“We are swimming against a rising tide of low grade content, churned out by people with no real expertise or authority, and then blasted out shotgun style to as many people as possible.” So say’s Matthew Barker, head of Strategy at i&i Travel Media from a summary of his presentation on content marketing at the Adventure Travel World Summit last September (2015) in Puerto Varas, Chile.
The talk featured speakers from media and public relations, and focused on creating quality content over quantity, providing information that is useful at the various stages of the customer’s journey. They point out that most small businesses do not have the resources to produce the volume of material that a large brand does, so it is pointless to try and compete in that sphere. No doubt that will generate a sigh of relief from overburdened tour operators. But it also raises the question, “so what should I be doing?”
In another article on the i&i website a clearly laid out content marketing strategy for small business appears. It advises to create content that will engage your readers, and give you an opportunity to maintain a conversation with them. An example might be an e-book that you publish on your site “10 Cheap Ways to Transport Your Kayak Around the World” for example might be appealing to your audience. They download the book after sharing an email. Or, they don’t download it now, but you’ve planted a retargetting cookie on their browser and you can remind them of your website with retargetted display ads on Facebook. Ultimately, a percentage will convert.
The article from i&1 Travell Media continues ,”Understand that consumers at the research/planning stage are not necessarily ready to make a booking, and informational content is unlikely to convert site visitors into customers, at least not on their first visit.
Instead focus on how you can capture an interaction and an opportunity to follow-up later. Think about ways you can continue the relationship, assisting people along the customer journey and eventually bring them back to your site to make a booking. Downloads & email list subscriptions, email autoresponders, effective content curation, remarketing campaigns and social media shares & follows are all useful touchpoints for follow-up marketing.” Check out a beautiful execution of this strategy from Aracari.com
The bottom end of the sales funnel is where we get involved to help you close the sale and give the online service that today’s travellers expect. If you want to chat, we are always available.
You can read the full Adventure Travel Summit article here and see good slideshow from the presenter.