We’re well into the holiday season by now, but you still have time to sell those holiday vacation bookings. Depending on your goals, there are lots of great ways to produce travel videos that can influence last minute bookings. Travel publications and brands can make videos that range from a quick snippet of tropical destinations to in-depth itinerary features and behind-the-scenes travel tips. We reviewed some of the more successful examples of video marketing and narrowed down the best tips for you to use this time of year:
1. Go vertical & give them FOMO.
SmarterTravel, an independent media resource featuring expert travel advice and travel news videos, is one of many travel marketing companies successfully using video marketing to highlight lesser known destinations. SmarterTravel mixes video clips of eclectic dining, expansive scenery, and interesting activities for each destination. By placing text at the bottom of the screen they are able to go more in-depth with the descriptions of each segment.
In this Wibbitz video for IGTV, they take advantage of the platform’s vertical display to showcase footage that could easily be taken on the viewer’s own smartphone. The overall effect makes you feel as if you already went on vacation there, had a fabulous time, and are rewatching your favorite moments. The best part is, you can replicate this technique for your own travel social media marketing with tools you already own. Travel agency marketing can also take advantage of this trick by using portrait mode on platforms where the style looks best.
2. Provide solutions for simplified travel.
Most commonly known for their transportation of people, Amtrak intelligently applies a strong digital marketing strategy for travel agencies to their videos. In this example they are advertising an additional service that most casual viewers probably didn’t know they offered: vehicle transport. In this travel video created with Wibbitz, Amtrak outlines all the details and benefits of using their company to complete this incredibly useful service. In doing so, they help audiences expand their ideas of what Amtrak as a whole can really do for them. The video may even encourage first time customers who aren’t interested in using their system to travel but need help moving cars, boats, or other large vehicles.
How can you save 900 miles of driving, gasoline, and wear and tear on your car, but still bring it with you? Nope, not a riddle, it’s the Auto Train!
Posted by Amtrak on Wednesday, October 31, 2018
One big takeaway with this travel video example is the full-service aspect of the experience. In addition to allowing you to load your vehicle with luggage and boxes (most moving companies won’t even allow that), they give customers sleeping accommodations, free wi-fi, and dining for the ride. And while you’ll more than likely be able to find this information on their website, using video on a platform such as Facebook helps reach and persuade even more potential customers.
3. Keep it simple and visual.
Most travel blog content revolves around the popular listicle structure where bullet points or numbered lists of suggestions, tips, and ideas form the base of their content. Tel Aviv City, their city’s tourist bureau, publishes travel videos guided by those same principles. In this example we see the top 5 must-visit places in Tel Aviv. This video created in the Wibbitz platform epitomizes the show-don’t-tell philosophy; for each example, the video shows the locations themselves and the surround hustle and bustle. It does not, however, include any descriptions (text or otherwise) of the locations themselves, a stark contrast from our last two examples. Rather than explain why each spot is a must-visit, Tel Aviv City allows their viewer to use their imagination and feel inspired by the beautiful footage. It’s very easy to picture yourself among the bicyclists in the park or walking on the streets covered in contemporary art installations.
Art, culture, nightlife, great food- Tel Aviv has it all!So, when are you coming?🎨🍹🎉🌞
Posted by Tel Aviv City on Sunday, October 28, 2018
This video serves as one of the profession’s greatest strengths and key elements of any content strategy for the travel industry: simplicity. Let the locations speak for themselves. When you’re selling the beauty and magic of various exotic locales around the globe, sometimes all you need to really do is get the word out there. So whether you choose to feature professional footage from your tour or a couple simple scenes from a customer’s public travel video, less can often be more.
