A guide to the Virtual Tour on MHVillage
More and more we are seeing technology come to the rescue when it comes to convenient and efficient shopping. From automated search alerts to online communication between consumers and sellers, the urgency of response time continues to be more valuable every day. Our Virtual Tour feature is yet another tool to help follow this trend and give more information to your buyer up front.
MHVillage works specifically with home buyers and renters who shop online, and we’ve have found that a high percentage of these customers look at homes in cities and states that are far from their current location. This can be quite the obstacle for home sellers who are trying to set up a time for potential buyers to view the home.
This is one of the reasons we offer the option for home sellers to upload a Virtual Tour to their Premium Home listings!
What is a Virtual Tour?
This is a space on the home or community listing where you would add a link to a video. Once added it will load the video directly to your listing page near the photos, making it easy for a customer to view.
How do I create this video?
Our technology evolves rapidly and there are no excuses for a poor quality video these days. So, while a professional video would be ideal, a smartphone video can be surprisingly effective as well.
Here are some tips on creating a Virtual Tour that will show the best sides of your home:
Formatting: A horizontal view is the best angle when recording the tour. It not only allows for more of the home to be featured, but also formats cleaner on both desktop and mobile devices.
Style: A video simply walking the customer through the details as if they were right there next to you is the most effective style for this video.
Start with a steady view of the exterior and then end with the same. This will create a similar experience to the first and last impression of the home the customer would have if they were to take a tour in person.
Narration/Music: This is a matter of preference. If you choose to narrate the tour (meaning you speak directly to the customer off camera while filming), then be sure and check the audio quality in the editing process. If music is more your style, then you also want to be sure you have the rights to the song. There are multiple websites where you can purchase the rights to music for this exact purpose. (click here for a list of well-reviewed music options on the web)
Editing/Uploading: We also suggest editing the video before you load it online. This is so you can be sure the video starts and stops at an appropriate spot. Some smart phones have editing features built in, others are downloaded apps, and typically there are editing tools provided on video-sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo.
Once you have the video filmed, edited and loaded online, then the next step is copying the URL and adding it to your Premium home listing. Voila!
