Coming Soon – Don’t Wait to Start Telling Your Story
So, the buildings not built yet, but you really want to start capturing leads and storytelling NOW! What can you do? One of the most important times to begin storytelling of your apartment community is before it’s even built — that’s where the ‘Coming Soon Video’ shines. The minute you have a lead capturing landing page live for your new development, adding video content will increase conversion rates by 80%.
There are incredibly cool ways to show off the personality of your apartment homes once everything is finished and ready to go, but there are also plenty of creative ways to show it off before the construction is done. In fact, our production team loves the challenge of telling the story without showing video of the completed amenities and apartment homes.
There are a couple basic rules we try to follow in the storytelling process, what we refer to as a “Coming Soon” video.
Don’t Focus on What Isn’t There; Focus On What Is
Your community already has a personality and a style. Long before the ground breaking, most of the details and personality were already decided. That is the story we tell. And oddly enough, sometimes the best way to see the big picture is to get up really close! Sometimes you want to focus on the neighborhood and surrounding areas. What is outside the new apartment is often as important as what is inside.
Make The Video Feel Timeless
There is no need to include construction photos that will date the video and always make it feel like it is under construction. If a future renter sees the video as the last touches are being put on the community, but the video shows the pool as a large hole in the ground surrounded by dirt, then they will assume that is as far as the development has come. We want our videos to be as relevant after construction is completed as they are before.
Two great storytelling examples we recently did with Alliance Residential Company come to mind. They had communities that were still in the early stages of construction, and they wanted to start getting people excited about them now.
Storytelling Using Coming Soon Video Examples
Broadstone Midtown
For Broadstone Midtown we came up with a way to show some of the personality of the community and indicate that it’s something that is in the works without having to say that. We focused on how it is all the details that make the community unique, which is a timeless message. If someone sees this video after the property begins leasing, they still get an exciting look at Broadstone Midtown.
Broadstone Springs
Here is a good example of showing what is there and not what isn’t. Out of the entire community we focused on one piece of it, and told the story of that piece: a fireplace mantle. By showing all the care that goes into the details, a future resident gets an idea of how awesome the rest of the place must be. We also show how Alliance partnered with a local business, Sons of Sawdust, as a way of giving back to the neighborhood and investing in the local community.
There’s no reason to wait to start showing off your community, and no limit to the ways it can be done!
Here are some examples of other ways GTMA creates high quality content when the community isn’t 100% complete.
Sterling Northgate
This approach combines existing branding material, stock images, and original content of the neighborhood and views.
Crest At Oak Park
This option takes out any travel and just blends renderings, stock images, and the specific branding for the community.
The Promenade at Anaheim
Photography can work just as well as video sometimes. If your community is located in an amazing neighborhood, that’s a great feature to focus in on!
Marston Apartments
Often times the first thing completed and fully touched up is the first model unit. Doing a video that just focuses on all the details of the home is enough to sell the whole thing, and the best part? This video will have the same impact even after the construction is completed.