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Tag: virtual tours

  • 3 Platforms To Elevate Your Virtual Tour Strategy | Entrepreneur

    3 Platforms To Elevate Your Virtual Tour Strategy | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As the founder of one of the country’s fastest-growing 3D Virtual Tour companies, I’ve dedicated a lot of time to testing all of the leading virtual tour platforms available. There are hundreds of these 3D software on the market, though only a few can produce the quality content needed for my clients.

    There are many factors to consider when choosing a virtual tour software for your business, including the price, usability and quality. Sometimes, certain kinds of locations need special features only available on one platform. This is why, as one of the largest virtual tour companies in the US, we need to utilize all of these platforms.

    Today, I will go over my top 3 virtual tour platforms. The software I will list today is not only the best of the best but is the software we use for 99% of our tours.

    Matterport

    Odds are, if you are into virtual tours, you have seen a Matterport before. You have probably seen hundreds of Matterports already. This is because Matterport is the most popular Virtual Tour platform of all time and for good reasons.

    Matterports are instantly recognizable by the fully 3 Dimensional “Dollhouse” shown when you first load the tour. This feature is often absent from many other platforms; when it isn’t, Matterport still creates these the best. The way Matterport works is a full 3D scan is made in various locations of a property, which are then automatically stitched together by the software to create one large to-scale render with 99% accurate measurements.

    Matterports are useful for creating floor plans easily, which is useful in the real estate market. Real Estate agents use Matterports most often due to all of these features, the dollhouse, the floor plans and the realistic rendering. This saves them time and attracts more buyers because essentially anyone can tour the property for free as if they were there in person. This is efficient for agents and often leads to more calls, property tours and eventually a sale because the potential buyers already know exactly what the interior looks like before they ever contact the agent.

    If you are not a real estate agent, some of these premium features might not be necessary for the tour you need, especially with the high cost of these Matterport scans. The Matterport Pro 2 costs a couple thousand dollars alone, and this does not include the software or the web hosting.

    If you have a large virtual tour company, you can expect to pay as much as $1,400 a month to host only up to 500 tours at once. For this reason, we like to use other tours for other scenarios, which can be cheaper and benefit the client.

    Related: How Virtual Reality is Impacting Real Estate?

    Kuula

    One of the most groundbreaking virtual tour platforms you probably haven’t heard about is Kuula. Released in 2016, Kuula has worked its way up to be among the top platforms fairly quickly. The standout feature of Kuula is that virtual tours can be made of properties and locations that do not exist yet. This is especially useful for contractors or building planners to create a fully explorable environment for a building still under construction. These 3D models look very realistic and are commonly confused with real images.

    Along with this feature, Kuula can do everything a standard virtual tour platform can do. Kuula is known for its fast-loading and mobile-friendly tours. These tours are helpful for real estate and local businesses because they are optimized to run quickly on smartphones. They might not be as detailed as Matterports, but the price of Kuula makes up for this.

    For one, Kuula’s software works flawlessly with any 360 camera on the market, so there are no high-priced cameras to cause any roadblocks for a new virtual tour business. The software and hosting are also extremely affordable. Kuula offers its software for free, with very few features locked behind a paywall, as well as some of the most inexpensive hosting out of all platforms.

    Related: How Virtual Tours Can Elevate Your Marketing Strategy

    Cloud Pano

    My company works with all kinds of properties. Matterports are great for real estate listings and small businesses, and Kuula is essential for new construction projects; but when creating a tour for large areas, these platforms suffer. This is why, when we create a virtual tour for college campuses, resorts, or state parks, we use cloud pano.

    Cloud Pano works best with large buildings, facilities or outdoor areas. Technically, a Matterport is possible for large buildings, but to traverse the virtual environments, you will have to click through every pano area taken by the camera. Imagine a very long hallway. With Matterport, you will have to basically “click” your way down the hall, which can take a long time. If the building is a resort or a factory, it could be impossible to see everything the location offers in a reasonable amount of time.

    One drawback to CloudPano is that the tours need to be stitched together by hand, which, compared to Matterport, can take a lot of time. But the benefit to stitching yourself is you get to create the best tour path for the property and include or cut out specific areas. This allows my company to charge a bit more for our work because there is a lot more of a creative aspect to these tours, where expert experience provides a better result. CloudPanos are also significantly cheaper to host than Matterports, which is why it is my favorite tour platform for my business.

    Related: This Real Estate Hack Will Make Selling A Property Easier in 2023

    The future

    Virtual tours have only just started to take traction within the last few years. I believe most people still do not know about their existence unless they are business owners or in real estate. For this reason, I think the virtual tour industry will see massive growth over the next few years in terms of user engagement and tech innovations. For now, these three platforms are the best on the market for my company. However, I see this changing very soon as 3D software and 360 cameras continue to advance and the popularity of consumer VR headsets grows. I am excited to see where these platforms go in the next five years.

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    Sean Boyle

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  • How to Use Virtual Tours To Elevate Real Estate Sales

    How to Use Virtual Tours To Elevate Real Estate Sales

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We’re in the last month of 2022, and not only are we entering a new year, but we’re entering a recession that’s hurting real estate sales across the country. As many other authors and I discussed in previous articles, virtual tours help real estate agents sell more properties, but that’s not up for debate.

