Download pdf - Digital Marketing for Travel Destinations

Promoting Travel Destinations in Digital Media

March, 2015

Statistics, Trends, Challenges, and Best Practices

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ContentsIntroduction 3Customer Journey Overview 4 Stage 1 :: Dreaming 5

• Statistics 6 • Trends 7 • Challenges and Emerging Opportunities 11 • Best Practices 12

Stage 2 :: Research 15


Stage 3 :: Booking 23


Conclusions 30

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Introduction

Why Digital Marketing for Travel Destinations should be any different?

• It has to invoke highly emotional responses

Travel is all about profound positive experiences that can last for a lifetime.

• It is highly season‐oriented

There are different seasons for traveling across the globe.

• It has a global reach

Traveling is international in its nature. Digital media allows to target clients cost‐effectively across different countries and in various regions.

Who Are Today’s Travelers?

• Digital Savvy

On average, travel parties worldwide bring 4 web‐enabled devices on trips. They are proficient web surfers and social media users.

• They do their own research

Today’s travelers do extensive research on destinations. On average an American traveler visits 20 + websites before making a reservation.

• They want personalized experience

They do not want to be treated the same and are attracted to compelling stories and visual content that reflect their particular interests.

Digital Media plays an enormous role in many industries. However, there are a few areas where it is as important as in travel industry. From the moment of inspiration to making a reservation, today's travelers navigate a complex journey much of which lies solely or partly in the digital world. Today's travelers are digital savvy utilizing all channels for conducting research and finding the best deals. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to be able to stay with them through the whole process guiding and providing directions on each leg of their journey.

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Customer Journey Overview The travelers' journey can be a complex process that takes many turns across various channels, the most important of which is digital media. From the moment they got inspired, customers do an extensive research on the Web utilizing search engines, travel related websites and portals, and social networks.

The Web is their primary source for getting information, validating decisions, and, in the end, booking.

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Stage 1 :: Dreaming From the beginning travelers are looking for engaging real‐life stories with visual content and vivid details that reflect their personal interests. They cast a wide net when seeking ideas and inspiration for travel‐related decisions, looking to family, friends, television, and printed media. Personal recommendations from family and friends still top the list, and the Internet follows in influence.

Travelers are increasingly relying on their smartphones to get information and make reservations‐ in 2014 they did about 45% of their searches on mobile devices. Search engines remain less popular than apps as a way to start travel planning and booking. But the balance appears to be shifting — with search gaining at the expense of apps. Leisure travelers mostly book via mobile websites, while business travelers mostly book via applications.

Source: Google, The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision

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Stage 1 :: Statistics

At the start of their journey most travelers are undecided on what particular brands they are going to book with. They are open‐minded and receptive to new experiences as long as providers meet and exceed their expectations. Most leisure travelers are also unclear on the differences between brands. Heavy business travelers are more likely to see a difference, but not substantially more.

Most Popular Social Networks Not surprisingly, Facebook is the most popular network among travelers with Twitter and Instagram following the lead.

0102030405060708090

Users

FacebookTwitterInstagram

Source: Google, The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision, PhoCusWright

There's also a number of social networks growing in popularity among the younger generation as well as a number of niche travel related networks.

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Travel is among most popular activities on Social Media

9 travelers out of 10 are active on social networks. They publish more when traveling.

• 70% update the Facebook status while on vacation. • 76% post vacation photos to a social network. • 46 % post travel reviews. • 40 % post activity / attraction reviews. • 40 % post restaurant reviews.

Travel is the most shared theme on Facebook.

42 % of stories shared to users Facebook timelines were travel experiences, more than double that of the next category.

The influence of the Internet and Social Media will continue to grow

• 1 out of 3 travelers reference social media as a main source of travel ideas and inspiration.

• 52 % of Facebook users said their friends’ photos inspired their travel plans.

• Only 48% of people who used social media to research travel plans stuck with their original plans.

o 33 % changed their hotel. o 10 % switched resorts . o 7 % went to a different country.

