If you're like most people, you probably watch at least some videos online each day. Whether it's a funny clip of a puppy playing in a pool or an hour-long documentary on the universe's history, videos are a trendy way to consume content. And as video marketing continues to grow in popularity, companies that aren't using it are missing out on a huge opportunity.
In this blog post, we'll take a look at how video is changing online content forever and why your tour and activity company should be taking advantage of it. Stay tuned!
With the future looking more visual (that's a fact), video marketing will continue to be an essential marketing strategy for travel companies in 2022 and a great way to expand your audience.
Travel videos are also a great way to tell more engaging stories and especially connect with a younger and eager-to-travel audience.
So, what's with the hype? What does video marketing have to do with social media?
One of Cisco's latest forecasts mentions that, worldwide, 1.1 million minutes of video content will be streamed or downloaded every second by 2022, and 82% of the traffic will be generated by video content. On the other hand, Wistia shared that people spent on average 2.6x more time on pages with video than without.
With all this data, we can only conclude that we're living in the new golden age of video. But why? It's pretty simple; people like videos because they are memorable, simpler to consume, and establishing a human connection becomes way easier.
So today, we would like to guide you through the video format list we believe will help you enhance the performance of your online channels.
If you want to learn more about which channels to use to drive sales for your tour and activity business, along with a checklist of critical marketing and distribution tactics to make the most of them, take a look at our latest eBook here.
Intro videos
Intro video is an excellent way to catch the travel-hungry audience's attention. It's an opportunity to tell people about the experiences you offer and give a sneak peek of each one so your customers can get a feel of what they will be getting.
An ideal approach to follow in intro videos could be to present the highlights that make your tour and activity company stand out from the crowd: your most popular tours, best-selling items, or new experiences.
Intro videos allow you to show off your personality and creativity and share with the world your tour brand story in a fun and energetic way.
Keep in mind that this is not a commercial for your company and its services; this is a brief presentation of what you have to offer. Use it as an opportunity to introduce your company and share some of your best content with your target audience.
You can use this video format on your website and social media channels.
Testimonial videos
Testimonial videos are very important to get more traffic as they create a sense of credibility and trust.
They are also great in boosting conversion, as people like to see that other people are satisfied with the experiences you offer. It reinforces the decision people make to pick you for their next trip no matter where it is in the world.
If you make an effort to create a product review video, it won't be long until new clients find you and make bookings based on what others have said about you.
It's not just about telling people how great you are; it's also about showing them through the customers who had a positive experience with your products or services.
This video format is great when shared on your website or social media profiles.
Vlog
Vlogging is a great way to get your brand personality across and connect with your audience. Make sure that your vlog has a theme, whether it's about you as a Tour Operator or about the tours themselves.
It's also great for showing off your company culture or the tour experiences you provide. It shows the human side of your business and what makes you excited about what you do.
You may find that it is also a great way to build trust and loyalty with your audience by being real.
Vlogs can range from just talking through what's happening on screen to showing someone what they can expect from a tour you offer, like how it's like to be part of that kayaking tour or that sunset at the end of a trekking session. One of the best ways to get started is to go out and film something you're doing in real-time and talk through what it's about.
What do you need to consider to deliver a fantastic vlogging experience? Well, these tips might give you some hints.
- Good quality audio and video.
- Great storytelling.
- Emotion.
- Personal connection to the presenter.
- Humour.
- Information about the destination/tour company/operator etc.
- Passion for the destination, subject, experience.
- Visuals complement the content (i.e., maps, photos, charts, graphs etc.)
Tutorials
Tutorials are extremely helpful for your fans. You can use them to show your customers how to get the best shots of their own experiences. By sharing the tour's highlights with your audience, you increase their excitement and show them what incredible memories they will bring home by getting the best shots.
The more helpful tips and tricks you can provide your audience, the more they will be willing to share this content with their friends, family, and followers on social media. As you can imagine, this is excellent traffic for you as well!
User-generated content
Your customers are your best influencers. Getting them to share how they enjoyed the experience you provided is the best way to put your tour company in front of a bigger audience.
An idea could be offering incentives like discounts on future tours if users share their experiences with your brand through online videos on social media.
Now that we covered some of the best video formats for this marketing strategy, let's discuss the video creation process and some best practices to get the most out of this approach.
Planning
When you are thinking about creating video content, one of the most important steps in planning.
But before you think about what camera to buy or how you want your video content, you should think about your video's goals. What are your expectations? What do you want to happen as a result of creating the video? That's where planning comes in. You can make sure your video will accomplish what you want it to.
