I have found one of the most effective forms of advertising a virtual tour for real estate agents is to include the QR code or the virtual tour tour address in their print advertising.  When the only place an agents 360 tours can be found is their personal web page, they are narrowing the chance that a potential client will even stumble on the tours. Especially if they’re not very savvy at blogging or SEO. Inclusion in their MLS listings is also very important; however, I believe that smart home buyers are looking at all avenues for their dream home.  I know my wife and I looked around for two years until we found ours!  I only wish Wasilla virtual tours were more prevalent back then.

This last summer a friend of ours sadly had passed away. Her mother was a retired real estate agent from out of state and came to town fix up the home and sell it.  Her father spent lots of time making improvements to the already nice home, but because the mother was no longer associated with an agency, she was selling it as a private owner.  She had tried for two months to advertise it with fliers posted around town and ads in the newspaper classifieds, so when I heard this, I immediately offered to give them a virtual tour.  Since she had no website to add a link to, I added it to my own sample gallery on my site and gave her a simple address that was easy to offer in her classified display ad.  In the first week she had more calls than she did the previous month.

The couple who finally bought the home claimed it was because of my 360 virtual tour.  They had inquired their own agent about the property, but were told that it wasn’t that great.  They went back to the tour and called the seller directly.  If it wasn’t for the virtual tour, they wouldn’t have made that second attempt.  If it wasn’t in the print ad, the home may still be buried under all the other homes for sale without virtual tours.  I now recommend all my clients to at least add something that says “virtual tour” to their prints advertisements, and so far I am getting a pretty happy response.

Brian Mead
RE Marketing, AK