The 7 types of commercial property videos you need in 2024

The commercial, industrial and logistical real estate industry is becoming more competitive than ever. Limited availability of land, as well as increased costs and interest rates are increasing the supply and demand imbalance of the industry. Therefore, marketing will play an increasingly important role in ensuring your commercial development achieves the desired ROI. Commercial property videos are a pivotal part of commercial real estate marketing campaigns, and creating quality video content can make your property sell quicker.

Read below to find out our recommendations for commercial property videos you need to include in your 2024 marketing activity.

Drone videos

The technological advancement of drones has revolutionised the commercial property videos industry. Drones provide the capability of capturing aerial footage of commercial properties, which previously had to be accomplished by using helicopters in a process that would be lengthy and expensive.

With today’s technology, drones can be used to capture not only aerial footage from the outside of the new commercial development, but they can also be deployed inside the buildings to capture dynamic scenes that help showcase the size and features of the development.

Producing commercial property videos using drones became a lot more accessible, however not anyone can create one. According to UK legislation, drones must be manned by trained professionals who must follow rules and guidelines regarding how and when they can fly a drone. Furthermore, an expert drone videographer will be able to maximise the capabilities of the drone to produce the best footage for a commercial property.

CGI Scheme video

CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) scheme videos are virtual representations of a commercial development that is yet to be built or finalised. They are created using advanced 3D modelling software and techniques to create realistic images and videos of how the finished development will look.

CGI scheme videos are a central part of most commercial real estate marketing strategies. Firstly, they allow potential occupiers to visualize the finished development and get a better sense of what the space will look like once it's ready to be used. This is especially important for developments that are still in the planning and development stages, as it can be difficult to create a meaningful representation of the finished product without artificially generating the final version.

CGI images of a development are used from the initial planning of a new commercial development; however a video can provide more context and cues to understand the scope of the project. For example, using only still images, it could be hard to show all the different features of the new development, especially when having to account for both external and internal features. For example, a CGI scheme video can show potential tenants what the lobby or common areas will look like or highlight any unique design features or technologies that set the development apart from competitors.

Creating a CGI scheme video is a lengthy and complicated process that requires expertise in 3D modelling, animation, and visual effects. It typically involves a team of skilled professionals including architects, designers, and animators, who work together to create a virtual representation of the development. The process can take several weeks or even months, depending on the complexity of the development and the level of detail required. Furthermore, experience within real estate CGI is also an important factor, as generating not only the buildings but also the environment surrounding the building, including live elements such as cars, people or nature requires a unique set of skills within the CGI industry.

CGI scheme videos are one of the main commercial property video types, as they are a powerful marketing tool that can help secure investment and customers for the project.

Demographics video

Demographic videos are short assets with high informational intent. Their purpose is to present data in an engaging fashion, creating visual cues that transform statistics in actionable insights.

One crucial aspect of any commercial real estate is location. Highlighting the benefits of your commercial property’s location can provide an incentive for prospective clients to choose your property or development.

How close is your commercial property to major motorways? How close is it from major consumer centres? What is the infrastructure around the property like? All of these questions can be easily answered in your demographics video. All of these questions can be potential pain points for your prospects, so addressing them in a way that emphasizes the benefits of your commercial property.

Secondly, when choosing a new commercial property, occupying businesses will need to know that the location will allow them to fulfil their staffing needs. Whereas this is not a concern for commercial properties near big cities such as Manchester or Birmingham, more remote locations might pose demographic questions to the buyers.

A very easy way to promote the viability of your commercial property location is through a demographics video showcasing local demographic data around the locations surrounding the commercial property. Your video can show how many working age adults are available in nearby towns and cities, as well as the estimated time it would take them to reach your new commercial property for their shifts.

One of the main benefits of demographic videos is their cost. These videos can be done using basic animation and will usually not require any filming or advanced 3D CGIs. Furthermore, demographic videos tend to be quite short, averaging between 30s -60s.

