Realtors! Get the Most from your Virtual Tours
Virtual Tours, sometimes known as Single Property Websites, are an extremely effective tool for showcasing your listings. A Virtual Tour is included in all of my real estate photography packages. They are very cost effective, since for very little, a ton of useful information can be packed into one tour. Not only beautiful photos presented in a nice slideshow, but much more.
However, many of you are not taking advantage of the many extra features and customization available in Virtual Tours. So here's a rundown of some of the features you might want to take advantage of.
Floor Plans
As shown on the virtual tour above, floor plans can be added to your virtual tour, giving potential buyers crucial information in selecting a potential home. A nice feature is the addition of photo hot spots which allow viewers to click on a photo icon and see what the room looks like. The size of the floor plan on the tour's opening page can be customized.
Property Information
Virtual tours can display additional property information, such as listing price, square footage, bathrooms, bedrooms, year built and MLS number. You can also add info such as status (sold, recently listed, new price, etc.) and property type (condo, detached home, lot, etc.). You can even add an upcoming Open House to your tour. This information can be added in your Client Panel, as shown below.
Viewing Statistics
You and your client can receive a weekly virtual tour viewing stats email. The Tour Activity Report contains a wealth of useful information, such as Total Tour Views, Images Viewed, Popular Images, Daily and Weekly Traffic and Top Referring Sites. Your client's email can be added to the Stats distribution list, so they can see what's happening. This can be helpful in pricing discussions.
To add automatic stats emails, just go to your Client Panel, click on the Stats Icon. On the Stats Settings page, you can enable Stats Emails, add additional email addresses, and set email frequency.
Add Descriptive Text
You can add additional descriptive text to your tour, to highlight special features, neighbourhood amenities, appliances and much more. This text can be added to the Description Box on the Client Panel, and will display in the More Info / Description section of the tour. It will also automatically populate the description field on Flyers. As this example illustrates, you can pack a ton of info into this field.
Flyers
I get asked quite often if I produce property flyers. My answer is no, but did you know that you can quickly and cheaply produce a flyer right from your Virtual Tour? Right there in your Client Panel is a Flyer button. Clicking on that takes you to the Flyer assembly page, where you can select and arrange the photos you'd like to see on your flyer. You can select a main photo and six additional shots. You can also add descriptive text. This text can be added directly into the Flyer Text box, or it will pull from the descriptive text added in the Info section. The Flyer will also display the info entered into the Listing Information Boxes.
Once you've added the photos and text you want, you can create a pdf, which you can print on your office printer. Just use some nice glossy paper and the flyer will look great! Some clients put the floor plan on the back. Printing yourself allows you to only print the quantity you need, say for your Open House. If something changes (price?), you can quickly print a handful of new ones for your next Open House.
Music and Video
All virtual tours include the option of playing music when viewed. This can be turned off if you prefer. Viewers can also toggle the music on or off. The actual music track can be changed, as well, from a large selection of available tracks. You can even add your own music, or a voice over. Just be sure you have rights to the music! The music played can be universally set, meaning it plays on every tour, or set for individual tours. To change the music, just click on the Media Settings tab, where you're presented with a (long) list of available tracks.
A unique feature of our virtual tours is that video clips can be added in with the still photos. I typically add drone videos into the slideshow, but any video can be added, such as a short realtor property introduction, or even a walk-through video.
Additional Tour Customization
Many aspects of your virtual tours can be customized, such as Image Display Time, Pan/Zoom Effect, Panorama Direction, Panorama Duration and more. We can even change the background colour on your tours, so if you have a preferred colour scheme (Keller-Williams Red, Re/Max Blue, etc.), we can customize your tours to suit. Virtually any displayed colour can be changed, such as background, font colour, contact form background colour, and more. Even the main text font can be changed. Give me a call if you're interested and we can sit down and go through the options. You can literally make your virtual tours, your own!
If you need help with any of this, don't hesitate to call. I can meet you at your office, or at the local 'Bucks, and walk you through the options. Or, if you're having trouble accessing your Client Panel, I can send a Client Panel Invite.
