Standard vs Branded: Why You Should Consider Adding a Custom Overlay to Your Virtual Tour
Virtual tours have become an invaluable tool for businesses looking to showcase their spaces in an engaging and interactive way. Whether you run a hotel, gym, nursery, showroom, or event venue, giving potential customers the ability to explore your space online helps build trust and increase bookings.
However, not all virtual tours are created equal. A standard Matterport virtual tour provides a basic way for users to look around, whereas a branded virtual tour with a custom overlay takes the experience to the next level—enhancing navigation, reinforcing your brand, and making it easier for visitors to take action.
The two below virtual tours are the same virtual tour, however, the one on the right has had a custom overlay applied. Feel free to explore both spaces to see the difference.
Standard Virtual Tours: A Basic but Limited Experience
A standard Matterport virtual tour provides:
- 360-degree exploration – Users can freely navigate your space.
- An accurate sense of scale and layout – Potential customers get a realistic view of your venue.
- In-tour information points – You can add clickable hotspots containing details, images, or external links.
Whilst these features are useful, standard tours also have some key limitations:
- No branding – The interface looks generic, with no option to incorporate your logo, colours, or style.
- Limited navigation structure – Users must manually explore and find key areas on their own, which isn’t always intuitive—particularly for first-time visitors.
- Hidden information – While details can be added in hotspots, they only appear if users click on them, meaning important content might be missed.
A standard virtual tour is great for exploration, but it doesn’t actively guide visitors or encourage them to take action. This is where a branded tour makes all the difference.
Branded Virtual Tours: A Powerful Marketing Tool
A branded virtual tour with a custom overlay builds on a standard tour by adding structured navigation, branding, and clear calls to action. Instead of relying on users to explore and find information themselves, a branded tour makes everything easier to access and more engaging.
Here’s how:
1. Stronger Branding & Visual Identity
A branded tour is designed to reflect your business’s identity, ensuring a professional and cohesive experience.
- Your logo, colours, and fonts are seamlessly integrated into the tour.
- The interface looks polished and unique to your brand.
- Users immediately recognise the tour as part of your business, reinforcing trust and credibility.
A standard tour lacks this level of personalisation, making it feel disconnected from your brand.
2. Intuitive Navigation & Easy Access to Key Areas
Rather than forcing visitors to search manually for important sections, a branded tour makes navigation effortless.
- Custom navigation menus allow users to jump directly to key areas (hotel rooms, gym facilities, showroom displays, etc.).
- Quick-access buttons ensure visitors can find what they need without frustration.
- Strategically placed links direct users to booking, reservation, and service pages, helping turn interest into action.
A standard tour relies on users exploring and finding things themselves, whereas a branded tour provides clear, structured navigation.
3. Clear Calls to Action & Engagement Tools
A branded tour does more than just showcase your space—it actively encourages visitors to take action.
- Visible call-to-action buttons for reservations, contact forms, or special offers.
- Integrated links to your website—guiding users directly to relevant pages, rather than hoping they find the right information.
- Easy access to contact details and location information, making it simple for potential customers to get in touch or visit in person.
In a standard tour, these elements are hidden within information points, meaning users might never see them. A branded overlay ensures they are always visible and easy to access.
Which One is Right for Your Business?
If you just need a way for users to look around your space, a standard virtual tour might be sufficient. But if you want to turn that tour into a marketing tool that increases engagement, conversions, and bookings, a branded virtual tour with a custom overlay is the better choice.