Land Schools With Cloudpano

May 1, 2022 in Blog, Cloudpano, Software, Virtual Tours

Land Schools With Cloudpano

Cloudpano is the best virtual tour platform for schools. Cloudpano is the perfect tool for passive income. A lot of people have an aversion to this idea. Which is understandable- it’s too good to be true. At least on paper. However, with hardwork and dedication, passive income can be a reality for anyone. It’s important to bring up at the very start- it’ll frame and contextualize everything else discussed from here on out- and we’ll conclude on how to end your tour with a recurring invoice. It’s also worth mentioning that I have nothing to sell you. I am a Cloudpano Pro Plus Member. I use these tactics myself and it’s worked phenomenally for me. We’re going to be talking about a very niche vertical- school.

Explore New Virtual Tour Possibilities

There are 130,000 schools in the United States. We’re coming out of a pandemic. All of them are going to want tours eventually. Also, this isn’t the only vertical. You can scale this very same kind of thinking into different verticals. Which ultimately, is the next magnitude to step up to, in order to grow as a virtual tour agency. But for now, let’s focus on schools, and make you the authority on school virtual tours with cloudpano in your area.

First Step: Figure Out What You Know About Cloudpano

We’re going to assume you know what Cloudpano is. To recap, it’s the most versatile virtual tour platform available today. In fact Cloudpano has several features that are vital to the value proposition, so be mindful of how this may or may not transfer to other software.

Take some time to read up and ensure you really understand cloudpano. Ask questions, make tours, toy around with examples. Push yourself to understand and develop your style of shooting and try to make a consistent style that you can market. Establish post production workflows and other channels, so you can rely on output and consistency for marketing. Obviously each school will look different, but you don’t want to reinvent the wheel with every school.

Second Step: Figure Out What You Can Repeat

The most impressive panoramic images you’ll take are bracket images on a full frame camera with a special tripod head. But that is a rigorous workflow, and one that is hard to scale. Can you make school virtual tours with cloudpano this way? Sure. But it’s not practical for what the ultimate application is. It is possible to take immense, well placed pride in a tour and use a dual lens 360 camera like the Z1, without a doubt the best possible choice.

Using a Z1 or similar is the best choice for several reasons. First, speed. Schools don’t have several days to keep the hallways clear. Administrators more often than not want to do them on a holiday or weekend- time they would rather not be at work. Speed isn’t something the customer knows they want regarding this offering.

360 Cameras also have the added benefit of being very simple to operate, and have a simple workflow. There is no reason to conflate a long and confusing post production process with a quality virtual tour. It is possible to get phenomenal and engaging results from a 360 camera. Ricoh Theta even makes some cameras as low as a few hundred dollars.

Third Step: Fill Out Cloudpano Offering

Adding drone panoramas to a project is a really quick way to add serious value to a virtual tour. You can add several hundred dollars for a single drone panoramic that will take about 5 minutes to procure. Obviously it’s critical that you fly with Part 107 licenses and TRUST certificate, as well as any other appropriate approvals and insurances. We are building a professional brand here. It’s up to the industry to make sure we are going off on the importance of using licensed and insured pilots, with permission.

Cloudpano Is The Best Virtual Tour Software

Now, not everyone is going to have a drone, or further still their Part 107. This is an important time to reach out to some local drone pilots and see who you can partner with. This is a fantastic addition to any school virtual tour.

Being able to show off the ground from the sky will contextualize and help frame a tour. It will also drive the “wow” factor, something that will not only help sell a tour but help make it an effective asset for the client in attracting and retaining students and faculty.

Fourth Step: Get Cozy With Google

One massive component of selling to schools is utilizing the built in tracking extensions that Cloudpano put in for us. We can use Google Analytics to track who visits the tour. It is hard for me to undersell this aspect, and it CANNOT be skipped. The reason why is that the biggest value of these school virtual tours is upselling hosting- which we’ll get into in a bit. A chunk of what justifies that cost is the monthly reports from Google Analytics.

You can check out other blogs and videos regarding GA, and how to use it in other areas of your business. But for now, if this isn’t something you are very comfortable with- congratulations, you found your next things to start reading up on, when you are done with this blog. Push yourself and become an expert at Google Analytics. You on a beach in Mexico sipping fruity drinks will thank you for it.

This is a good point to also mention becoming a Google Trusted Photographer. Not only does it give you instant credibility- but it’ll help strengthen your skills and comfort level with Google overall.

Step Five: Start Calling

Ok, so in all honesty, this part is the hardest. Selling isn’t easy, and most things that actually and honestly sell themselves are illegal and/or highly regulated. So we’re going to need to put in some uncomfortable hours here. And honestly, that’s the hard, very much true part no one wants to hear about building passive income. It takes a lot of setup. You will spend a hundred hours making calls before you get $1,000/month inbound in hosting. A rough estimate but a qualifier of expectations. It’s possible, but you have to work for it.

Top view of woman walking in the street surfing 360 degree view in her mobile. All screen graphics are made up.

Schools are fortunately easy to sell too. They aren’t business people. Setting up a meeting or a virtual demo is relatively easy. But how do you go from cold call to kick off call? We’re going to quickly go over some reasons schools would want virtual tours. We’re going to break them up into public and private schools, or free and paid schooling.

Public Schools

The authorities in the public school that would want a virtual tour might not be the principal. And public schools don’t traditionally have marketing departments. So how to break in? Don’t call the schools directly, call into administration buildings. Try to find out how to get on approved vendor lists. This is a step most school districts will need you to be on, and most people can be cleared to be on the list. So starting any approach being available will help tremendously. This is important for school safety and fair sourcing practices.

School Virtual Tours Are The Future

Public school administrators might want virtual tours to show off the condition of schools, in order to secure more funding. Often, school districts will be mandated by the state to show how they are educating kids and what steps they have done with funds previously awarded before they are granted new taxpayer funds. Considering how comprehensive a cloudpano virtual tour is, a virtual tour could be the silver bullet in some situations.

