by Kris Cone | Nov 30, 2018 | Listing Tools, Real Estate Info, Technology
Secure Tours & Brandkeeper.
We have two great updates regarding our virtual tours that were released in the last week regarding SSL and Brandkeepr. These two updates go hand in hand with each other:
- SSL Secure Tours. Now, all tours are served using the SSL protocol, meaning they are served encrypted from end to end and the tour url uses https. While there really isn’t any personal info on the tour that required the switch, to get our Brandkeepr functionality to work on most of the top real estate search sites, we had to update our tours because most of those sites are using https, so to get our Brandkeepr magic to work, our tours also have to be SSL secured. Your company site, and your personal website may also use SSL, so when properly configured, we can automatically convert the unbranded tour to the branded version on about 95% of the top 10 sites, and more! Plus, it makes embedding a tour, like the example below, work if your own site or blog is secure.
- New Tour Viewer. We released a new Tour Viewer design in addition to the Story format. So if you like the more classic tour look that has your logo persistent and buttons for content items, the new Tour Viewer is for you. All it takes is selecting the option and then selecting your start content, including a new “Dashboard” view (read more on that below). This new viewer, combined with the secure protocol change, means you can now embed our tour easily on your own website or a blog post using simple embed code, just like this example. It is a full functioning tour, embedded into your own website.
Try this embedded tour – all content works, including on any mobile device. Just start clicking!
Display Options for the Virtual Tour.
In order to embed a tour into a website page, all you need to use is our sample code like this (which is also shown on the Tour Links page within the marketing center for each tour):
<!–start –>
<iframe name=”tour” src=” https://www.floorplanonline.com/tour/184056/b ” frameborder=”1″ width=”100%” height=”800″></iframe>
<!– end –> |
Just change the tour ID (184056 in this example) to your tour ID and this code should work on most sites. You can also change the width and height size, in pixels, which will set the maximum display (it is responsive so it will shrink on smaller devices). If you would like to start with a particular content view, you can either change to the desired view under Edit Details, Content Display Options (see screen shot below), or you can click on the desired content button on the tour itself and then copy and paste the URL that has the content at the end. For example, to start with the Floor Plan view, just use this as the embed url: https://www.floorplanonline.com/tour/184056/b/floorplan or to start with the video, use https://www.floorplanonline.com/tour/184056/b/walkthru. These options give you ultimate flexibility on displaying your tour.
Note…you can also use both the Story or the Tour Viewer links on the same listing at the same time. The default is what you set on Manage Tours, under the Tour Frame Type section at the very top, but both links work to display the tour in a specific format, as follows:
The Tour View – https://www.floorplanonline.com/tour/184056/ 
The Story View – https://www.floorplanonline.com/story/184056/
The normal tour link, like https://www.floorplanonline.com/184056/ will open up the default selected view but these specific links override that, if you want to use them for a specific reason (like using the Story for MLS and distribution but using the Tour for embedding on your blog). Again, it provides extreme flexibility.
Note: our existing embedded tour content option on the Marketing Center is still coded for the old format, so please use the instructions here for embedding the new tour viewer on your website. An update will come in the future for the legacy option to provide even more flexibility, so if you only wanted to show the floor plan and the video on the embedded version, you could without disturbing the main virtual tour view.
How to configure BrandkeeprTM for maximum exposure.
On sites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Homes.com and Redfin, we can now recognize the user is coming from one of these sites when they click on the virtual tour, and we therefore automatically convert the unbranded tour pulled in from the MLS to the branded version, so YOUR brand shows on 95.5% of the top 10 real estate oriented websites. The virtual tour is the ONLY content item for your listing that can lead people back to you on any number of sites. Leverage this bread crumb trail! It gives you more visibility that gets you more leads for free, just by people seeing the virtual tour on these sites! We can also do this for your company website, your personal website or blog or any other site YOU put into the BrandkeeprTM configuration.
To configure and edit your BrandkeeprTM profile, go to Edit Profile and then elect the Edit My Brandkeepr profile. From this page you can see what sites we automatically convert to the branded link, and you can add your own sites (we add your profile site by default), or turn off some if you do not want it branded for some reason. This tool gives you lots of flexibility. Note: do not put in your competitor websites as you could run afoul of the IDX rules that generally prohibit agent branding on content distributed from the MLS. It is ok on these major search portals, just don’t do it on your competitor’s websites…
The key to making all of this work is make sure to use the https link when you post the virtual tour. If you already have a tour linked, just change it in the mls – add the “s” at the end and it should get updated to other sites. That is it! going forward the links we provide you already has https in the link.
