Engaging, Entertaining and Retaining Your Travel Audience

Engaging, Entertaining and Retaining Your Audience:

How to meet your audience where they Dream, Plan, Stay, Enjoy and Share.

Juliette ReynoldsDirector, Digital Strategy, [email protected]

@PaceComm • #CMWorld

AGENDA① Audience Insights and the Customer Journey② Inspiring Dreamers③ Satisfying Planners④ Delighting Passengers/Visitors/Guests⑤ Activating Sharers⑥ Your Turn


1 The Customer Journey(s)


I LOVE AN AUDIENCE. I WORK BETTER WITH AN AUDIENCE. I

AM DEAD, IN FACT, WITHOUT ONE.

Lucille BallAmerican actress and comedian


KNOW ME① Who are you talking to?② Develop your primary customer journey③ Consider the needs of repeat customers


• Research

• Behavioral data/observation

• Segmentation & personas

Understand your audience


All About Me


Consumers expect a level of recognition and relevance as they interact with your brand

Travel Customer Journey


Inspiration

Planning

BookingExperiencing

Sharing

Identify a primary customer journey for your business as a place to begin implementing consumer-centric strategies

2 Inspiring Dreamers


MOVE ME① Content that attracts and engages② Formats③ Influencers④ Partnerships⑤ Channel and activation strategies:- Events- Social- Email


Consumers are becoming more discerning The blog post has become commoditized and common; be judicious

Brands that build a content program with variety will be successful at content activation and engagement:• Short and sharable for cross-channel seeding• Longer, immersive and/or serial content types (e.g. video series, multi-media

experiences, serial storytelling and long form narratives) for deep engagement

Content evolution


Format matters – the long andthe short of it


THE PAST FEW YEARS HAVE SEEN MARKETERS BEGIN TO REALIZE THE POWER OF SMALL, DISTINCTLY INFLUENTIAL ONLINE

PERSONALITIES… INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR MICRO-CELEBRITIES WITH LOTS OF

FOLLOWERS OR LIKES, IT WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TO TEASE OUT

THE ACTUAL COMPOSITION OF THEIR FOLLOWING.

Brian HonigmanCEO


Influencers


Influencers come in all shapes and sizes, including contributors from your community.

Partnerships


Email


Consumers are addicted to email. With the rise of smartphones, our email goes with us EVERYWHERE.

Study respondents spend:• 6.3 hours each weekday checking

their email• 3.2 hours spent checking work email• 3.1 hours checking personal email• Millennials check email more than

any other group

Email


Hi Juliette.

Social


Social


3 Satisfying Planners


HELP ME① Content that gives me specific ideas② Content as service – functional③ Gather from the community


WHEN THE AUDIENCE COMES IN, IT CHANGES THE

TEMPERATURE OF WHAT YOU’VE WRITTEN

Stephen SondheimAmerican Composer


Specific and “customizable” ideas


Community comments add richness


https://instagram.com/p/6SughKKsdm/?taken-by=vspc

Content as service


THE FUTURE OF STORYTELLING ISN’T ABOUT TELLING ANYONE

ANYTHING. IT’S ABOUT STORYMAKING, WHERE THE BRAND

FACILITATES AND TAPS INTO THE STORIES PEOPLE ARE CREATING

AND SHARING WITH EACH OTHER. David Berkowitz

CMO


Involve me in your story






4 Delighting Travelers


SHOW ME YOU KNOW ME① Just-in-time content that eases travel and delights② Underused – easier for airlines, hotels, attractions and

anyone with booking; more challenging for DMOs, since you don’t have a record of travel dates


Sound



In-destination/en-route touches

5 Activating Sharers


OMG – CHECK THIS OUT!① Content that makes people want to share② Thinking outside the box③ Crowdsourcing content④ Cross-channel promotion⑤ Non-stop invitations to participate



http://bcove.me/klfjdpav

Thinking outside the box

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4421172136001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAEMe8RQ~,R8iUD_53FI9roeG9ssuG2eex_yqohB85&bctid=4454579143001


Crowdsourcing content


Cross-channel promotion

https://www.facebook.com/FourSeasons/videos/vb.106280431030/10152722046876031/?type=2&theater


Encouraging participation every step of the way

6 Your Turn


• Discover your audience and build a customer journey

• Focus on content that provides inspiration or information according to journey stages

• Find contributors everywhere – partnerships, community, professionals, staff

• Use channels independently and together to get your content out there

• Start small, measure success and test and learn

Key Takeaways


• https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/category-trends/travel-hotel-q3-2015.html

• https://www.pinterest.com/marketingcloud/email-swipe-file/

• Tnooz

• Skift

• ClickZ

Resources


https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/category-trends/travel-hotel-q3-2015.html

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/category-trends/travel-hotel-q3-2015.html

https://www.pinterest.com/marketingcloud/email-swipe-file/



Resources


https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/tools/customer-journey-to-online-purchase.html

Juliette ReynoldsDirector, Digital StrategyPace


Marketing

Engaging, Entertaining and Retaining Your Travel Audience