Kuula Virtual Tours

 

Virtual tours have become an invaluable tool for modern businesses across industries to showcase and promote their spaces and offerings to prospective customers. Especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with limits on travel and in-person interactions, virtual tours have stepped up to fill the void by providing an immersive experience that approximates visiting a location firsthand. kuula

Among the various virtual tour platforms available today, Kuula stands out for its ease of use, robust feature set, and affordable pricing. For any business looking to create stunning 360 virtual tours to engage customers, Kuula should definitely be on their radar.

This comprehensive guide will explore how Kuula empowers businesses to produce their own virtual tours, highlight key features and capabilities, provide tips for getting the most out of Kuula, and showcase real-world examples of businesses benefiting from investing in virtual tour technology.

 

What is Kuula Anyway?

Founded in 2016, Kuula is a relatively new entrant in the virtual tour space that has quickly become a formidable option. Kuula offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface and ample storage to create multi-scene virtual tours using photos captured on any 360 camera or even a smartphone. 

Some standout aspects of Kuula include:

      •  The cloud-based platform requires no special software or technical expertise.
      •  Support for hotspots, pop-ups, audio, links, and other overlays.
      •  Floor plan mode to link scenes and enable navigation.
      •  Analytics to track engagement and conversions per tour.
      •  Easy embedding and sharing on websites, social media, and ads.
      •  Mobile responsiveness and VR headset compatibility.

For any business that wants to implement a virtual tour strategy swiftly and economically, Kuula checks all the boxes. Whether it’s real estate showcasing properties or hotels highlighting amenities and rooms, Kuula is up for the task.

 

How to Get Started

To start creating virtual tours with Kuula, first visit their website to set up a free account. Kuula offers a forever free plan with limited features, a Pro plan starting at $9 per month, and a Business plan with additional capabilities.

With an account created, you can download the Kuula mobile app for iOS or Android to facilitate capturing 360 photos for your virtual tour. While an iOS or Android phone along with Kuula’s built-in camera app is adequate, you’ll achieve better imagery and convenience with a dedicated 360 camera like the Insta360 One X.

When ready to build your virtual tour, log into your Kuula web account and head to the Tours page. Click Create New Tour and give it an eye-catching title and description. Once you upload your 360 photos, the fun part begins!

 

Creating a Virtual Tour with Kuula 

With your photos uploaded to Kuula, arranging them into an engaging virtual tour is simple. Just drag and drop images into the sequence you want. Rearrange or delete scenes anytime as needed. 

To direct viewers where to look and what to focus on, add hotspots. Click a scene, select Add Hotspot, and place the hotspot icon where desired. Customize the visual style, text label, and on-click action of each hotspot.

For more in-depth information, insert pop-ups. Pop-ups can include text, photos, video, links, downloads, and more. Trigger them to appear based on hotspots, timers, or scenes.

To further enhance interactivity and guide users through your space, add a floor plan. With the floor plan activated, small scene thumbnails will display for navigation. Link floor plan markers to the correlating scenes.

Once you have scenes ordered, hotspots configured, pop-ups inserted, and optionally a floor plan connected, preview your tour and make any final tweaks prior to publishing.

 

Enhancing Virtual Tours with Kuula

Going beyond the basics, Kuula provides additional features to amplify your virtual tour with optimal visual appeal and utility.

For a more unified look, customize the brand styling of hotspots, pop-ups, and other overlay elements with your brand colors and logo. Replace the Kuula logo with your own custom banner as well. 

For added realism, enable gyroscope control so mobile users can physically look around by moving their device. Allowing virtual reality viewing through integration with VR headsets also boosts immersion.

Consider spotlighting distinct sections or routes through your space with Paths. Paths group scenes together into a guided sequence with unique branding and navigation.

Lastly, provide deeper insights by activating Kuula’s analytics. Gain access to helpful data on tour views, engagement, conversions, and more.

 

Sharing and Publishing Virtual Tours

Once your Kuula virtual tour is complete, getting it in front of your audience is simple.

On the Tour Details page, grab the embed code or shareable link to display your tour on websites, landing pages, or blogs. Upload publishes your tour to Kuula’s directory of public virtual tours to attract organic traffic.  

Promote your tour on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by sharing the link or embed code. Link to your virtual tour in emails, ads, blog posts, and other marketing content.

For public virtual tours, pinpoint your location on the map so nearby searchers can uncover your tour. List keywords relevant to your business to get discovered by those search terms.

