The term ‘Virtual Tour' has been left open to interpretation to the point that the term is open to just about anyone's understanding or definition. Two definitions found on Google using the exact same search phrase (define: virtual tour) directly contradict each other. One states that a virtual tour is any graphical representation of a property while the very next definition states that there should be a feeling of actually walking through the property. I contend that there are a lot of misconceptions about virtual tours. There are many people that think that still pictures that fade in and out constitute a ‘virtual tour'. I do not.
As technology evolves, the term virtual tour should only be used when the experience is near equal to that of having actually physically visited the property. With slide tours, you cannot get that type of tour. You are limited to the photographer's angle and you have no idea what the photographer may be hiding. With a true virtual tour, you are allowed to see the entire property. Video tours are useful, but most virtual tour providers either don't provide them or are ineffective at filming the entire property due to lighting differences.
The following is taken directly from my profile (and my website):
What you should know about virtual tours.
Virtual tours are NOT completely comprised of still images; that would be called a slide tour, or better yet, a photo album. Photo albums are great for cute family pictures, but if you are using them to market your listings, then you are wasting your time and money.
'Virtual tours' that make all of your listings look like they have "custom round walls" and "bowed windows" are nothing more than deceptive advertising. Yes, that's right, deceptive advertising. I have actually had an agent tell me that she expected one home to have round walls and custom moulding because of a deceptive virtual tour she had seen on the internet. If a real estate agent thought that, then what are first time home buyers going to think?
Virtual tours that require you to have a sick bag nearby are not going to sell your listings. They might increase the sale of motion sickness medication, but they are NOT going to market your listings.
AND if your tour looks like a ten year old could have built the tour, YOU ARE NOT MARKETING YOURSELF. A virtual tour is much more than just slapping a few spins together on a page and calling it a ‘virtual tour' to make the seller ‘happy'. In order to be successful in today's competitive market, you need to market YOURSELF! Not just your listings!
Of course, this is taken from the guts of a sales letter, but the facts are true. Why would you purposely misrepresent a property by using a low quality virtual tour. It would be like taking your client to see a property, placing a ‘circus mirror' in front of them and telling them that they can only look at the house through the circus mirror as they walk through the place. It's pointless to throw money away like that. Seeing is believing and people do believe what they see. You may have had an interested buyer from across the country close your tour off their screen because they simply didn't prefer to buy a house with ‘rounded walls' and thought it looked too ‘futuristic'. Meanwhile, it could have been the perfect house. But, you will never know and they will never call.
Slide tours can be useful to market homes that do not warrant a full virtual tour. What I mean by ‘warrant' can be left to your imagination, but yes there are homes for which you should not provide a true virtual tour. You can use the slide tour to filter out potential buyers and then show them the property in person to handle questions and objections.
Also, you have to keep in mind that virtual tours are very effective marketing tools. They should not be used solely to market a listing though. They should be used to market YOU. One of the most important things you should have included in a listing package is a CD of one or more of your virtual tours. Show prospective buyers HOW you are going to market their property before saying a word. Handing a prospective seller a package that includes brochures, marketing materials, DVDs and CDs says much more to a seller than any words you could ever speak.
Real quick point here though. Do not give them a marketing CD or DVD example from a house in their listing price range. Go a step above or well above their listing price range. Why would you show someone a marketing package for a 2006 Mercedes if they are selling a 1994 Buick? Answer: because they don't believe that they own a 1994 Buick.
Anyway, I ran across an old post by Dawn Shaffer this morning regarding virtual tours. My intention with this current post is to get feedback from the community as to what they believe a virtual tour is and is not. Is there something that 11,000+ eyes see that I do not? What are your opinions? What are your preferences when comparing virtual tour providers? Who do you currently use for virtual tours and what is it about their services that keep you coming back for more?
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I prefer the virtual tours with undistored panoramic images. They don't have the bowed look and they allow a better look at a home than regular photos can provide. Some vendors are also offering professional voice over narrations and virtual floor plans. Pretty neat stuff. I think the day will come when real estate agents are producing full video commercials for their listings.