Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back. Happy Monday. Wanted to wish you everybody a very successful week ahead. And we're going to be bringing some really exciting guests this week, but we will start off with a really interesting one.
His name is Toby Albert Corbin, and he's a real estate advisor and digital creator based in London. Hey, what's happening, Toby? Good. I'm good.
Thank you. Thank you for that intro. No, of course. Of course.
How's everything with you? Yes, Greg. Well, London is great. Great city to be in.
It's working in Salute. So, yes, super excited. Things are going well. Super, super well.
Thank you for joining us today. I look forward to finding more about your story, because definitely looking up for what you've been doing, I find it very interesting, you know, to see how you found yourself not just becoming a real estate advisor, but also a digital creator. You've come up with some really interesting content throughout different platforms, specifically TikTok, to find that uniqueness that makes you stand out and sell those amazing properties. So tell us about your story, my friend.
Yeah, definitely. So, yeah, just like you said, I think social media was huge for me. And going back, I kind of started not really knowing what I wanted to do. I'd just finished uni, and really, what was a friend of mine, who was in uni at the time, was an agent.
And I remember we met at his place for a project. I thought it was his place at least, but with that in the house that he was throwing. I thought people there. But, you know, we started talking, and he's like, yeah, I'm an agent on the side.
And I was just really intrigued, you know, about the industry from then. And I always liked architecture and interior design. So, yeah, that inspired me really. It was him.
And then when I got back to London, I just decided, look, I'm going to try this out. Well, I applied to a bunch of positions, probably about 60, got about three or four responses, ended up taking one. And then, yeah, that was where my career started, essentially. And for me, it started off in the high street model, which is like the corporate model.
Okay. So it's like a salary role with a very small commission. And yeah, that's where I started out. And I quickly realized that the way that I was working was quite outdated and, you know, how I like to provide service.
You know, they didn't kind of want us to be operating in that way. And it was limited, uni potential. So I was just like, look, if I'm going to do this, you know, I have a passion for it. I want to do it in a way that makes sense.
So yeah, I became independent. I started the Corbin Group. And this was just before COVID hit. And I remember the first, my first deal actually, immediately just calling everyone and you figure out what I could do when I put a deal together and then COVID hit.
And yeah, I remember clearly being at home one day and just trying to think, what can I do to get myself up there? You know, I'm a new agent. I have a new business. I need to figure out ways to reach people.
So, you know, I knew social media was there and I was always creative. So it takes all kind of how to name for itself. It's not even on your stages. And yeah, I took the TikTok.
I was inspired by a few agents that worked out on the platform. And, you know, a few videos later things just kind of took off. But tell me, talk about this content. Because a lot of people when they think in terms of, okay, yeah, makes sense.
I need to get into social media more. Now, do you choose a specific platform? Do you try to cover everything? What kind of content do you use or do?
What's the first step that you will recommend? I recommend choosing, I would say choose two platforms you like, which you post on regularly. If there aren't any that you're active on, just choose two. And, you know, figure out kind of how you can provide value.
People can be kind of thrown around here and there. You know, it's really true. I think one of the biggest things is figuring out how you can provide value. And there's three main ways in terms of the value at this, the entertainment.
And really posting value platforms. It was entertainment quite well. And then I was also adding a bit of an. Very close.
But yeah, I would say two platforms take talk, make them upgrade the organic reaches. It's huge on those platforms, right? So yeah, I would say, pick two. And really just go for it.
What was the process for your first viral video to go viral? And what did you do to get to the point? Yeah, definitely. So my first few videos was really, you know, I have a few properties that I filmed before from clients.
So how can I get added exposure to these clients? You know, they've been on the market for a little while. I need a different something fresh. So for me, it was just creating a video with a short form of content, no longer than 15 seconds.
The first one that my viral was 30 seconds. The other one was 15 seconds. How can I create something quick, sharp that would grab people's attention? But also, like, I didn't want to sell to these people either.
But the point was to get the exposure and to really, you know, if they're in a market to buy, they can acquire. So I didn't want to, I just wanted to, you know, a piece of content that was great for people that would in return get exposure on. So that was really my goal when I created my first couple videos of my viral. And I think that's kind of what happened.
I wasn't really like, okay, I want to do viral. Are there really a lot of these buyers on TikTok or is there the kids that tell their parents? Because a lot of people have this mindset or this perception that TikTok is for a younger generation that might not have the capability to purchase a property. So are those the direct buyers or are those they want to influence their parents or contacts to purchase?
No, great question. I think that it's definitely a mix of both. You know, starting out two years ago, during COVID, the demographic was a lot lower in terms of age. But now it's held up, you know, are recently closed to bills in the luxury building and the client found me through TikTok, you know, which is amazing.
It's relocating to London. And he messaged me like two months ago and was just like, look, I see what you're doing. This is what I'm looking for. We set an appointment.
You know, everything was legitimate. And we ended up finding him two homes in the luxury building. Oh, super. I totally agree with you.
