In today’s world, if you don’t grab an audience’s attention quick, you’ll never get it. The average attention span of a Millennial is a whopping 12 seconds. For Gen Z it’s even lower — just 8 seconds! The importance of capturing a prospective resident’s attention within those first 8-12 seconds cannot be understated.
So how do you do it? With the type of content that they are interacting with and that is capturing their attention. Multifamily virtual tours and video are in. They’re proven and they work. Simply scroll Facebook for 5 seconds and you’ll see exactly what consumers today are interacting with — video! If you’re simply posting still photos of your units or community on social media and your website as the ‘rich media’ for consumers to interact with, you likely aren’t or won’t be getting much interaction.
So how do you create a multifamily virtual tour that will not only attract but hold a prospect’s attention? Here are a few tips to consider and key points to keep in mind when you set forth to create that all-important video and virtual tour:
Think About Your Audience
This is the critical first step when looking at how to create a multifamily virtual tour or video tour. Who are you creating it for? What do they want to see? And what message are you trying to convey to them? Skip this step and you’re already setting yourself up to fail. And, obviously, you don’t want that, especially given some of the real estate virtual tour pricing out there! Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal resident. Most of today’s audience want an interactive, real, transparent video tour over just a click-through virtual tour made up of still photos.
While a 360 virtual tour seemed like a great idea at one time, today it can come across inauthentic or fabricated. A video tour of your multifamily community or a specific unit allows for a level of realness and authenticity that is unmatched by any other virtual tour out there. On top of that, video is easily engaged with on a smartphone, tablet, computer, really anywhere. So think about where and how you’ll be sharing, and who you’ll be sharing this video tour even before you get started.
Create a Plan (but be flexible!)
When deciding how to make a video tour or virtual tour for your property, you should start with a general plan in mind. What will the point and purpose of this video be? To showcase the amenities? Great! If you’ll be recording an outside amenity like a pool or playground, consider time of day, time of year, the weather, the landscaping, and more. You’ll want to capture your space in its best light, which can certainly be limiting sometimes based on time of year and the forecast. So be flexible in your planning, but also plan ahead…sometimes very far ahead.
If you’ll be recording a specific unit or floor plan to showcase it online or send it to a prospect, consider what their needs are and cater the tour to them. Is it a young family that will need lots of storage and gathering space within the unit? Or is it a studio that’s more fit for a student or young professional and the amenities / proximity to restaurants and nightlife are what they’ll care most about. When planning out what to include in your real estate virtual tour, think beyond just the property itself and make sure you give your audience the full story of what they’ll be getting if they choose to live at your community.
Have the Right Equipment Ready
So, that flexibility on how to create a virtual tour using video? It works best if you have the right equipment. Most virtual tour cameras will require you to take dozens or even hundreds of panoramic photos with an expensive piece of equipment then use a very specific software or even a contractor to stitch it all together into the finalized product. Then you’ll need upload them, embed them, and more. It can be a lot!
Our vote? Keep it simple! If using video for your multifamily virtual tour, it will not only be a type of content that people are used to, but you / your team have likely shot videos of your own before without even really thinking about it. How? On your smartphone! In today’s day and age, that’s all you need. Add an app like Realync, a DJI Osmo anti-shake gimbal, and a wide angle lens, and you’re in business to create your own polished, professional multifamily video tours. The number one piece of advice we can give in order to capture your prospect’s attention though? Keep it real! It doesn’t need to be fancy or overly produced in order to be effective.
Have the Right Virtual Tour Software
Now that you know you can just use your phone when you’re looking at how to shoot virtual tour video, you need to have the right software to back it up. Not all video virtual tour software is compatible with all phones or cameras, so it’s a good idea to look up “how to make a virtual tour with iPhone” or “how to create virtual tours with Android” before you commit to a specific brand of software. Even the best 360 camera virtual tour software may seem a little dated for what you really need and what your prospective residents want. Before you Google the best virtual tour software 2019, think about what you really want and need. Find software that lets you record individual video clips, trim and alter footage, add title overlays, captioning, and layer in audio tracks for music or voice-overs.
While it may seem rather self-serving, we’d be remise if we didn’t talk about how Realync’s video leasing solution provides all of that and more. It’s multifamily’s only Fair Housing compliant, cloud-based video solution that allows onsite teams to use just their iPhone or iPad to create polished, professional pre-recorded videos and host live video tours as well. But live, interactive video is another topic in and of itself.
When you’re looking at how to create a virtual tour that will capture your audience’s attention – it’s all about what your audience really wants. And what they really want is an authentic experience that shows the space as it truly is. No need to get fancy or be over-produced. No need to have the absolute latest tech with the shiniest or fanciest new feature either. Simply deliver a video tour or virtual tour that is real, raw, and transparent, that they can open on their smartphone, and that shows them what they want to see.
If you really want to improve your attention-grabbing game, get personalized with your videos! If someone hears their name and hears that you’ve personalized the video tour for them, their attention is grabbed!
Until next time…keep it real!
