How and Why to Make Travel Video a Priority
Video has taken the digital marketing world by storm over the last few years. That is to say as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), utilizing video to highlight your destination should be your top priority. For smaller DMO’s, dedicating a budget for professional videographers may not be realistic. However, there are other solutions to adding more video into your content strategy. Read on to find out how and why to make travel video a priority.
Provide a Stipend to a Local College Student
An easy and effective way to produce video content is to find an eager local college student with the right equipment and editing software. Although $100-300 per video may not seem like a huge hit to your budget, it might be a good chunk of change for a college student. In addition, creating videos for your organization can be the perfect addition to their portfolio. However, this amount of money may seem like a small stipend to you.
Moreover, another way to get your local college students involved is to create a video content contest. This way, you’ll be able to compile loads of videos for a small prize paid out to the winner. Students will be thankful to lend a hand to your marketing organization and apricate the money, professional credit, and excitement to provide content to you.
Utilize User-Generated Content
Using User-Generated Content or UGC is one of the easiest ways to gather video content. However, the key to utilizing UGC is to get permission from the user, give the appropriate credit to the source, and [if available] get the original content from the creator. Above all, the best part of using UGC as a travel video is that it’s completely free!
Credit: Think with Google
About 75% of users that follow travel destinations admit that they are likely to engage with video, which means that video usage is a crucial component of your media strategy. In addition, in 2019, on average, viewers spent six hours, 48 minutes per week watching various types of online video, a 59 percent increase from 2016. Furthermore, videos are the most immersive, giving a first-person perspective into destination experiences.
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