How to Practice Ethical Marketing with Virtual Staging in Real Estate

As a real estate agent, you know how important it is to follow ethical guidelines in your business. Failing to do so could result in the loss of clients, fines, or even the loss of your license. When it comes to marketing, it’s especially important to go beyond the basic guidelines of ethical practices. You need to manage expectations and impress buyers without misleading or leaving them disappointed.

Here are five ways to practice ethical marketing when using virtual staging in your real estate business.

Disclose When Virtual Staging is Used

Part of ethical marketing is being fully transparent when representing the condition of a property. Virtual staging is a fantastic tool for showcasing a property’s full potential. It should not be used to replace or misrepresent the property. Many MLS platforms require a disclosure to accompany any images that use virtual staging for this reason. It’s good practice to include this in your marketing materials as well.

Square Foot Productions can include a “Virtually Staged” disclaimer tag on your photos, if needed. This will satisfy most MLS requirements and help ensure potential buyers don’t feel misled or disappointed when they walk in the door.

Show the Original Photos, Too

In addition to a disclaimer, it’s best to include the original photos alongside their virtually staged counterparts. This doesn’t mean you have to include the raw, unedited images. They can have basic edits, such as adjustments to lighting, white balance, coloring, and perspective. We include basic editing services at no additional cost with any virtual staging booking.

Add an Accurate Property Description

Be sure to mention if the property is vacant or describe its furnishings in the written property description. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it won’t hurt to back that up with actual words, too. This takes that extra step to be transparent with the viewer and let them know exactly what to expect in person. Even if everyone doesn’t read the full property description, you’ll have done your part to properly inform them.

Virtual Staging Should Be Realistic

While virtual staging is a digital enhancement that improves the look of a property, it should always be realistic. This not only helps set reasonable expectations, but it also keeps your marketing from looking cartoonish and turning off potential buyers. We always use photo-realistic furniture and decor in our virtual staging services. This applies to both how the furniture looks and how it fits in the space relative to its size and proportions.

Only Use Virtual Staging for Enhancements

Don’t use virtual staging to cover up a property’s flaws, defects, or undesirable features. Honesty is key here, and this would be a misrepresentation of the property (especially without the original photos included). Even with a “Virtually Staged” disclaimer, a prospective buyer or renter would reasonably assume only the furniture and decor have been altered.

If you’d like to show what the property could look like, you can use our virtual remodeling services to give it a digital makeover. Just like with virtual staging photos, you should also include accurate photos of its current condition and include a disclaimer.

Book Square Foot Productions’ virtual staging services today and start marketing your property listings to their full potential! We’ll start working on your order immediately, and you can have your stunning, completed images back within 48 hours.