4/28/2020

Host a Home Tour – Virtually!

With a virtual open house, you can still set up the property, show people around the home, and schedule it whenever you want. Let’s see how you can get started with your own virtual tours!

The real estate industry is transforming every day. Many real estate agents are adapting to new surroundings and taking on the latest technological advancements to attract an even wider spectrum of audiences. One way we’re seeing real estate professionals adapt is with virtual open house tours.

This option is increasing in popularity due to its ease, convenience and ability to show a house to more people from feasibly anywhere in the country. Let’s see how you can get started with your own virtual tours!

What’s a Virtual Open House?

Traditional open house tours offer the benefit of meeting potential buyers in person, getting to know them personally, catering to their specific needs and answering their questions in real time. While this is a great way to develop relationships, it’s not entirely practical now — or in some cases, even allowed — due to current events.

With a virtual open house, you can still set up the property, show people around the home, and schedule it whenever you want! You have a variety of platforms to choose from to tour the property and a couple different options to record video.

How to Start

There are two ways you can do an open house tour: live and static.

Live Tours

You can host live interactive videos through platforms like Instagram Live, Facebook Live, or other conferencing apps like Zoom.

  • Pros: Because this is in real-time, it’s the best substitute for an in-person tour. Additionally, you can have an interactive Q&A!
  • Cons: You may not be used to being on camera, which may make it uncomfortable for you to have to speak live.

Static Tours

Pre-record your open house tour and post it on social media platforms or video-hosting sites like YouTube.

  • Pros: Recording a video ahead of time gives you more control and allows you to fix mistakes you make on camera by re-recording clips. You can also edit your video post-recording to customize it to your brand and make it look more professional.
  • Cons: Your audience won’t be able to ask questions or share concerns in real time.

Preparing for Your Tour

Marketing

Advertise your tour just like any other traditional open house! Post sneak peeks or save-the-dates on social media, set up calendar invites, send out emails or pick up the phone and let people know you’ll be posting a video or hosting a live event. Make sure to invite as many people as possible – since this is virtual, folks from any time zone and geographic area can attend!

Total Expert

We have a variety of tools and materials available in Total Expert to help advertise your open house tour and grab viewer contact information. Our open house flyers allow you to provide the specs of your listing, and our lead capture apps enable attendees to sign in and fill out their contact information. Ask us for an invite to sign up for a free Total Expert account!

Practice

Do a practice run before your actual event. This way, you can have a broad idea of how you want things to go and know what to change if you don’t like how some parts turned out.

Outline Your Talking Points

Having bullet points for your event is more advisable than having a full-on script. Your speech will be a lot more natural and you won’t have to worry about memorizing anything!

Test Your Tech

Always test and re-test the tech you’ll be using, whether that’s your phone or camera. Some apps allow you to do a dry run of your livestream before you actually go live as well.

Before Your Event

Prepare for your virtual open house just like any other traditional open house!

  • Arrive early to set up.
  • Stage the home how you want it to look on camera.
  • Turn on all the lights so your viewers can get a good look at everything.
  • Open all the doors in the property so you don’t have to while you’re recording.
  • Make sure you show the exterior of the house, front yard, back yard and garage.
  • Have fun!

Pro Tips

  • Hold your camera or phone horizontally so your viewers can get a wide view of the home.
  • Recruit someone to hold the camera for you if you can, so you can truly focus on the tour.
  • If you need to record the video yourself, remember you have front and rear facing cameras that you can utilize.
  • Ask your team to plant questions you can answer. This also encourages your viewers to ask more questions.

After you’re finished with your virtual tour, make sure you follow up with attendees who asked questions, commented, or filled out the lead capture app form.

Up your marketing and advertising game by taking advantage of the technology available to you. We hope this was a useful guide for you to get started – now venture out into the online world and take your business to a new level!