Experience an actual 360-degree virtual tour of the quaint little town of Whitchurch, England – further down this page.
The Problem…
For Cities and Business Owners:
Local businesses have been struggling during the pandemic with many shops closing their doors for good. With the loss of sales tax from reduced sales and employee income tax from laid-off shop and restaurant staff – cities are also directly impacted from reduced income.
For Consumers and Tourists:
Shoppers and visitors want to confidently plan their tour of the shops and restaurants they'll patronize at the towns they'll visit – BEFORE they leave home. They want get a feel for the “lay-of-the-land” and see some of the things that make your town a popular destination – from every possible angle.
The Solution…
Now, there is a simple, cost-effective way to overcome this problem. With a 360-degree virtual tour, prospective visitors can have an immersive, virtual look at the streets, parks, restaurants and shops that make your town special… from the comfort of their homes. The virtual tour will excite and encourage them to visit your town and help add to your city's economy.
The tour can be shared on your city or visitor's bureau website, Wikipedia page, in emails to potential tourists and shoppers, shared on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media sites. You can also encourage your residents to share the tour through their social media accounts to spread the word about your town!
The 360° photos that make up your virtual tour can also be shared on the Google My Business pages of each of those shops and restaurants – driving additional organic, free traffic to them.
Below is an example of the number of online visits that a shop could receive. If only 1% of the 85,033 online visitors chose to eat at this restaurant when they came into town – that's an extra 850 NEW patrons the restaurant would have served in the 10-months this photo was displayed on their Google My Business page!
For more examples of the high traffic our 360° photos have generated for local businesses on Google – see this page.
Below is a virtual tour of the town of Whitchurch, England. (We did not create this tour. A photographer in England did.) Click it and move your mouse in any direction to experience the value that a tour like this would provide YOUR prospective visitors. Keep in mind that this tour has only one business with an interior 360° photo (which is the third from the last photo in the tour). To be most effective, every shop and restaurant should have a 360° photo of their business within the tour.
Below is a virtual tour we created of the Ohio State Reformatory (aka Mansfield Reformatory) where the iconic film, The Shawshank Redemption was filmed. Click it and move your mouse in any direction to experience the value that a tour like this would provide YOUR prospective visitors.
Below is a high-speed walk-through video of the “Tall Ships Festival” in Cleveland, Ohio in 2019. While it does not give a 360° perspective that is controlled by the viewer like a virtual tour – it does allow the viewer to see all the ships in rapid succession.
A high-speed walk-through video of a city's business district would feature storefronts instead of ships. (I know, that seems pretty obvious!) The downside to this kind of video is that as stores go out of business – the video becomes outdated. With a 360° virtual tour instead of a video – the 360° photo of the defunct business can easily be replaced with a 360° photo of the new business without having to re-do the virtual tour. That is much more affordable and will keep the virtual tour up-to-date and replacing an entire video.
Below is a 360° virtual tour of the Tall Ships Festival where you can click any photo and move your mouse in any direction to look all around.
The Benefits of a Virtual Tour…
- Gives consumers a more complete and engaging visual experience of your town than static photographs – all from the comfort of their homes
- Makes your town stand out in a crowded online environment where progressive towns are reaching new visitors
- Increases tourist and consumer confidence in your town and their motivation to visit
- Differentiates your town from those without virtual tours because 360-degree wrap-around photos grab attention
- Available for online viewing 24 hours a day/seven days a week.
- Virtual tours massively boost your town's visibility in Google searches and Google Maps. There are over 2 billion monthly users of those services!
Go Viral on Facebook!
Discover how posting individual 360° photos from a virtual tour can compel your Facebook visitors to choose or recommend your town and individual businesses. Click here now. (A new browser window will open. Close that window when done to return to this page.)
Static Photos on Your Website are NOT a Virtual Tour…
There is a HUGE difference between a “virtual tour” of static photos and our 360-degree virtual tours with interactive photos. Discover what it is here. (A new browser window will open. Close that window when done to return to this page.)
State-of-the-Art Virtual Tour Creation…
We create 360° virtual tours utilizing the same technology that Cleveland’s NASA Glenn Research Center uses to show-off their facilities to the world.
Why Trust SpectraLight Photography for Creation of Your Virtual Tour?
The owner/photographer, Mark Madere, is a Level 5 Google Local Guide who helps businesses get found in Google searches. Discover how that impacts businesses here.
Mark is also the recipient of the coveted Google Street View Trusted Photographer badge that allows him to upload photos directly to various Google platforms that display 360° photos and virtual tours to online shoppers. This helps shoppers find products and services available from local small businesses. Learn more about this service here.
What Are the Steps to Creating a Virtual Tour with Minimal Interruption?
Find out here. (A new browser window will open. Close that window when done to return to this page.)
Virtual Tour Requests Are Rising…
Growth-oriented civic leaders and business owners across the country understand that budget-conscious travelers want the best value for their money and want to see exactly what a town has to offer – BEFORE they decide to visit. There is no better way to show them your town, shops and restaurants than with immersive, 360-degree photographs.
As we're selected to create more virtual tours; our availability will decrease and rates will rise to keep up with demand.
Affordable Investment…
The investment for a virtual tour can vary widely based on the number of scenes to be photographed. We suggest a starting budget of $1500. We can quote an exact price after reviewing your specific objectives. The only other cost is the annual hosting fee of $150 per year. That's it!
If you no longer wish to keep your virtual tour, simply notify us in writing before the annual renewal and we'll remove it with no further obligation.
Schedule a No-Cost, No-Obligation Consultation…
Contact us TODAY with your questions or to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation to discuss your virtual tour needs through this link or call 440.748.6300. (NOTE: This is a landline so text messages won't come through.)