Video will account for 74% of all web traffic in 2017. Snapchatters watch 10 billion videos each day. More video content is uploaded to the web in one month than TV has created in 30 years.
Do I have your attention yet?
Video content plays a huge role in content marketing, and brands in all industries are benefiting from their video marketing efforts. In fact, 52% of marketing professionals name video as the type of content with the best ROI.
Have you invested in video content? As a travel industry brand, you have many different ways to showcase your brand’s story, your hotel, your services, and more with video. With many options in what your videos should highlight, how do you use it? Where should you distribute the content?
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality technology continues to improve and the technology to view it is growing in popularity. The graph below shows the increase in searches for virtual reality headsets in the last two years, with a noticeable spike in 2016 during the holiday season.
Consumers are not the only ones taking an interest in virtual reality. Brands like TOMS and Game of Thrones are using virtual reality to take their viewers on virtual tours of giving trips and climbing The Wall at Castle Black.
Travel and hospitality brands have an exciting opportunity to use virtual reality to engage with their audience and show off their hotels and resorts. Facebook’s 360 videos can be created with equipment at a cost as low as $199. With this equipment and Facebook’s platform, think of what your audience would want to see. Maybe a tour of your most romantic suite? Or a front-row view of your tallest waterslide?
Video Marketing
Video marketing has grown a lot in recent years. From YouTube’s growing advertising capabilities to Snapchat Stories to going Live on Facebook, there are many different ways travel industry brands can use video marketing to engage with their target audience.
Did you know that visual content is processed 60,000x faster than text? Telling your brand’s story through written content is great, but in order to really capture the attention of your audience, you need to give them easily digestible visual content. So, how would you tell your brand’s story through video?
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing can be extremely powerful when done right. There are many people on the internet who influence millions of people through their blogs, YouTube channels, and social platforms. Find influencers on social media and across the internet who fit your brand and think about how they might be able to help you spread awareness of your brand, special promotions, and more. Lifestyle and fitness icon, Chinae Alexander partnered with @electricfymag and @freepeople to explore Mexico. During her trip, Chinae consistently shared her adventures using Snapchat and Instagram Stories, and in addition to sharing video content, she shared 11 photos on Instagram with the hashtag #electrifygetaways. Benefit Cosmetics did something similar with YouTuber Aspyn Ovard when she traveled to Hawaii.
Influencer marketing doesn’t have to be a paid initiative. Sometimes all it takes is a good experience for an influencer to share their thoughts on your hotel or resort. Keep an eye on the conversations people are having online about your brand.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing works very well as a platform for influencer marketing, as you can see with our examples above. It also works very well to distribute your video content. In fact, I would personally argue that it’s probably the best platform to do this (but certainly not the only one!), especially for travel and hospitality brands. You have a beautiful, fun, exciting, romantic resort or hotel. Show it off on this visual platform where users eat up content like candy!
Email Marketing
Email is not dead. In fact, it is still growing. The Radicati Group predicts that nearly half of the world’s population will use email by 2020. Use your email lists to distribute your video content to your audience. According to Syndacast, the use of the word “video” in a subject line increases email open rates by 19% and increases click-through rates by 65%. Do you have a tour of your newly renovated suites? Include that in your next email blast to show it off.
It’s no secret that video is playing, and will continue to play, a huge part in brands’ content marketing strategies. With the strategies and platforms we’ve discussed, you might be overwhelmed by your options and the possibilities. There’s a lot of potential!
