Content Marketing is increasingly used by tourism and travel industry. Here are the best examples of how companies succeed in implementing it and positive effects on their ROI.
2. WHAT IS CONTENT
MARKETING?
Content marketing is a type of marketing focused on
creating, publishing, and distributing content for a
targeted audience online which attracts customers by
creating and sharing valuable free content.
Content marketing helps companies create sustainable
brand loyalty, provides compelling information to
consumers, and creates a willingness to purchase
products from the company in the future. This relatively
new form of marketing does not involve direct sales.
Instead, it builds trust with the audience in a
nonintrusive way.
3. In the travel industry world the topic is natually
attractive, interesting and aspirational but the real
challenge is to stand out from highly competitive
marketplace and make their destination or service
the one potential customer chooses first also retains.
It requires continuous delivery of large amounts of
quality content which involves creativity and
attraction in order to influence the purchase behavior
of customers.
In the following slides, it explained some of the best
use of content examples from the travel industry.
4. • Attract attention and generate leads
• Expand their customer base
• Generate or increase online sales
• Increase brand awareness or credibility
• Engage an online community of users
Why travel industry use content marketing?
5. Content types used online
Videos
Blogposts
Podcasts
EBooks
Emails and Newsletters
Photos
6. Turkish Airlines has won the ‘Europe’s Best
Airline’ for six consecutive years, altho there are
other bigger airlines such as Delta, THY knows
how to creating content that appeals to that
particular audience.
One of the key success on their content marketing
is they offer wide range of free content such as
their travel magazine called Skylife and customer
involment in their campaign using social media
channels such as #takemethere at Piccadilly
Lights.
The company achieved the great
success by using compelling content
for their campaings
which eventually led the company to
double their total passenger intake
over the last few years.
Skylife magazine and #takemethere
campaign
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=jhFqSlvbKAM
Turkish Airlines also achieved big success on video
marketing through their Youtube channel with the
video of Kobe vs Messi: Legends on the Board have
been viewed by 147 million visitors.
YouTube has also partnered with Turkish
Airlines for a new global campaign that
will see the airline brand fly some of
YouTube’s high-profile vloggers to
Istanbul with just a passport and bag.
#FortuneTraveller
8. Airbnb offers travellers unique way of affordable, memorable and
sometimes unusual rooms to their customers. Their motto is `live like
a local` has revolutionized the hospitality industry and kickstarted P2P
marketplace model and has completely disrupted the travel and
hospitality industries also traditional model of short-term vacation
rentals.
The company implemented cost-effective way of using user-
generated content such as blogs, forums, app and social media.Their
community-centric storytelling is also one of their greatest strengths
that distinguish from other travel agencies such as dedicated city
guides, called Airbnb Neighborhoods, that gives destination-specific
tips and information to customers.
Airbnb Neighbourhoods - Their Local Travel
Guide
9. AirbnbTV features a series of original videos that include: a series on
“living local,” guided tours, host stories and promotional videos.
Airbnb mobile app offers customers can discover new favorite
places,explore,book and pay also can communicate with their hosts on the
go.
Their policy of “desire for community” as one of the driving forces behind
Airbnb’s success. Since 2008, company’s net worth now valued at $10
billion.
AirbnbTV and their Airbnb
App
10. Clear CTA tools created by the website
Sweden's official website for tourism and travel
information VisitSweden has launched a digital
and social media campaign to encourage young
professional Londoners to take a short break in
the country`s picturesque nature. Their website is
beautifully designed with full of outdoor activty
ideas, city guides and useful tourist information.
Swedish quality of life is famously high-ranking. Sweden
conducted case study in September 2017 and case-study
reveals significant health effects of the Swedish “close to
nature” lifestyle - with a stress decrease of 70 percent after
only 72 hours.
