Real Estate Marketing - How to Maximize Your Listing Online With a Virtual Tour
By Rebekah Jones

One of the best ways to advertise your listing online is to use a Virtual Tour. Virtual Tours provide prospective buyers with the opportunity to get a view of your listing - without leaving their home or their computer! By showcasing your listing online in this way, people can feel as if they've actually seen the home and can picture themselves living there. This will entice them to see in "for real" - and they will be thrilled to see that the reality is even better!

How to Get Started

There are several different ways to get your virtual tour online. Some companies provide the photographer and all the web technicians to take care of it for you. You just call them up and order the tour. They do the rest. This is a great option if you are showcasing a luxury home or a high-end listing. If hiring it out isn't for you, there are other companies that allow you to upload your own photographs and information and put it together for you.

Photographs

Speaking of taking photos, if you are going to be your own photographer there are some tips for maximizing your photos. Be sure to take outside photos on a clear sunny day, with the sun as high up in the sky as possible to avoid shadows. Overcast days do prevent shadows, but photos sometimes come out gray and unappealing. For interior shots, open all the window shades and turn on the lights. Make the rooms as bright as possible for the best photos. If your sellers are still in residence, make sure they have plenty of advance notice before you come so the home will be as perfect as possible.

Panoramas

Whether you are a do-it-yourselfer or you hire it out, you will want to use panoramic photos in your virtual tour. These can be anywhere from a wide-angle shot to a full 360° photo. Your photographer will be able to provide these for you, but if you are taking them yourself, you will need special computer software to "stitch" the photos together into the large panoramic photo. There are many different options out there from fairly inexpensive ones to ones that will break the bank! You don't need something fancy, just something that is user friendly enough for you to be able to put the photos together in such a way as to make your listing pop!

Bonus Tip: If you use a tripod when taking your photos, the result will be much more clear and focused. And now, I invite you to learn more about being a success in Real Estate by visiting http://myrealtysuccess.com

By Rebekah Jones, Real Estate Virtual Assistant and the MyRealtySuccess.com network.

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