What’s Best For Your Listing? 3D, Video, Virtual Tour? Your Options Explained
A lot of companies use the term “Virtual Tour” loosely or deceptively when in reality all they’re doing is providing a slide show of still images. That isn’t really a Virtual Tour, or at least not in our books. We wanted to help make sure you have all of the info to make smart choices about your virtual tour options.
Read below to get a better understanding of how these products differ, where and how they are most useful, and learn how to make the best decisions for your next listing!
Video Slideshow
A Video Slideshow is a slideshow video of still images. This is not a Virtual Tour, even though you might hear other companies refer to it as one.
We do create a video slide show and load it directly to your YouTube channel with your branding and music complimentary with any photo package. The purpose for doing this is strictly from an exposure / marketing point of view. YouTube videos rank very well on search results for the address and your name. We link the video description back to your webpage to drive traffic back to you. Sending the buyers to YOU, not some other photography company or realtor site. Where your content loads is HUGE to your short term and long term online presence, but we won’t get off track just now..
360 Virtual Tour
A “Virtual Tour” or 360 Virtual Tour is a set of interactive panoramic images loaded to specific software that users can move around at their control (using their finger on a phone or tablet, or a mouse on their computer to move the images and look around a room or area).
They can also jump from area to area. If we measure the floor plan (or you provide on and pay for Floor Plan Integration), we can create an Interactive Floor Plan Layer inside the Virtual Tour that shows people where they are standing and the direction they are looking as they move the 360 images around. We can also connect the 360’s together with little hotspots.
You can see a CLICK HERE to View a Sample Virtual Tour that also has interactive hotspot arrows to navigate around and a voice-over (both add-on options), but to give you an idea.
3D & VR Tours
We also have 3D and VR Tours which are 360 Panoramas on top of a 3D Model which is like a 360 Virtual Tour on steroids! Viewers can “walk” virtually through the entire house and look anywhere they want to go, and view the room from any angle. It can be viewed with Virtual Reality or VR Goggles as well.
Click HERE to View a Sample of a 3D Tour
Cost vs. Benefit: Boiling It All Down
How do the options really stack up when it comes to Real Estate?
Photo Packages:
Photos are always going to have value. They can also give more flexibility to perfectly stage the best angles of your listing, controlling every element. They’re the least expensive option, but still provide good value as people typically want to see photos first.
Virtual Tours
Virtual Tours are the second most cost effective option, typically providing a high buyer engagement rate. Buyers really like them and spend more time on them as they are in control and can look around at the angles most relevant to them (they’re in the drivers seat).
**They also get people to leave the website they found the listing on an come to you to get the extra content they want to see (coming back to that content placement is key concept again)
3D Virtual Tours
3D Tours are more expensive than Virtual Tours, but provide an even better experience to buyers. We’re seeing a trend towards options like 3D especially in the current market where qualifying buyers is more important than ever (you can read some tips we had on this subject HERE).
Video Walk-Through
This is the most expensive option, but isn’t necessarily the best one. With a video walk-through you run the risk of not syncing with a viewers speed, angle, or viewing preference which will vary widely across your audience. If done right, it can be a very engaging tool, but it’s a fine line to mitigate the risk of losing the attention of your viewer. We find that the more interactive options give you much better value for your listing marketing dollar and tend to exhibit a higher engagement rate.
Video Walk-Throughs can be worth it for higher value listings to add some control to the features you most want to showcase. They also have the added benefit of really impressing your sellers – it’s their home and castle after all and usually has a high emotional connection for them.
Not All Listings Are Created Equal!
The bottom line.. Not all listings are created equal. That’s why we spend the time to advise and customize the best package for your listing. If you’re working with another company, just make sure you have a clear understanding of what you’re getting and don’t hesitate to ask questions!
Need help deciding which is the best option for your listing? You can check out more on our Services here and view samples or reach out to our experienced team today!
360 Video – The Future of Real Estate?
We left this one off the list above as it isn’t very popular in Real Estate thus far. Unlike a 360 Virtual Tour or 3D Tour, the 360 Video has to be watched, re-winded or paused linearly, but users have the ability to move around the current angle of the video they’re interested in seeing.
It seems doubtful that the 360 Video will gain steam in Real Estate as it will be difficult to set-up the clips as the videographer moves through the home because it records and shows everything (including the videographer). You still have to watch the video linearly, however, you can now look around in any direction as the video is playing. You just can’t control where the video camera goes like you can control which direction you go and which direction you look in a 3D Tour.
It’s cool video advancement, but kind of awkward as you don’t know where the video is going so you can easily miss something if you are looking in the wrong direction as it plays.
Click HERE To View a 360 Video Sample (best to watch on the computer)