One final note. Leverage the Call2Action photo to also get more people to visit the virtual tour. Zillow does a good job of hiding the link below the fold (the user has to scroll), so get them to go to the tour that has all of this other great content, including floor plans, video, and more. Learn more on Call2Action here.
by Kris Cone | Oct 31, 2018 | Listing Tools, Real Estate Info
NEW! Event-Based Lead Capture
Introducing our new, Event-based Lead Capture system for your tours. This Lead Capture system allows you to capture leads based on various visitor actions on the branded tour, such as after 4 camera icon clicks on the floor plan, or when someone tries to download the printable flyer. When combined with our Brandkeepr technology that automatically converts unbranded tours pulled from the MLS to the branded version, we can help you get more leads from sites like Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo, Realtor.com, and even your own company/personal website – basically get a lead on any website that allows agent branding! This is over 90% of the real estate oriented website traffic. But you can only get the lead via the branded tour, and FloorPlanOnline (and our affiliates) is the only tour company that enabled this great functionality.
Best of all – It’s FREE. It is included as part of the standard tour price!
Set-up is Required.
This new system is live on all accounts, but it is not ON by default. If you would like to enable lead capture on your tours, just login to your account, go to Edit Profile and then click on Edit Leads Profile. Click the toggle switch to turn it on and save. Note: if someone uses the Contact from on the tour, you will still get a “lead” for those messages, even if you have Lead Capture OFF.
by Kris Cone | Oct 23, 2018 | Listing Tools, Real Estate Info, Tour Updates, What's New
Your Brand on Your Listing
It may sound silly, but the fact is, your branding and contact info is NOT displayed on any virtual tour on Zillow (and other sites) by default
But it can be displayed if you use the FloorPlanOnline or HomeDiary PRO platform.
Our patent-pending Brandkeepr process automatically converts the unbranded tour to branded on sites representing over 90% of the real estate-oriented website traffic. The Zillow Group alone makes up almost 50%! So be where the people are and get seen in more places
We automatically add you back, plus add a video too, for free!
- Branded Tour – our patent-pending process re-brands the unbranded MLS tour to branded, automatically
- Embedded Video – we add our automated slideshow video (or custom video) with your branding as an embedded video on the Zillow & Trulia listing page, automatically.
Why is this important to you? Just uploading photos to the MLS does not give YOU free advertising on sites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Homes.com and more.
A virtual tour can…if it has your branding.
No other tour company can convert the unbranded tour to branded and have an automated video posted to your Zillow/Trulia listing, for free. This strategy puts your brand on websites that represent over 90% of the real estate oriented website traffic and leaves “bread crumbs” back to you so people can find you easily and the great marketing you do for listings.
FloorPlanOnline and HomeDiary PRO can.
This image shows an example of how the agent branding looks when a user clicks the video button on Zillow or Trulia. With HomeDiary PRO, it can be automated from your data feed for all of your agents and listings too.
Enhancing your listing doesn’t have to be that hard
With the FloorPlanOnline platform and the HomeDiary PRO subscription, it can be done automatically for you.
I have used FloorPlanOnline for over 10 years now, and they keep getting better. The new Story format showcases the amazing photos, aerials and floor plan content they create and helps make my client’s home, and me, look professional. It also positions the property for a fast sale.
The HomeDiary integration is also cool, so the new buyer can claim the home and get a copy of the photos and 2D/3D floor plan copied into their private HomeDiary, compliments of me! Joel did an amazing job capturing the charm and space of this Mt Baker area Seattle home. Keep up the great work.
Managing Broker, Windermere Real Estate
Want a personal demo for your company?
by Kris Cone | Oct 22, 2018 | Listing Tools, Real Estate News, Technology
My mom, a realtor with ReeceNichols in Kansas City (www.Kansascitylifestyles.com), just made the decision to cancel her Zillow Premier agent membership because her fees went from $500 a month to $1240 a month for the same zip code! Wow, talk about the power of a monopoly!
If you are in the same boat, or if you want to just try to get more leads from places like Zillow, here is a step by step guide on how to fight back, and get more leads without giving up an arm and a leg.
Step 1. Upload the Call2Action photo to your MLS, and place it in photo spot #3. Learn more about the Call2Action photo here
The Call2Action photo is a free composite image we create of the photos and the floorplan (or if photos only, just the photos). You can download this photo by going to Manage Tours, then click on the Photos & Marketing Tools link under Tour Details.
The idea is this image is used it as a “teaser” to let the viewer know there is more exclusive content on the tour – just go find the tour link (which is usually below the main content on the portals) and see more! It is NOT clickable…because it is an image, but it is used to highlight the floorplan and tour link. The unbranded version is generic so it can be uploaded to the MLS and distributed along with the other photos…and the tour. So for sites that show the tour link via IDX (like Redfin), at least people can view the virtual tour (and on certain sites we even convert the tour to branded automatically). If a site does not pull in virtual tour links, then it lets that user know there is more content out there…and they will find it on other places like Zillow or Realtor.com, which can lead them back to YOU! They may even just Google for the address, and if you have our Free YouTube video, then that typically comes up on page 1 of Google search….and it has the tour link there too!