On the other side, teacher unions and other interested parties might be looking to document school conditions. There are several different entities and reasons someone at a public school would want a virtual tour. The important thing is to open up conversations, and try to find out ways you can help. You will pick up on different aspects and realities of the schools and school districts around you, and eventually you will truly be a leader on virtual tours in your region.

Private School

Almost everything that would apply to the private school would apply to the public school. However, private schools are easier to actually sell too. These people often have some kind of business background, be it educational or real world. Private schools can charge tens of thousands of dollars for a single year. The national average comes in at just over $16,000/year per child. So the math is fairly easy. Missing ten kids shy of capacity? That’s $160,000 less a year you are collecting. They still have to hire and pay the teachers, keep the lights on, and more. So there is a little extra edge when selling to private schools.

Cloudpano Hosting

There really isn’t too much to be said here, so I’ll try to keep it simple. I assume that, when one pays for cloudpano, that cost can basically be broken down into two parts. One is access to the dashboard/editor. The other is that the tours are being actively hosted on the internet on Cloudpano servers. You are being charged for that storage. You are allowed to pass that cost off to the customer. You are allowed to make a profit on that transaction. It’s just that simple.

For some schools, hearing that they can have a 24/7 open house online, ready to fill that admissions gap for only $30/month? Not an issue. And this is the ideal position. The ideal position is to have the hosting on the tours be written into the annual marketing budget of a school. Now for the public school it might not be called a marketing budget, but you can adjust your terminology however you want. One will want to be included on an ongoing basis, as an ongoing fixed cost. You can bill quarterly or yearly, most will prefer yearly. Offer yearly discounts.

This is where the tracking we mentioned earlier comes in. You can embed the tracking information into the tour, and sell/include the reports in the hosting fee. This then gives the school tremendous insight into who is suing the tour. This gives them demographic information they can use to maximize their ad spend in other areas. Or to better understand the community around them.

Adding monthly/quarterly hosting reports combined with keeping the tour ad free and open 24/7- usually sells the value proposition of hosting in full. Boom, you’re in the annual budget. Every tour will count. Eventually you’ll be in a position where you are repairing handsome monthly fees. Depending on the scope and scale- and how much effort you put in, this recurring passive income can be a sizable amount.

Objections To Hosting

It’s important to introduce hosting properly. I like to start with “regarding ongoing hosting, keeping the tour live and ad free, customer service, and all other incidentals, we assess a $10 monthly or $100 annual hosting fee”. You can write it into a quote with similar language. Make sure to include the option of turning tours on and off, or making them seasonal. You will experience pushback to hosting, try to drop costs. Even $1/month. People can remain firm- but this brings possibilities to exchange and trade. It is indeed possible to embed the tour on a landing page with ads.

“I understand the hosting would be a deal breaker; can you make three email introductions to other administrators at other schools who might be interested in a virtual tour, if you are satisfied with the tour?”. Or, you can substitute other ideas. Get an endorsement for your website. Angle for an advertising spot in the year book. Go for a guaranteed in depth review.

Objections to hosting should be seen as an opportunity to structure the deal in a way that you walk away with as much as you can. You may not get monthly cash payments for the tour, but you can make sure it has a maximum positive impact on your brand.

Hosting should be contextual. There is no hosting in real estate. Schools, dealerships, and other “long term” tours are certainly on the table to have hosting attached.

Step Six: Close Sales

As mentioned, it is easy to land demos and meetings with school officials. We’re going to touch on some common objections, and how to overcome them. Generally getting the deal with a school to go through can take up to a whole year. It’s important to start and get as many irons in the fire as you can. Luckily conversion rates are high.

One common objection is safety, and it’s one we take very seriously. Schools will worry about malicious actors getting an understanding inside the school. This can be simply thwarted by not capturing most hallways. This leaves classrooms explorable spaces outside of context. Windows can be frosted in post production to further confuse orientation.

Expand With Cloudpano

Another flexibility you might need is terms. Some institutions pay on 30, 60, or even 90 day terms. It’s important to be flexible. Remember, the ultimate goal is to be collecting hosting many years from now. And these school administrators and their staff operate in small circles, so reputation matters.

Step Seven: Live the Cloudpano dream

In conclusion, Cloudpano is the best virtual tour platform. So it’s easily the best for schools as well. From live meetings to student athlete recruitment, Cloudpano is the secret tool many school administrators and staff are just waiting to hear about. So don’t be shy! Develop your offering, and start making calls. If you go in with an honest heart and mind, you can bring great value to not only the school and the community, but yourself as well.

Cloudpano: It’s The Best Virtual Tour Software Available.

April 18, 2022 in Blog, Software, Virtual Tours

Cloudpano: It’s the best virtual tour software available.

This Cloudpano review is a targeted look at the software. Cloudpano is a broad application software for virtual tours. You can use it to make captivating virtual tours of anything from homes to cars. Basically, any industry. We’re going to be examining several impacts this swiss army knife software has on the virtual tour industry. We’re also going to review how it is a viable and effective counter offer to Matterport. Further on we’ll discuss hosting as an income strategy. Lastly, we’ll talk about landing national clients with Cloudpano.

Cloudpano is, at its core, a hosting platform. Cloudpano allows you to connect images and videos. Particularly, 360 images and video. It can also host images and other text, but we’ll leave that aside. Now, it’s important to review these two assets. 360, or equirectangular images, are the main asset. There are a variety of ways to produce them.

I covered several in my video review of Cloudpano. Some of the most popular ways are with cellphone, 360 camera, D/SLR, 3D Camera, and of course- drone. Before we touch base on these platforms, it is important to nod to the fact that with so many different systems being able to produce equirectangular images, Cloudpano is an easy choice for someone looking to get into the industry.

Systems To Build A Cloudpano Tour.

Smartphones are ubiquitous. It is then fortunate that Google has released a free app that allows you to generate equirectangular images for free. Not only that, it will stitch them as well. It does a respectable 6/10 job as well. Now typically you wouldn’t want panoramic images of that quality in a tour.

