A virtual tour is more than just a set of 360 panoramas connected together. When done right, a virtual tour can be a multi-functional marketing and sales powerhouse. Many elements shape and refine a virtual tour. It’s not just about how good the camera/photos are (but it helps); it is about understanding the client’s needs what they want to achieve through the virtual tour. Today we will be looking at six elements that make a great virtual tour.

6 Elements That Make A Great Virtual Tour! Next Level Digital Marketing!

Designed to focus on your goals

When we first talk with our clients, we have a discussion/meeting on what they want to achieve through their virtual tour. If we do not understand what the client wants to achieve, the tour will not align with their goals. Goals vary from brand awareness, sales, enrolment, online exposure, social campaign, integrated marketing strategy, online meeting space and more. Once the goal/focus is understood, then you can begin to design the tour.

Focus on the brand

Branding is essential, and at Simply 360, brand integration is standard for all our virtual tours. The tour should look, feel and experience like they are interacting with your company. Working with your marketing team, we make sure that the tour is designed to your brand guidelines. There is no point in creating a tour for your business if it does not look/feel like your brand.

Make sure your audience finds it appealing

Who is going to see the virtual tour? If it is for a specific audience/demographic, it should be designed to their tastes/needs. A great example is our Vasey tour. Vasey is an independent aged care community with 5 locations in Sydney. Many of the people viewing the tour are 60+ years of age. The tour is designed to be simple, clean, and practical, with the ability to adjust the size of the text. This way, the end-user can experience the tour while choosing a reading size level ideal for them.

Another great example is TAFE NSW, who approached us to create a virtual tour for their virtual open day.

With many areas in lockdown, they wanted to showcase their campuses without people leaving their homes if unable to. Their focus was to showcase their various facilities to show prospective students their hands-on learning facilities.

Navigation is also important and it is no secret that people are busy. Keeping the tour easy to navigate ensures that people do not feel overwhelmed and can move quickly through your tour. We use simple, easy-to-understand icons for all the different sections of your tour. This makes it easy for people to find what they are looking for, even if they have never visited your company/location before.

High-end 360 photography

It goes without saying that if the images do not look good, then it does not give a good impression of the location. Unfortunately, time after time, we see various tours taken by smartphones or low-end consumer cameras for professional shoots. The truth is they do not look good. Simply 360 uses high-end 360 cameras for exceptional image quality, and all our photographers are Google Certified. This guarantees that you will be getting images of the best quality and that 360 will provide you with a tour experience second to none. This single element can easily be what make your regular virtual tour into a great virtual tour.

It strengthens your online presence

Your website has a strong online presence, but what if you could strengthen it further. We have conducted multiple case studies, and the results are always the same. Research has shown that a virtual tour can increase dwell time on a website by up to 10 fold. This, amongst other factors, are a significant boost to your SEO. Additionally, the use of 360 images in a Google Street View Tour will further strengthen your map ranking. Lastly, a tour done well can create a viral and shareable experience on social and other channels strengthening your brand.

There is a clear call to action

What do you want your customers to do when they are in the tour? There are many possibilities, such as contacting the business, enrolling in a course, getting a good understanding of what you offer, or simply understanding the space. The call to action must be clear and simple to use in a virtual tour.

Conclusion – Great Virtual Tour

These six elements are essential to a virtual tour for it to be great. If your virtual tour lacks any of these six elements, it may not achieve what you are hoping to. Our founder Dimitri Cassimatis has a background in traditional/digital marketing with extensive sales experience. Each tour combines his knowledge and focuses on branding, strategic marketing, UX, UI all combined aligned with call to actions that are immersed in high-end 360 photography.

Contact Simply 360 on 02 9674 9090 or fill out the form on this page to take your idea and turn it into a great virtual tour.

Which element do you think is the most important to make a great virtual tour? Did we leave any elements out that can further enhance a virtual tour into a great virtual tour? Let us know in the comments section below :)

Dimitri Cassimatis( Founder )

Dimitri is the founder of Simply 360, which specialises in creating immersive, interactive and engaging 360 / VR virtual tours, AR integration and marketing consultancy. He has worked in the digital marketing industry for over 15 years and has a passion for creating virtual tours with a key focus in strategic implementation.