Virtual reality starts to become a very important part of digital communication. The development of this technology and the explosion of videos on social media are decisive : Youtube became a real media. The video advertisement replaced the traditional banners and it even got installed in the train stations. The engagement rate of videos on social media largely exceed the one of traditional posts. In fact, videos allow to tell a story and to stage a product or service or valorise an action.
Each social media developed its own innovative form. Short videos on Instagram, stories on snapchat and lives on Périscope. Another format allows to add an immersion feeling into our digital communication : the 360° video, that you can upload on Facebook and YouTube. In terms of use, these videos allow people to discover scenes in 360°, they can travel with the mouse pointer, with their fingertips or with their smartphone’s gyroscope. Instead of just watching a classic video, the 360° video allows to live a real immersive and interactive experience. Through this, your brand automatically gains in visibility and engagement.
Why use the 360° video ?
As its name suggests, the 360° video allows to visualise an environment, as if you were there and you can project yourself. This format is complementary to the perspectives and virtual tours, and is in particular adapted to Facebook and YouTube. The internet users can now be part of a story.
This way you valorise your universe and your values in an immersive and engaging manner, through original and stimulant content. It’s a complementary way to show something, with a different point of view and way to share it. There is more impact and the emotional connection allows to focus on your values, your image and your message.
Also, the Digimmo barometer of Pierre&Vacances showed that :
- 75% of the 18-30 year olds used a website during the realisation of their real estate project
- 54% of them are using a social media
- Facebook arrived on the 1st rank of social media
How to use the 360° video ?
There are many possibilities, and we are just at the beginning of it. The virtual reality formats and the 360° video are not a reflex in communication strategies (except maybe for entertainment or video games). On social media, these formats are not yet used at their full potential, whether it is a natural or paid way, and this even less in real estate businesses. We have to wait for new marketing initiatives for a more massive deployment. The consumer experience and its harmonization are not the priority, regardless the point of contact.
However, the 360° video allows to :
- Give life to the inexistant : The sales of apartment before completion needs to communicate about a product that doesn’t exists yet. This is why we use the 3D plans and virtual tours to help the future clients to project themselves.
- Access the inaccessible : The 360° video allows to visit what is invisible (lobby, gym, garden, etc)
- Discover a new point of view : your prospect maybe discovered your program on your website or on another website, but you can make him discover it in another way on your Facebook page or your YouTube channel.
- Sell better : Especially for real estate projects, the 360° video offers more benefits than perspectives or simple pictures.
For marketers, the ROI is very interesting. According to the Firstage agency, a 360° video :
- Generates in average 4,5 more shares than a traditional video
- Increases by 20% the attendance
- multiply by 2 the click rate
- multiply by 5 the engagement rate
So, both innovative and in full development, the 360° is new way to communicate for the brands and is particularly adapted to new real estate businesses. It is an extra leverage that is integrated in a storytelling strategy with powerful impacts on Facebook and YouTube. For the users the expectations are high : ¼ of them find it useful to make their choice before buying, accord to a study from LSA/Toluna from april 2016.