    But we’ve found a neat little hack you can do with your real estate content to get free exposure and more eyeballs on your listings to get more sales. It’s all through a process called “geotagging.”

    Never heard of this term before? Don’t worry; let’s learn about how to implement it into your content.

    What is geotagging?

    Geotagging is a technical search engine optimization term used to help rank local content higher on search engines through the exact coordinates of a real estate listing and the type of real estate property. Many business owners implement this strategy to get them to rank higher on local searches; let’s walk through an example.

    John Smith owns a bakery in Philadelphia, and while he has a great virtual tour, video and photos, he’s looking for that extra edge against his competition. He finds the process of geotagging, goes to a free site such as geoimgr.com, finds the coordinates (longitude and latitude) of Philadelphia, adds it to Geo Imgr and then adds in his niche keyphrase for what people search for his type of business, such as “bakeries near me” or “bakeries in Philadelphia.”

    So you’re essentially telling Google what you do “niche” in your area’s coordinates, so Google positions you as such because you’ve organized your content and tagged it as such; it’s a brilliant way to get higher rankings on local searches. In 2023, you’ll need to think outside the box — this is a great example of doing just that.

    Related: How Real Estate Investors Can Prepare for 2023 in 4 Easy Steps

    How does this apply to real estate listings?

    What do brick-and-mortar businesses and real estate listings have in common? They’re both pieces of real estate, so this process works just as well with real estate listings, just like how it does with small businesses such as John Smith’s bakery.

    No one is doing this as a real estate agent. They’re only focused on having great content, although essential to get to the next level; they also need to geotag all of their photos and videos! This is what hotshot realtors do to increase exposure on their listings.

    So how do I optimize my content as a real estate agent?

    It’s easier than you think, so don’t overthink it! Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to geotag your real estate content.

    1. Go to Geoimgr.com
    2. Take your current listing content (photos, videos, renderings, 360 tours) and plug them into the groomer.
    3. Google your location coordinates, ex: Philadelphia’s coordinates are (39.9526° N and 75.1652° W).
    4. Enter the coordinates into Geoimgr.
    5. Enter your type of real estate into Geoimgr “single-family home in Rittenhouse (insert your neighborhood)” or “multifamily home south Philadelphia.”
    6. Hit the “EXIF Tag” button, and you’ve optimized your real estate listing content!

    Related: How Virtual Reality is Impacting Real Estate?

    Where do I post my optimized content once I have it?

    Like you would normally do, you’ll post to the multiple listing service, which posts to all the big-name listings such as Zillow, Realtor, Loopnet, Redfin, etc. Since most people search on Google anyway, Google will still give you the benefits of geotagging. The best part about using geoimgr is that you can upgrade your account to get more content optimized for more listings as you become more successful as time goes on.

    Don’t have the time? Fortunately, this process takes less than 10-15 minutes to complete. Learn how to do this process first, then give it to one of your teammates or interns to geotag your content for the foreseeable future.

    Virtual tours are the best marketing tool for your listing, but geotagging is the secret sauce that allows your listings to sell faster and for more money.

    Use this strategy to kickstart your 2023 and find success in your real estate endeavors.

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    Sean Boyle

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  • VR Goggle Technology Takes Potential Real Estate Buyers to the Virtual-Reality World

    VR Goggle Technology Takes Potential Real Estate Buyers to the Virtual-Reality World

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    Stagnant real estate photographs are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With the launch of VR goggles and VR Squad

    Press Release
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    updated: Jul 8, 2017


    San Jose, CA , July 8, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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     Stagnant real estate photographs are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With the launch of VR goggles and 3D virtual tours, potential real estate buyers, both residential and commercial, are able to virtually navigate properties in a matter of moments. VR Squad Inc. is one of the first to adopt this state-of-the-art technology, and although it’s still in its early ages of adoption, the technology is catching the eyes of real estate agents, brokers, potential buyers, as well as property managers. Jonny Vu, and Khang Truong co-founders of VR Squad Inc., have an extensive background in engineering and real estate, and now they are taking those skills to help potential buyers find their dream property without ever stepping foot out the door.

    “One of the key advantages of VR goggles and 3D virtual tours is that it provides a fluid, authentic experience,” said Vu. “When you put the headset on you feel like you’re in the space. If you have VR goggles you have the technological ability to walk around the property you’re interested in, and actually view it as if you’re there in person.”

    For a 3,000 square-foot property, a 3D scan takes about 2 hours to capture the space in its entirety. After the scan, Vu and his team upload the footage to the server, and within three hours the client has a link of the property ready to share with potential clients all over the world through VR goggles, a desktop or mobile device. According to Vu, approximately 80 percent of his current customers operate on the residential end, while the other 20 percent are commercial. The technology is rapidly changing the traditional methods of the real estate market, and Vu said other industries are also tapping into the virtual world.

    “We’re doing work with casinos, restaurants, apartment complexes, as well as construction sites -showcasing the before and after developments,” said Vu.

    VR Squad Inc. currently offices in San Jose, CA, but soon they’re taking the virtual world to a second location in Scottsdale, Arizona.

    “Virtual reality is the future and is already changing how industries conduct business and buyers shop for properties,” said Vu.

    CONTACT:                                            

    3d@vrsquadinc.com​
    ​Phone: 408-588-9999
    ​www.vrsquadinc.com

    -End-

    Source: VR Squad, Inc

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