And I think it's a great mix of both worlds. Now, what I will tell you as well, and kind of to follow up on this, I was reading an article recently that kind of was saying that Gen Z was starting to use TikTok the same way that the older generations were using Google, just typing in, you know, typing in what you're looking for. People are starting to do that on TikTok as well. So in case for you, it's very good because in your handle, you're already London real estate.
So when people are typing in real estate in London, guess what's your up? Your username is right there. Your videos are in there. So in terms of SEO is very important, in terms of the way that you put the description on your videos, the way that you use your hashtag, the way that you use your handles.
So I mean, that just got my attention because sometimes we just forget that people are searching. It's not just in Google. It's also social media. So that's very true.
And those are the details of the content too, that when you're creating, you definitely want to be paying attention to. Even in the copy on your videos, you want to be putting in kind of keywords that are searchable. You know, you just don't want to put the price, but it's not very searchable. You want to put the location area and a few other keywords in.
So I mean, yeah, that's huge for SEO. And with the digitization of the world, you know, it's just how things are going, people are now, you know, googling on TikTok, which is just funny to say. Absolutely, absolutely. Well, I think this type of conversation is really important to talk about because, you know, in SuperL actually one of the things that we specialize on is on, so, I'm not going to be able to advertise it.
So you definitely found yourself a great niche and a great way to stand out. And I really encourage everybody that is listening and just like, oh, I post one video and it goes viral. I'm sure you posted a lot of videos that you didn't get any results. So what would you say was your biggest failure and what did you learn from it?
Oh, biggest failure, I would say, is being too hard on myself on content. So there's been times I've got content and, you know, hasn't got much views or I didn't get the engagement I wanted. And I would even like, there was a couple of times of the video and then, you know, you feel bad after like, why the video? But you just don't need to, you don't really need to go there, you know, like you said, because not everything's going to to be great, but also that doesn't really map the views and the engagement.
And that doesn't really what matters in a grand scheme of things. I think what matters is that you're participating, you know, and you're consistently, but also you're consistently putting yourself out there because, you know, creating content can be vulnerable sometimes. So it's going to kind of exercise that if that makes sense. And so not kind of, because not everything's going to be perfect at the end of the day.
So that's what I've realized. So now if the video doesn't do well, I'll just leave it. You know, I'll just let it rock and it will, it will, it will. But I think, yeah, not putting too much pressure on yourself or on the content.
I like it, that's pretty important because a lot of people they get discouraged when a video doesn't go well. Now the truth of the matter is that the consistency is what's really going to take you to that video that eventually is going to change your entire career. Because this is what it is. Your one video or one post away from completely transforming your career.
So you just need to stay consistent to that. And one thing that you just said about leaving those videos, I find it also very important because that's just like a track record. People will not be able to tell, oh, this guy just got lucky with that video. They're going to see all the work that is behind that video.
It was not just one video. You've been posting videos for a really long time. And with information that is so important that nobody will ever take that away from you. So yeah, it's a great way to build your library, build your audience and eventually keep one of those viral videos.
Like yourself. Now let me ask you, Toby, because this not changing the topic but kind of adding into it. The world luxury, right? We always have this to all of our guests.
What does it really mean to you? I love that. So for me, luxury, it means receiving the best. I can kind of break it, maybe into two areas in relation to what I do.
And I would say it will be the service. So getting the best service possible from a person or from people and then a product. So the best product, the materials that are associated with that product where they're sourced. I would just say it's receiving the best of something.
It's what luxury is. But it's just a level that you're receiving, which I believe is the best. So I would say that what it truly is. It's for me.
Very good. No, thank you. I like that answer. Who does it like?
The best of the best when it comes to products and services. I agree. That's luxury. Now, to wrap this up, obviously, you build yourself a very successful career in a period of time that people will dream of.
Right? A lot of people work for many, many, many years. And you're able to find a way to reach success through different angles. So what would you say is the biggest takeaway or biggest recommendation that you will suggest to our audience to take on action today?
Yeah, I mean, I would say taking action first is huge. And then secondly, it would be patients in the journey. Like I said, I've had a short thorough career as opposed to a lot of seasoned agents. But patients is huge because with everything happening, that's so fast nowadays, I forget to slow down and be patient with ourselves in the process.
That's something that I have to remind myself every day. But I think that's a huge thing. So for anyone going into the industry, that's starting, that's been in there for a few years. I'm going to be patient with the work out at the time.
But as long as you're considering the journey, that I'm appreciating the journey. So that's been it. I love it. Well, thank you so much.
Is there anything else that you would like to share before we drop this off? No, I appreciate you. Appreciate the cool. I appreciate everyone that's watching.
And yeah, I'd love to do this again sometime soon. Sounds good. Well, I look forward to seeing you in London. Or if you haven't come to Miami, be my guest.
And best of luck. Keep on crushing it. I look forward to seeing you do some really fun and interesting videos on TikTok and everywhere else. And I'll be turning into it.
Thank you again for everybody watching or listening. Please make sure to subscribe and to check what Toby is doing, not just on Instagram, but on TikTok, the link in. So thank you all for watching. And until the next one, take care, Toby.
Take care. And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it. And remember, embrace it's beautiful success in life.
My name is Alvaro, and I'll see you next time.