Another big step comes after you're all set, the moment of truth, start creating video content, so we thought this list of main considerations would help you.
One of the keys is considering how long it will take for you and your team members to get from point A (the starting location) throughout each shot, along with other factors like traffic and weather conditions that may affect travel times!
What gear would you need?
You probably think you need professional equipment to start with video content creation. Still, you don't, and it's much simpler than how it sounds.
Nowadays, with new technologies coming out every year, it's hard to tell the difference between professional equipment and mobile filmmaking.
So, to start generating the content, you need a good quality camera, and you might find one on smartphones like the latest iPhone or Samsung phones. You will find top-notch camera sets in both examples, including several lenses and modes and all the settings you need to get started.
But even though the results you will get from these smartphones will be great, to add that touch of professionalism to your footage, a phone stabiliser could be a great choice to get high-end videos, with functionalities like tracking or slow-motion time-lapses. We suggest you look at one of the latest phone stabilisers launched in the market, the DJI OM 5.
Camera setting
To get the most out of your filming sessions, we suggest you record in 4K. This will provide better quality, and if later, when editing the final piece, want to cut or zoom into shots won't decrease video quality.
The frames per second (FPS) are an important factor in video quality and smoothness. Currently, the most commonly used for online content these days is 30fps. On the other hand, sometimes it's nice to slow the shot down and show off the scene in all its glory. 60fps can help you do just that! With it, you can create videos that are both engaging and beautiful.
Content
Videos are only as good as their content, so remember that videos aren't just about what you capture but rather about what you add to it. That "what you add" is the most important part of video marketing for businesses because the goal of any video should be to help in some way (even if so slightly) your viewers do something.
So before start creating content, make sure that what you have planned will add value to the story you want to share with your audience.
Another piece of advice I would like to give you is always shoot more than you think you will need.
Sometimes it's better to have different footage options of the same location that you could later include in your final edit. This also allows for flexibility in case a shot doesn't quite come out as expected. So, instead of just getting the regular wide-angle shot that showed everything, filming from different angles and perspectives will give you various footage of the same location and increase that cinematic look in the final edit.
Composition
Always define a dominant subject before you start shooting, fill the frame with it and remember that sometimes including all available subjects in the footage won't add value but, on the contrary, confuse the audience.
Additionally, try to get in moments of the day when there are no people that you won't be able to exclude from the final shot. This way, you will always have a clean shot that will allow your audience to focus on the dominant subject.
Another key is to avoid digitally zooming in because it reduces the quality of videos; instead of doing this, get physically closer to your subject to add depth to the image and make it look more cinematic.
Always consider a wide lens for landscapes and use the rule of thirds. Keep the horizon at the top or bottom third of the shot and the subject at the left or right third to get more aesthetic shots.
For social media, vertical video will perform best, so focus on getting steady shots with clear audio.
Lightning
If you want your videos to look good and professional on social media, then make sure they are filmed during golden hour. This period of perfect lighting makes it easier for the camera's sensors to pick out all details, no matter how small!
In case you have to record during the middle of the daylight, consider using polarisers to improve the colours on your footage.
Editing apps
As a tour and activity company, you want to ensure that your videos are of the best quality possible. But what editing apps should you be using? Here are three of the best video editing apps out there, perfect for any company wanting to create high-quality videos.
Adobe premiere rush
Premiere Rush is a video editing app from Adobe that makes it easy to create beautiful videos. It will allow you to quickly and easily create optimised videos for social media. Plus, in an affordable and easy to use way.
Videoleap
With Videoleap, you can easily create professional-quality videos. This powerful app makes it easy to promote your business. With features like text overlays and animation, you can create videos that capture attention and get results.
FilmoraGo
Whether you're a beginner or experienced filmmaker, FilmoraGo provides all the essential tools you need to make stunning videos. It makes video editing easy and fun with exceptional video effects, royalty-free music, and sound effects.
We talked about the benefits of video marketing, how it is changing online content, and why a video marketing strategy can be an effective tool for tour operators, activity providers or any company offering experiential products or services to drive sales or attract visitors to their website.
We also discuss how some video formats can help Tour and Activity Operators increase brand awareness and some of the best tools available on the market today that make it easy for anyone to produce quality online video content without breaking the bank.
The sky's the limit when it comes to creativity - what do you think makes a video engaging? Have you used these tips before? Leave us a comment below and tell us about it.
To learn more about which marketing channels to use to get more bookings, click below and get a free copy of our latest e-book.
