How are you marketing your rental properties? It isn’t enough to have professional-quality pictures. With this one tip becoming well known, more rental property listings than ever have high-quality images. This means you need to find another way to make your properties stand out.
A walk-through video is the solution you’re looking for. A video will make your listings stand out, give people a better impression of your home, and make it easier to rent out your property virtually.
Keep these tips in mind when creating your video so that it’s engaging and effective.
1. Create a Script and Plan
Before you start filming anything, you need to plan what you want to capture in the film and what you want to say. This keeps you organized and prevents you from jumping around while filming. With a clear outline, you’ll speak about relevant information in each room and include all of the necessary information.
Create a walking plan of how you’ll move through the home. Start outside with a view of the exterior of the house. This lets you showcase the home and give the viewer some context. You’ll want to move naturally through the home and showcase the most used rooms in the house.
Pair this plan with a talking point outline. You don’t need a word-for-word script; this will feel unnatural. Create bullet points for talking points. Include facts about the home, unique features, and points that are important to renters.
2. Get the Right Lighting
Your walk-through video shows potential renters what the home looks like in its natural state. Unlike professional photography, your walk-through video is harder to get the right lighting for. You have two options for how you approach lighting.
The first is to film early in the morning or in the evening before sunset. This creates a soft, filtered light that feels bright and refreshing without being harsh or overwhelming. Avoid filming in the middle of the day because this can create a harsh contrast between too much light coming in the windows and dark shadows inside.
Your other option is to bring in additional lighting. This will require more planning and filming time. Move the lights around the home and film the walk-through in pieces. The downside of this is that there will be editing, and you won’t have a smooth continuous walkthrough.
3. Eliminate Excess Motion
Trying to hold a camera steady and walk at the same time is impossible. Don’t even try; you’ll always have a bit of shake. Instead, purchase a stabilizer for your phone or camera. It will eliminate those micro-movements that your hand makes.
When you have a smooth, shake-free video, it’s easier for the viewer to watch. The easier you make it on the viewer, the more likely they will stick around and keep watching.
4. Show Your Personality
If you want people to engage with your video, then you need to engage with them first. You can do this by showing your personality in the video. Don’t robotically read your script and endlessly rattle off home stats.
Instead, tell a story in your walk-through video. Set the scene in the beginning and take the viewer on a journey. You could interject anecdotes, unique features of the home, or personal touches that the owner added.
5. Record Quality Sound
Speak clearly and slowly into a quality microphone. You don’t want the viewer to repeatedly pause and back up your video to catch everything you’re saying. Reduce the amount of background noise to make it easier to hear what you’re saying.
It’s worth buying a better microphone. Look for one with a pop filter. It will prevent harsh sounds like Ps and Ss from hitting the microphone hard and creating jarring sounds while speaking.
Contact our knowledgeable property managers and let them help you create an engaging walk-through video for your rental property.