However, post production is our friend. They can easily be exported and cleaned up, giving a viable entry point into the industry with as little as a smartphone with service, both for taking pictures and selling, internet, and a Cloupano subscription. Other advantages of using the Google Street smartphone app, is its ability to help you rank as a Google Street photographer. You will be a trusted affiliate, and can further still help your client achieve internet exposure and indeed more profits.

360 cameras have gained in popularity. Outsiders like GoPro have entered the space, and long time second tier manufacturers like Ricoh Theta have turned out flagship models in this class. The Ricoh Theta Z1. This is likely one of the most popular on the platform. While it has a commanding price of just over $1,000- it is worth it. Other entry points in the stand alone 360 camera vertical are more appealing, with lesser models going for less than half the price.

Cloudpano unlocks new viewing possibilities

What needs to be considered when shopping for an asset to make virtual tours- is 360 video. And at the time you need a 360 camera to make that happen. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is an equirectangular image worth? Or an equirectangular video? In the hands of the right application, it can be invaluable.

Regular, full frame cameras are a great option. Building tours in Cloudpano is easy in time. So using a full frame camera can add a layer of unmatched quality. While you will want a zero-nadir panoramic tripod head, for sure. It is hard to beat the quality of bracketing images. The tricky part here is in the post production. You will need to utilize a desktop or tablet to do some post production. And even further still, stitching time can take a while. (Hint: build that into the price).

3D Cameras are perfect for Cloudpano. It’s true! If you’re looking at your Matterport Pro2 and thinking “I can’t make this work”, let me tell you, you are wrong. Matterport is expensive, it supplies way more than what is often needed, and is an overall bad platform. However, the upside is that you can extract 360 panoramas from any existing Matterport tour, and turn them into cloudpano tours. This means you can easily convert your existing inventory of tours, and finally escape Matterport.

Lastly, a top favorite is drones. Adding drone work to a virtual tour is a super quick way to make $500. And it hits on any vertical Cloudpano does. It is really amazing to see how well and how quickly you can upsell quality drone applications in Cloudpano. Not that you need to make a halo around a property- but hey, you totally could. Drones are expensive and flashy but they are eye-catching. You need your Part 107 licenses to fly them.

A massive upside here is that most modern drones will make the panoramic themselves. You just fly to a point in space you want them captured. Press just one button, and let the drone do the rest- stitching included.

Cloudpano Is Adaptable.

Cloudpano is a highly adaptable virtual tour software. You can use it across many niches. We have found that if it is an industry where a virtual tour is applicable, that Cloudpano is equally applicable 98% of the time. And considering the cost and customization, that 2% is very, very hard to miss.

Cloudpano tours can be found in anything from car dealerships to resorts. Schools, event spaces, the list goes on. One (bad) criticism against Cloudpano is the lack of a dollhouse. Luckily, in Early 2022, they launched the ability to have a dollhouse rendered. This further closed the gap between Matterport and Cloudpano.

Cloudpano tours can be made many ways

Is Cloudpano Passive Income?

The short answer- yes. When you make a captivating virtual tour- you are completely within your rights to charge hosting. After all, the cost of Cloudpano is basically two parts in one. Access to building/GSV, and hosting the tours. You are allowed to pass that cost down- and make a handsome profit while doing so.

Let us say, for example, you had a private school that got the tour. A private school might charge $15,000 a year to teach a child. So if they have 10 spots open, they are missing out on $150,000! You are able to come in, and help with their exposure. You can easily charge three figures to keep the tour active.

So, in 2-3 years time, you’ll really look back and be thankful you implemented this model with cloudpano. It is a phenomenal path to financial freedom.

But how do you go about actually securing these arrangements?

The basic sales line that has the best conversions goes like some version of this. “In order to keep the tour online and active, and with unlimited distribution and no advertisements, we must charge a small monthly fee”. And no, advertisements are not an option anyway.

Cloudpano can unlock new possibilities with passive income

A lot of people who try this will run into push back. So plan for it. Start with a $10/month or $100/year offering. You can auto generate and send invoices with workflow setups in a lot of payment platforms.

Adverse reactions can be dealt with. “I understand the hosting could be a deal breaker for you. Can we work out a deal, where if you are satisfied you can pledge to give an honest review (don’t trade for fake five star, that comes off as dishonest and can sour a deal fast) on Google?”

Another good counter, “I understand the hosting could be a deal breaker for you. Can we work out a deal, where if you are satisfied you can pledge to make introductions via email to three other peers in other institutions in this industry?”.

Setting up a consistent hosting requirement- and being able to be flexible, will go for your business.

There are other considerations when charging for hosting. You really won’t get away with it in real estate. Houses really sell too fast right now. Businesses like auto dealerships and stores will pay $10/month. Private schools and larger institutions will readily pay even more.

There will be a small degree of maintenance needed to help deliver the value and help drive the sale of hosting. Utilize the amazing feature of cloudpano to slip in analytics tracking- and include those reports in the hosting fee. Again, this is something you can automate. This is a very important step and application. Cloudpano will help and be useful.

National Clients And Cloudpano.

There are a lot of great discussions on Cloudpano. Getting started is important. But the next level involves bigger clients. This can often mean national chains. So how do you nail down a national franchise- even as a regional photographer? Partnerships. Network with other virtual tour providers to fill in gaps that you can’t take on yourself. You can even keep a percentage (“sales commission”) for yourself. Once you have a network, you can move on the bigger fish.

To get started, do your homework. If you want to sell to Home Depot, you need to figure out who is on the marketing team. Who do you know on LinkedIn, or even your own life? What if you set your eyes on sub-national targets? Think of regional organizations. Once you figure that out, it’s time to start making some calls.

Cloudpano is an impressive software. Sometimes, it’ll even sell itself.

I hate cold calls, most people hate cold calls. But there is an important difference. When you are putting the work in, understand this is for a large sum. For a bigger carrot, think of the hosting. This isn’t a one off school or car dealership. This could be for four figures of locations selling for a six figure sum. So with that in mind, bite the bullet. But how exactly does Cloudpano come in here?

