Ten Things That Happen When You Are In Virtual Staging

Virtual staging is a form of marketing used by property owners and realtors to attract buyers online. It can be done with or without the use of 3D renders and animations to give prospective buyers a virtual walk through tour of the property, as well as provide important information about distance from amenities, schools, shops and more. I have found it interesting to see what images and information is being used online by prospects.

It is not just the 3D render and text that prospective buyers are looking for. Images of the property are also important to give prospective buyers a sense of context. What determines the direction a pwc will travel? There are five forces at work that determine the movement of a pwc from one position to the other : friction, surface tension, buoyancy, weight and gravity. By experimenting with the different forces, you can control how a pwc moves.

Ten Things That Happen When You Are In Virtual Staging :

1. You notice that some properties are using the same building images.

The same picture of the property shows up in different campaigns. It becomes a game to figure which property it is exactly, and if it is still available. Image recognition is a new form of real estate marketing.

2. You notice some properties are using a lovely clip art of a family.

It is not unusual to see a couple, or children in the virtual tour. Realtors want buyers to know that they want to be out there with them.

3. You see a little chirp here and there on the exterior shots of the property.

It is not uncommon to see little missives on the windows and gates of properties direct the reader or viewer towards social media such as “Like us at Facebook”. It is used as another form of opt-in marketing, which immediately shows that this property can be marketed via social media advertising channels too.

4. A property has a similar strapline as another one you have already viewed.

It is not uncommon to see properties with the same strapline, even if the property is miles apart. It may be because the owner wants to ensure that all his other real estate marketing sources match up. Some owners use this as a form of keyword research that can be taken further down the line to increase traffic for their other real estate marketing campaigns, such as ‘buyer search’.

5. You notice that some properties are using different straplines but still show the same images and text.

The use of unique straplines and images but using the same text helps to keep the buyer engaged. It is the old “keep them coming back” principle. They will return hoping to see something new. But they may not want to come back because they know what they are going to get, which could be a bad thing for marketing.

6. The virtual tour guide is talking about amenities in one property, but you are looking at another for sale in a different property, miles away from it all.

It is sometimes easy to get confused when you have multiple properties from different realtors all showing similar things in their virtual tour, such as various features of the property itself and its surrounding areas and facilities.

7. You are interested in a property but want to see it in person.

You want to walk through the door, look around and get a real feel for the property. This is an indicator that you will not buy the property online and need to call or meet with your agent immediately to push the sale forward.

8. You have seen something from an agency before, but see another property that interests you more from them.

You find that some properties are more vibrant than others which grab your eye away from the virtual tour guide and lead you into looking at further information on that particular listing or agency website instead.

9. You notice that the virtual tour guide has changed location, but the same images are still being used.

Some realtors rely on images to capture buyers attention and keep them interested in further real estate marketing campaigns and other forms of advertising. They do not necessarily follow up those images with a new one to change things up and make buyers curious about the property again.

10. You take a closer look at the photos you are clicking on, finding something different from what is advertised on their website or app.

For instance I have seen some images from apartments that were poorly lit or not particularly appealing looking compared to their other properties online information, or promotional videos on YouTube.