EVOLVING THE TOURISM VIDEO JOURNEY
More and more potential travellers are using video to "pre-explore" and vet potential destinations before they commit to booking.
It’s simply no longer enough to read about or view a few select postcard images of different destinations around the world, nowadays people want to see them and experience them in all their glory.
A video is the closest way (without actually visiting) to experience a location, its attractions and its people that you can achieve immediately right from your phone, laptop, desktop or VR headset.
As such video content rules the roost when it comes to providing persuasive rich experiences which move a potential travellers thinking on a potential destination.
Not only does video drive stronger engagement on most (if not all) social media channels compared to a link, article or image post, video also enables tourism departments and tourism associated brands to better build a more grounded emotional connection with their viewer and a destination.
When advertising for tourism, you already know that you aren’t just selling a place; you’re selling a comprehensive immersive experience that can fundamentally change a visitors outlook (not just on a destination… But their whole outlook on life).
Video is a much more effective way to convey an emotion or feeling than photographs.
GOOGLE SAYS WHAT I AM TELLING YOU SO FAR IS TRUE…
As recently as 2015 (I know its 2019… But in relative terms 2015 is still recent), Google reported that YouTube views of travel-related videos were up 118% year-over-year and that destination-specific searches accounted for more than 70% of that activity.
AND THAT’S NOT ALL…
Here are a five other stats just to whet your whistle…
- Almost 5 billion videos are watched on Youtube every single day.
- Enjoyment of video advertising increases purchase intent by 97% and brand association by 139%.
- Organic Facebook engagement is highest on posts with videos (13.9%), with photos coming in second (13.7%).
- Consumers engage with branded videos the most on Facebook (49%), followed by YouTube (32%), then Instagram (24%)
- 46% of users act after viewing a video ad.
If you are posting your content to Facebook you should also be aware of the following stats released recently from BuzzSumo:
You’ve probably heard already all about how video is going to account for almost 80% of all internet traffic by 2020.
Which is great (and only a year away now), but what you may not have known is that last year in 2018 – online video already accounted for 74% of all internet traffic.
It’s worth mentioning at this point that the human brain is able to process visual content 60,000x faster than text-based content.
Not only do we process video faster than say we read an article or a blog post, visual content also holds our attention for longer.
Most video viewers on average watch 75% of a video (vs. a much lower engagement percentage with blog posts or other text-based content).
The bottom line of this part of my article if you haven’t gotten it already…
Is that people watch videos…
Like a lot of videos…
And not only do they watch them, they like them, they comment on them, they share them and they drive them to take real and measurable action!
SO WHAT ELSE IS NEEDED?
These are just a few of the things that those marketing tourism based content need to keep in mind in order to tell a compelling video-based story:
- Keep it simple. A convoluted story premise that the viewer doesn’t understand immediately is likely to do nothing but confuse them and dilute your message. If you can't simply convey your idea verbally, you might want to consider simplifying before getting too deep.
- Make sure you have a tight structure. Your video must have a clear beginning, middle and end. Otherwise, your video will feel incomplete.
- Solve a problem. Whether it be saving a damsel in distress or achieving freedom, viewers are most satisfied when a hurdle or struggle is presented, which is then overcome by the protagonist(s).
- Hit them with a solid measured dose of the feels. Although it doesn't have to be excessive, a compelling video must elicit an authentic emotion from the audience. Emotion is the secret sauce that engages the viewer on a much deeper level than rational fact based content.
- Develop your characters. In order to resonate with your audience, replace empty or stereotypical characters with authentic ones that viewers will connect with and remember. This applies to using real people in your video as well (if they don’t feel authentic… If they feel fake… they have to go!)
In short, compelling visual content stories create the difference between audible print with visuals and marketing materials that move viewers to take measurable and defined action.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS TO GET YOUR TOURISM VIDEO JOURNEY STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOTING?
Often the best tourism and travel videos are more than just a collection of pretty cinematic images, drone shots, time-lapses and a nice music track, they have an engaging story the viewer can get lost in.
Working with your video or visual content agency or production partner (or internal team prior to tender) you should conduct regular mini-brainstorm sessions around the types of stories that can be told in your country, city, region or area.
For instance if it’s an area known for romantic scenery, you could craft and feature a touching or emotive story of long lost unrequited love that is rekindled (depending on your location this story could be skewed any number of ways from comedic, to tragic and everywhere in between).
If it’s a city or region steeped in rich history, you could tell the story of a regular or famous local identity as they return home to pursue a journey to explore his or her heritage while simultaneously showing the viewer the heritage of the city (which is the backdrop and heart of their story).
If your city, region or area is exotic, remote or just difficult to get to, you could tell the story of someone’s rewarding journey to reach it and the amazing unforgettable experience that they have once they get there that made everything worthwhile.
No matter your destination or the types of travellers you want to attract, your goal in creating effective tourism video content is to have relevant and rewarding content that people can connect to, and show an experience they would like to have and they would love to share with others.
STILL NEED MORE HELP?
Reach out to me and the team at APV! We’d love to talk to you about how we can help you create an amazing tourism or travel video that connects your story to your audience and drives them to book a trip to come see you!
Thomas J Elliott is the Senior Producer/Director for APV an advertising agency specialising in video and animation with offices in Wan Chai Hong Kong.
He is a winner of numerous international awards for video and animation and the author of five books on visual content.
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Video Content Producer ::: 25 years of delivering video solutions for Learning, Marketing & Comms teams
5yGreat article Thomas. Agree that engaging storytelling for travel videos is essential. The tourism sector is one industry that benefits most from high quality footage with large view counts from travellers without having to spend their own marketing budgets. But it’s important they don’t rely solely on these videos seen from the individual travellers POV, effective storytelling and a creative professional approach is critical to give a well rounded insight to travel destinations.