Obviously as the virtual tour platform. But some won’t want or see utility in just a virtual tour. It is what it is, you can’t win them all. However, most people recognize Google’s presence. And an ability to add to Google Street View from cloudpano could be a handy backup. This should be an on the table feature. There are no large concessions in price. You can’t make a case for hosting here, it’s all on Google when it’s published.

A parting note on large clients- see who might be headquartered near you. I cannot underemphasize the cold walk in. You will get far with a big smile, deep knowledge of the client, and a tablet with a tour loaded up. This could be far and away the easiest conversion method. Like cold calling, don’t be discouraged to keep going back. The Cloudpano software sells itself.

A Conclusion On Cloudpano Software.

Cloudpano is the best virtual tour software. Not only is it adaptable, it’s cost effective. This is an important consideration. Anyone in the industry or looking to get in should consider Cloudpano software. It’s important to remember all the different types of media that Cloudpano can hold. From 360 images, still images, 360 video, drone panoramic, and of course the ability to embed assets. With Cloudpano, you can approach any industry, and scale accordingly. Cloudpano will grow with you, from your first client to your first national client. It’s important that you need something that fits you. Cloudpano is so customizable, it’s the right fit for anyone.

Virtual Tour Software

February 8, 2022 in Blog, Software

Best Real Estate Virtual Tour Software to Get in 2022

virtual tour software

During the pandemic, real estate agents face many additional challenges in closing deals. The COVID restrictions have resulted in significantly fewer in-person viewings. 360-degree virtual tour videos have become more and more popular in the real estate world in 2022. Virtual reality makes it possible for buyers to look at every detail of a house and walk through it digitally.

The real estate industry is embracing 360-degree virtual tours, and many of the best real estate agents are using them for their listings. Create an accurate, 360-degree representation of all spaces and features of a property using virtual tour software. Through a specially designed headset, users can interact with the digital representation.

The Must-Have Essential Features

This is a basic list of features you should look for in a virtual tour software.

Templates for virtual tours can be customized
Various image formats can be imported
The focus zooms in and out, rotates, and moves in various directions
The virtual tour can be branded and personalized by the real estate agent

It is easy to just take any virtual tour software; however, you would be wise to get one that focuses on real estate. This is because they are specifically designed for the purpose of selling real estate. It also includes tools for enhancing photos, marketing, and managing leads with CRM.

Best Real Estate Virtual Tour Software

Editing 360 videos (post production) is very similar to editing film, but with a few extra features. You should hire a professional to create a polished video (at least to edit it), but if you want to make your own 360 virtual tour – here are some of the best software packages available in 2022.

Kuula

virtual tour software

There are many virtual tour platforms available today, but this is one of the most popular. It allows professionals to create 360-degree virtual tours of properties using a range of features. Real estate firms can easily interact with their clients using drag and drop and social media tools. Besides mobile devices, Kuula works on a range of other platforms. To create a panoramic virtual tour, this software uses DSLR photos or 360-degree images. You can customize the software according to your needs.

Pricing

There are three price plans available for Kuula.

Up to 100 public uploads per month are allowed under the Basic Plan, which is free.
Using the Pro Plan, which comes with unlimited tours, custom branding, and no ads, costs $12 per month.
Business Plan features include enhanced privacy and detailed analytics plus everything on Pro for $36 per month.

The company also sells cameras without a plan, as well as at a discount to those with a paid subscription.

Some Key Features

Starting a business or running a small business? This solution is perfect for you.
Drag and drop functionality makes it easy to use.
Tours can be customized with links, text, and background audio.
Tours can be shared and embedded and social media integration is available.
With this software, you can also edit virtual tours, create floor plans, and record voice-overs.
Your premium clients can have customized private tours created by you.
Branding can be done in a number of ways with this software.
Analyzing and posting on whitelisted social networks are also included.

Disadvantages

The uploaded images are sometimes not saved, even though this does not occur often.

My360

Because it is both affordable and produces quality content, My360 is the favorite of most real estate agents. In addition to white-labeling tours, floorplans, and analytics for virtual tours, this software can be used with any 360-degree camera. You don’t pay for features that don’t pertain to your field, because they offer separate packages for different professions. As well as offering analytics, My360 lets you assess and modify your tours based on buyer response. My360 comes with a free 2-week trial, which lets you dip your toe into the water before committing to creating your 360 virtual reality tour.

Plush Global Media offers My360, an intuitive, competitively priced virtual tour application specifically designed for real estate agents. A range of features are built into this software, making it both time-efficient and easy to use. With My360, you can share your virtual tours on a number of portals and MLS sites, as well as on social media. Furthermore, you can embed them into your business website or use them for email marketing.

Estate agents, car dealerships, and other professionals can also use My360. The software can also help interior designers, photographers, and architects show their products to clients. Different functions are available for different groups of professionals.

Pricing

The pricing plan for My360 is determined by how it will be used. This is due to the fact that each profession is individually customized. You can try each plan for 14 days for free before you have to pay. Prices are mentioned below, which you can pay in three different currencies – Euros, US Dollars and British Pounds.

A monthly fee of $45 is charged for the real estate version.
There is a monthly fee of $59 for the photographers’ version.
There is a $45 monthly fee for the version for interior designers and architects.
There is a $45 monthly fee for the dealership version.

To begin your 14-day free trial, you are not required to share any payment details. Live support is provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for each plan.

Some Key Features

You can choose from a variety of regular features. Here are some of the features that you can use with any version.
No special gear is required for My360 – any 360 degree camera will work.
Any image in JPEG or JPG format in 2:1 dimension can be used with this software.
Creating a virtual tour is as simple as dragging and dropping.
The tours can be customized, you can add your business logo, and you can insert links.
A live chat box can be inserted.
Create virtual tours that can be used on property portals and social media.
The virtual tour can be enhanced with audio files or voice over.
Panoramas and scene navigation are available through the software.
Virtual tours can include floor plans and maps.
Conversion tracking is also available.