Stage 1 :: Trends

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Stage 1 :: Trends

Travelers switch between devices for a variety of activities across all stages of the buying journey. They might start their search on their smartphone, continue on a tablet and make a reservation on their desktop. Smartphones are often used for travel inspiration in “snacking moments” before planning, mostly

• In spare moments, such as when waiting, commuting, etc.

• While doing other activities, such as watching TV, eating, etc.

• By doing quick searches on search engines Travelers usually go to the same types of sites regardless of the device they are using.

Source: Google, The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision

Travel‐planning will be more cross‐platform

Half of travelers who use their smartphone for leisure travel inspiration ultimately book another way (not on smartphone)

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Stage 1 :: Trends

Videos play an immensely important role in influencing travelers decisions and helping them choose a destination. Two out of three US consumers watch online travel videos when they’re thinking about taking a trip. That’s a huge jump from about half of shoppers in 2012. Travelers want to do more than just watch videos on YouTube; they want to connect with creators and brands. In 2014 year to date, subscriptions to top travel channels on YouTube have increased 106% YoY.

Source: Google, The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision, The 2013 Traveler; Travel Content Takes Off on YouTube

Growing power of video content

Travelers not only consume online videos, they create them

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Stage 1 :: Trends

Travelers are extremely interested in hearing real‐life stories from people like them. Nearly half of the travel subscriptions are to vlogs (video blogs) that feature personal travel experiences. The influence of blogs is growing among the younger generation of consumers, most of whom view them as the most important

information source.

Increasing influence of blogs and online communities

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Stage 1 :: Challenges Challenges

• Creating customer engagement

Impressing customers and getting them instantly engaged with high‐ level visual content. Building virtual communities to crowdsource ideas, proliferate user generated content, empower and involve brand advocates and help them connect in the digital space.

• Developing a comprehensive multichannel

approach Being able to communicate with customers in a consistent manner across multiple platforms and devices (leveraging traditional websites, social, mobile, and more).

• Getting the most out of social media It is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to have their story heard in the competitive social environment. Social media efforts should also include monitoring news, reviews, and customer sentiment to prevent proliferation of potentially damaging rumors and attacks on the brand.

Emerging Opportunities • Utilizing new technologies

Employing new breed of next‐generation advertising such as Augmented Reality that could be applied to tourism catalogues, brochures, flyers and any other type of paper‐based promotion materials. AR systems can exert a tremendous persuasive power and provide a lucrative opportunity to market services successfully.

• Better online targeting Developing a deeper understanding of online customers behavior and finding new ways to engage them. As more data and better algorithms become available, marketers will be able to better anticipate their audiences' needs with business intelligence and predictive analysis.

• International reach

Using Digital Media channels to reach potential clients across the globe in a cost‐effective manner as more regional search engines and social networks become accessible to marketers from abroad.

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Stage 1 :: Best Practices Telling a compelling story in various forms across multiple channels

Conveying a story to today's travelers is not an easy task as they have a really short attention span dispersed across several channels. The challenge lies in creating a variety of small "bite‐sized" pieces of content in various formats for each segment of the targeted audience and distributing them across all channels without diluting the underlying brand message. The successful content marketing strategy should look like a puzzle where every piece is small and unique yet still a part

of the whole.

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Stage 1 :: Best Practices The St. Petersburg & Clearwater Convention and Visitors Bureau used AR technology in their “Two Treasures 3D Tour” More engaging than your typical travel brochure, this piece

promoted the vacation spot by bringing three tourist sites ‑ Caladesi Island State Park, Clearwater Beach and The Dali and the Chihuly Museums – to a visitor’s computer screen. The brochure let’s visitor’s investigate the sites as a tour guide told them a little about each place.

Marriott Hotels re‐imagines travel with augmented reality The print advertisement explains that Marriott is “re‐imagining the future of travel” with new lobbies and tech‐ enabled work spaces as a part of its Travel Brilliantly campaign. When consumers scan the ad with the Blippar application, an augmented reality feature brings the page to life with a video that describes the hotel chain’s innovations.

