Creating video walk through tours is a recent trend for rental properties. For one thing, it’s compliant with the current necessity for social distancing protocols.
A video walkthrough is typically more dynamic compared to still photos. This is not to say that video walk through tours will be replacing photos any time soon. They are simply another tool in marketing that landlords can use to attract more high-quality prospects for their rental.
You might feel intimidated to make a video walkthrough tour, but with a bit of practice, you’ll be confident in producing a polished product. You can use the list below as your guide to create your first digital tour of your rental unit.
If you're not comfortable with the digital marketing strategies necessary to showcase your property effectively, consider enlisting the help of a
professional property management company.
Plan Your Video Walk-through Tour
A well shot and edited video is typically the result of effective preparation strategies. Often, rehearsal is needed when touring so there’s a natural flow to your videos and they are able to effective simulate the experience of touring your property.
You don’t want to confuse your viewers with disorganized and unstructured video scenes. So it’s best to visualize how you want your video to appear.
Create a Detailed List
Shooting a video is more efficient when you have prepared the details in advance. This covers the rooms and special features you wish to highlight. Especially now
during the ongoing pandemic, you'll want to give viewers to ability to feel what your property is like without being there.
You also want to write down how long you plan to spend in each area of the rental home. Keep in mind that you don’t want your video to be so long that your viewers get bored of it.
Narrow Down Your Best Features
Since you’re trying to attract plenty of quality prospects, it’s essential you know what features to focus on. Especially if you're a
new landlord, it's important to take the time to get a concrete sense of what your property's stand-out qualities are. Does your property have a spacious yard?
Do you have a garage or ample parking space? Is your property built by a famous architect? Is your home visually appealing from the exterior? Do you have a porch, balcony or patio? Understand what you can offer to potential tenants.
Stage Your Property
Property staging is done to further improve the appearance of a rental unit. If you’re only showing an empty rental space, it will lack an authentic lived-in look.
In contrast, furnished units can spark a mental vision of what it’s like to live there. Take time to decorate your rental unit with plants, thoughtful decor, and furniture that matches the interior theme of the rental space.
Mind the Clutter
Clutter can be distracting and lead viewers away from what you want to highlight in your video. Ensure that there are no unnecessary items lying around.
Keep the property neat. A well-arranged space enhances the visual appeal of a property. It also inspires viewers to want to make it to the end of the video.
Hire Professional Cleaners
An immaculate looking space draws praise and appreciation. It often leads to booking more property showings. By
hiring professional cleaners, you’ll offer a pristine looking space to viewers.
Choosing to engage in professional deep cleaning is often worth the fee. Your rental home will have a gleaming aura that translates to the screen.
Sharpen Your Skills and Set Up Your Video Equipment Properly
Practice basic skills such as learning how to hold a video camera steadily. You can also use a tripod for stability. Learn how to compose your shots.
Study the best angles to enhance the appearance of the property. Draw the viewer’s eye to the featured parts of your rental.
Choose Landscape Format
Shooting in landscape mode is generally more visually appealing than portrait mode. Most screens are also designed for the 16:9 aspect ratio. On the other hand, portrait mode can minimize the details of the rental property.
Ensure a Balanced Perspective
Always check that your camera is level while shooting. After all, it’s not fun to watch a video that’s lopsided.
Review your shots and adjust accordingly. You don’t want to call it a day and find out that the perspective is imbalanced.
Include Test Shots Prior to the Actual Filming
Testing shots is ideal because you never know if all the settings are flawless. Video cameras often have many different settings and it’s essential to see how your videos are affected by the lighting.
Even the audio can differ based on the settings you use and the location you shoot in.
Eliminate Distractions
Maybe there’s a distracting item in the video that takes away the attention of a viewer. If an object doesn’t belong in a scene, take it out.
This can also refer to glass reflections, mirrors, and window panes. Without you being aware as you shoot the entirety of the video, this can ruin the virtual tour.
Inspect the Lighting
Lighting is crucial when taking videos. Strive for natural lighting and shoot an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset. Light can quickly shift when the day becomes cloudy.
A lack of natural light may make parts of the house shadowy, so check that there’s adequate brightness. Avoid blurred video shots, too.
Pick Recommended Video Editing Software
Gathering your shots and forming them into a coherent flow can be a challenge for beginners.
You can further enhance your video with good software. The better the final result of your edited video tour, the more prospects you can entice to book a property showing.
Pay Attention to the Audio
Live audio can be difficult to capture since there’s little control over your environment. It’s far easier to use a
voice over.
If you choose the voice over route, make your tone distinct and clear. You can also further enhance your video with excellent but generic music, and by using a quality microphone.
Use the Different Features and Settings
Good software helps in creating a video that can absorb viewers’ attention. Maximize the featured effects, but avoid going overboard.
Check that the color tone matches the entire duration of the video. A unifying theme is vital in crafting a well-received video tour.
Share Your Video with the World
Once you've created a video tour to draw more prospects and awareness to your rental space, it’s time to promote your video on various platforms. After all, because you've worked hard on your video, you'll want as many people to see it as possible.
Your objective should always be to generate new leads, so push your video more by distributing it widely.
Social Media
Use
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and similar large social media networks to share your video.
Property Listing Sites
Include your video in targeted ads or your business website.