Disadvantages

Before you can create exceptional virtual tours, you need to become familiar with the software.
No matter how many tours are generated, the price stays the same, making it somewhat uneconomical for someone with a limited use.

LiveTour

virtual tour software

The iStaging LiveTour software allows real estate players to create virtual 360-degree representations of their spaces with the help of virtual reality. LiveTour doesn’t require you to have expensive, high-end equipment or to be technically savvy. It only requires a compatible smartphone.

A smartphone is used to capture spherical views with wide spans. The viewer feels as though they are touring the property in person when viewing these. This is done by creating incredibly detailed virtual tours for cell phones. A virtual tour of a museum, art gallery, hotel, or event venue can be made using LiveTour. LiveTour is a web-based application for photographers, retailers, estate agents, event planners, hotels, and interior designers that allows prospective clients to interact with the spaces online.

Pricing

There are three main pricing plans for LiveTour.

$5/month gets you access to 3 live tours and a free membership. You pay $2.5 per additional tour.
The cost of ten live tours per year is $219.
For $489 you can attend 25 live concerts a year.

You can always contact iStaging for custom features if you need them for your business. Companies with large teams will especially benefit from this. You can always purchase the iStaging kit for $50 if you’re not sure whether you have the required equipment or device to produce excellent virtual tours.

Some Key Features

Creating, editing, and publishing virtual tours is easy and affordable with this tool.
360-degree camera import and VR editor are included in all LiveTour packages.
Virtual tours can be custom branded, have floor plans and Google street view incorporated into the tour.
The LiveTour kit costs $50 and you don’t need any special equipment to use it.
Teams and tours can be managed by businesses.
Lead management is made easier with the LiveTour dashboard.
Property databases and listings are managed by the software for estate agents.
Among the features of the software are drag and drop, social media integration, voice-overs, and cross-platform publishing.

Disadvantages

Compressing images is part of the software. To make a good virtual tour, you’ll need a good 360-degree camera.
The software must be paid for to keep the tours online. Tours will become fewer and fewer if you choose a cheaper or free plan.

Klapty

Using Klapty, you can make virtual tours of different spaces in 360-degrees for free. By using the software, you are able to design the tours you need and share or embed them as necessary. In case you need assistance, Klapty has a robust network of live support and professionals you can contact. The software is easy to use, but you are advised to hire a photographer to capture quality pictures for your virtual tour.

Pricing

Klapty has a lifetime free pass. Get started and create all the tours you want to share with your potential clients.

Some Key Features

With Klapty’s free and easy-to-use nature, businesses with limited budgets can easily utilize it.
Social media integration is available in the software.
Just sign up for a 360-degree virtual tour and start creating.
Virtual tours in 360-degrees are available on mobile devices.
VR tours can be created in an unlimited number with this software.
In addition to selling equipment, Klapty offers buying guides if you aren’t sure what equipment or accessories you need.
A photographer can set their price if they are offering services as a professional.

Disadvantages

There are no major cons as such. However, sometimes you may feel that it is not as premier as the other mentioned options.

Matterport

virtual tour software

A Matterport virtual property tour offers immersive 3D virtual tours of your property. A Matterport virtual property tour lets you see inside your property as you navigate. A dollhouse view of the property’s spaces can also be viewed if you’d prefer to see how the property fits together. Through Matterport, virtual reality headsets can take property tours in 3D. Detailed street views and floor plans are included with the client’s tour of the property. Include menus, price lists, and brochures on the information tags if you wish to give clients more details about the properties or spaces.

Pricing

Matterport pricing is divided into six broad plans. Beyond the usual subscription fee, there are other costs associated with using Matterport. Processing fees (to convert images into 3D tours) and other add-ons, such as floor plans and street views, are also included.

You can only host one space for free.
For $9.99 a month, you can host five spaces.
Using the Basic Plan, you get 100 hosted spaces for $49 monthly as well as a $57 monthly credit for processing.
For a Professional Plan with 200 spaces, it costs $99 per month with a monthly credit of $133.
The Business Plan costs $149 per month for 300 parking spaces with a $290 credit value per month.
For businesses that require custom solutions, the Enterprise Plan is available.

The processing charges are influenced by the camera used to capture the scans, which is the process used to transform uploads into immersive 3D virtual property tours. Here are the processing charges.

Prices for standard spaces range from $19 to $29 for 100 spaces.
Approximately $38 to $58 is the price for scanning more than 100 square feet.
Additional charges apply to add-ons. If you’d like to include any of the following features, here is their cost.

There is no free or starter plan for schematic floor plans, and it costs $14.99 per plan.

All plans except starter and free include the option of adding hosting blocks for $19 per month per block. The starter plan does not include Google street view; however, it is available for $19.99 per space and $14.99 per space for all other plans. Google street view editing is also very limited for each space.

Some Key Features

Accurate measurements are displayed by the software.
Virtual tours and high-quality images are provided by Matterport.
The interface makes it easy to upload an image to get a three-dimensional model of the property.
It is possible to customize 3D models using the Matterport software.
Matterport’s cloud account will host all of your virtual tours online.
You can measure furniture, windows, and doors, among other aspects of a property, using the software.
HD images are automatically generated when you use the Pro2 camera.
Virtual tours can be generated automatically that highlight certain aspects of the property.
There are several tools in Matterpak that allow you to integrate third-party programs.
Annotations and media are embedded in metatags to highlight key features of the property.

Disadvantages

After you purchase a Matterport camera, Matterport owns all of the data you capture. This data can be accessed and used by paying monthly subscription fees.
No files can be downloaded. They are all stored in Matterport servers, for which you pay a monthly fee.
There are high costs associated with equipment, hosting and additional services

Take-Home Thoughts

It is speculated that by 2025, all industries will be fully integrated with information technology. As millions of people do their shopping online before ever getting out of their homes, it’s crucial that all companies provide as much information as possible about themselves, their products, their business ethics, and their commitment to their customers. The real estate industry is not an exception to this rule. The process of getting customers to invest in a property that is still in the planning stages can be quite challenging. Additionally, it is challenging to have a client see several properties at numerous locations in a single day. The use of virtual reality simplifies this process considerably.

