Posts Tagged ‘virtual tours’

5 Virtual Tour Photography Service Must Haves

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Virtual tours are still the best interactive way for businesses and organizations to market or show the facility they have to offer online 24 hours a day.  Video has become more and more popular but file size, cost of production, quality and difficult interaction are hurdles many web searchers are faced with.  Virtual tour photography and software have improved over the years, providing great representation of not only real estate property for sale but can also be used to market meeting space for rent, points of interest in a community, Parade of Homes or Showcase of Homes, hospital facilities, vocational schools, recreational sites, etc.  The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Here are some key points to consider when choosing a virtual tour photography service:

  1. Download Speed – As with all web media, people have no patience.  The virtual tour must load quickly or your prospect may leave the page.
  2. Ease of Navigation & Full Screen Capability – Navigation should include zoom in, zoom out, left, right, up, down & full screen capability.  Many more functions are available today but these basics should be present.
  3. Window Views – Many virtual tours are photographed with only the interior light in mind, leaving the window view as a bright white light.  Techniques today allow for the exterior to show through, helping to entice a client to the property.
  4. Copyright & Royalty Free Photography – Make sure there are no monthly or yearly hosting fees.  The files should be able to be embedded to your own web site, eliminating the need for future costs.
  5. 360 Degree Photography – Many companies call their still photos, slideshows and videos, virtual tours.  None of these allow the prospective client to “tour” the room as well as actual 360 degree virtual tours.

These are the main points to consider when deciding on marketing your facility with virtual tours.  This photography has been around for some time now with varying degrees of quality.  Some are even higher quality than most images on the web but keep in mind file size to load to a screen.  If you have seen poor quality virtual tours in the past, try viewing some more recent examples.  The quality and applications have greatly improved.

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Wayne Sturm is the Owner and Virtual Tour Photographer at Alaskarama.com and mobile marketing specialist and developer at MobilePlusLocal.com.

 home builder marketing

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Parade of Homes Web Marketing Success Story: Mat-Su Home Builders Association, Inc.

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Mat-Su Home Builders Association, Inc.
Wasilla, Alaska
Non-profit
100-120 Members
Professional/Trade Association

Challenge/problem:

  • Getting the most for a limited advertising dollar
  • Non-measurable traditional advertising mediums
  • Increasing exposure for builder due to weather or other event competition
  • Distance too great for buyers/judges to travel in a timely manner
Mobile marketing

An example of a mobile website

  • Newspaper – increasing costs, lower circulation, ad space competition, poor photo reproduction, short shelf life, not a targeted market, online versions of newspapers, do not carry inserts or the same ads & print cannot have changes made on the fly
  • Radio – listeners are spread over many stations, to be effective, many stations would have to be covered at the same time.  Ads cannot be replayed to review information, ads interrupt the entertainment, radio is usually background noise so multiple ads and hard work to get attention is required.
  • TV – message is temporary, best ad times are expensive and sold far in advance, most ads are 30 seconds limiting the message, high cost for creating ad, production of ad and airtime costs.
  • Direct Mail – Labelled as “junk mail” and thrown out automatically.  Costs of direct mailing lists are high. Long lead times for creation and mailing.  Schedule of printer supersedes the need for speed on last minute projects as information is received slowly from builders.
  • Old school advertising is providing dwindling results

Results Achieved: 

  • Lower print costs leaving more money in your budget while still reaching the target market with the builder’s house information
  • Leads for the builder  after parade/show is over, increasing builder participation
  • Virtual tours available for a walk through/Open House 24 hours a day for 1 year
  • Links to builder’s web sites providing valuable search engine optimization for their web marketing

Solution/How results were achieved:

 


Tour will run automatically or you may use the drop-down navigation menu.

See this tour on the Virtual Parade of Homes

Latest Information on how Home Buyers Search for a New Home

  • Internet: 88%
  • Real estate agent: 87%
  • Yard sign: 55%
  • Open house: 45%
  • Newspaper ad: 30%
  • Home book or magazine: 19%

Source: 2011 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

 

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