82% of global internet traffic this year will come from video marketing, and 84% of people are persuaded to buy a product/service based on a video they saw.
Numbers like these speak for themselves; that's a substantial chunk of traffic and conversions generated through video content alone.
Many organisations use video content as their primary source of visual marketing in order to educate their target market, clearly communicate their offering, and build interest.
For tourism organisations especially, producing video content is essential if you want your destination to remain relevant. International or domestic tourists alike want to explore new architectural sites, try new cuisines, and participate in thrill-seeking activities. To target these adventurous and dynamic visitors, your visual content must also exude a high level of excitement to match their interests.
From Instagram to YouTube to your website, video content ensures you will stay top of mind across a variety of channels. Besides being an engaging and educational way of conveying your destination, video content has the power to make your dull messaging come alive and is easily digestible.
What is the result of using video to promote your destination? Higher bookings and delighted travellers!
Have we convinced you enough why video content is the right choice from a marketing perspective to reach a broader audience? No matter your audience size, internal resources, and budget, video content can be easier to implement than you think.
Video content is an excellent vehicle for storytelling; however, that doesn’t always mean it should be the chosen visual asset over imagery. Before going into the why, let's talk about when video content should be implemented.
Below are three important questions to ask when deciding what type of visual to choose for your paid Facebook ad, organic Instagram post, email campaign, or homepage of your website?
If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above, it’s time to start planning a new content calendar that includes video.
With 78% of people reporting that they watch some form of brand video content each week, this is conclusive evidence that individuals enjoy viewing videos across a variety of advertising mediums.
It's common for emails to be text-heavy with various calls to action, while websites' homepages can include various introductory paragraphs with internal links filtering out to product pages. However, video content can be incorporated to cut through the text overload, taking a user's mind off wordy content and allowing them to absorb your message passively.
Client testimonials, a drone shot compilation of scenic viewpoints, a teaser video of your hotel's unique selling features: these are all examples of specialised video content that adds a personal touch. The informal yet conversational tone of videos makes individuals want to view, save, and share your content with their tight-knit social circle.
Emotional marketing is the process of portraying human emotions in your visual content in order to connect with potential visitors. Excitement, curiosity, enthusiasm, and passion are a few emotions travellers experience when researching all components of a getaway and making that decision to start their journey.
Watching a two-minute movie trailer for an upcoming film will elicit a stronger emotional response than seeing that same movie promoted through an Instagram static image. Let’s translate this idea into the world of tourism marketing through video:
Using Vloggi's interactive video submission platform, Jucy Rentals—a car and campervan rental service—created an entire library of action-packed promotional videos to inspire millennials to explore New Zealand.
How did Vloggi assist JUCY Rentals in collecting a library of captivating videos that appealed to all of the emotions listed above? The Vloggi platform created a unique project upload link for JUCY rentals' previous customers to submit videos they shot while driving the brands' funky cars and campers. This is otherwise known as user-generated video.
With snippets received from travellers hiking in mountainous terrain, basking on the white-sand beaches, and marvelling at luscious waterfalls (all easily accessed from the comfort of their JUCY car or campervan), the rental service company was able to compile these short snippets into a series of 20-second videos.
JUCY rentals was seen as a huge success in the world of user-generated video, increasing brand recognition (what New Zealander wouldn’t recognise the iconic purple and green campervan after watching a video) and prompting a surge in bookings. This was accomplished by harnessing the power of their previous customers.
JUCY Rentals was able to use the hundreds of video submissions they received to create a library of video content that was versatile in nature. Each video they created using user-generated content (“UGC”) captured a new scenic location, exotic wildlife, and unforgettable experiences that all came together to appeal to the next adventurous traveler ready to take on New Zealand.
User-generated video isn’t the only type of video content that tourism organisations can use. Self-directed video, in which organisations take the initiative to shoot and edit their own video content, is just as versatile. If your tourism organisation wants to produce a video, here are a couple of tips to ensure it meets the dynamic expectations of your prospective tourists:
With all of this newfound knowledge on video content, particularly the notion of user-generated video, what tools are out there to help marketers achieve the same level of cinematic experience that JUCY rentals did?
Having briefly touched upon how JUCY rentals used the video content platform Vloggi, let’s explore this ultimate video collection tool. Vloggi allows your organisation to collect videos with consent from your previous customers through a project upload link and then reuse those videos to grow your user-generated video library.
Also around the notion of user-generated video, but a bit different in format, is SnapSea. Rather than encouraging previous visitors to submit video content through a project upload link, SnapSea’s AI-powered platform has the ability to discover user-generated video content from the world’s largest social media platforms and acquire the rights via an automated approval process.
Beyond video evolving into one of the most engaging forms of visual marketing, video content undeniably gives your audience a real-life representation of your offering in action.
While your tourism organisation may not have the professional experience of Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese, we hope you are inspired to utilize user-generated video or create self-directed video to soar above your competition.
For more information on how to utilise UGC to maximise your brand, head back to SnapSea or give us a follow on LinkedIn.
Watch a 3-minute introduction to SnapSea - the user-generated content platform for destinations.
Empowering destination marketers all around the world.
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