How to get your travel content seen without paying for advertising
So you’ve spent lots of time understanding what your audience wants and crafted the perfect content for your travel business which is engaging, helpful and entertaining, but what do you do to ensure people actually see it?
Content marketing is key to driving traffic and generating leads for your business but getting that content seen by your ideal audience can be a challenge. Here are some tips on how you can increase the reach of your valuable content.
First of all, there are a number of different methods you can use to distribute your content. These can be broken down in to three categories:
Owned channels:
- Your website and blog
- Your social media channels
- Your email lists
Earned channels:
- Media coverage
- Blogger and influencer support
- Social sharing
- Digital or in-person events (conferences, speaking opportunities etc)
Paid channels:
- Printed advertising
- Online advertising (including Google Ads, YouTube ads, website banner advertising, social media sponsored stories or boosts)
Today we’re focusing on the first two categories, which don’t call for any extra advertising spend.
With these channels in mind, you need to consider how to deliver the right content, to the right people, at the right time.
Right Content
When creating your content, always think about what objectives you are trying to achieve.
Whilst driving intention to visit your destination is probably your number one goal, audience engagement or building a community are also key objectives, or perhaps its increasing awareness of a destination’s offering. Maybe you want your audience to sign up to your newsletter, book a consultation, or follow you on social media? Be specific on the action you want them to take after reading your content. Once you are clear on what you are trying to achieve, you can plan your content distribution strategy.
Right People
Be sure you are clear on who you are looking to appeal to with your content. Who is your ideal customer? Understanding exactly who your audience are and what motivates them is game-changing. Think beyond the traditional demographics (age, income bracket etc) and more around their lifestyle, values and choices. You may have different groups of ideal customers. For example, as a destination you may appeal to incentive travel, food lovers, wedding parties or family gatherings. Now think about the distribution channels available to you and how your ideal customer likes to consume content. For example, if you are targeting incentive travel then LinkedIn may be a good option for getting your content seen by the right people. If your content is focussed on weddings, you may be looking for coverage in a dedicated wedding publication etc.
Right Time
What is the lifespan of your content? If it focuses on a specific occasion (surrounding a certain holiday or time-period) you would need to use channels where the information can be published immediately, such as online websites and social media, where people are looking for in-the-moment content.
On the flip side, if your content will be relevant all year round, for example an article on ‘What to pack when travelling with children under five’, this would be perfectly placed on your blog as it’s a timeless piece that people will continue to search for and find time and time again. It could also be perfect for a consumer magazine running a feature on travelling with children, as their lead-times can be between three and six months!
Publishing your content is the first step when it comes to content marketing, you then need to market it and market it well to ensure it gets seen. Here’s our top 5 tips for maximising the value of your content.
- Understand your distribution channels
Make sure you know which distribution channels are available to you and where you can find your ideal audience, then stick to these. Don’t waste time on trying to get your content seen everywhere, focus on a few channels and concentrate on doing these well. Understand what format of content is most popular via these channels.
- Package your content well
One size does not fit all when it comes to your travel content and where to distribute it. If your content has been produced as text (for your blog or as a news release for example), break this down and convert into other media types, such as videos, infographics, lists or stories that are more suited to the intended channel. This will give you an efficient way to maximise the value of your content and increase your audience reach without having to create completely new content.
- Share your content more than once
If you feel like time isn’t on your side when it comes to creating content, don’t be afraid to reshare your old content, providing it is still relevant and informative, or edited to make it so. The truth is social media feeds are busy places, and the reality is most of your audience will not have seen your content the first time around.
- Don’t forget your email list
In a bid to get our content seen and shared on social media, email marketing can often be overlooked. Share your content with your email list – they have already shown an interest in what you have to offer and are already engaged. Being further along their customer journey may mean they are ready to buy from you.
- Build relationships
Build relationships wherever you can, with journalists, with influencers, with important figures in your industry. Follow them, engage with them and understand them. Journalists and influencers will be more inclined to work with you and share your content if you have a good relationship and you understand the content they are looking for.
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to creating and distributing your content if you want it to be seen and not ignored. Now that you are confident with how to distribute your content, you may like to read our guide on brand storytelling to really bring your content to life.
If you feel like you need some further help in distributing your content or telling your brand story, please get in touch with us here. We always love to hear from you.
Hopefully these tips have been useful for your travel brand. If you’re looking for more ideas to promote your business, take a look at our blog on the ultimate guide to travel PR.