Behind every travel choice is someone who was influenced by an image, a video, or a review read online. Understanding and harnessing the power of digital content is not just a strategy—it’s a necessity for influencing traveler purchasing decisions and shaping their journey from the moment they start planning to the post-vacation sharing of experiences.
Digital content drives decisions
Travelers today lean heavily on digital content to make their travel decisions. Photos and videos have become the most persuasive tools in our arsenal. The reason–it provides travelers with a glimpse into what they can expect from their holiday.
This visual influence directly impacts where they decide to go, the hotels they choose to book and the activities they plan to engage in during their stay.
Compelling digital content doesn’t just sell a destination; it sells an entire experience. The ability to project the essence of a location through a digital lens is what turns potential guests into actual guests.
Maximizing ROI through strategic content distribution
Content’s value is magnified by its effective distribution. A strategic approach to content distribution can 10x your audience reach and ensure that it engages the right audience at the right time.
Leveraging platforms where our target demographic spends most of their time online boosts the visibility and impact of our marketing efforts. Tactics that amplify reach and engagement include:
- Targeted advertising: Tailoring ads to user behavior increases relevance and conversion rates.
- Influencer partnerships: Collaborating with influencers who resonate with target demographics can enhance credibility and reach.
- Social media campaigns: Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are ideal for engaging visually oriented audiences.
Integrating this type of content into interactive platforms like virtual tours can deepen engagement and increase conversion rates.
Real-world examples of effective content strategy
Visit Bend expands content library
Visit Bend is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting tourism and generating revenue for projects in Bend, Oregon. It has found success through the use of high-quality visual content. By expanding its local content creator program, it has hired talented photographers, videographers, and other creatives to produce engaging material.
Using detailed analytics, Visit Bend tracks user interactions with their content, empowering them to identify the most effective distribution channels and maximize engagement.
Their streamlined workflow has led to impressive results. So far, they’ve increased their web traffic by 112% year-over-year, and their local content creator program has given them a 227% return on investment.
Luxury resort sees social media skyrocket
Garden of the Gods Resort and Club in Colorado Springs leverages visual content to reinforce its standing as a premiere destination for exceptional getaways. Its goals are to attract hotel guests, restaurant diners, and event attendees.
Using a centralized digital asset management solution, they can streamline their workflows, organize their content, and get social media campaigns completed faster.
This has resulted in growing their social media followers to 31.5k and a boost in engagement rates, reach, and click-through-rates.
Statistical insights to guide strategy
Drawing on insights from a recent report on how AI is reshaping marketing for CMOs, data reveals marketing leaders are overwhelmed by the need for rapid content creation. In fact,
- 43% report being swamped by the volume required
- 89% say demand for quick content turnover has increased over the past year
- 47% struggle to differentiate their brand in a competitive market
- 62% of marketing leaders reported they already use AI in their content and asset creation workflow
- 50% use AI to create content and generate ideas
While some are turning to AI to automate workflows and generate ideas, a significant portion remains hesitant to fully embrace these technologies. This reluctance highlights a need for greater understanding and trust in AI’s potential to improve marketing workflows.
Using AI to differentiate and streamline
AI is increasingly becoming a cornerstone of innovation in the hospitality industry. It offers brands a strategic edge by enhancing the efficiency of content delivery and management systems. By harnessing AI, hospitality brands can automate various routine tasks, freeing up valuable time for their marketing teams to focus on more creative and strategic initiatives.
Key benefits of AI in hospitality marketing
With AI managing routine content tasks, marketers can dedicate more time to innovative strategies and exploring new marketing channels. This shift towards higher-level thinking leads to inventive and impactful campaigns, helping brands stay ahead of the competition and engage their audience in exciting ways.
Here are 6 ways hospitality marketing teams are benefiting from using AI with their DAM:
- AI Visual Search capability allows marketers to search entire asset libraries by description without needing metadata, uncovering untagged assets and increasing the library’s ROI.
- Video accessibility for near-instant captions for videos, ensuring compliance with web accessibility standards and enhancing social media engagement.
- Automated tagging of elements in images, saving time on manual metadata entry and improving image organization, retrieval, and sharing.
- Real-time identification tags people in real-time. This is especially useful for events and quick content sharing.
- Brand recognition automatically identifies logos and brand marks, facilitating the quick delivery of event images to sponsors and improving post-event image organization, demonstrating ROI to stakeholders.
- Key Personnel Management: AI auto-tags important individuals in your organization, adding labels like job title and affiliation, streamlining content distribution to stakeholders and social media.
Integrating AI with DAM improves operational efficiency and personalizes the customer journey. By leveraging AI tools, hospitality marketers can lead in a competitive market, ensuring their brands attract and captivate the modern traveler.
