NAR reports that, in 2019, a whopping 93% of home buyers and sellers turned to the internet to help with their home search. With so many potential prospects looking at your listings and digital ads, there’s no room for error in how you present properties.
Above all else, consumers are taking a critical eye to each property photo. Buyers are determining whether your listing is worth their next step, while sellers are assessing your marketing abilities based on how you present your active listings and how attractive your listing ads are.
What homebuyers are looking for in listing photos
It’s too time-consuming for buyers to tour every home that meets their criteria. Digital window shopping helps them narrow their search to the homes they love the most, and photos play a leading role. A description alone can’t help buyers imagine their furniture—or themselves—in the living room, bedroom, or kitchen.
Show potential buyers around every room and through each hallway. Show them the front yard that will greet them when they return home and the backyard where they’ll host friends. And always take photos during the day when the sun is at its brightest so that natural light floods the space.
Professional photography vs DIY
Agents have no shortage of expenses. Professional photography cuts into your commission, and it’s understandable if you’d rather DIY and divert that expense toward advertising. Don’t worry—just because you DIY, it doesn’t mean your listing photos won’t look professional.
You don’t need to use expensive equipment to make a room look attractive and welcoming. We live in an age where all agents need is a smartphone in their pocket and access to easy-to-use editing apps (we wrote about the best apps you can use to take better listing photos here).
These days, with a phone in your pocket, there’s really no excuse not to have nice photos for every listing.
Better photos, better digital ads
When you advertise on social media, you’re paying to access the right audience. From there, it’s up to the content of your ad to engage your audience. Using your listing’s eye-catching photos in your digital ads is one of the easiest ways to make effective use of your advertising dollars.
Just think about the times you scroll your own social media feed. Aren’t you more likely to stop for a stunning photo? As digital advertising overtakes traditional methods as the best way for agents to market their listings, it’s more important than ever to be the agent whose ad has the stunning photo. Without a scroll-stopper, homebuyers are quick to dismiss a listing advertisement based on photos alone.
Many digital advertising platforms, like Instagram, emphasize photo sharing. When viewers are attracted to your photos and interact with your listing ad—clicking, liking, sharing, commenting on it, and tagging others—you’ll have more of a leg up. With increased engagement, your ad will run more efficiently (i.e., you’ll be spending less for each view and click) and convert more passive viewers into leads.
Photos truly make the difference between a mediocre ad and a great ad.
How Homesnap can help
Getting your listing advertisement up and running can be time-consuming, especially if it’s not your area of expertise. Homesnap’s marketing-savvy team has been managing social media ads for real estate agents nationwide for years. With Homesnap Pro Ads, we handle all the time-consuming work of publishing and running your social media campaigns for you. We’ll use your great listing photos to create scroll-stopping ads and leverage our consumer behavior insights to more precisely target motivated buyers and sellers.