If you're in charge of promoting an educational institution to potential students or parents, you need to find a way to attract them. While in-person tours can be persuasive and effective, they are only beneficial if individuals are physically present at your school or university.

There may be potential students (or their parents) who are searching for your educational center online, so take advantage of this opportunity by allowing them to visit it virtually!

Here are five reasons to use virtual tours on your educational center's website:

1. A virtual visit will help people feel comfortable with your facilities. By allowing visitors to your website to get to know your school or university, they can familiarize themselves with it. This is important, especially for visitors to your website who may live outside the area and are perhaps looking to move to the region. In the case of universities or educational centers that specialize in teaching specific skills and careers, students who are too far away to take a physical tour may be considering applying.

2. Not all school websites offer virtual tours, so this allows yours to stand out online. It is common for educational center websites to display photos of their buildings and convey details about the education they offer. However, not all schools offer real virtual or interactive tours. By doing this, your center can stand out among the other schools that people find in their Google search results. A 360º virtual tour brings your educational center to life and gives website visitors a realistic idea of the facilities and what they can expect.

3. A virtual tour can highlight how your educational center is unique. Through an immersive virtual tour, you can show the areas of your school that make it special. Even if there are other schools in the area that offer similar educational classes or courses, there is no doubt that yours are superior and different.

4. Virtual visits are more engaging than photos. Website visitors who see the virtual tour of your school are more likely to be interested than if you just showed them a photo gallery. It allows them to see the school's grounds/buildings/campus, and they can better imagine themselves there. This can be the most interesting feature of your website for potential students or their parents!

5. Showing a virtual tour will present your school and website in a professional manner. Using a virtual tour on your website will help your school look professional. It will indicate that you are welcoming new students, but also that you take the education you offer seriously. Virtual tours are perceived as high quality, which is how you want your school to be portrayed as well.