North Valley Group: How a Family of Realtors Grew their Creator Brand to 3M+ Followers
The North Valley Group shares the story of how they went from selling houses to creating viral content online, gaining over 3M followers along the way…
Creator Brand: North Valley Group
TikTok: 1.7M followers, 127 million likes
Instagram: 1M followers, 818 posts
YouTube: 136K subscribers, 74 million views
Facebook: 364K followers, 35K likes
Full time creator: Realtors and part time creators
Hi North Valley Group! Who are you and what is your creator brand?
Hey everyone, we’re the North Valley Group. Our creator brand consists of our dad, Curt, his two sons Ryan and Spencer, and our brother-in-law Cody. You can find us on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram under the North Valley Group.
Initially, we started out as real estate agents and used content creation as a way to attract and engage potential clients.
However, our videos on humor and entertainment started gaining popularity, even more than the real estate content. Realizing that our audience really enjoyed these skits, we decided to double down on creating humorous content, focusing on family dynamics and everyday relatable life situations.
Our content journey has seen a gradual increase in volume, from making videos three times a week to eventually producing content five days a week. It's been quite the adventure as we fine-tune our brand and continuously experiment to keep our audience engaged and entertained. I would now say we are mainly focused on content creation - even more so than the realtor side of the business.
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How did you come up with your creator & content idea?
None of us had significant experience in content creation to be honest. We all used social media casually, but nothing serious. It was only when we got together and began creating content as the North Valley Group together that things started to take shape. We weren't designing any reels or content outside of what we did as a group. It was a 100% collaborative effort.
As for starting our brand and gaining traction, it definitely was not an overnight success. I recall one of our first videos doing really well on TikTok in November 2021. That moment sort of sparked the realization that, hey, maybe we should take this more seriously.
So, in the following months, we decided to put a lot more effort into it. Fast forward and 2022 and 2023 have been almost entirely dedicated to making content creation our main priority. It's been a journey of over two years to get to where we are now.
About our real estate business, yes, we do get some leads from the content we create. However, as our focus has gradually shifted away from real estate content, it hasn't been as much a lead generation tool.
“If you burn out in other jobs, at least you’ve got your salary. But in content creation, burning out might mean you stop doing what you need to do because nobody’s around to make you work. You’ve got to be your own cheerleader.”
That being said, the content definitely helps, as it keeps us on top of people's minds when they see us in public – we're the group of realtors they remember. So, it's been a beneficial and rewarding shift overall to content.
There’s also a few things that are unique to our brand that help us stand out. Our dad's a baby boomer, a couple of us are millennials, and we also have a Gen Z in the mix. This creates relatability across the age groups of our followers that has really boosted our presence online - there’s something for everyone in our content.
Second, we had a real estate business before we dived into this, so we already knew a bit about the effort required and had resources to back us up. We just redirected our attention from real estate to social media when things started slowing down in that market, and went into it with the same mindset of treating it like a full time business.
But probably the biggest thing that keeps us going is acting as a support group to each other. We encourage each other and keep each other accountable. If we were each doing this solo, we all probably would have called it quits a long time back. But, having each other around, having that balance on up and down days... that's what keeps us going.
What is your content creation process?
Our content creation process starts early in the day when we all get together as the North Valley Group to discuss ideas. We often draw inspiration from existing content or jokes, then find a way to put a unique spin on it that resonates with us and our audience.
After brainstorming and selecting a few ideas, we proceed to actually shoot the content, which often happens later in the day. As for editing, it's something we do on the same day, even while we're still filming. This way, we can quickly adjust or reshoot if needed. Then we publish our content according to our preset schedule.
What has contributed most to our success, I would say, is consistency. We've been at this for two years, constantly learning and adapting with each video we produce. There's always room for improvement, and finding ways to do better is part of the process.
Most importantly, we never quit. No matter how many times a video might flop, we dust ourselves off, look at what didn’t work, and aim to improve. Over time, we've seen gradual yet significant improvement in our skills, which in turn speeds up our production process.
We honestly believe anyone can succeed in content creation if they stick with it and just have that mindset that they want to learn and adapt. It may not happen overnight, but with time and consistency, the results will come.
How do you engage with your audience?
Engaging with our audience is definitely something we're always working on. One thing we've been noticing that is great for engagement is using Instagram stories. We've been putting up stories almost every day, and we’ve really found it’s helped our engagement on that platform considerably - it’s seemed to have given us a boost in the algorithm somehow.
In fact, since we prioritized Instagram stories and continued to regularly post IG Reels, we increased our Instagram follower count from 20,000 to 1 million in less than a year. It's incredible how making small changes can have such a big impact. But remember, different platforms react in different ways, so it's important to use them properly and understand how each works.
Admittedly, we need to get better at responding to comments across platforms - there's so much to keep track of and it's easy to get distracted. We've also started building a YouTube community, hoping to bring our followers closer with longer form content that goes beyond our usual short acting skits.
This way, our audience can get to know us better and come to understand our personalities in a way that you can’t really portray in short form.
How have you monetized your business model?
At first we were mainly focused on getting leads for our North Valley Group real estate business - that was our main way to make money. Then, as we started getting noticed on social media, brands started coming to us with partnership offers. I remember our first was with a mortgage company, and then it’s kind of just grown ever since.
We then started to really understand and realize the limitless potential in social media, compared to our local, geographically limited real estate business. So, we pivoted, opening up to deals with brands that came our way - and not necessarily limiting it to just real estate brands, but really any brands that fit our personalities or overall creator image.
We also started dipping our toes into platforms like TikTok and YouTube, which while not paying a lot, still bring in some income for our content creation through creator funds and AdSense.
“Our number one advice for new content creators is to just get started. Don’t worry about being perfect at first, just start creating and learn as you go. The more you do it, the better you’ll become.”