Virtual Staging And Property Marketing

February 4, 2022 in Blog, Education, Photography, Real Estate, Software, Virtual Tours

What is Virtual Staging?

Selling a home, or selling the potential of a space, do you need virtual staging? Maybe you do not want to schlep in a bunch of furniture, to use outdated pieces of furniture. Maybe you just want to save the time, and don’t want the hassle and the problems of dealing with it. Not when there are other options available that do not come with the same headaches and complications. Virtual staging is a quick, cost effective, and pointed way of properly staging a home, so it can look its very best to potential buyers.

Virtual staging, regardless of if it’s being used on still two-dimensional images or 360-degree panoramic images, is the process of using computer image editing software. The photographer will place various pieces of furniture or other structural fixes into the space. While I can take an hour or so to haul the furniture into a room, set it up and clean up so that it is finally ready for viewing. This same process is completed virtually in relatively the same amount of time. This leads with a few notable benefits that do not come with physical staging.

Next steps

I’m going to be talking about virtual staging, and how it can be used by real estate agents and property marketers to greatly increase the engagement. A potential buyer has with the space, and how we can shape their thoughts, feelings, and emotions about an area.

Will be covering some of the core aspects of property marketing, as well as why one should consider. Also, about what types of properties can be virtually staged, and what types of virtual staging are even possible. We are going to touch base on how to prepare for virtual staging including day of preparations. We’ll also talk a little bit about the post-production. The behind the scenes of what makes it work. Lastly we will also talk about how to implement virtually staged assets. So you’re able to utilize them to the best possible outcome.

Property Marketing 101

In 2022, the housing market will be in a very odd and weird head space. Some call it imbalanced, some call it the new reality. It’s hard to ignore that coming out of 2021, house would sell over asking with poorly taken cell phone pictures. That there are realities to human buying and spending habit psychology that simply cannot be ignored.

Is it possible to still sell a house with just cell phone pictures? Technically, yes of course it is. Is it possible to sell that same house over asking with those pictures in this market? Likely so. Does that mean that this is the best possible solution when you do finally get a listing in your hands that you’re able to sell? Absolutely not.

Expectations

Your clients are going to come to you with the expectation that you can sell in a few days. It’s your job as the real estate agent, as the professional in the room to emphasize to them. That if you just spend a few more days, if you put away the cell phone and utilize regular channels of property marketing, that you are going to see the house sell quickly relative to historical timelines. But you’re also going to see and even further still increase in offers over asking.

And hey, who doesn’t like more money? It really is important to stress and utilize to the seller that sourcing and implementing virtual staging assets can be a critical step in really filling out a listing.

Why Should I Virtually Stage?

Virtual staging can cover a lot of headaches that might otherwise present themselves when it comes to marketing a property. Let us say for example there is a small issue somewhere on the property that will be fixed after the photographer leaves. This can be anything from a blemish on a wall to a scratch on a floor.

A good real estate content photographer is going to be able to utilize this asset to take care of minor details for you. While it is important to keep in mind that we must not misrepresent how the property or its surrounding areas look. It is within our ability to, say for example, make the grass look a little brighter during the colder months. It’s also possible for us to implement things like sunset scenes in the background for exterior photos. If kitchen appliances or other fixtures are not being sold with the house, those can be removed. This helps to ease any miscommunication and overall increases the experience of the potential buyer looking over the seller’s assets.

What Types Of Properties Can Be Virtually Staged?

It’s important to disregard any pre-existing assumptions you had about which properties can and which properties cannot be done. It’s important to keep in mind that with the advent of technology as it is today, things that were previously outside the reach of traditional home sales are now applicable, if not soon to be standard practice for all listings.

Let’s go into some examples. virtual tours for example used to be exclusively for seven-figure listings, now virtual tours are commonplace in everything from Airbnb rentals to condo sales. When virtual tours were first released there was a large attitude in the real estate industry. A potential buyer would need strict supervision by the agent in order to walk through the property appropriately. This removed the agency from a lot of buyers themselves. and gave the wrong type of feel and didn’t utilize the ability of a virtual tour to sell a listing itself.

Spotting Staging

Likewise, we find similar attitudes about staging. When it’s done properly is extremely difficult to tell from furniture that has placed into the space itself. In fact, most seasoned real estate agents are able to pick out virtual staging in just a few seconds. But this should not be taken as an indicator that the virtual staging itself is no good. It’s important to remember that virtual staging is used for the consumer of the photos. In these scenarios the virtual staging looks real and it helps impart a sense of place and belonging. They provides context, looking at different spaces.

Types Of Virtual Staging

A very broad overview will suggest that there are actually five different types of virtual staging that can be employed by a photographer or a real estate agent to help sell a space. They are interior virtual staging, exterior staging, virtual tour staging, drone virtual staging, and lastly repair virtual staging. We are going to touch base on each one, and how virtual staging can apply.

Interior staging is easily the biggest and most common type of virtual staging experienced out in the wild. Interior virtual staging is anything from covering up old furniture with new furniture. As well as putting new furniture into empty spaces. This is easily the most cost-saving type of virtual staging, and also the easiest to implement. This is because we’re not really covering anything up per se, it’s more just filling out a room and implementing a vibe.

Other Methods And Applications

Exterior virtual staging is remarkably similar to Interior virtual staging. Exterior can focuses on fixing and adjusting different aspects of the outside of a listing in order to increase overall curb appeal, or to implement soon-to-be made changes. They can also be used to highlight different ideas and aspects of a listing that might be popular or attractive to potential buyers.

Virtual tour virtual staging is a complex yet rewarding methodology of staging a home for sale. Tour staging is something that needs to be undertaken by professionals with true experience production, for one large glaring reason. The real estate agent is going to want the virtual staging done in still images and, in other areas of the house, to be identical to the virtual staging done in the virtual tour.

