized is that it’s inconvenient. While agents understand the value of professional development, the idea of setting aside time to travel to a classroom for a non-credit course represents time and money lost. But what if participating in professional development was as simple as taking their phone out of their pocket?

A library of professional development videos, available exclusively to your students, would be an effective way to put valuable career-building topics at your students’ fingertips. This isn’t as difficult as it might sound at first. With some readily available digital tools, you can control access to certain video content exclusively for students. Here’s how it could work:  

  • Record Videos:

    If you have a studio and high-end editing equipment, use it. But if you don’t, it doesn’t mean you can’t pull this off. The most important part is that you deliver real value. Your students will look past the absence of professional production if the content you deliver is top-notch and helps them grow their careers.

  • Upload as “Unlisted” to YouTube:

    There are three different privacy settings for videos you upload to YouTube: Public, Unlisted, and Private. Public is exactly what it sounds like. Private means you have to give access to specific individuals you want to see it. That’s a lot to manage. But Unlisted means the video doesn’t show up in a search or in your channel. Essentially, the only way to access it is if you have the unique link.

  • Create a Video Listing Page on Your Website:

    Create a stand-alone page on your website that isn’t linked to from any other page. This will be the students’ access point to your video library. On this page, you can either list titles and links, or embed the videos from YouTube directly in your page so students can view the videos without leaving the site.

  • Give Students Access to the Page:

    If you process orders online, you likely have some sort of post-purchase email that you send to students. Add the link to that email. You can also make reference to the library in class to remind students that you’ve developed these resources for their benefit.

In this example, you’re giving access to anyone who purchases a regulated course from your school. But you could also try selling access to the microlearning library as a stand-alone product. Either way, you can market this library as a differentiator that sets you apart from your competition. Students will see value in partnering with a school that has invested resources in ensuring their success beyond their time in your classroom.  

Topic Ideas for Real Estate Microlearning

There are countless topics that could bring value to your students in a professional development microlearning library. But to get your creative juices flowing, here are a few ideas:

  • Cold calling
  • Lead generation
  • Door knocking
  • Real estate photography
  • Personal branding
  • Closing gift selection
  • Email marketing
  • Social media strategies
  • Networking
  • Tech tool tutorials

This is just one way to put microlearning to work for your school. It gives you the opportunity to fill an educational gap for your students, showcase your best and brightest instructors, and offer something your students can’t get from another real estate school.