In spite of our growth in content, I'd say we're still figuring out monetization. Real estate was our primary money-maker initially, so we didn't focus too much on monetizing our social media. But now, we're exploring what we've been missing.
We’re learning a lot from other creators too, particularly how valuable it is to have a strong, engaged community. Brands love to see creators who have solid relationships with their audience, because when we talk about a product, we have a crowd that actually cares what we say.
As for the revenue split between real estate and content creation, it's been changing a lot. We used to make more revenue from real estate, but now the scales are tipping in favor of social media. Last year, it was almost 50-50, and now it’s more like 70-30, favoring social media.
But we're always ready to adapt to the changing environment. If the real estate market heats up again, we'll have to juggle both sides of our business. But for now, we’re riding the social media wave and seeing where it takes us.
What are your biggest lessons learned & challenges faced?
Reflecting on the journey, we’ve had a few big takeaways. First off, having fun is key. If you aren’t having a good time doing something, maybe this isn’t for you - and your content will reflect that.
We make the best stuff as the North Valley Group when we're having fun making it. Staying positive is key, even when things aren't bringing in the money yet or the everyday monotonous tasks seem draining. The last thing you want to have happen is burnout.
If you burn out in other jobs, at least you've got your salary. But here, burning out might mean you stop doing what you need to do because nobody's around to make you work. You got to be your own cheerleader.
There's also this cool thing about social media that we’ve learned, in that there's so much opportunity and almost infinite ways to make money. You aren’t stuck on one path - literally anyone these days can turn their hobby into a source of income, which is awesome.
It’s crazy to see people take something they're passionate about, film it, teach others, and watch their platform grow. For example, there’s a guy named Keith Lee on TikTok. He just started reviewing food from his car and now he's got millions of followers, and his videos literally put restaurants on the map. He’s changed his life just like that, which is awesome to see and really shows the power of content these days.
What technology & tools do you use?
Like a lot of creators, the tech and tools we use for the North Valley Group are pretty simple really. We mostly use iPhones for shooting content and sometimes a drone for real estate stuff.
For editing, we've got a few apps like Splice, Videoleap, and CapCut for TikTok. We've also started using Adobe Premiere Pro for editing our YouTube videos, but that has a bit of a learning curve. To communicate and share info with brands or partners, we use email and Google docs. Canva's another cool tool we use, especially for cover photos or creating graphics.
We've also got a couple of things that might seem a bit odd – like a basic, physical whiteboard and Apple TV. We love using a whiteboard for jotting down our ideas, and the Apple TV lets us screencast our phones when we're brainstorming, rather than everyone trying to crowd around one little screen.
But to be honest, when it comes to social media, you don't really need much to start. A phone and an editing app are usually enough. We're finding out that YouTube is a bit of a different beast and we've bought a few other things for it, but if you're focusing on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, keeping it simple does the trick.
What future plans & goals do you have for your creator brand?
It feels like our creator future as the North Valley Group is pretty open, but we've all agreed on some key goals. First, we want to make our YouTube content bigger and better, and we're focusing a lot on long-form video content.
We want our audience to get to know us better and really come to know our personalities, aside from the short form skits we post. We've seen plenty of success with our personality coming out in our Instagram stories, and we'd like that to spread to our wider following.
Next, we're also focused on growing our partnerships with brands. There's a lot of potential on YouTube with Google Adsense, but we're especially excited about the idea of video sponsorships. We'd love to collaborate with products or services we genuinely like and just talk about them candidly in our videos. Ideally, every video we put out would be sponsored.
Alongside that, we plan to keep growing our presence on other platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. We've had good growth on these platforms in the last couple of years, and we're committed to maintaining that momentum.
Entertainment on a large scale is definitely a goal for us - we look at groups like Dude Perfect and the Sidemen, and see where they’ve taken their brands and use that as inspiration. We're excited to see what opportunities come our way, and for now, YouTube is our main focus. But we're open to change, and if we need to adapt to keep our content fun and engaging – for both us and our audience – we're prepared to do that.
If we can strike a balance where our content is fun for everyone and we're loving what we do, we see no reason to stop. So in a way, this could be an indefinite thing for us.
If we had to sum it up, we aim to keep growing, keep having fun, make some more money, and keep our audience engaged.
What advice do you have for aspiring content creators?
Our number one advice for new content creators is to just get started. Don't worry about being perfect at first, just start creating and learn as you go. The more you do it, the better you'll become.
If you want to be successful on platforms like YouTube, make sure you're consistent and dedicated to putting out new content regularly. The more you create, the more you'll understand what you enjoy and whether this is really something for you.
Don't worry if your initial content only gets a few views. Everyone starts from somewhere and it's all part of the journey. You might feel embarrassed or discouraged at first, but just push through. It's inevitably awkward in the beginning, but it won't always feel that way.
If you're working solo, find inspiration from other creators. It doesn't matter if they're not in your niche. Look at what they're doing well and learn from them. Apply your own unique twist and creativity to their successful strategies.
The internet is endless and there's enough space for everyone to succeed. Incorporating ideas from others and giving it your own spin not only boosts your creativity, but also makes the content creation process easier.
As for the future of content creation, it really comes down to how technology progresses and where the audience's attention shifts. Back in the day, the goal was to get on TV, but now, thanks to technology, it's much easier for regular people like us to reach audiences and build a following.
The future will likely continue to break down walls and create opportunities as technology evolves, maybe shifting from current social media platforms to VR experiences or something totally new.
The key takeaway here is, wherever the audience is, that's where the greatest opportunities will be. The younger generations are incredibly tech-savvy and are spending significant time on devices and platforms, so it's clear there's plenty of opportunity, though the platforms might change.
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