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Stage 1 :: Best Practices Marriott Reaches to Millennials with ‘Travel Brilliantly’ Campaign The dynamic campaign reflects the lifestyle of the next generation of travelers, who seamlessly blend work and play in a mobile and global world. The campaign includes online TV and digital advertising, a new brand look and logo, and enhanced social media platforms. The new website, www.travelbrilliantly.com is a platform for portraying Marriott's past and future innovations and soliciting similar, future‐forward ideas from influencers, experts and traveling consumer enthusiasts. Visitors to the website are invited to share their groundbreaking ideas to improve the modern travel experience across design, culinary, wellness and technology.

Marriott Hotels re‐imagines travel with augmented reality. Tampa Social Media Command Center Creates Storm of Goodwill During RNC With a tropical storm approaching and political negativity swirling, the Tampa Bay Social Media Command Center (SMCC) created an overwhelming amount of positive civic conversation online and kept the focus there, turning a potential disaster into a big win for the city during the Republican National Convention. As the RNC wound down, the momentum of positive buzz continued to climb. By the end of the convention, positive sentiment was at a whopping 89% and the negative sentiment that threatened to dominate the Tampa conversation before the RNC started had dropped to an all‐time low of 1%.

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of business travelers plan online of leisure travelers plan online

During the Research & Shopping stage the Internet moves to the forefront as travelers explore a variety of online resources

Travel shoppers visit, on average,

22 + websites across several shopping sessions before they’re ready to make a reservation.

Stage 2 :: Research

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Travelers take time to convert, typically several days to move from first ad exposure to conversion.


Source: Google, The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision, The 2013 Traveler; Adara, Detailed Look Into The US Online Hotel Guest

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Travelers don’t want to be just “audience”. They are not the same and don’t want to be treated the same. So it’s critical to understand that they are individuals with a variety of interests and concerns. To capture attention and earn confidence, marketers must tell their stories with the particular interests of their customers in mind.

• Nearly three‐fourths (74%) of online consumers get frustrated with websites when content appears that has nothing to do with their interests.

• CTAs targeted to the user had a 42% higher view‐to‐

submission rate than calls‐to‐action that were the same for all visitors.

• Marketers who are personalizing their web experiences

(and able to quantify the improvement) see on average a 19% uplift in sales.

Personalized virtual experience for users

Stage 2 :: Trends

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Stage 2 :: Trends

• Travelers under 35 are most likely to say that online travel

reviews influence their travel plans (74 percent) while those 55 and over are least likely to be influenced by reviews (44 percent)

• Nearly 79 percent of respondents with a household income

of $75,000 or more factor other travelers' reviews into their own plans, while less than half of those with an income of under $25,000 do so (46 percent).

• Adults under 35 are more likely than those who are 35+ to

share their travel experiences online (35 percent vs. 20 percent), particularly on social media sites (29 percent vs. six percent).

Also, more affluent adults are also more likely to share about their travels. More than a third of those with a household income of $75,000 or more (36 percent) share their travel reviews online, compared to 15 percent of those with a household income of less than $25,000, and they are twice as likely to use social networks to do so (24 percent vs. 12 percent).

51 % of travelers worldwide have written a review of an

accommodation after a trip.

Source: Janrain, HubSpot, 2013 Monetate/eConsultancy Study

The raising importance of advisory sites

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Stage 2 :: Challenges

Challenges • Personalization

Marketers must be able to provide customers with personalized online experiences that are both relevant to their interests and their place in the buying journey.

• Following and guiding customers Following customers across the digital landscape to keep them engaged and guide them through the research process.

• Cross channel engagement Engaging customers on different media platforms across various channels while maintaining consistency of the message and the users experience.

Emerging Opportunities • Building more accurate customer profiles

Using accumulated data and advanced analytical models to build more accurate customers profiles, better understand their preferences, and anticipate their needs.

• Building dynamic websites

Enabling websites to provide personalized experience based on visitors profiles that include their interests, online behavior, and search patterns.

