Think of your favorite advertisement, whether it’s a commercial or a bus ad. What makes it stand out in your memory? A catchy jingle? A startling statistic? Or is it something more visual – an image, a photograph, a dominant color?
We’re willing to bet that you’ve been floored by a powerful image or two before, right? You’re not alone. In fact, visual content is the cornerstone of modern marketing – and that holds true for real estate, where photography may make all the difference for the success of your home sale.
“It’s important to adopt the mindset of turning over your home to the market. In essence, this means pretending that it doesn't belong to you anymore and treating the property as a product that needs to be marketed for sale.”
A successful sale requires the homeseller and their real estate team to think like marketers, and to invest in many of the same tactics that marketers use to sell other consumer goods or services. In many cases, that means bringing on a photography pro to capture the essence of your property, rather than relying on easier alternatives, like cellphone photography.
In fact, we always bring on a professional photographer for our listings. Why? Well, in our time, we’ve seen beautiful houses go unappreciated because of poor images, and we’ve seen high quality photographs lure in buyers who may otherwise have been on the fence. In fact, in today’s marketplace, a great set of images may just be the most important tool for getting prospective buyers into the home.
Still need convincing? Let’s explore some of the reasons why photography is so important – and show off a few examples of what works and what doesn’t:
Think of a Photograph as Part of the Staging Process
Most sellers today are pretty open to the idea of staging their home to prospective buyers. Staging may mean taking actions as simple as cleaning and “de-personalizing” a property by taking sports memorabilia or funky decorations off of the wall, or it may refer to bringing on a professional to arrange furniture, hang art, or otherwise make the space look as appealing as possible.
In general, we believe in the importance of professional staging – it can be unbelievably effective at showcasing the potential of a home, and it’s much more affordable than many sellers anticipate.
Think of having a photoshoot as a key part of the staging process: It’s a way of showcasing your home to people who haven’t yet gotten the chance to see it in person! The right shot of a gleaming kitchen, or of an outdoor patio bedecked with charming furniture, may make all the difference when it comes to luring in a buyer.
With this in mind, why wouldn’t you invest a little extra upfront to ensure a quick, easy process down the line? Staging your home is the crucial step one in making your home ready to sell; taking great photos is the next step, ensuring that your one-of-a-kind listing reaches as many eager eyes as possible.
Images Will Help You Stand Out On Social Media
In today’s digital landscape, most home seekers turn to the internet to kickstart their search. That may mean rifling through listings on real estate sites like Zillow, or it may mean firing up a social media app like Pinterest or Instagram, both of which have proven to be helpful in closing sales before.
In any case, the most certain way to help ensure that your listing stands out on web pages and on social media is with high quality photography. Remember what we said earlier about thinking like a marketer? Well, for digital marketers in 2017, images are everything.
The numbers don’t lie. According to Hubspot, a giant in the field of inbound marketing online:
- Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images.
- Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without
- Organic Facebook engagement is highest on posts with photos (13.7%) – well above average rates of engagement, according to Geek Chicago
- When images are relevant, readers spend more time looking at the images than they do reading text on the page
What do these stats tell us? Internet users are more likely to see your content in the first place if it comes with images; readers are then more likely to actually consume your information, and, in turn, spread it along to the rest of their social network.
That’s the power of photography online – it’s the gatekeeper, in many ways, for what gets seen, what gets acted upon, and what gets glossed over on the endless timelines of modern social media feeds.
Need Some Examples?
Still need to be convinced of the power of photography? Take a look at these stunning photos – all from real homes that we’ve sold around Chicagoland:
Ready to market and sell your home? The Real Group team is here to help! Drop us a line today with any questions. And be sure to follow our team on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, where we serve up our newest listings – complete with high quality photographs – every day.
