The term “virtual tour” has often been thrown around in real estate, which has not only raised several eyebrows, it’s also caused some confusion. It’s important to understand that a 360° tour is something completely different from the traditional virtual slideshow tours that used to be the sole owners of the world. Today’s virtual tours have created a 360-degree experience that has changed our perception of virtual reality. Virtual tours have allowed us to experience places as if we were in the real world. We can visit places around the globe, push our curiosity to the limits of our imagination and even take matters such as booking hotel rooms and making reservations into our own hands – all without having to leave our homes.
So, how exactly do virtual tours work? Here are some clear and concise answers to the most frequently asked questions from real estate professionals who want to learn more about this groundbreaking technology.
What Is A 360° Virtual Tour?
The 360-degree virtual tour provides a comprehensive and all-encompassing 360-degree perspective of a real estate property. The user has the feeling of being on-site without having to enter the building. The user can look up, down, left, right and around. Users can zoom in and out, allowing the viewer to focus on specific areas of interest and better recognize the focus of their interest.
Virtual tours are created with a collection of images that are stitched together to create a deformed panoramic image. It is encoded into an online program that “wraps” the distorted image into a sphere that looks like you are actually there and can be explored with your smartphone or mouse.
Where Are Virtual 360° Tours Used?
360° tours have been used by real estate agents and brokers around the world for some time now. They have firmly established the current trend in the way we think about real estate for sale, multifamily, commercial and residential properties across the country.
High-resolution tours that can be viewed in full-screen resolution are usually the best option for anyone in the real estate industry who values high-end quality.
Hotels, bars, clubs, venues, theatres, universities, car dealerships and amusement parks are just a few businesses that benefit from this unique digital marketing tool. Any business that has any type of structure or area to show is an ideal opportunity to utilize the 360 virtual tour.
What Features Do 360 Virtual Tours Offer For Real Estate?
360 VR tours can be displayed on your website or within your local MLS listing in a variety of ways, depending on your preference. Here are some key features that have changed the way we view “virtual tours.”
Floor Plans: Floor plans provide a bird’s eye view of the home and allow the user to select different areas of the floor plan to move around from a room.
Google Maps: Google Maps interfaces allow users to see where a location is on a map grid. This allows you to determine exactly where you should go when you visit the area.
Hotspots: Hotspots allow the viewer to navigate between spaces by clicking on a hotspot arrow. The arrows point to the desired location, allowing the user to experience the layout of the house.
Audio & Voice Output: A large number of music or voice recordings can be integrated and displayed in the virtual 360-degree tour. This usually depends on the software used for a tour. This feature can help create a mood, or a voiceover can help you navigate through the 360-degree tour.
What Is The Benefit Of A Virtual Tour On Your Website?
A 360-degree virtual tour that is useful to the user helps to create a brand identity and promote the product or service. Example: Apartment buildings and apartment rentals. A potential tenant usually wants to look around and view a variety of models and units before making a decision and signing the “dotted line”.
Giving users 24/7 access to all of your models, even if they are out of stock, gives your company an edge over your competitors by making a potential customer’s buying decision much easier than your competitors.
How Should You Go About Choosing A 360° Virtual Tour Provider?
The good news is that there are numerous virtual tour providers for you to choose from. However, some of them deliver poor results. It’s best to create a reputable list of the best virtual tour providers and then take a close look at their work samples.
- Look for stitching errors or places where the images that make up the 360° tour are not lined up correctly.
- Look for clarity. Are the lines sharp and clear, or are they blurry and out of focus?
- Check for overexposure – Can you see through windows? Or are they dark, blurry and out of focus?
If you are looking for high-quality 360° tours, 360° virtual tour companies must have excellent photographers. We recommend that you get an overview of a virtual tour company’s work samples before making a final decision.
Is A 360 Virtual Tour Service Expensive?
Prices can vary from project to project and from one virtual tour company to another. The most important thing is that you are clear about what you will be charged and why.
Once You Do Speak To A Company Providing Virtual Tours, Don’t Be Afraid To Ask:
- Are there additional costs?
- Are there daily rates?
- Are travel costs included?
- Are there hosting costs?
- Costs per still image?
- Cost per panoramic image?
Once you’ve crunched the numbers, take a look at the quality of each company’s work for 360° virtual tours. Contrast and compare, experiment with the options and move through the virtual tours.
This will give you an idea of the value you’re paying for. Remember, you only pay once for a digital tour that you can use for a long time, which means the return on investment is huge compared to other marketing strategies.
Is A 360° Virtual Tour Easy To Add To A Website?
Each 360° virtual tour service offers its own method of providing the user with files or links that can be uploaded to your website. Some virtual tour providers host their tours on their servers. This makes it easy for anyone with limited knowledge of website design and development to integrate virtual tours into their websites on their own.
There are many plugins that allow you to view 360-degree virtual tours. Many of these plugins can be found through WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and other store/website builders. Once you’ve decided on a virtual tour provider, talk to someone at the company about the most popular option they recommend to their customers.
Final Thoughts
The best 360° virtual tours are able to stand the test of time and enhance the experience of visitors to your real estate website. They can increase sales, increase the number of visitors who return to your website and increase the number of visitors to your website and location.
