‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: What Should You Include in Your Apartment Marketing Photos?

By Jessica Fiur, Senior Editor

When you’re making an ad for an apartment, you have to include a photo. If not, it’s likely that your ad won’t get clicked on and people will just skip over it. What should you include in your marketing photos to make them stand out from the rest?

The photos have to show off the whole apartment. But what you’re really selling is an idea. The future resident should think, “I can see myself there.”

This is why having a strategically placed guitar in real estate photos is a trend now for apartment pictures. People want to imagine themselves as a person who has a guitar and plays to relax after a long day—even if they can’t actually play the guitar in real life. It’s all about creating an image.

What you don’t want to show is a mess. We all know we will have to vacuum, but it’s nice to imagine that the apartment will be pristine the entire time you’re there. On the flip side, don’t have a completely empty room. You can say “spacious living room” as much as you want in the caption, but it’s always hard for renters to imagine their stuff fitting when the picture is devoid of any furniture.

Read on for suggestions on what to include in apartment marketing photos.