What is a 360 Photo?
You may or may not have seen 360 photos before, in short, they are photos that capture 360 degrees around and 180 degrees up and down to give a first-person view of an area, building or facility. Users can pan around using their phone, tablet, or PC and look for themselves whether it be a hiking trail, street map or the inside of a building.
Since May 2007, Google has been photographing and mapping a huge number of roads, paths and cycle tracks and publishing them onto Google Street View. The platform has allowed billions of users to view images of places and landmarks all over the world and gain an understanding of what is there. This unique perspective has been extended into products such as Google My Business and social media platforms – Facebook, YouTube etc.
How will it benefit my business?
Google Maps has identified that
- 62% of visitors prefer listings with photos of store interiors(1).
- Listings with photos and a virtual tour are twice as likely to generate interest(1).
- Listings with photos and tours motivate customers to make a purchase 29% of the time(1).
A 360 photo of the inside of your business premises or your surrounding areas will allow your potential customers to gain an understanding, even before they contact you of the facilities and service you may offer as well as your location. This is particularly useful for businesses such as gyms where users may want to compare the equipment being used before signing up for your service. Not only does it give users a first-person view, but it also helps with their overall experience. For example, if your location is difficult to find or not been mapped recently, you can publish photos that will help customers find you more easily.
You can extend the benefit of a 360 photo by having multiple 360 photos taken to build up a virtual tour of your business. Anybody that looks at your virtual tour can explore your business at their own pace. Virtual tours are now very common within real estate listings as they allow a potential buyer to view the whole property even without booking an inspection.
If you take a look at the two examples below you can see the difference between a single image versus a 360 photo.
Static Photo
360 Photo
If you are interested in this service…
JH Media Solutions can take 360 photos and build virtual tours of your business, these can then be published to Google Maps, Facebook, YouTube and embedded on your website. Contact us to discuss your requirements.