Tailoring Your Content Marketing Strategies for the Travel Industry

By Mon Gill Meeting the needs of your customer base is essential if you want to stay in business, which is why tailoring your content marketing strategies is so important. For the travel industry, in particular, it gets a bit trickier simply because each customer’s needs span four distinctive stages. They include: 1. The initial planning phase to determine a destination 2. The scheduling phase that encompasses travel/accommodation details 3. The vacation phase during which information such as weather, eateries, and sightseeing spots are needed 4. The final phase of sharing pictures or facts about the vacation itself Content Marketing Strategies That Work for the Travel Industry Engaging content is the key to attracting visitors to your site as well as to your services. In fact, focusing on the â€Å"do’s† of creating content will get you much farther in realizing your goals than avoiding the things that you shouldn’t do. The content that you provide must address the needs of travelers before, during, and after their journeys. Not only must you provide the mundane facts but you need to give potential customers a look into the more personal aspect of choosing one city over another or hotel A instead of hotel B. How do you accomplish this? In all honesty, you need to deliver creative original content that entices your visitors to begin reading and then intrigues them into reading more. Content Creation That Works for the Travel Industry The significance of providing engaging content is closely intertwined with the method in which you deliver it. Successful travel sites deliver it all. They provide a wide variety of factual information, reviews, travel tips, and personal stories or photos. Websites that publish vacation reviews are more popular than ones that don’t simply because travelers look to the opinions of other people to help them make their selections – for everything – hotels, restaurants, theaters, and more. . Build a site filled with trustworthy information . Provide tips and strategies that simplify travel planning for your customers . Offer suggestions on how to optimize the travel experience . Offer the opportunity for your customers to share their journeys . Create content that your visitors can use . Tailor it for the delivery system that you are using . Keep your content writing fresh by so your visitors will come back frequently . Use content that is short and to the point as well as easy to read The Importance of Social Media Websites Travelers often use social media sources for inspiration. According to a study conducted in 2010, the majority of leisure travelers turn to social media and personal reviews to assist them in making their hotel accommodations. It stands to reason that these same travelers also rely on reviews and recommendations to make all of their travel plans. The importance of providing detailed information about locales, hotels, restaurants, and tours should not be overlooked. Sites like Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook capture the eyes of their members every single week if not every single day, so take advantage of that fact.