28 January 2010 ~
Great tips from Ryan Bifulco on the T4 Blog on podcasting for travelers. If you bring any kind of a recording device with you on your travels, this is a great read.
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Guest Author, Ryan Bifulco, TravelSpike.com – Destinations are always looking for ways to market and promote themselves. Every Destination offers something unique to visitors and locals alike, and a short video is one of the best ways to showcase what you have to the world. Many DMOs still seem to think that online video and podcasts are for kids, but times have changed and the stats below back that up.
According to PhoCusWright, 90% of U.S. online travelers have been influenced by fellow travelers posting blogs, online videos, travel podcasts and reviews. 80% of Baby Boomers are ONLINE and have shown a 59% increase on social networking sites year over year. Podcasts and blog followers have increased 67% among Baby Boomers; while the younger Gen Y has had no growth at all (Accenture). 24% of users over the age of 70 have watched an online video in the last week! (TNS Compete Data).
With such high statistics, social media programs need to be taken seriously and you must evaluate where your brand stands in the Travel 2.0 environment.
In this article, you’ll learn how to maximize your video and podcast efforts. Marketing in the digital age is about leveraging new technologies and social trends to increase exposure. It’s about educating the mass market and niche audiences in new ways. Video marketing is a new, emerging platform that continues to evolve every day. Video isn’t just about television anymore. It can be extended across the digital universe into many distribution formats,including syndication.
A DMO is in a great position to produce its own tourist informational videos,plus the DMO can work with its local partners to promote these videos.
Here are some tips to help any DMO catch up with the new media train:
- Shoot short 1 or 2 minute video clips that provide a nice overview of the destination. Most users do not have time to watch a 30 minute video as they plan their trip.
- Consider shooting your top tourist attractions or sights. This is no time to feel guilty about playing favorites as your 2 minute video should be a highlight reel or sizzle reel of the best things to do in your city, state, province or country.
- Post quality videos from local restaurants, hotels, attractions and events on the official DMO or Destination YouTube Channel. Shoot a video from a local fair or festival. Interview the hottest chefs in the city.
- Cross promote your YouTube efforts in your monthly email newsletter and on your website. Also post links to your YouTube channel from Twitter, Facebook and other blogs or social networking outlets.
- While YouTube is certainly the leader with online video, there are hundreds of other video sites, directories, search engines and libraries where you need to distribute your videos. Some of the sites to look out for include: MySpace Videos, Yahoo Videos, Odeo & DailyMotion.
- Reach out to travel podcasters like Erik Hastings & journeyPod to see if they might be interested in having the DMO on their show to talk about seasonal happenings.
- Create your own video or audio podcast! Purchasing a very affordable FLIP Meno video recorder or a Sony Hi-MD audio recorder are two excellent ways to get started. Turn your event calendar and press releases into podcasts and syndicate with major podcast libraries and RSS directories like iTunes and Odeo.
- Start your own social network and invite partners and members of the DMO to join and post travel deals, events, product launches, parties and more with fellow travelers. Ning.com is a FREE social network optimizer allowing you to customize your own space and share it with the audience you choose.
Get some ideas from other Destinations:
- The Colorado Tourism Office had produced several short videos but they were only being used on their own website. Travel Spike turned the videos into podcasts and RSS feeds to distribute to the hundreds of podcast sites, libraries, search engines and directories. Podcasts relating to skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing were promoted in the fall, while podcasts focused on biking, whitewater rafting and wildlife in Colorado were pushed early spring. All of these efforts can help your overall digital brand and your search engine rankings.
- The St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches VCB‘s new digital strategy generated over 2 million Web 2.0 Hits using some of these techniques.
- The West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau produced seven local walking tour podcasts covering things like their famous Sunset Strip and their Red Carpet Parties during The Oscars.
- The Indianapolis CVB was one of the first to produce a video podcast that gives visitors a glimpse into the city.
As one of the most trusted resources for information about a city, a DMO has a great deal of expertise about the destination that can be maximized with today’s vast media landscape. Get on the new media train today!
Ryan Bifulco is the Founder & CEO of Travel Spike which offers DMOs and other travel companies social media marketing, digital public relations and online advertising solutions. Ryan can be reached at ryanb@travelspike.com or 770-433-2930.
Photo Credit: B_Uncie
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