Install the Kuula embed app on your iOS or Android mobile device to easily share your tour everywhere you go!

 

Examples and Case Studies

Virtual tours created with Kuula have delivered impressive results across industries. Here are a few noteworthy examples:

An Illinois-based boutique hotel leveraged a Kuula virtual tour on their website to showcase rooms, amenities, and their unique decor. They saw direct bookings increase 18% month-over-month since launching the tour.

A commercial painting company based in Vancouver used Kuula virtual tours of past client sites and projects on their website. The tours helped them land two large new contracts within a month of publishing.  

A Kuula virtual tour embedded on an Arizona real estate agency’s listing page showcasing a luxury home contributed to the property selling in just 8 days with multiple above-asking offers.

A crowdfunded smart home security device startup created a Kuula virtual product tour to give backers a closer look. The interactive tour helped raise over $1 million during their campaign, exceeding their goal.

 

Virtual Tour Analytics and Metrics

Valuable analytics and metrics are included with Kuula virtual tours to help gauge their performance. 

Understand how often your tour is being viewed and which scenes garner the most interest. Track hotspot click-through rates to see which calls-to-action resonate with viewers. 

For published public tours, check referral sources to discover where your tour is getting the most visibility. See searcher keywords to optimize promotion based on popular search terms.

For tours embedded on your website, track conversion goals like email signups, downloads, purchases, and more. Know precisely how your virtual tour is contributing to business growth.

Review analytics regularly to identify opportunities to boost engagement and conversions. Try A/B testing different hotspot styles and placements, tour branding, or promotional strategies.

 

Integrating Kuula with Other Platforms

To maximize exposure and convenience, Kuula makes it seamless to embed virtual tours on your website, blog, or listing pages.

For popular CMS platforms like WordPress and Squarespace, install the corresponding Kuula plugin. The plugin adds a block or widget to easily add your tour.

If using a different website builder, utilize the universal embed code Kuula provides to seamlessly integrate your tour. Kuula tours are mobile and retina display friendly out of the box.

For real estate agents and agencies, Kuula integrates directly with MLS listing services like RETS and IDX. Sync your Kuula tour with property data to create an engaging listing. 

Consider integrating your virtual tour with platforms like Shopify for product demos, Uber for venue previews, or booking systems for hotels and event spaces.

 

Pricing and Subscription Options

Kuula offers three straightforward pricing plans:

Free Plan 

    • 3 tours 
    • Basic features
    • Kuula branding 

Pro Plan 

    • Unlimited tours
    • Advanced features 
    • Custom branding
    • Starting at $9 per month 

Business Plan 

    • Per-seat pricing 
    • Team management
    • API access
    • Starting at $49 per month

The Pro plan unlocks the full breadth of Kuula’s capabilities at an affordable price point for most small businesses. Opt for the Business plan for collaboration across a team and deeper integration.

Before committing, take advantage of Kuula’s free forever plan to test drive creating a tour. Overall, Kuula provides exceptional value compared to other tour platforms.

 

Tips and Tricks for Creating Impressive Virtual Tours 

Follow these expert tips to maximize the wow-factor and effectiveness of your Kuula virtual tours:

    • Use a high-quality 360 camera for crisp, clean imagery. The Insta360 One X delivers superb results.
    • Capture more photos than you think you need so you have flexibility when assembling your tour.
    • Take photos from the eye-level perspective of your target viewer for optimal immersion. 
    • Position hotspots strategically in the line of sight of where viewers will likely look first in each scene.
    • Write hotspot titles and pop-up text succinctly using action-driven language like “Take a tour” instead of just “Tour”.  
    • Include links to booking platforms, online stores, contact forms, and other conversion points. 
    • Avoid including too many interactive elements so as to not overwhelm viewers.
    • Seek feedback from others before publishing your tour live to identify possible improvements.

Stick to these best practices, and your Kuula virtual tour will impress audiences and get results for your business!

As virtual tours continue revolutionizing how businesses showcase and promote their physical spaces and products, Kuula presents a stellar option for creating your own tours. With its unmatched ease of use plus robust feature set, Kuula makes it achievable for any business to implement immersive virtual tours on a budget.

The time is now to step up your company’s digital presence and customer engagement with interactive 360 virtual tours from Kuula. Simply get started today by opening your free Kuula account! We’re always here to help at WP3D Models.