Step 2. For Zillow, login as the agent (you can get a free Zillow account and claim your listings) and upload the Branded Call2Action photo to your listing, and delete the unbranded, if it got pulled in from the MLS. Move the branded Call2Action photo to position #3 by clicking and dragging it to the right spot. While you are there, you can add our tour link if it did not get distributed to Zillow. Then Save at the bottom. This is ALL FREE to do on Zillow.
This takes maybe 1-2 minutes to do…but it can benefit you tremendously!
See it on Zillow – Click here to check out one of Linda’s listing with the Call2Action photo in spot #3.
Step 3. Other sites. If you have access to other sites like Trulia you can do the same. We also use a version of this Call2Action photo for our Craigslist ad poster (it has a /cl/ tracker in the link) and provide the marketing text in copy and paste fashion. So if you post to Craigslist this is a great way to leverage this tool, for free. See the Craigslist ad poster on the Marketing Center page as well.
If you really want to get fancy, you can use our embed code to embed the whole tour on your website, in a blog post, etc. It works just like embedding a YouTube video. Click here to read more on our embeddable content.
– Happy posting
Kris Cone
by Kris Cone | Oct 16, 2018 | Listing Tools, What's New
Get your tour found on popular websites & Get More Leads!
Every paid tour or account includes some great FREE, built-in tour distribution options for your tours. These include YouTube video distribution, linking the tour and listing to Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and more. We can also link the tour automatically to your local MLS, or if not available, you can always add your tour to the MLS by editing your listing and adding in the virtual tour link (check your MLS help desk for specific instructions). You can even import your flyer, floorplans and photos right into xpressdocs and get flyers or brochures mailed right to your door.
Plus, we are now the only tour company allowed to upload our automated walkthrough video (or custom video, if applicable) directly to your listing on Zillow. It comes complete with an intro/exist agent branding slide so your information can be the first thing users see when they look at the media associated with your listing! No other tour company has this capability to post automated slideshow videos. Let’s leverage this together.
To Get Started marketing your tour, make sure your profile includes the various websites where you want it distributed. Go to Edit Profile at the top when logged in, and select Edit Tour Linking & Distribution. Then check the box next to each website option. Please allow up to 48 hours from the time you publish the tour for linking to be completed, a little more time for the video to show up on Zillow, because it is currently a manual process on all ends for FloorPlanOnline and Zillow. To see where the tour is linked or to use the Facebook or Craigslist tools, go to Manage Tours when logged in, then click the Photos & Marketing Tools link to get to the Marketing Center. At the bottom you will see some options like this…
Note on Zillow & Trulia Linking. If your company or MLS distributes the tour to Zillow or Trulia, anything we do will not matter, as there is a hierarchy of tour distribution and these sites do not combine listing info from different sources. Therefore it is important to ensure your virtual tour link is included with that listing distribution from these other sources. Even if they pull in the unbranded tour, it is ok….because we now automatically convert it to the branded tour via our patent-pending BrandKeepr functionality. We suggest you visit the Edit My BrandKeeper Profile under Edit Profile and make sure your website, blog and your company website are listed. With BrandKeeper, we automatically convert the unbranded tour that might have been pulled in from the MLS into the branded tour on various websites. We automatically do this for websites like Zillow and Trulia and your website added in your profile. But you can add other sites too, like your company website. Just don’t enter a competitor site, as that can be a violation of MLS IDX rules.
We believe these new tools will get you more leads for your listings than anything else out there….so stay tuned! And that is why you should get your tours linked and updated now!
-Cheers
Kris Cone, CEO
by Kris Cone | Sep 19, 2018 | Listing Tools, Tour Updates, What's New
We just released the best way to get a buyer on the line, and then hook’em. The Call2Action PhotoTM!
Now, every newly published tour has a composite image of select content from the tour called the Call2Action Photo. It features the exclusive content like the floorplan image, a video screen shot and some other photos. It is designed to be used on sites like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com (the 3 together make up over 70% of the real estate traffic) to leverage their massive monthly traffic to get more people coming to your virtual tour. Once they are there, use our event-based lead capture to communicate and seal the deal!
The Call2Action photo can be uploaded to Zillow and moved to say position #2 to let the viewer know there is cooler, better content on the virtual tour. Download the branded version right from the Marketing Center main page. We also have an unbranded version (that does not have the tour link but just calls out to click the virtual tour) that can be used on the MLS. This can then get swept to Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, sites that typically include the virtual tour links via Listhub distribution. 
Coming soon – We are also working on some updated tour posting solutions for Zillow and Craigslist…that can make the posting of the virtual tour either automatic, or as simple as a few steps. We can also upload the branded Call2Action photo right into your Zillow listing. We hope to launch this new feature within the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
PS. The Call2Action photo is live on all tours published as of September 19th. If you want it on an older tour, just go to Edit Tour, then Edit Photos/Video and hit the save button. The branded Call2Action photo should then show up as a button in the Marketing Center.
