What’s wrong with pictures? Still images of the property are still the default visual for many apartment community owners in terms of online marketing. It’s easy to see why. Great cameras are affordable now and they make it easy to choose the best lighting and angle for compositions that are stunning and persuasive. Apartment owners who do not use video on their sites give excuses like “Too much can go wrong with video,” or “Amateur video sends all the wrong messages and professional video is too expensive.”

Those are understandable objections, but while these owners are making objections, those with videos are signing leases. Here are few basic facts that explain why video is an essential part of the contemporary marketing scene for apartment owners:

 Video by the numbers

“We’ve consistently seen that relevant results that include videos get ranked higher,” reports the Search Engine Journal.

Site visitors who watch videos stay for two minutes longer and are 64 percent more likely to convert into buyers, according to Comscore results.

Cisco predicts that 86 percent of Internet traffic will involve video by 2016, based on current growth trends.

In short, video makes it easier for an apartment community to be found by new prospects, connects with viewers better and is becoming the new normal across the web. As people increasingly access the web via their mobile devices, video has become the preferred content for these small screens.

What should the video be about?

Potential renters want videos tours of properties and it turns out that these videos are just as useful for apartment owners by qualifying their prospects. That is just the beginning of what video can communicate, through. For example, events make great introductions to the character of the property and generate sharable bits for social media campaigns. A drive around the neighborhood with commentary showcases what makes the community a great place to live. Testimonials by tenants and first-person advice on real estate investment are two more great video resources that apartment seekers search for frequently.

Although viral video can increase an apartment’s visibility, this is one area where “attention at any price” ends up with counterproductive marketing. Patrick Grandinetti, Google’s chief of real estate, recently revealed what people are looking for most when they search for real estate video on YouTube:

• 86 percent want to find video covering details of a specific property;
• 70 percent want to compare walk-through tours;
• 38 percent want to see what amenities are available in the area; and
• 30 percent want to hear from tenants who live there

Creativity is the most important aspect in putting together a video that will be watched and shared across social networks. The creative team that has learned how to be comfortable on camera and thinks like the ideal renter will be the most successful at using video to drive the kind of attention an apartment community needs.

Check out these two apartment marketing videos:

Excalibur Apartments in Pikesville, MD 

"Do It At Icis" Los Angeles Apartments