By 3D Living Studio (A Member of Texas Apartment Association)
Throughout the United States, rental households currently make up 36 percent of all housing units.
There are lots of people in the U.S. who are looking for an apartment to rent, and the majority of those people are using the internet to do so. There are three primary steps that people take when they’re looking for an apartment online: Checking out images and ads, choosing a floor plan, and taking a tour.
Are you an apartment manager who is looking to fill in the empty units in your property (or properties)? If so, including these three elements in your apartment’s visual marketing plan will make more renters come to you.
1. Hire a Professional Photographer
One of the first things to do if you’re looking to improve your apartment marketing strategy is to hire a professional photographer.
This step creates awareness of your properties by attracting renters to click on your apartment listings. With high-quality photos featured on sites like Apartments.com and Zillow.com, you can separate your properties from others in the area and increase the likelihood that people will want to check them out.
There are plenty of photographers who can take great photos of your properties. Here are some key factors to consider when hiring someone for this particular job:
● Find someone who specializes in real estate photography
● Check out their portfolio and look at some of their past work
● Consider whether or not their style matches up with your brand
● Find out when they’re available (some photographers book out pretty far in advance)
● Read reviews from past clients and find out whether or not they’d work with them again
● Ask about their pricing (but remember that price isn’t everything; sometimes it pays to spend a little more for high-quality photos)
When you hire a photographer, have them take photos of the best-decorated apartment unit you have in your building. Be sure to have them photograph the property’s amenities, like the swimming pool, gym, and clubhouse, as well.
2. Upgrade to a 3D Floor Plan
This next step helps you to tell a story about your properties and create a strong memory in renters’ minds.
When you showcase a highly detailed 3D floor plan instead of a standard 2D black and white floor plan, you can encourage people to spend more time looking at the units that are available for rent. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that potential renters will want to check out your property and consider renting from you.
Remember, black and white 2D floor plans are made for folks who work in the engineering and construction industries. There’s no personality associated with them, and they’re not ideal for the average person who’s trying to find a place to live.
If you upgrade to 3D floor plans to show off your properties, it’s much easier for potential renters to get an idea of what the apartment looks like from all angles. You can also use this type of floor plan to highlight certain features of the property, and it helps those who are thinking about renting it to get a clear sense of the unit’s flow.
Renters will be able to visualize themselves living in your apartment when they can see it in 3D. This allows them to easily remember it when they sit down to weigh the pros and cons of each property they’re considering. When they have a stronger visual memory of the unit, there’s a greater chance that they’ll choose to rent it instead of another option.
3. Offer Virtual Tours
This third step helps renters to make a final decision and increases the likelihood that they’ll choose to rent your property instead of another one.
A virtual tour involves showcasing 360-degree pictures of each room of each unit that you have for rent. These images are then combined to create a digital walk-through of the property and allow potential renters to check it out without setting foot inside. Sometimes, virtual tours include other elements to create a more memorable experience, including music and narration.
Virtual tours come with tons of benefits to renters and landlords, including the following:
● Save time: You get to avoid driving back and forth to show the property, and your potential renters can check it out at any time, day or night
● Save money: You don’t have to spend money on gas driving back and forth when you invest in virtual tours
● Increased website traffic: Virtual tours encourage people to visit your website more often and spend more time on it checking out your properties
● Stand out from your competitors: How many other property owners in your area are offering virtual tours?
● Provide a higher quality experience: This can increase the likelihood that people will choose your units over others, and they’ll be more inclined to work with you in the future
Offering 360-degree virtual tours can be difficult to do because, in most cases, you won’t have all of your units vacant and ready for a shoot. However, if you can offer 360-degree tours of one or two of the units you have available for rent, this will still increase your credibility in the renters' eyes.
Do You Need Help Marketing Your Apartments?
There are tons of renters out there looking for a place to live, and it can be hard at first to find a way to separate your properties from all the other rentals on the market. As you can see, though, there are some specific strategies that you can use to improve your apartment visual marketing and attract more renters.
Do you need assistance with implementing these three elements of a good visual marketing plan? If so, we can help, specifically with the process of upgrading to 3D floor plans.
Our company renders 3D pictures for apartment floor plans and can provide you with high-quality 3D images for your website. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to start marketing your properties.