As with any industry, multifamily real estate marketing has seen its fair share of changes over the years. And one tool that has really seen an evolution? Real estate virtual tour software!
Those in the multifamily industry for some time will likely remember when virtual tour technology was something to truly ooh and ahh over. And while the newness may have worn off, the impact has only grown. Over time, virtual property tours evolved from stagnant stitched together experiences to fully functional, lead-to-lease power houses.
Let’s take a look at how real estate virtual tour software (humble brag – we’ve been named one of the top platforms by ABODO Apartments) has evolved into one of the most effective leasing tools available to onsite property management teams.
Nice to Have is Now Need to Have
Once upon a time, knowing how to make a virtual tour for real estate was nice information to have. Owning the real estate virtual tour software to make it happen was also great to have in your marketing arsenal. But now? Good luck building a marketing plan without virtual tour videos and virtual leasing technology. The way we and the way our prospective residents live has changed dramatically. Today’s audiences may not be able to travel readily. They may not want or have the time to visit a community in person. For them, virtual tours are a must. It’s how consumers vet a property and narrow down their options. It’s also how many are now making the decision on where to live and completely excluding onsite visits from the process. So apartment virtual tours are necessary to build trust and transparency in the leasing process.
Seeing the community and the exact unit that a prospect could live in is a great way to fill the top of your leasing funnel. However, much the same way virtual tours have evolved to a need to have, they have also evolved in the way they are used. While a 3D real estate video was once acceptable, today’s prospective residents want more.
Website Centerpiece to Impactful Tool
It wasn’t too long ago that virtual tour software brought to mind self-guided 360 virtual tours and VR tours. These would sit on the community website waiting for someone to view them. And, let’s be honest, those evergreen showcase pieces about the community are definitely good to have. They can tell a nice story and show a prospective resident a little about the community. But, before you go and buy a 360 camera for real estate or find 360 virtual tour hosting, let’s look at the evolution of apartment virtual tour software as an actual leasing tool and why 360 tours fall short for leasing.
These types of tours are very early in the lead generation process. They serve to get prospects interested in learning more. But they aren’t what is going to get the lease signed. One of the most impactful ways apartment virtual tours evolved is the evolution from a marketing tactic to an actual sales and leasing tool. Today’s virtual tour software not only gives you the beautiful overview video for your website, it allows you to personalize videos, showing prospects exactly what they want to see in an authentic way. That happens by empowering your leasing team to create this content on their own and turning your virtual leasing software into a high-impact sales tool.
Empowers the Leasing Team
When a prospect comes to your website and views a virtual tour, it is a great way to pique their interest. However, the stagnant website virtual tour can only do so much. Luckily, the next evolution of virtual tours is here and ready for use – a live video tour. This offering takes virtual tours from that standard, everyone-sees-the-same version to proactive and personal. Multifamily leasing teams can use live tours to show prospective residents exactly what they want to see. They can proactively reach out and use virtual tour software to take prospects on live tours or film a particular part of the property a prospect wants to see for them to view at a later time. They can connect with prospects, showcasing the community with personalized impact. And more than anything else, today’s virtual tour technology keeps the human-to-human interaction central in the leasing process. Nothing is more powerful than that and nobody can sell your property better than the leasing team whose job is to sell the property day in and day out.
Empower your leasing team and get leases signed with the best real estate virtual tour software
While real estate virtual tour software has been around for awhile, it has evolved into a more powerful tool than anyone expected. It had to! Multifamily owners and managers have also evolved. We all know the power of personalized, authentic and real interactions. There is almost no virtual tour software comparison between then and now. Just the same, there is no comparison to what leasing teams could do with the old and what they can do with live apartment virtual tour software today.
If you’d like to learn more about the power of live virtual tours, let us know! Realync is multifamily’s leading virtual/video leasing solution, and we are here to help.
Until next time…keep it real!