This is vital because it will allow the potential buyer to help and maintain that established familiarity with the space, which is ultimately the point of a virtual tour to begin with. Staging a virtual tour is easily the most rewarding type of virtual staging, because it really allows a full and defined idea to be put onto a space allowing a true and wholesome image to be utilized.

Other Extensions

Fourth in line we have drone virtual staging. Drone virtual staging is largely applicable only to drone still images or 360-degree panoramic images that have been captured by drone. drone virtual staging is fantastic for removing any sort of blight that might be around your listing that you may want to remove. This can be anything from Landscaping operations, construction Crews, other inconvenient artifacts that may have been in the way during the time of shoot – such as garbage trucks or mail trucks.

Drone is also a very popular place to add Twilight backgrounds to photos. This can be a very attractive and very fetching way of initially gaining attention to a listing. A classic shot, using Twilight virtual tour staging in drone photography is without a doubt the best way to generate the first picture that should be used on any home listing.

Lastly we have virtual staging for repairing and maintaining different spaces. This is largely applicable to listings that are for rent say for example through Airbnb. There are rules and regulations regarding misrepresentation in the marketing of real estate. Using virtual staging to repair different assets can be tricky and should be used very judiciously. It should never be used to mislead a potential buyer as to what the reality of the listing is.

But there are some great opportunities for repairing solutions that make it important to note for anyone considering utilizing these methods to increase the attractiveness of their listing. The best example likely in this category would be to remove pieces of furniture such as washers and dryers or refrigerators that are not included in the sale of the listing.

Get Virtual Staging

Virtual staging is offered like any other service from a reputable property content marketing agency. while it’s always a good idea to let your agency know ahead of time if you’re considering virtual staging or not even if you’re not one hundred percent certain that it’ll be an option you utilize. While there are no major differences between capturing a home that will use it and capturing a home that will not use it. It’s always important to communicate with your photographer about your needs and wishes for your listing. Preparing for staging can be as easy as leaving things exactly where they are! The beauty of using virtual staging is that we are able to use software programs like Photoshop. This gives us a lot of Liberty and freedom in removing and taking away certain items.

An Example At Hand

This is not an ultimate fix for problems that might exist in a listing. For example, I am were taking a picture of a kid’s playroom. The playroom itself would need to be moderately cleaned up, or at the very least toys picked up off the floor. Every artifact that needs to be either removed or added takes time and will dramatically affect the cost. The difference between a $50 cost to Stage a photo and a $100 cost to Stage is simple. Often as little as running the vacuum through a space or and spending 5 minutes tidying can help. Loose items on countertops and arranging things so they are as neat and organized as they can possibly be.

A Conclusion On Virtual Staging

Now it looks better or: How I learned to stop worrying and love virtual staging. While it is a funny joke it is true, a lot of people are put off by the idea of doing this! It is a cost-effective meaningful way of increasing awareness in a space. And helping to implore a sense of belonging and relevancy to any potential buyer who is looking at your listing. Staging is cost-effective and reliable, and the deploying is easy. virtual staging is increasing every month. Even if you think you have a relatively comprehensive understanding of how your local content marketing provider is producing content, It’s always important to check back in and see what’s available these days. You will be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Virtual Tour Softwares

April 23, 2021 in Blog, Software, Virtual Tours

Virtual Tour Softwares

Virtual Tours are dominating the market right now. It is a great tool for not only businesses, but also realtors. They are able to gain more clients and even bring in more traffic. You don’t believe me? Well, with Virtual Tours, they attract 55% more website traffic, 41% more reviews and 29% more customers. It is straight facts, everyone. The numbers don’t lie. I will say though; If I were a business owner or a realtor investing in a Virtual Tour, I would want to know what kinds of Virtual Tour software that is being used for the benefit of my business I am working with.

Virtual Tour softwares has had an increase in populations for the last few years. This year, it has been the most popular since everything is mainly “virtual” now. The market is currently skyrocketing with Virtual Tours, so why not educate yourself with some of the most popular Virtual Tour softwares?

Seriously, do you actually ever think of what kinds of software is used to create this form of masterpiece? The final result of a Virtual Tour is for sure worth its wild– so we should be informed on some Virtual Tour softwares. Right Now, I am going to show and explain to you the five best Virtual Tour softwares. So let’s keep you in the loop and get started!

Pano2vr

Pano2vr is the most widely used softwares among professionals. It is one of the few Virtual Tour softwares that works with video. This software takes a bit on learning, but the end result is it is able to create a full on 360 tour experience. Once you get the idea on how Pano2vr works, then you can get stunning Virtual Tours for high end clients.

It is a great software, but when making customizations for the Virtual Tours, it is limited. There are not as many larger icons and pop-out images compared to other Virtual Tour softwares. Also, with the limited options, you are able to add tools to your Virtual Tour like an image, a video, a link, etc. The transitions are really smooth and also offers different icons for your hot spots.

virtual tour software

One of the biggest advantages of Pano2vr is it is all offline. You do not have to worry about anything disappearing. All you would have to do is download it to your computer and you can start working on your Virtual Tour without any internet connection.

The last thing that makes this software amazing is it offers a lot of advanced options. For example, there is one feature called Reveal the Highlights. What it does is for your Virtual Tour, you can take the viewers on an interesting path so the person who is viewing the virtual tour does not have to click or do anything. It basically takes control and guides them where they need to go on their Virtual Tour. That sounds genius to me!

Wrapping it up with Pano2vr, the pricing for Pano2vr is very affordable. It is not a monthly subscription, you buy Pano2vr once, and you own it for your whole life time. There are different packages for this Virtual Tour software, but even the most expensive package they offer is a comfortable price.

Kuula

Kuula is one of many free Virtual Tour softwares and the cheapest one, too. With the free version, you are also able to create unlimited Virtual Tours! Creating a Virtual Tour on Kuula is known to be user-friendly to do in the process. It is an online service that is fairly new to the Virtual Tour world, going four years strong. Most people prefer this software because first off, it is free; and second, Kuula offers so many options compared to other free softwares.

Now, Kuula does have a paid option, but we will focus on the free version. The only main difference between the two is that you are able to add audio with the pro version and not the free version. Everything else, Completely free!