• Better retargeting

Utilizing customer insight to stay in touch with travelers with relevant information tailored to their personal interests and buying intent.

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Stage 2 :: Best Practices Personalized dynamic website content and retargeting

When customers visit a destination's website it is essential to provide them with the information most relevant to their interests. It does not suffice anymore to serve the same message to all so marketers must optimize websites for each particular audience. It is also important to divide the website into different tiers according to the level of visitors intent and create segmented audiences in order to follow them with information that reflects their interests and their place in the buying journey.

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Stage 2 :: Best Practices Expedia Promotes #VanGogh2015 Using Twitter In celebration of the 125th anniversary of Vincent Van Gogh’s death and to promote Holland as a holiday destination, Expedia, in partnership with Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions, is using Twitter’s Flock to Unlock feature. Each week of the campaign will feature a different Van Gogh painting and Tweet target, and the landing pages will use Twitter’s data visualization capabilities to display engagement and unlocking progress in real time. Visitors to these pages simply click the tweet button and a tweet is auto‐filled with the campaign hashtag #VanGogh2015. As tweets are sent, brush strokes on the landing pages will slowly reveal a Van Gogh work of art.

Hilton Buddy Gets a Lot of Friends In October 2013, Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao launched a marketing campaign for a six‐month period centered on the Hilton Buddy, which created buddy characters representing the hotel’s bellhop, chef, engineer and general manager. The buddies shared their stories on Weibo and WeChat, and every Friday, those stories were accompanied by a professional photograph. The hotel even created dolls of the characters guests could purchase. Results: The hotel earned more than US$11,000 in additional revenue through bookings and the purchase of the buddy dolls. The hotel added 2,500 additional fans on Sina Weibo and 500 followers on WeChat.

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Stage 2 :: Best Practices Hamptonality Moments campaign gets millions of impressions For its Hamptonality Moments campaign, HiltonWorldwide’s Hampton Hotels brand invited guests to share their experiences with staff and guests by sending in stories, photos and videos.

The team then edited guest‐submitted content into 30‐second user‐generated videos targeted at five specific targets — Millennials, females, couples, families and roadtrippers. Each video was launched on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with support from online media for pre‐roll on YouTube.

Results: The videos amassed close to five million YouTube views and inspired a 133% increase in Hampton’s Facebook fans. With a 90% share rate among viewers, the campaign ultimately garnered more than 500 million social impressions and created millions of dollars in incremental revenue with bookings tied to video content.

Eau Palm Beach cheers up their followers with a timely advice. As the winter weather in the Northeast got more severe with several major snow storms in 2014, Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa‐ a luxurious 5 Diamond resort in Florida‐ used social media to cheer up their followers and win new ones. They created and published a post on Facebook with a humorous advice that invited customers to escape the harshness of winter and enjoy the best South Florida has to offer. The post was targeted to the audiences in the Northeast based on the most affluent zip codes and other targeting criteria. Results: The post generated more than 2,500 engagements, including likes and shares with numerous positive comments.

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Stage 3 :: Booking

of leisure travelers reserve hotels online

of business travelers reserve hotels online

When it comes to booking online is the most dominant channel

Only 1 in 6 travelers makes a reservation over the phone or in person.

Once they are finished with researching the options, travelers move quickly to make the booking. The majority of travelers – 67% for OTAs, 79% for supplier websites – go from “search” to “booking” in the same day.

Source: Google, The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision, The 2013 Traveler; Adara, Detailed Look Into The US Online Hotel Guest

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and 27% of US online leisure hotel travelers avoid visiting certain destinations because they don’t think they’d feel welcomed.

27% Source: Google, The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision, The 2013 Traveler;

Negative factors deterring people form booking

According to Forrester, 37% of US online leisure travelers avoid staying at hotels because they don’t see photos, video or written content that would make them feel comfortable.

37%

There's a number of reasons that can disrupt the buying journey and deter customers from making a reservation. Top among them are:

• Bad online experience with inadequate websites.

• Lack of information about a destination. Inadequate or poor branded content that doesn't engage.