11. Collaboration with Airbnb
Visit Sweden’s partnership is based on building
awareness rather than driving actual bookings.The
content is located on a separate microsite, which is
mainly promoted on Visit Sweden's homepage and
social media, also meaning there is little endorsement
of the Airbnb product itself.As the campaign is
fundamentally based on travel ‘experiences’ rather
than accommodation, it nicely aligns with this new
area of focusVisit Sweden’s ethos also matches
Airbnb’s branding, with the tagline of ‘belong
anywhere’ echoing the ‘free to roam’ principle.
12. Virgin Atlantic positions itself with creative actions such as
introducing podcasts make themselves ahead of competitors
in 2017. Company focused other businesses, entrepreneurs
and people to provide the valuable content.
Voice-enabled techs are on the rise and Virgin quickly adapts
and follows future changes quickly to be able to get ahead of
other brands and this also leads them to success.
Virgin podcast
13. The #Lookup campaign by BA have got people talking, firstly
because it’s a very clever idea and secondly, because ithas a
great way of integrating offline advertising with online
marketing, encouraging people to share via the #Lookup
hashtag to generate promotion via social media tools.
They really understand their audience, and make high-quality
consumer-led content, which is why it works so well. A
common mistake is that content is made by marketers to
marketers – it should be made for your customers, that’s the
target audience.
BA’s Ticket to Visit Mum video is another great example of
how they’ve made their content about the customer, which is
an incredibly powerful way of telling their brands story online.
#Lookup campaign by BA
14. Influencer marketing is rising in the
hospitality world and for a good
reason. It’s not only effective for
outreach but it is also a cost-
effective way to directly target
potential customers who are
interested in leisure, restaurants,
hotels and travel.
One of the world leading hotelchain
The Ritz-Carlton worked in paid
partnership with The Bucketlist
Family who has over 1 million
followers on Instagram to promote
company`s family friendly approach
to their services.
15. "INSTEAD OF THE
COMMERCIAL, BE THE
SHOW. INSTEAD OF THE
BANNER AD, BE THE
FEATURE STORY."
James O'Brien writes for a digital magazine by Contently.
16. 84% of millennials follow companies or brands on
Facebook.
76% of millennials follow companies or brands on
YouTube.
47% of millennials follow companies or brands on
Twitter.
42% of millennials follow companies or brands on
Instagram.
Millennials travel and eat out more
than any previous generation in history
17. Airbnb. (2018). Holiday Rentals, Homes, Experiences & Places—Airbnb. [online] Available at:
https://www.airbnb.co.uk [Accessed 17th May 2018].
British Airways. (2013) #lookup in Piccadilly Circus. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=GtJx_pZjvzc [Accessed 16th May 2018].
Turkish Airlines. (2018) #takemethere in Piccadilly Circus. [online] Available at:
http://www.takemetheretk.com/ [Accessed 16th May 2018].
Visit Sweden. (2018) . [online] Available at: https://visitsweden.com/ [Accessed 16th May 2018].
Virgin Holidays. (2018) . [online] Available at: https://www.virgin.com/in-focus/virgin-podcast [Accessed
16th May 2018].
The Ritz Carlton. (2018) [online] The Bucketlist Family Available at:
https://www.journey.ritzcarlton.com/family-adventures [Accessed 14th May 2018].
REFERENCES:
18. Gilliland, Nikki. (2017). Why Visit Sweden and other tourism boards are teaming up with
Airbnb. [online] Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/69109-why-visit-sweden-
and-other-tourism-boards-are-teaming-up-with-airbnb [Accessed 8th May 2018].
Fayer, Amanda. (2017). Content Marketing Close-Up: Airbnb`s Content Strategy. [online]
Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-feinberg/content-marketing-
closeup_b_3541809.html [Accessed 8th May 2018].
Russell-Johnson, E. (2017). Content marketing in the travel and tourism industry. [blog]
Quba—Latest thoughts. Available at: http://www.quba.co.uk/insights/blog/january-
2016/content-marketing-in-the-travel-tourism-sector [Accessed 13th May 2018].