The world has shifted over the last few years. People are more likely to research your business online before coming to see you in person. As you and your organization take on this new hybrid world, you may be starting to think about the importance of your virtual tour. Below are six things to keep in mind when it comes to how valuable your digital experience is moving forward.‍

Make your location accessible‍

Virtual tours allow anyone to access your physical space. With virtual tours, you can take away some of the anxiety of having to enter a new environment – something that may come up as we slowly return to more social settings. In addition, when done well, virtual tours are accessible to guests with varying abilities. Allowing them to learn all the areas you have to offer in a medium suitable to their needs. 

‍Help your visitors navigate and discover‍

As people return to your spaces, you will want to ensure they are familiar with new safety protocols in place. By utilizing Maps functionalities on your virtual tour, you can highlight important routes to help people prepare to re-enter your spaces. This opportunity allows you to highlight checkpoints, safety measures and protocols throughout your tour that you can pass on before guests arrive to your spaces. Teams can also mark frequently used areas to help people find where they need to go quickly - offering an easier way to navigate themselves on-site.

‍Reach your audience wherever they are located

‍Your visitors can’t always make it to your location. Others will want to visit outside of open hours. With a virtual tour, anyone can access your space and learn more about what you have to offer, no matter the time or distance. This not only helps you reach a wider audience, but it allows you to offer detailed information to customers instantly.

‍Treat your guests to an interactive experience‍

Sharing visuals of your spaces is just one of the benefits of a virtual tour. Another important, sometimes understated, feature of virtual tours is the ability to share compelling stories with guests. Just like reading reviews, your customers want authentic information about your brand. Through video, hotspots, compelling copy and galleries, you can share detailed insights about the spaces, people, work and community that make your organization unique. And it is way more fun to engage with than reading text on a webpage.

‍Allow people to explore the nitty gritty details ‍

Construction, lack of tidiness and busy rooms can often impact your ability to show off your spaces. With a virtual tour, you don’t have to worry about lack of access to areas that you want to show to your audience. If guests are on-site, you can use your virtual tour on an iPad or touchscreen to show areas that are not accessible, like a busy classroom, boardroom, or suite. Following a walk-through, you can provide guests with a tour and allow them to access your spaces and see them in their best condition from the convenience of their own home. ‍

Gain insight and connect with potential customers‍

Virtual tours are a proven way to connect with your audience. Through your tour, you can use forms to gather information and consent to keep in touch with interested prospective customers. From this connection, you can share promotions, updates and events they may want to attend. Your tour also works for you by collecting data about customer behaviours. With analytics from your tour, you can study the interactions between your customers and spaces to learn what is working and what isn’t. For example, by keeping an eye on session times and high traffic scenes you can start to optimize the rest of your tour to align with customer preferences.