Real Estate Marketing Tools & COVID-19
There is a lot of debate about the state of the property market right now, and how it is going to look in the months to come. This means for some of you, you are re-evaluating the marketing tools that you are using and which are the most effective for the current industry environment.
Below we provide some insight on how we see people responding to various real estate marketing tools, in the hopes that this will help you and your clients make informed and effective decisions to increase the opportunities of a sale, and at the best price.
Note – In our discussion, we are referring to work that is completed to a high professional standard, the same does not apply to someone recording a property video on their iPhone or capturing a ‘360 tour’ that only includes five scans.
Property Videos
We are big believers in the power of video. And if anything, COVID-19 has reaffirmed our beliefs. For one, video consumption rates are through the roof. If you have a database you are looking to engage, video is currently the way to do so. People are getting more and more used to video as a means to learn, to communicate, and as a tool to make decisions.
Quality real estate videos (and we say quality because there is a lot of sub-par video out there at the moment) is about creating want and desire for the property. A need to look at the property further. Or, in the case of longer form videos, it is about telling a story about the property and the lifestyle you can experience living there.
This emotional want drives people to take an action, in this case -> calling you to arrange an in person inspection.
As such, video remains the most effective real estate marketing tool to engage local buyers.
Further reading on real estate videos:
360 Virtual Tours
360 Virtual tours are going gangbusters. Here’s an article where we discuss virtual tours with some of our industry peers – https://www.insideimaging.com.au/2020/virtual-property-tours-the-new-normal/
360 virtual tours are the house inspection you can take from anywhere in the world. So they really are a no brainer when social distancing is the order of the day and there are people who are physically unable to inspect the property.
The people we are talking about here are the people who are most vulnerable and are unable to leave from home, people that are interstate and overseas and are not able to make the trip to see the property. If these are your target buyers, then a virtual tour is a MUST.
If you are targeting primarily local buyers however, getting prospective buyers to the inspection tends to remain the main goal. At the inspection you can gage buyer reactions, respond to any questions and queries immediately, and if this property isn’t the one for them, you can gage if there is something else in your stock that will work for them.
Real Estate Photography
Professional, quality real estate photography seems to still be the preferred initial evaluation tool on REA or Domain. People scroll through the photos, and if the property passes the first test, they then click into the real estate video or 360 virtual tour for a closer look.
That being said, if you are running a property campaign that is solely social or off-market, photos do not seem to have as much of an important part to play. Video captures higher engagement and click through rates than photos in both EDM and social marketing platforms. People using these forms of marketing to do their property searching seem more likely to engage with the video first, and then look at the photos if available.
So there you have it! Our suggestion is to take a look at your target market, consider how they are most likely to engage with you, and choose your marketing material accordingly.
As always, if you want to have a chat about what we suggest or can offer for your property, please do not hesitate to get in touch on (07) 5597 1859 or info@elitemedia.tv
Happy Selling!
