Is lifestyle marketing just a ploy or is it a key ingredient to sell your home for more money?
Is lifestyle marketing just a tactic? Fancy flannel to lure a seller into using a particular estate agent? Or is it a premium way to market a home for sale? Read on to find out more…
When selling your home, you may have researched the agents in your area by visiting their websites or social media pages. You might also have started searching for a new home, scouring the property websites and narrowing your search for the perfect dream property.
Consider the properties you've seen online and which ones stand out to you. Which photographs made you go 'oooh', capturing your attention? The chances are that the lifestyle images stand out to you more than the images of the whole room.
To fully understand lifestyle marketing, we must first understand what exactly lifestyle marketing is.
Lifestyle marketing is a way to promote a property for sale by showcasing the lifestyle that you may be able to have if you lived there rather than simply showing the property as it is. And it works.
It works because it allows potential buyers to imagine their life if they lived in that property. Suddenly, that home is escalated from an advertised property they might look at into a dream, a hopeful insight into the future and what life could be like.
So, how can you implement lifestyle marketing into your property listing?
Think about how you use your home. Where do you sit for a quiet, contemplative minute in the morning with your first coffee of the day? How can you show this in a photograph? Perhaps you could place a beautiful coffee cup and cafetière on a side table beside a comfortable armchair. Maybe you could dress that chair with a luxurious throw and decorative cushions. If this spot gets the morning sun, try to capture the image with the sun's rays streaming in to really set the scene.
Or perhaps you enjoy fun-filled family BBQs and parties in the garden during the summer. How can you demonstrate that your patio area is fantastic for dining al fresco? A real sun trap? Maybe you could set the table with the parasol up to give a little shade, light the BBQ and show sausages sizzling, perhaps a jug of iced lemonade with tantalising droplets of condensation rolling slowly down the side.
As we move into autumn, consider how you can show the cosy comforts of your home. Perhaps light a roaring fire and place a sumptuous glass of red wine next to an open book? Or maybe thick fluffy dressing gowns hung on the back of the bathroom door, where a bath filled with glorious bubbles awaits, lit by candles and perhaps even a glass of champagne for an added luxury touch.
As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words, and the intention with lifestyle imagery is to let the photography do the talking. It is human nature to look at the photographs or watch a video before reading the written description, as this content is much easier to consume. Of course, as we have done here, it is possible to create the picture in your mind's eye with well-written descriptions, but the photographs will be the first port of call for many property searchers.
Using some of the images on your property marketing may seem like a waste to show a coffee cup or a jug of lemonade, particularly when those items will be coming with you when you move out. But these images are often the difference between average marketing and exceptional marketing, and they really help to build the emotional connection between the buyer and your property and allow them to truly envisage themselves in the property.
If you're about to put your home on the market for sale, consider styling and staging areas of the property for the photo shoot to showcase the lifestyle your home can offer a buyer.
If you have any questions about selling your property and how to get the highest possible price for your home, get in touch with our team of property experts today.