Demographic videos should form part of your commercial property marketing plan, as this type of informational content can convince prospective buyers that your location is the right fit for their business.

Instructional video

Instructional videos are aimed mainly at internal use, as they will be useful for occupiers to have to understand how to operate the building’s facilities correctly. These videos can also be used for training staff.

Instructional videos are generally not animated, and they involve a trainer being filmed while they demonstrate the facilities of the building. Therefore, a good instructional video requires a professional camera and microphone, as well as production and post-production editing.

Instructional videos are usually a commercial property video overlooked from the general marketing plan. However, this type of video has will usually be done once the building is complete, giving a great opportunity to get footage of the finalised product, which can then could also be used throughout your other videos. If the commercial property you just built has amazing features, these can be shared on your social channels or form part of other campaigns.

Annual Review Videos

Annual review videos are a staple of corporate video marketing. They provide organisations the opportunity to showcase their performance and achievements. They can be a great morale booster for employees, shareholders and customers alike.

Within commercial real estate, an annual review video can focus on:

• new property developments and their progress
• commercial units sold or let
• employee increases
• share price developments (for publicly traded companies)
• environmental impact

Annual review videos have great versatility when it comes to delivery. They can be sent as part of an email or internal newsletter to internal stakeholders and uploaded on the website or posted on social media for customers and followers.

Given that annual review videos are generally released during the end of the calendar year, this can also serve as an opportunity to include holiday specific messaging and blend the video as part of the holiday marketing calendar.

Annual review videos are a convenient way to generate commercial property videos. They are quick to produce, as a mix of animation and existing assets can be used to create the video. Some companies may choose to include filmed messages from key members of the organisation, which could add to the time and effort needed to create an annual review video.

Social Media Campaigns

Social media should be part of any real estate marketing strategy. This channel allows for seamless interaction between brands and their followers. Videos are a mainstream way of generating impressions and increasing engagement with social media posts. Therefore, developers and commercial property owners should leverage the benefits of introducing video as part of their social media strategy.

Commercial property videos for social media can take many forms, including the ones covered in this blog. Similar to demographic videos, social media campaign videos don’t need to be very long. Research shows that videos under 60 seconds tend to perform best on most social media platforms.

One important factor to consider when producing social media videos is the formatting. The vast majority of your audience will see the video on their phone, most likely in a vertical format. Make sure your video is set to the correct dimensions to accommodate this and make sure the overall output is not cropped or skewed, as this can lead to an unpleasant viewing experience.

Furthermore, social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram allow filters, stickers, music and many other forms of addons to be applied to videos. These have the potential to enhance the overall feel and delivery of your video. Make sure to use these when necessary to make your commercial property video seamlessly blend in with the other content on the platform.

Most social media platforms allow captions to be automatically generated and displayed on the video. If your video has dialogue within the audio, this is a perfect opportunity to make your content more accessible.

Timelapse Videos

The process of building commercial properties is lengthy. Construction timelapse involves placing a camera on your site which will continuously take photos throughout your project. This creates a unique type of commercial property videos that shows the progress of your development through time.

Timelapse videos work great for commercial and industrial developments, given the large size and intricacies of each project. The end result condenses months or years’ worth of work in just a couple minutes, showing every step of the development journey.

Timelapse construction videos can be implemented in your marketing strategy in different ways. You can have a live feed of the project on your website, giving users a real time view of your progress. Also, timelapse videos can be used in your social media posts to provide updates to your followers, as well as in annual review videos highlighting your successes.

Overall, construction timelapse videos are a great way to preserve the legacy of your business and developments. Given the specialist equipment required, as well as the initial setup considerations, construction timelapse videos should be executed by an expert.

Create Commercial Property Videos that convert

Creating great commercial property videos requires time, expertise, and creativity. From generating complex 3D CGIs of large commercial developments to demographic videos and social media campaigns, the Motion department at Reach Marketing can help you create and implement the best strategy for your business.