High-Quality Floor Plan Images Are One of Your Most Important Visuals for Converting Prospects
Even though the multifamily industry continues to evolve due to shifting renter demographics and further technological developments, floor plan imagery has remained a solid staple in every property’s marketing plan—and it’s not hard to see why. Essentially, floor plan images present your prospect with an “inside look” of their next potential apartment home, without the hassle of an in-person tour. And, let’s face it, the majority of multifamily managers know that some of your most solid leads simply cannot visit in-person due to their work schedules or where they are located in relation to your community.
High-quality floor plan images allow communities to overcome this common roadblock. But, in the Digital Age, it’s not enough to have floor plan images on your apartment marketing websites ; instead, the floor plan imagery must exhibit visual assets that benefit your overall goal of driving the prospect toward signing a lease. By choosing to display high quality 2D or 3D floor plans, renters have the ability to create a vivid depiction of the apartment in their mind. And, as it turns out, this is often more influential than we may realize to the ultimate leasing decision.
Take Your Online Marketing Efforts to the Next Level
Content is king. This is one aspect of marketing that has been proven and remains constant. Whether or not you’re actually utilizing content is important, of course— but are you also considering the types of content you use, and which content methods have resulted in improved lead flow? As we inch towards 2020, visual content is becoming increasingly important for marketing assets across all industries. In the multifamily industry, it’s even more so, as property managers and leasing agents are in essence selling a dream lifestyle within their community through the visual content displayed on their websites.
A recent study indicates one of the most important aspects that a prospective renter will look for on your website, is the ideal floor plan with adequate square footage and closet space to meet their needs. Floor plan imagery has the ability to convert prospects to leads at a higher rate than other marketing materials. In fact, the inclusion of custom floor plan images within your website can spike lead in-flow by 15 percent. To further increase lead flow and achieve optimal results, uploading floor plan images to the community social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Google My Business, and Pinterest can spark interest and drive lead traffic to your website.
Implement Visuals That Your Prospects Want to See
Visual assets establish Who-Is-Who in the multifamily industry. High-quality, well-composed images of your property set the precedent for successful marketing and leasing strategies, and floor plan imagery is no exception. It’s vital to invest in clear, crisp images that properly represent the different rental options in your community. While 2D floor plans are still acceptable to searching renters, those scanned copies of old print materials are not going to get the job done. It is imperative to make sure that the floor plan illustrations you are displaying are up-to-date, and that you have clean images of the apartment options you have to offer.
Though 2D floor plans equip prospects with must-know information, 3D floor plans offer an excellent way to kick your marketing game up a notch. By showing the unit from a bird’s eye view, the 3D effects add more depth perception to the image itself, allowing the viewer to have a more complete perceptual experience. Whether you choose to go for 2D or 3D imagery is entirely up to your property and its overall goals.
Encourage Your Prospect to Imagine Themselves in Your Community
Ultimately, floor plans show the relationship between rooms, spaces, and all the nooks and crannies in between. They have become a fundamental tool for the real estate market—and not just for architects and developers. They provide vital details and are an invaluable aid for renters who wish to successfully plan and execute apartment design ideas. Although 3D floorplans give prospects an amazing perspective of the apartment options which are available, by adding furniture to your 3D floor plans, you will be able to answer all your prospect’s need-to-know questions: “Will my 60-inch 4K TV fit in the living room?,” “Could our King-sized bed fit in the master suite?,” “Should the couch go on this side of the room or the other?” We’ve all been through the furniture placement visualization game when looking at a potential living space, and you better believe your leads are evaluating these real-life scenarios as well. Spending a little extra to visually furnish the space, will be well worth the return on investment.
It’s much to your advantage to get the prospect picturing the space and imagining their belongings in it. Once this is accomplished, the floor plan layout becomes tangible in the prospect’s mind and a sentimental attachment to the unit is formed. Because of this, you have a better chance of converting them to a resident. If you are unable to appeal to the renter through floor plan imagery, especially at the onset of the apartment hunting process, you may end up losing more prospects than you realize.
For years, floor plan images have remained a basic component of a property’s marketing package. But, is your floor plan imagery suitable for the modern renter in terms of design and marketability? If you’re able to reach prospects through well-established online channels, implement the beautifully designed floor plan visuals they crave, and spark the desire of prospective renters to imagine themselves within the community, then you are certainly on the right track.
