Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In current times, it’s not practical to do everything in person. Likewise, many tasks can be done virtually. Real estate is no different. The following guest post is entitled, Creating an Engaging Real Estate Virtual Tour.
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The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the significance of adding virtual tours of real estate properties for sale or rent. One statistic revealed that they can generate up to 5 million visits a day. These tools can influence the real estate market, provide leads, and boost transaction dollars.
But here’s the problem: almost all real estate websites these days use virtual tours. How do you make yours stand out? Here are the tips you need:
1. Use 2D and 3D
Some virtual tours are simply flat images/photos of rooms interested buyers can view from various angles. These kinds of tours are acceptable, but why settle for them when you can use 2D and 3D?
2D virtual tours run by still photos shot from various angles. Some are set on a virtual “turntable” that allows you to “spin” the image around for an all-around view. 3D virtual tours, however, are far more interesting and engaging. Professionals use special software with CAD-like capabilities to produce highly accurate digital renderings of rooms. Buyers can virtually “walk” through a space and look at everything from every angle-even look under countertops.
2. Elevate with AR and VR
You can also add even more dimension to your virtual tours with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Using augmented reality art adds a layer of digital information on top of a photo. You can use it to show the room in various phases-place furniture where you’d like it in your own space-or show the room in the evening with lights on.
Virtual reality takes AR to the next level. Users experience an immersive 3D world that feels entirely realistic. You can use this technology for things like helping buyers imagine themselves in a space or even showing off the interiors of a building even before builders complete it.
Real estate companies are less likely capable of making 2D and AR virtual tours, but they can hire experts to produce the videos they need.
3. Incorporate Social Media
Consider incorporating social media platforms to increase the reach of your virtual tours. This is a good strategy for getting more engagement for any digital content-including video-you create. After all, Facebook has made it easier and easier for people to share videos.
You can also leverage social media with these ideas:
• Enable users to share your virtual tours on their social media accounts.
• Use hashtags in your descriptions and the photo filenames themselves.
• Add a link to the tour in your email signature.
• Add a note about driving traffic to your site where they can view it.
4. Complement Your Virtual Tours with a Concise Property Description
Remember, your virtual tours aren’t the only content you’ll want to include on your property listings. You should give potential buyers or tenants a quick and engaging rundown of what your place is all about.
Give them specifics about location, amenities, and anything else that will help them make a decision. In fact, many real estate professionals add “quick facts” to their listings.
You can also add the following:
• A Google map of the location
• A short bio or company information about the developer
• A list of comparable properties
5. Use Virtual Tour Videos and Images on Blogs and YouTube
Contrary to what many believe, blogs are not dead. Real estate agents and brokers can still use them to drive traffic and sell properties. But you need to elevate your content using virtual tours.
You can find dozens of blog post ideas about using visual content. But here are a few effective ways you can use virtual tour images and videos on your blogs:
• Feature different rooms in the home or building. For example, you can do this by using 360° photos that readers can pan around. If you have AR or VR tours available, you can use those images to show readers how things will look in their spaces.
• Add a caption for each image and video to provide additional details.
• Incorporate-or encourage readers to contribute-their photos and videos of the property as well as any other memories they may have of it.
• Comment on what buyers love about the place and why they’re sad to see it go.
Meanwhile, a joint study between the National Association of Realtors(NAR) and Google revealed that YouTube is the primary research destination for home shoppers. Creating a YouTube channel using virtual tours can help you reach more prospective buyers.
Virtual tours are more than just photos. They’re an effective way to get buyers excited about a property, whether it’s for sale or already their own. If you haven’t considered using them yet, now is the time to start.
