Real estate agents and homeowners alike still need to sell their homes during the pandemic. But if a traditional open house isn’t possible, you can show off your property to potential buyers through a virtual open house.
Not sure how to market or conduct a virtual open house? Check out these major tips to ensure your virtual open house goes off without a hitch.
Market on Social Media
The main benefit of a virtual open house is that people can attend even from around the world. Lean into that and be sure to market the upcoming showcase online. These days, social media platforms like Facebook offer the perfect opportunity to make a digital poster or other announcement and spread the word of the virtual open house a few weeks in advance.
Plus, social media lets you answer questions from anyone who may be interested in the comment sections below your ads.
Market in Real-Life
While marketing online and especially on social media is important, you can’t neglect the in-person factor. Lots of people are still worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, so you should give people in your local area the opportunity to attend your virtual open house by marketing directly to them.
To spread the word, make some real estate posters using tools like PosterMyWall and place them around town. You can post captivating and well-designed posters on lampposts, in coffee shops, and in other community centers. Be sure to put up your posters at least a week in advance so people can make time in their schedules.
Plan the Virtual Open House
After your marketing has taken off, be sure to plan your virtual open house carefully. Just like a real open house, you should have:
- A designated start time, with perhaps five or so minutes of wiggle room for late arrivals
- A designated end time, especially if you plan on hosting multiple open houses that day
- A breakdown of how much time you’ll spend in each section of the house
This will help you keep the virtual open house moving when you don’t have people in real life ambling around or investigating rooms on their own schedules.
Save Some Time for Walk Backs
We also recommend saving a little bit of time for walking your virtual open house camera back to areas you already showed. Some people may not have received as good of a look at a particular section of the house as they wanted. They might want you to go back and give them another glance or open another door.
Always agree to these requests! With a virtual open house, your camera serves as the eyes for all the viewers. You’ll need to be a little flexible so everyone sees everything they need to about the property so they can make an informed and confident decision.
Start at the Front and Work to the Back
Just like with a regular open house, it may benefit you to begin at the front of the property and work your way to the back. This keeps the open house streamlined and gives your viewers some advance notice of what to expect.
Be sure to announce which room you are in and where you are going next multiple times so people can pay extra attention to important aspects of the house. For example, if a viewer really needs to know if the house has a great backyard, they’ll want to know when you’re about to show them that part of the property.
Use a Great Camera
Furthermore, invest in a quality camera so you can show the virtual open house in as great quality as possible. You don’t need to get the best camera on the market, but investing in a decent handheld camera is oftentimes better than relying on the camera of your smartphone (which can work in a pinch).
The better the quality of camera you have, the more detail people will see during the virtual open house and the more persuaded they might be to buy the property.
Set Up Lighting Properly
If your virtual open house is held during the day, open all the windows and make sure natural light is as available as possible. If it’s held in the evening, turn on all the lights of the house so that there are no shadowed places and so viewers can see everything they need to.
It might be worthwhile to take a tour of the property yourself prior to the open house to see how the lighting looks before rolling the camera.
Have Your Information Ready to Go
Lastly, put together all the major attributes and information about the property – like its square footage, its amenities, and more – on a paper, you can refer to throughout the virtual open house. That way, you can answer questions from your viewers quickly and briskly as you continue the tour without slowing things down.
Ultimately, the right preparation will help your virtual open house proceed smoothly and without any major hiccups. Good luck!
