When the Internet first arrived in its primitive form, most of us thought that it would never benefit our business. Especially the thought of using it as a marketing tool to promote our brand and to advertise. Newspaper ads, magazines and other traditional marketing seem to be working just fine. Why should I change? What has been working will continue to work and I see no need to put more money into something that is not useful to me. We couldn't be farther from the truth now. As business owners and entrepreneurs and like minded professionals, what we are failing to see changing is the consumer and what it is they are doing to change the landscape of marketing and advertising. After five years of being a virtual tour provider, I have seen people go from "I have no use for a virtual tour", to using them on every property they can get one on. Why is that? Because some of us are willing to look at the consumers needs and the trends they set to utilize in our businesses and profit from it.

There is no doubt that more people are using the Internet to search out the goods and services they want. So, are you giving consumers what they want. Has your business taken the next step to become aquainted with consumer trends? Are you willing to ditch the old methods of marketing and advertising and grasp new and innovative ideas that will save you time and money? Traditional marketing and advertising does still work, but it doesn't have to be the bulk of your campaign. If consumers spend more time on the Internet than they do in a newspaper, magazine or tv ad then why do we continue to waste money on those forms of advertising? It makes sense to invest where the buyers are looking......the Internet!

Another important thing that we need to recognize is that virtual tours are what people are looking for. As a virtual tour provider, we have recognized the trends that are forming on the internet and are consistantly offering innovative on-line marketing to meet the demanding needs of the consumer to have rich media information at their fingertips. And, if you are using a virtual tour, is it consistant with your other campaigns? Does it have the look and feel of your own professional image? Many virtual tours are inconsistant with the Realtors brand and image. That can have a direct impact on the image you present to potential client. Refer to our last blog, What's the Difference? , to see how your virtual provider measures up. You may be surprised to see how much more you can get out of a virtual tour.

e-toursonline provides you with the essential tools. If you want to see the difference our on-line marketing has over the competition, we will do your first tour for free. Call us now, it's free!

As many of you know, virtual tour technology comes in many shapes and forms. Some companies have even market a product that is no where considered a quality virtual tour. Beware of misconceptions and myths that can lead you away from the true technology of a high quality 360 virtual tour. Does the tour benefit you or does it just benefit the service provider who photographs them for you. Are you just a client or is your virtual tour provider a marketing partner that expresses the importance and concern of giving you the best possible product with maximum exposure without hurting your pocket book?

But how do you know which virtual tour company to choose. How do you know that you are getting the best value for the amount of money spent? And most of all is your virtual tour going to work for you to get maximum exposure; or, is it confined to your website waiting for someone to see. You see, a virtual tour is just more than pictures in rotation, or glorified slide shows or even video that is essentially the same as the latter two. It is a professional marketing tool that should contain the vary ingredients that makes it a useful marketing tool to give potential buyers a reason to say WOW!

Here are several key factors you should ask your virtual tour provider when considering their service. It is important to know what you are looking for to avoid being misled and misconstrued into using something that is not giving you the marketing exposure that you deserve as a Realtor or Business owner. After reading this article, you will have the knowledge to question your virtual tour provider if they are the right virtual tour company for you. And then you will be able to make a more informed decision on which virtual tour company is the best choice for you.

Since e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions has been in the virtual tour industry, we have seen a lot of different versions of what companies call a virtual tour. Over the last five years we have seen a trend quickly turn into a necessity for Real Estate professionals, Business Owners, Hotels and Resorts to keep up with innovation and competition. And most of all we have recognized that consumers are now primarily searching for the real estate properties, destinations and services they seek from the comfort of their home. As a Real Tour Vision^TM Certified virtual tour provider, the one thing that Real Tour Vision^TM has done for us is to recognize the changes in consumer needs and to continually be creative and innovative in their product to give us the competitive edge to not only satisfy our clients, but to satisfy the most important asset to your business....the consumer. So with that said, here is why we are the number one virtual tour provider in the area and why e-toursonline should be you new virtual tour service provider.

Here are the great benefits of teaming up with e-toursonline as your personal on-line marketing specialist and a good way to evaluate your current provider. If your current tour provider is lacking any of these beneficial elements of their tours, then you may want to reconsider finding an RTV^TM Dealer in your area.

1. Does your virtual tour have a professional presentation? Virtual tours should be well presented. It should reflect the same professionalism that you portray as a Real Estate Agent. Layout design, colors, logos and banners should all coincide with the image of your business and the brand you carry. Settle for nothing less than a branding image that matches all your marketing materials. Consistent branding creates awareness and recognition that sets you apart from your competition. The more exposure you create for your brand the greater chance your potential client will remember who you are when looking for your type of service.

2. Is the tour interactive? Contact information and links to other property resources gives consumers the ability to stay connected to you and to have the option of exploring other resources you have available. Look at our virtual tour window-

RTV^TM has created 31 interactive features that with one, give you a professional presentation and, two, give potential buyers complete access to various information resources without ever leaving the tour.