You can honestly do so much with the free account. Kuula has an option where you can add hotspots to your Virtual Tour, and it gives you the choice of many different visual options like adding your own image to your hotspots, or using one of theirs.

Along with the hotspots, there is an option called the Lens Flare effect, and it is when the hotspots move around along with you as you observe your Virtual Tour. It makes it look very realistic. A lot of other Virtual Tour software companies offer this option, but Kuula makes it look much more unique compared to others.

You can even edit the appearance of your Virtual Tour like adding a filter to it, fixing the sharpness, the brightness, etc. This is the only Virtual Tour software where you can justify the color of your Virtual Tour.

As for the transitions, the movements are slow, but in a good way. It makes the transitional process look nice, relaxed, and less intimidating. You can customize the transition type and also offer walk through mode.

Finishing up with Kuula, the most interesting feature that I find for this software is that the free version of Kuula offers level correction. This feature limits how much a person can see in the 360 Virtual Tour. Usually, that is an advanced feature offered by paid programs; so it is great that it is included for Kuula’s free version. There are so many other features that this software includes, you can definitely get a good idea of it. This is amazing Virtual Tour software, especially for beginners.

3DVista

Get ready, because this Virtual Tour software has the best features of any Virtual Tour platform. Not only is 3DVista the most expensive software, but it is also the most advanced feature, too. This is for sure a Virtual Tour software that is recommended to people who want their Virtual Tour to stand out and also that would like it to be really advanced.

There are a variety of options for 3DVista, it is honestly insane. That is why it is very advanced. 3DVista does not only create Virtual Tours, the software also includes creations of Live Guided Tours, Training Tours, Animated Panorama, and so much more!

Along with a variety of options 3DVista offers, the software also included so many customizations and animated options. You can also add images, videos, and even 360 videos.

If you would look at a basic virtual tour using this software, you would notice how better the quality is. Also, the transitions are smooth to each room and the icon art stands out.

Along with the Virtual Tours, 3DVista gives the option to add your 360 Virtual Tour to an E-Learning course. That is a very clever idea for 3DVista to add in their software that I do not think anyone could have thought of! You are able to have a panorama look while learning.

One last thing about 3DVista, just like Pano2vr, this is also an offline Virtual Tour software. You can store all of your Virtual Tours on your desktop worry free and stress free. It is a combination of professionalism and easy use. Yes, it is an expensive investment; but is not a monthly subscription, so once you own it, you own it forever. Also, the amount of profit you can make with 3DVista can be a good amount.

Cloudpano

Cloudpano is a paid software that is actually fairly new to the Virtual Tour market. This software is considered one of the best up and coming softwares out there currently. It is pretty affordable and user-friendly for many people!

When using Cloudpano, you can upload and edit your Virtual Tour creation right away. It is great quality, and you are to get a clear view from the top of the ceiling and all the way down to the floor.

When your Virtual Tour is created through Cloudpano, you would notice how smooth and quickly the transitions are. It is small clicks and drags when viewing the 360 Virtual Tour.

As you are editing your Virtual Tour, Cloudpano makes it less difficult to edit and customize compared to other Virtual Tour softwares. When customizing the hotspot icons, they offer a basic level of customization.

More customizations options that Cloudpano offers are shrinking and adding sounds when clicking on specific places on the Virtual Tour. With this Virtual Tour software, you are able to add a floor plan, a lead capture form (to collect people’s email addresses).

Although as said before that Cloudpano is fairly new, I have confidence that its software is going to evolve rapidly in the Virtual Tour industry. It is clear that cloudpano is still building their brand and more customization options is yet to come.

Matterport

Oh yes, the crown jewel of Virtual Tour softwares. If you are very familiar with Virtual Tours, then you most likely came across Matterport. Matterport is one of the most popular Virtual Tour software out there. It is a really established paid software company; so they are not going anywhere any time soon.

How this Virtual Tour software works is it scans the room that you are in and creates a dollhouse effect. It definitely is a unique way of creating and editing a Virtual Tour. Other Virtual Tour software companies have picked up on this technique, which makes it not as special for Matterport anymore.

Before, Matterport used to require a special camera called the Pro2 3D Camera. What it does is it can give you that 3D scanning throughout the whole room. These special cameras usually range about $2000. You can now use your iPhone or iPad to activate Matterport, but If you want the best quality for your Virtual Tour, it is highly recommended to use the Pro2 3D Camera.

The transitions from room to room while using Matterport is phenomenal. They are so smooth and natural, it feels like you are actually doing a real-life walk through. One of the main goals for a Virtual Tour is to make it look and feel authentic as they can, and Matterport hit that spot for viewers.

It is usually common in Virtual Tour softwares to have a variety of options when customizing your Virtual Tour. Those tools usually come with adding images, videos, and links. With Matterport, the customization tools are limited. You cannot add images and videos– on links.

Overall, it comes as a shock to most people that Matterport does not offer more customization options since it is a well-known Virtual Tour software company; but the results of the high-end quality and smooth transitions make up for it all.

Final Words

Congratulations, you have a good amount of knowledge about some Virtual Tour softwares! All five of those Virtual Tour softwares are the most popular as of now.I get it that your overall goal with a Virtual Tour is to build clientele and gain more traffic, but it does not hurt to know about some of the Virtual Tour Software. Now look at you, you are almost a natural.

There is so much to learn about not only the softwares but Virtual Tours as a whole! Learning about the differences between some of the Virtual Tour software is a great start. Some people think there is only one, but in reality, there are tons!

Now I know what you are probably thinking; They are all amazing Virtual Tour softwares and you cannot decide. We are here to help, that is our job! It is no secret that Matterport and Cloudpano are dominating the market right now. Momentum 360 luckily has a video that lists and explains the differences between the two.

At Momentum 360, the Virtual Tour software that is offered here are 3DVista, Cloudpano and Matterport. We are always here to help, but next time when you book your next demo, you are going to be a pro when deciding which Virtual Tour software best fits your interest for you and your business!