13 Dec 2021 Business Insights

How to Win at Content Marketing and Increase Engagement

The term “content marketing” might have only sprung to life in the last decade, but the concept long precedes its buzz. In fact, you can trace its origins as far back as 1895, when magazines first came into circulation. In the modern-day world content marketing is at the top of the list for many travel brands that want to drive results. That’s because when compared to traditional marketing, content marketing costs 62% less and generates three times as many leads. But how can you make content marketing work for you and get customers transacting with your travel brand? We’ve got the details below.

A deeper dive into content marketing 💻

Content marketing is a bona fide way to engage with your audience on a more personal level, giving them content that addresses specific interests and adds value. Think of content marketing as a chance to offer insight into your world through articles, infographics and videos that start conversations.

It can be blog posts with travel guides, social media posts that get people excited about travel or an infographic showing key stats about the travel industry. There are so many different avenues worth exploring, all of which provide you with a huge opportunity to capture attention and create engagement through your content.

Different types of content marketing 🖊️

Content marketing is vast, and it might be worth trying different forms before landing on a particular element that proves successful. However, if you have the capacity, it’s best to cover most grounds and give your audience a variety of content types.

Content marketing includes:

  • Blog articles
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Podcasts
  • Social media posts
  • Slide decks
  • Checklists
  • Quizzes
  • Emails
  • Whitepapers
  • Webinars
  • Courses
  • Visual content
  • Direct mail

And that’s really just scratching the surface. Essentially, content marketing is any form of content designed to educate the person interacting with it.

It’s all about the quality ✅

While the potential for success with content marketing is impressive, its popularity means that everyone is doing it, which can lead to an oversaturated market – especially in the travel industry. That’s why you need to focus on quality and create content aimed at your audience.

Of course, there are aspects to think about, such as how it will rank on search engines. But the key is to put quality above everything else. Doing so will see you build a loyal audience who value your insights and want to read, watch and engage with your latest content topics.

With so many people trying to crack the content marketing code, quality will always persist. Give people in-depth articles exploring a travel destination, try and find locals with who you can conduct a video call with and get interesting insights into destinations – you want to find angles not covered by your competitors. That’s what gives you an edge and can lead to people interacting with your content.

A smarter way to talk to your audience 📣

Consistency is key. Too many people start content marketing and give up because they don’t get instant results. Good-quality content will win out in the end, so keep creating and have a consistent plan of action to reach the right people.

Make your content more readily accessible by informing your followers of what’s coming up next and where they can find it. Be active on social media, but also think about other distribution formats, such as your website, emails and even direct mail in some scenarios.

This is why a strategy is necessary. It lets you plan out the months ahead, creating seasonal content and evergreen articles, videos and social posts that cater for all scenarios. Once you’ve published content, update it when necessary and interact with your audience, asking them to comment and get involved in the conversation – no matter which platform you use to publish.

Summary: Gaining customers with content marketing

Using content marketing strategies can help you build your brand while driving revenue. Unlike other types of marketing, it’s relatively cheap and has a high ROI when implemented correctly. Giving your audience rich content full of depth will help convert them into paying customers ready to book with your travel brand.