• Bad reviews. Negative citations / poor reputation on social media channels.

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Stage 3 :: Trends Mobile gets a bigger share of online bookings

For the first six months of 2014, over 40 percent

of Americans booked travel reservations — flights,

hotels, cruises, for example — on mobile devices,

up more than 20 percent for the same period last

Year.

72 % of travelers worldwidesay the ability to book via mobile devices is useful.

Source: Criteo’s new Travel Flash Report

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Stage 3 :: Trends The emergence of new channels for booking

Destinations are trying to keep up with the changing preferences of travelers in the digital age. Many travelers, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, don't want to pick up a phone to book a hotel room. Hotels have responded by letting them book through mobile apps or various online channels.

Nearly 50% of hotel companies have a booking engine or widget on their Facebook page.

The importance of personalized offers

Marketers are spending a great amount of efforts trying to accurately gauge travelers' interests in order to entice them with relevant rate types and packages. They are working on new ways to utilize travelers' profiles and transactional data along with their online behavior to determine the best time for making an offer that is specifically tailored to customers needs and preferences.

Source: PhoCusWright, “Social media in travel: Mayhem, myths, mobile and money”

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Stage 3 :: Challenges

Challenges • Accurately assessing customers situation

Following customers to monitor their progress in the buying journey, accumulating information on their preferences, spending intentions, and readiness to book.

• Providing personalized offers at the right time Providing travelers with personalized offers within the short window of opportunity when they switch from "Search" to "Booking".

• Making the booking process effortless Developing effective Calls‐to‐Action and providing booking capabilities across various channels and devices that customers find the most suitable to use.

Emerging Opportunities • Generating better customer insights

Using customers profiles to better understand their online shopping patterns, identify buying signals, and predict the booking value.

• More relevant offers for customers

Integrating online data with CRM to provide customers with dynamically generated offers that are automatically tailored to their specific situation.

• New opportunities for booking Initiating new channels for social media booking. Developing new technologies for effortless booking and reservation opportunities in digital environment.

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Stage 3 :: Best Practices Personalized offers Leading hotels have boosted campaign outcomes with dynamic creative that changes out prices and properties in line with recent search and booking data. That helped an international hotel brand exceed its booking goals by 56%, and reduce its cost per bookings over a 12‐month period by 73%.

Countdown To Winter / Summer Campaign With the poor snow conditions and the tough economy over the past few years, Destination Hotels & Resorts’ ski properties hoped to change consumers buying habits by enticing them to book reservations early, in advance of ski season. The campaign, now in its second year, has generated millions of dollars in revenue and numerous mentions in major publications, including TravelandLeisure.com, DenverPost.com, LATimes.com, PeterGreenberg.com, USAToday.com, ChicagoTribune.com, Associated Press and more.

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The Mystery Deal The increasingly competitive business environment has driven Royal Plaza on Scotts to innovate on ways to increase conversion on its brand site, one of the channels with the lowest booking cost. With the ultimate aim to convert each website looker to booker, Royal Plaza on Scotts created the Mystery Deal which, through an integrated marketing campaign, is set to generate over $1,000,000.00 for the independent property within the year.

Social Media Booking In late 2013, Loews Hotel Group launched its social reservation system. Twitter users can now book rooms via DM and then a secure chat conversation with a live agent.

Stage 3 :: Best Practices

Conrad Hotels and Resorts has turned to Instagram to drive bookings. The chain is now allowing travelers to book rooms at its 24 hotels by clicking on an Instagram photo of a property that then leads them to the reservations page.

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Conclusions In the future digital media will play an ever increasing role in hospitality and travel marketing, allowing marketers to:

• Better understand customers’ online behavior and provide them with personalized journey in the digital world.

• Create unique and engaging interactive experiences with visual

story telling across multiple channels.

• Stay in touch with customers and provide them with highly customized offers at the right time.

About the author

Sergey Gusarov a seasoned certified digital marketing professional with extensive experience in helping companies achieve superior results online. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance. Email: mailto:[email protected]| Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/svgusarov