Quick Poll Results and Personal Reflection.

The question was crafted so that the attentive reader would give an answer based on their response to a challenging situation of being offered just one of two options to resolve an important marketing decision. Your property is probably the most expensive asset you own so choosing wisely is crucial. The question was: If this was your home and you had to choose one of these two images for the marketing of it, which one would you choose? A or B?

At last count Image B had some 564 votes, Image A has 168 votes. There were some 33 comments I couldn't work out what the answer was, though many of those were entertaining, revealing and generally informative to read. I had a big interest in Image B winning it and I did try to present the question in a way not to bias the reader. What I do love about Linkedin is the honesty you get from people who don't know you from Adam! (As the saying goes!)

Why I Did it, Marketing revelations, Click Bait etc.

I added click bait to the header here because someone had mentioned that the poll was click bait. Half of me agreed ironically but not in the way that person was getting at. (more on that soon.) I had expected to get my usual 10 -15 (if lucky) comments but nothing like this! I did this because this was my very first attempt at a twilight property shot and I want to make sure that I am offering real value to anyone who considers using twilight photography in their property marketing efforts. Of course this would be an addition to a full set of daylight images which I can also provide.

Marketing Revelations

It would be interesting, albeit very time consuming to visit each profile of those who voted to see how many of them came from a marketing background and how they voted. I would hazard a guess that those who had the right idea about marketing chose IMAGE B simply because it is they who should be able to identify which of these two images would perform best in such a poll about which of the images should be used in the marketing - ipso facto! Personal feelings and opinions should be pushed aside because marketing should always be about keying into the majority market. This poll suggests that if these two images were competing, you would see a huge increase in click rates for IMAGE B. I can't be 100% sure about this but I can try to draw a logical conclusion with the facts before me. If you are a marketing expert and you disagree with this conclusion please feel free to put me right in the comments below. If you are a marketing expert and you agree with it, please feel free to defend me.

Why IMAGE B is Better?

There are two basic ways (that I know of) to get a twilight property photograph. One way is with one shot and another way is multiple shots combined. The reason I do multiple shots is simply because the human eye is 3 times better than a camera's when it comes to dealing with light or the lack of it. Image A is blown out, burned out and out of focus as the camera tries to deal with the job in one shot. Anyone with even a basic understanding of photography can see this even though we are all used to seeing this type of image because it is typical of what you would get from your phone's camera. Image B shows you detail in every part of the image - from the lightest lights to the darkest darks - just like your eyes do! Image B has elements from over 20 shots blended together. The reason I go to this much trouble is reflected in the results of the poll. Another reason is that I can easily change the mix of the images to create more variations of the same image if needed. Or even montage all those bits I left out! Flexibility!

More On Clickbait.

Clickbait is as dirty word as spam on the internet but when you consider it, your image selection for the main images to be used in property marketing, should aspire to be click bait. It all starts with a click these days and without that click you have fallen at the first hurdle. Without getting the buyers through the door of the property on a viewing you have fallen at the second, so all of your images need to be quality. It is my firm belief that quality is always the best business plan because it shows people that what you offer is quality. You can tell people you are the best all day long but when you show them they believe you. If you are marketing property you really need to look into the ROI on hiring someone who can take quality images of all your listings. If you do I know like all those agents who have done so already, you will concur that it pays for itself, unlike most marketing expenses.

And Why You Should Bother With A Twilight Shot.

Twilight shots stand out from the rest it really is that simple. One company I found on-line offer a service of making your current external images into "virtual" twilight photos. According to their research and some other sources claiming similar, click rates on these images are boosting listings by up to 300%. You can find them HERE. Virtual dusk is a cheap imitation for sure but it goes to show what clickbait really is. Three times more interest should translate into three times more offers and when you have competing offers asking prices are more easily achieved.

Finally:

If you have perfect property you would like to try with this technique within Lancashire area give me a call.

UPDATE: Currently the poll has recieved 283 likes and 1644 comments with just under half a million views in the feed. Thanks agian to all who voted.

I have not counted all the votes but I can see that those who chose IMAGE A were less than one in ten overall. I also noticed that those in the advertising, design, marketing and selling proffessions tended to go with IMAGE B.

LINKS:

POLL HERE: https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6264477274473660416/

My Website: ashleyhurst.com