How do companies make smart use of 360-degree images?

One could say that 360 photography was born in 1857, thanks to the first camera able to rotate around its axis. But in reality, it's only been a few years since the immersive technology has been democratized. It is more and more used by certain professional sectors which have a very concrete use of it. Effective to enhance places and creations in an immersive way, 360° photography is paradoxically, still today, quite unexploited regarding its marketing potential!

What is the concrete use of this technology? How is it used by companies? Discover the six main use cases of 360 images.

Give a virtual tour

One of the most obvious uses of 360 photography is to offer a virtual tour of a place. Many real estate agencies offer their customers to visit apartments or houses directly on their website based on interactive 360 content. These immerse visitors in the property, and allow them to move their gaze wherever they want with their mouse. In fact, the 360 photo is an excellent way to convert a visit on the website into a real visit or into the signature of a rental contract.

Beyond real estate agencies, universities and schools also offer virtual tours to convince future students to join their institution. 3D photography is also used by business centers and coworking spaces to promote their work spaces. 

Matterport is one of the leading hardware providers for virtual tours and offers a range of cameras adapted to this format. Ricoh's "Theta" range of 360 cameras is another popular alternative for professionals: the Japanese firm also provides Ricoh360Tours, a SaaS platform that makes it easy to build a virtual tour.

Enhancing small spaces

Traditional photography does not allow to visually represent a small space. Conversely, 360 photography is an excellent tool for measuring small spaces. This is why dealerships use it to show the interior of their cars. Prospects can then evaluate the size and finish of the interior, the storage space, the legroom for passengers, etc. 

Whether it's a boat cabin, a cabin in the woods, a tent, or a small studio, 360 photography is the medium that offers the best visualization of small spaces.

There are several 360 cameras on the market suitable for this type of use, such as the Insta360 One X2. The cameras designed by the supplier Kandao are also very popular with professionals and can go up to a definition of 12K (for the Obsidian Pro) for an optimal immersion.

Promote a destination

Tourism actors use 360° photography to develop the attractiveness of a destination or a territory. Tourist offices, travel agencies... offer travelers and tourists a faithful overview of places to visit, monuments, or simply the atmosphere that reigns in a city thanks to 360 content. Hotels and other accommodations also rely on this technology to promote their establishment. 

It is even possible to combine 360 photography with the use of a drone to offer panoramic aerial views capable of covering large areas, such as a beach, a ski resort or a golf course. For example, DJI drones have a "sphere panorama" mode that allows the capture of 360 images. It is also possible to attach a 360 camera to a drone for this type of use.

Create a portfolio

Architects, decorators, landscapers ... can build an interactive portfolio of their achievements through 360 photography. Each of them can be integrated on a website and viewed in its entirety. 

For example, a project manager who supervised the renovation of a house can propose a before / after, sharing two 360 photographs that will allow users to measure the extent and quality of work done by the professional. All your 360 images can of course be hosted on 360player.io.

Share 3D creations

Some jobs involve modeling environments in three dimensions. This is for example the case of video game studios, which design original worlds to entertain players. 

Many studios use 360-degree visualization to give a glimpse of a game's atmosphere and graphics. Whether it's to share the progress of a project internally, to animate a website or social media accounts, this media is indeed much more immersive than a simple screenshot.

Showcase a business

Many retailers present on their website pictures of their physical point of sale to make users want to go there. Here again, 360° photography is an excellent way to show a store, its different departments and the atmosphere that reigns there in a much more immersive way than a static photograph. 

This list of use cases is not exhaustive, but reveals the potential of 360° photography for businesses. Whatever your sector of activity, it is interesting to ask yourself the question: how can I use this communication tool to stand out from the competition and get ahead?