Developing an integrated multi-channel communications strategy and placing video as the central component of your long-term marketing plans, is perhaps the most highly effective method of promoting a tourism region online.

Research by google has shown that videos in the travel and recreation industry get some of the highest return on investment of any business sector. Their data shows that a massive 75% of people booked after watching an online video featuring a luxury experience or activity. For more general tourism videos the statistics are still huge – google says just under 50% wanted to book after watching a film showing a tourism or recreation experience. So we know tourism marketing videos sell.

But while video content marketing is extremely important, your overall destination marketing communications plan needs to first understand your desired market/s, know where they exist online and then effectively leverage the power of your video across multiple platforms and channels. The plan will invariably include support content and messages through other marketing messages and formats such as radio, (or Spotify / Youtube Music) and photo based content posts via platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

In 2020, video marketing your destination or tourism business is a powerful business decision for a number of reasons. Most obviously, it’s because people like to know where they’re going and what they might experience with you or in your region. But it’s more than that. A destination marketing video gives your business or region online visibility in an engaging and compelling form that sells.

Often when people come across a destination film or video they are researching their options and are already partly interested in a local experience or region as a whole, so they’re looking to find out more. A professionally produced video at this point is a fantastic way to bring your region to life, show its many positive attributes in their best light, and sell the destination as an experience in its own right. Great moments and well edited footage can present a strong feeling and help people visualise and imagine themselves enjoying all that your destination has to offer. If you do it right, your video is there at the right moment, ready to help finalise the sale.

The act of enjoying a well shot and produced destination film is actually a significant proportion of the fun of planning a getaway for many travellers. While the video is a component of the destination research effort, if it’s professionally produced and engaging, it adds greatly to the anticipation around the upcoming journey, encourages excitement and more importantly, leads directly to bookings and travel. Videos make people want to get up and go!

The trick to get the best of your tourism marketing video is to make it central to a wider integrated communications strategy. Your video can be published and included not only on your website, but as part of a wider communications effort. For example, you may want to promote it as part of a multi-week influencer strategy across social media and other online platforms including regional TV. As part of this you may also want to schedule the activity well ahead of your low or shoulder seasons in order to drive more visitors to your region when you need it most. Each communications plan will be different according to the market, where they congregate online, the media they consume and of course your unique selling point. All these things need to be carefully considered when devising your strategy.

At Oh The Places You’ll Go! we have the experience, skills and trusted creative and tech team to make your destination marketing content, your website and your communications strategy to sell your region or operation better than ever.

Talk to us now and find out more. You can take up our free 30 minute consultation.

Video not only cuts through better on social media networks, consumer research shows that it has significantly higher message recall than text-based messaging. The facts are stark, with text-based information only retained for 10% of people, compared with 95% of viewers who’ve watched a video. (Insivia) If that is not enough for you then consider that videos on social media get 1200% more shares than image and photos get COMBINED. (G2 Crowd).

Whether you’re an accommodation provider, restaurant, winery, tour operator, recreational business, or any other visitor economy business, you can stand out in the crowd and show your real strengths with a high quality, engaging video by Oh The Places You’ll Go!

If business video production is not a significant component of your marketing budget and digital content plans, then you are lagging well behind your competitors.

Want proof?

In 2019, the business market grabbed video like never before and the trend is not letting up in 2020. A whopping 81% of brands and business used video for marketing in 2019. (Hubspot) Clearly video is becoming central to marketing plans.

Let us help you bring video front and centre into your communications and content strategy plans.

A great destination video reveals the essential character of your region, sparks strong positive emotions and makes a viewer long to discover more and enjoy all its unique experiences.

From a production point of view, the film is well shot and edited and finished with professional graphics, titles and appropriate, thoughtfully matched music. A less considered low-quality video of your region will send the message that it’s a low-quality brand.

For your online content marketing efforts it is worth putting the same effort into your video content that you might with a TV ad. In 2020 people expect high quality video presentations across all channels and that means videos you may show internally and video pieces shown externally to the consumer market. Don’t take the cheap and cheerful approach to your online video content development, it will only make your business, brand and region seem cheap and cheerful too.

A video that helps tell your story will also help sell your story. There are many types of video you can create to build your brand but the one that can become the foundation of your sales, is the story of your brand. Why do you exist? What do you stand for? Who are you? Telling your brand story in a professional marketing video, letting people meet you, hear you, know who you are, what you stand for and why is one of the most effective ways to grow your brand and your sales. There is an intimacy and trust that you generate when addressing your market personally and providing a window on your brand, in a well-made business video. We’d suggest you may want to show some customer testimonials too, to create further interest in and proof about your offer and experiences that customers can enjoy.

How would your brand journey, vision, and story look on film? Ask us in our free 30 minute consultation and we’ll help paint an exciting picture for you.

Video was the number one medium for selling in 2019, and its use in marketing plans for business in 2020 and beyond is growing exponentially.

It is predicted that within three years, online video will be 15 TIMES HIGHER than in 2017. In fact, by 2022, video content will comprise over 80% of all web consumer traffic. (Cisco)

You’ll get 300% more site traffic and grow more serious leads with video. (MarketingSherpa) Including video in your SEO strategy can give you a huge website traffic boost. In fact, when your website includes video your chances of claiming the first page of google are increased by a whopping 53 times. (Insivia)

Growth in video as a marketing tool is off the charts. In a single year, between 2018 and 2019 video for business grew over 25.5%.  (Hubspot) The simple reason for the growth is that there are genuine benefits of video marketing your business.

In 2019, the business market grabbed video like never before. 81% of brands and business used video to help marketing.  (Hubspot)

Video is played most on devices, with 75% of videos watched on mobile. (eMarketer)

That’s a big yes! Text based information is only retained for 10% of people, compared with 95% of viewers who’ve watched a video. (Insivia) You are more likely to sell with video than other messaging media.

72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. (HubSpot)

Facebook now gets an average of  8 BILLION video views per day. Phew! (TechCrunch)

Does video get shared on social? Are you kidding?  It’s shared 1200% more than image and photos – COMBINED. (G2 Crowd)

View rates on Linked In video campaigns are huge at 50%! (LinkedIn) If your market is professional and corporate, then why not test Linked In video marketing?

You can increase your email click through rate by 300% with a video embedded in your email. (HubSpot)