Starting a 360 photo business can be a lot of work. Not only do you have to master your photography craft, market yourself to new clients, and run a business, but you also need to choose from a whole range of  360 photo platforms! We’ve created this guide to help those who are serious about starting a 360 photo business and need help gauging their options.

Is the Platform Mobile Friendly? Can You Create Content On Your Phone?

The life of a busy 360 photographer is hectic. You’ll be travelling regularly and you won’t always have the luxury of a full computer to build a tour or make edits to one. Finding a mobile-friendly platform that works for both you and the audience is vital because the world is getting more mobile-focused every day. In some cases, it’s not uncommon for more than 50% of a photo’s traffic to come from mobile sources. Having a mobile-friendly virtual tour editor is handy as well when you’re out and want to make every last second a bit more productive.

Can You Manage Multiple Accounts Easily?

Imagine this:  you have 5 different clients, all with different needs, branding, and billing requirements. All want access to the photo platform so they can grab images at any time and they want to be able to check photo stats without going through you. While that sounds like a tall order, it’s a common one for many 360 photographers, especially those that focus on real estate. Make sure your platform allows you to invite team members, and divide billing between different clients and accounts if it’s needed. Being able to manage multiple accounts from the same email is a major time saver.

What Are Your Branding Options?

Every commercial designer and photographer knows, companies love to make the most of a branding opportunity. When choosing a 360 photo platform, make sure your platform gives you the option to customize the branding on each and every tour you do. That could include logos overlayed on the photo, custom brand icons, custom brand colours, branded zenith and nadir patches, and even branded URL options. Flexibility here is key, as clients and brands come in all shapes and sizes. Make sure your platform has the ability to fit them all.

Can You Create Tours Quickly?

Efficiency with your time is an important factor when you are doing many virtual tours at once. You want to be able to link together photos quickly and keep them organized in a coherent tour. Otherwise, your account could be filled with hundreds of photos, and you’ll have to sort through each of them to create each tour. Linking photos together should be easy to do in a couple clicks. Make sure to find a platform that allows you to make the most of your time when it gets to the nitty gritty of building tours.

SeekBeak offers both grouping and drag & drop tour making  This one feature was suggested by one of our users and it apparently halved the time they were taking when making tours.

 

Can you Provide Your Clients With Photo Data and Analytics?

These days, savvy businesses are placing a larger and larger focus on collecting data and using it to make informed decisions. When picking your platform, it’s important to have the ability to track the success of your photos and if their hotspots are actually being clicked and interacted with. The ability to prove the value of your work through data is invaluable. Visuals are an added bonus, as they can be included in client reports or emails.

Learn more about SeekBeak’s reporting suite

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While we could keep going with the many things you need to consider, we think those 5 are a good way to start! At Seekbeak, we’re working on building the most robust photo platform for professional 360 businesses. We recently launched our Enterprise plan that includes a wide range of features designed specifically for professional 360 businesses. For smaller businesses, our Plus plan has many of the many of the same features.

If you want to give SeekBeak a try for free, grab a coupon code at the link below!