9 Best Practices for Virtual Tour Audio

Created by Holdcom | www.holdcom.com | 800.666.6465

INTRODUCTION
 Often, Virtual tours focus only on sight.
 Audio makes content more memorable and
informative.
 Use audio to increase engagement and
viewer take-away/knowledge retention.


BEFORE YOU BEGIN
 Be sure you’re starting with high quality images.
 Forcreating professionally produced virtual
tours, Holdcom Partners with:
 Real Tour Vision
 VT 360
 Virtualvue
 Understand your audience


1. INCLUDE A WELCOME VIDEO
A welcome video is a good way to introduce
your tour.
 Thevideo should play before you tour starts
and should be less than a minute long.


1. INCLUDE A WELCOME VIDEO
Content Tips:
 Greet Visitors Warmly
 Explain a little bit about your business,
property, or facility
 Encourage visitors to enjoy the tour, and
contact you if they have any questions.

Where else can you add audio to your virtual tour? Click here to learn


2. OPEN YOUR TOUR WITH AUDIO
 Play your audio logo first
 Audio logos, like visual logos, create
branded associations.
 Begin to associate a particular sound with
your property, facility, or brand.

Creating an audio logo is the first step in building
an audio or sonic brand.
Click here to learn more about Sonic Branding.

2. OPEN YOUR TOUR WITH AUDIO
 Highlight some key features, like:
 Your exceptional staff
 Recent Upgrades
 A great location


3. PLAY APPROPRIATE BACKGROUND MUSIC
 Search for music that matches the tone of your
facility or property.
 Family resorts upbeat, contemporary music
 Healthcare facilities calm and soothing music

Click Here to visit our Music Themes Library


3. PLAY APPROPRIATE BACKGROUND MUSIC
 Don’t Vary Music Too Much
 Using one track creates consistency
 If you want to use more than one track:
 Choose music from one album or genre
Make sure your tour is long enough to
support multiple tracks.

Discover frequently used themes within your industry


4. CONTINUE AUDIO THROUGHOUT THE TOUR
 Audiocan have an
impact on the entirety
of your tour.
 Make sure audio
contributes to the visual
experience.


4. CONTINUE AUDIO THROUGHOUT THE TOUR
 Useaudio to introduce rooms as visitors
enter them
 Include the room’s name and it’s function
 Use audio to point out room details that
aren’t obvious.
 Background music ties different rooms
together, making an authentic experience


5. INCLUDE NOISES PRESENT IN YOUR FACILITY
 Every space makes noises:
 Offices have keyboards
clicking and copy
machines
 Restaurants have quiet
chatter and clinking
glasses

Ambient Noise can help make a
virtual experience more realistic.


5. INCLUDE NOISES PRESENT IN YOUR FACILITY
 Best Practices:
 Keep ambient noise in the background.
 Lower the volume of ambient noises
during narration.


6. CHANGE SOUNDS TO GRAB ATTENTION
 Every time audio changes, it signals to the
listener that something is different.
 Changing sounds too often will overwhelm
visitors.
 Two Strategies

 Change Music
 Change Narrator


6. CHANGE SOUNDS TO GRAB ATTENTION
 Musical changes can be especially effective—
or distracting.
 Use them sparingly, like when you move
from an outdoor to an indoor space.
 When changing sounds from room to room
 Experiment with different ambient sounds
 Alternate between two voiceovers for
emphasis


7. GIVE YOUR TOUR A REAL CONCLUSION
 After yourfinal room,
don’t leave your
audience confused.
 Use audio to conclude
your tour, thanking
visitors for checking out
your property and
encouraging them to
visit other parts of your Celebrate the end of your tour! Use
the conclusion to give visitors more
website. information on your website.


7. GIVE YOUR TOUR A REAL CONCLUSION
 Your
voiceover can tell visitors where they
should go next
 Consider what information they need after
the tour:
 Healthcare Facilities: Departments, Award-
Winning Services
 Hospitality Properties: Reservations, Maps
 Entertainment Venues: Tickets, Event Calendar


8. MAKE YOUR TOUR USER-FRIENDLY
 Ifa virtual tour isn’t intuitive, people won’t
keep participating.
 Explain navigation sousers know how to get
the information they’re looking for.


8. AUDIO CAN MAKE TOURS USER-FRIENDLY
 Use
audio as a tutorial, showing them how to
move and zoom.
 Highlight essential commands
 Combine audio with visual cues, like arrows


9. LET YOUR TOUR BE INTERACTIVE
you don’t let visitors interact with your
 If
material, they’re basically watching a movie.
 Interactivity turns a passive tour into an
active experience.


9. LET YOUR TOUR BE INTERACTIVE
 Example: If
your facility is large and you are
featuring many rooms, use a floor plan to
“map” where users will be going next.
 Let users click different rooms and see that
portion of the tour.
 This is especially useful for visit-planning at
museums and entertainment venues.


THE REAL WORLD ISN’T SILENT
Your virtual tour shouldn’t be, either.

Use these tips to add compelling audio content throughout your Virtual Tour


CONCLUSION
Properly designed and executed, virtual
tours can recreated the experience of
“being there”.
You can’t mimic all aspects of reality online,
but adding audio to your virtual tour is the
first step in establishing realism and
creating an experience.


9 Best Practices for Virtual Tour Audio

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