With virtual apartment tours becoming a must-have for multifamily properties, today’s leasing teams need to step up their game to be competitive. That means developing a solid, successful virtual apartment tour strategy. Even if your team has an existing strategy, it may be time to take a look at amping it up and taking your virtual tour strategy and tactics to the next level.

If you’re looking to amp up your apartment virtual tour strategy, you’ll need to think about how you’re going to make your actual tours stand out and also have a clearly defined strategy. Here’s what we mean.

Amplify the Content

While we’ll get into how to amplify your virtual apartment tour strategy, part of that strategy is ensuring your content is great. That means knowing how to create a virtual apartment tour that meets the needs of your prospective residents. The good news? It’s pretty easy to do. It just takes some attention to key details.

When you set out to film a tour, do the same sort of run-through you’d do with an in-person tour. Make sure to check the lighting before you hit the record button. Check to see that all the toilet lids are closed, the blinds are open and none of the doors you need to open are locked.

Also, make sure you’re shooting the space as effectively and efficiently as possible on your virtual apartment tours app. Not just the speed and flow of the tour, though certainly that, but also consider the point of view of the prospect. Make sure you stop and take in what you’re filming. That way the prospect can take in the room, and get a true, authentic view of the space.

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Leasing agents shouldn’t fly through the shots or skip over certain areas. Don’t jump from room to room so that prospects don’t know where they are. There is a natural flow to how people would walk through the space. So, walk that natural path. And do so slowly so prospects can grasp what they are looking at and where they are in the space.

One of the benefits of a person giving a live tour, rather than relying on a Matterport 3D camera, is they can give you the human experience in the tour. We’re not saying those cameras are bad by any means – it’s just challenging to keep authentic and real experiences with it.

Leasing agents can take their time when they need to, slowly pan, and answer everything from a prospect’s list of questions to ask during a virtual apartment tour. Taking advantage of those things will definitely create a better virtual touring experience and give you plenty of tour content to amplify.

Amplify the Strategy

No matter how great the content is, you still need clearly defined goals and a solid strategy for virtual touring and leasing. Yes, it’s easy to think pulling out your phone and filming a Facetime tour will check the virtual apartment tour box. But, by using any virtual tour app for iPhone readily available, you’ll meet the needs of virtual leasing and those of your prospects. But, how do you know if your virtual leasing tactics are working? How do you know if it’s working towards your leasing goals effectively? If you can’t track it or measure it, you won’t know. And, that’s the benefit of a virtual leasing solution versus FaceTime.

Using any mobile recording method may seem easy, but it’s not going to give you any real data or insight into what is working. It’s just filming and hoping it works. Consider these questions:

  • Without an integration into your lead management system, do you know the conversation rates of prospects you engage with virtually?
  • Are you not seeing follow-up reminders because the next steps and action items from your virtual tours aren’t logged?
  • Did you remember to send the information your prospect asked about on the tour?
  • Or is one leasing agent doing something different than the rest of the team or are you all trained on providing the same virtual leasing experience from prospect to prospect?

None of this is an attack. You and your leasing team have a thousand things on your to-do list. That’s why systems that can talk to each other and integrate seamlessly will make your life much easier. Plus, it’s what’s going to take your virtual apartment tour from a one-off to a fully integrated, strategic powerhouse.

Without a clearly defined strategy, you’re shooting from the hip with your virtual tours. With virtual leasing being such a prominent part of the leasing process today, consumers are demanding it. Global circumstances like COVID, weather, and travel issues impact consumers today. They are moving further distances than ever before and may not be able to be there all the time in person for touring. Those are all factors pushing for having a defined, integrated virtual leasing and virtual touring strategy.

An apartment virtual tour strategy ensures your team can connect with consumers and not skip a beat – providing the same if not better experience as in-person touring. It is no longer a special circumstance – it must be a normal part of your process. The most amped-up virtual apartment tour strategy makes the experience easy, transparent and integrated into existing processes and systems. That is going to drive leases and get your property better results.

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