Does your tour have this? Do you have options that allow you to add professional audio, interactive floor plans, maps, schools, satellite images, printable PDF flyers, property info, scene descriptions, advertising affiliates, virtual tour hit stats and even a mortgage calculator? Real Tour Vision's virtual tour window engages the buyer to help them make an informed decision on the property they are viewing.

To add, if the buyer wants to view other properties you have listed, all they have to do is click View My Tour Gallery.

Affiliate ads are a great way to partner up with your mortgage lenders, home inspectors, home stager and other affiliates to advertise on your virtual tour and reduce the cost of your tours and create another source of income.

3. Will my virtual tour get the exposure I need? Having exposure is a huge benefit to reaching the largest buyer audience possible. e-toursonline recognizes the importance of property exposure and offers the best solution on the market. If your current virtual tour provider thinks Realtor.com^® is the only way to get exposure, think again. Our on-line marketing and tour distribution will generate more exposure for your properties, thus selling quicker and more likely at a higher dollar value. At e-toursonline, we are your personal marketing partner working above and beyond the call for duty. We also help you as our client to optimize your website by giving you inside info to promoting and marketing your website in the search engines. Does your virtual tour provider do that? See our property marketing solutions.

4. How much will it cost me? Here is the big question. e-toursonline thinks your initial virtual tour solution should be reasonably priced. And if you want to add features like interactive floor plans, tours on CD-Rom, panoriders, or search engine exposure, it should be within a reasonable budget. If you are a Real Estate Agent paying more than $150.00 for a slide show tour or basic virtual tour with no features, you are paying way too much. Our virtual tour real estate packages are priced anywhere from $99.00 - $149.00 and include nearly all of the features above at no extra cost. If you want to add posting to Realtor.com, there is no charge for showcase enhanced clients. Interactive floor plans, single property websites, tours-to-go on CD-Rom, panorider sign hangers and marketing distribution are all affordable add-ons. We also give quantity discounts to brokers who use our service exclusively.

So, you are now informedon what you need to look for. What's your next step? Ask yourself, "Am I getting the most out of my virtual tour provider, or do I deserve better?" You definitely deserve better. Gives us a call and your first virtual tour is on us. Yes - FREE!

e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions Announces New Full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360° Virtual Tour HitStats 2.0^TM

Bradenton, FL March 25, 2008- e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions, a certified Real Tour Vision^TM virtual tour provider, is proud to announce the addition of e-toursonline full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360° virtual tour HitStats 2.0^TM to its line-up of marketing tools. The addition of full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360° virtual tour HitStats 2.0^TM to e-toursonline's existing services will allow their current and future clients to have the competitive edge in marketing their property listings and businesses utilizing these advanced marketing tools in the Manatee / Sarasota area.

Lance Ziegler, Owner of e-toursonline stated: "We are very pleased to be able to offer this new service to our clients. The addition of e-toursonline full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360° virtual tour HitStats 2.0^TM to our already powerful line-up of marketing tools will give our clients the competitive edge they need in this tough market."

Lance Ziegler, Owner of e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions also stated: "We have been continually striving to offer ‘state of the art' technologies and innovative online marketing ideas to our clients for a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing. Real Tour Vision^TM and their staff of excellent engineers have done a great job of proving us with new technologies on a regular basis."

Since 2004, e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions has continually offered innovative marketing implementations such as Real Tour Vision^TM proprietary interactive software, PanoRiders, single property websites, animated walk-throughs, custom websites, proprietary order-dispatch system, award winning professional website audio solutions, customized tour discs and sketch-and-fax services. For more information call 877-687-2748, email lanceziegler@e-toursonline.com or visit their website at http://www.e-toursonline.com/. Those interested in business opportunities with e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions are encouraged to visit their website for more information.

About Real Tour Vision^TM
Real Tour Vision^TM is a recognized leader in interactive 360° panoramic virtual tours and virtual tour software. Over the past 8 years, the virtual tour software company has built up one of the world's largest and most powerful networks of virtual tour providers. The company encourages prospective virtual tour provider and real estate agent network clients to begin by making logical business decisions, working out the numbers, and finally choosing the Real Tour Vision^TM virtual tour software system to drive their virtual tour company or enhance their real estate website with virtual tour software products. RTV^TM virtual tours are chosen over other virtual tour software programs daily by intelligent business owners who demand the best virtual tour software to showcase and market their businesses online.
Real Tour Vision^TM and RTV^TM are trademarks of Tour Vision, Inc.

About e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions
e-toursonline is a Florida based provider of interactive media solutions with an extended network covering Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice. Using only the latest in "cutting edge" technology, our goal is to provide you with state of the art products that will help market your business at a fraction of traditional costs.
Contact: e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions
Lance Ziegler Owner
Phone: 877-687-2748
10320 Spoonbill Rd W
Bradenton, FL 34209
Email: lanceziegler@e-toursonline.com