We know that travelers today have adjusted perceptions on what it means to holiday. The shift away from the stock standard, routine holidays and predictable destinations has begun.
As we know from the latest travel trends: destinations and styles the move has been towards creating unique, adventure-filled, landscape-inspired, travel experiences in lesser-known destinations.
This is where Travel brands can use YouTube; the largest video-based search engine, filled with inspiring and unique visual content just waiting to be discovered, to capture the attention of a very large travel audience.
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YouTube For Travel Companies
In the discovery phase, travelers search YouTube for travel companies and videos that offer the opportunity to discover the lesser documented destinations that do not fill up all the current travel brochures.
There is plenty of information and imagery available on Paris, but how much is available for up and coming destinations like Moldova, Iran or Belarus?
So, not only does YouTube for travel companies present the chance to showcase lesser known destinations with visual discovery videos, but it is also the perfect platform for travel companies to share engaging video content of their latest travel experience offerings. An immersive and captivating travel video gives travelers a sensory taste of what to expect from your destinations and experiences.
Take a look at Intrepid Travel’s Cuba Showcase. They have put together a short, catchy and vibrant video which offers a real-life view of the destination and what you can expect from it.
It makes sense that travelers are using a visual platform as a search engine to source inspiration for their travel plans. After all, a video that shows a person what they can expect to see, feel and experience at a destination speaks volumes.
How To Use YouTube Travel Videos To Get More Travel Customers
There are different video formats for delivering your content on YouTube, and for travel companies, you will need to identify which format will generate the most interest for your offering.
Vlogs
Vlogs are ideal to create a diary style showcase of your travel offering. An important trick is to post regularly so that your followers come to expect to constantly see new content from you, and get to the point where they are interested enough in your travel brand to convert to a customer.
In this vlog, we see how Migrationology uses their YouTube channel to showcase a series of vlogs which focuses on different types of food of the world.
Travelers today are looking to create a personal connection in their experience. Create a connection in your vlogs so people feel motivated to experience your product or destination.
Travel Guide Videos
The same could be said for Travel Guide Videos. They are a great way to create interest in a destination or travel product and should provide enough of a sensory experience for viewers to feel inspired to book with you.
Travel companies can use YouTube data to analyze what their followers are searching for on the platform and additionally, to identify trending and emerging destinations.
This information can then be translated into relevant promotions to drive traffic to their websites. According to a report made by Hitwise, Skyscanner put together a successful campaign based on Iceland’s status as an emerging destination.
Skyscanner published a travel guide video for Iceland on YouTube and reported a 59% increase in traffic from the platform to their travel website year-on-year.
Explanation Or Marketing Videos on YouTube For Travel Companies
Another way to capture the interest of people searching YouTube for travel companies who offer something out of the ordinary is to create explanation or marketing videos.
For example, you could put together a well thought out video that explains what it is your travel company does for the surrounding community and how it helps to build a better life for people. This showcases more than your product and identifies your brand as one that travelers can trust.
Niche Specific
If your travel company falls into a specific niche, then use your videos to explore this niche whether it be Thai cooking classes or cheese and wine pairings in Italy. Posting unique content on Youtube gives travel companies the chance to flaunt what they are good at and showcase their product.
Invoke Emotion Through Imagery And Music
Dynamic imagery that pans and sweeps across the screen has the ability to invoke emotions in people. When combined with music you can get so much more across to a traveler than you can in a printed stills brochure.
Take a look at this video shot with a GoPro that showcases diving in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef using these techniques.
Best Practices For Creating A YouTube Video
Creating your YouTube video does need a bit of planning. You may want to hire a professional to do the filming and editing, and of course, you must not forget to optimize the video for SEO prior to publishing it.
There are a few standards that make for a good video engagement. Firstly, you want to define a story, more specifically, your travel company’s story. People respond to stories and it gives them something personal to take away from watching your video.
Once your storyline is decided on, it’s on to the business of filming and then editing. You may opt to film the video yourself – this often works well in a vlog environment where it adds to the aura of being a diary so to speak.
For a travel guide, you may be better off getting a professional to film and then edit the footage as this is where you need to put your best foot forward to capture viewers interest.
The editing phase is often lengthy as this where you need to do things like narrating the video or add in subtitles. Do not forget to promote your brand or logo in the video as you want your name to be clear in the mind of the people viewing it.
Try ending off your video with some sort of Call To Action (CTA), whether it is to ask the viewer to like and share it, or direct them to your website to make a booking, or to sign up to an email marketing list. The idea is to use YouTube for travel companies to engage with viewers and turn them into customers.
This video published by Lonely Planet encompasses what is mentioned above. The video is a short story, Lonely Planet promotes their logo to identify themselves just after the intro, the body of the video showcases the kayaking activity and it culminates with a note on why you should try it. The CTA is situated in the description box underneath the video.
Lastly, prior to publishing your video on YouTube and promoting it across your other social media platforms, you must optimize it for SEO.
Do your keyword research so you know what people are searching for, and use your keywords in the keyword tags. Use your main keyword in both the title and description areas of the video upload process.
Lastly, do not underestimate the power of the thumbnail image so make sure that yours is an attractive one. It will mean the difference between people scrolling past your video or clicking on it to view it.
Embed your video onto a blog on your website and share it on your social media platforms so it can gain some traction.
