Exciting things are happening. We are vaccinating our way out of the worst pandemic of our lifetimes, and that will open up the doors to a little more normalcy before too long. It’s time to start more aggressively, targeting actual travel plans and offering next-level content that increases bookings or whatever conversion goals you have as a travel content marketing professional.
For a year we’ve been coming up with ways for travel marketers like you to stay relevant and maintain your readership. If we have been able to help you through this difficult time, we appreciate you putting your trust in us. If this is your first BeezContent blog article, welcome aboard. Let’s get to work tapping this currently powerful niche in travel marketing called virtual travel.
I know what you’re thinking: why focus on virtual travel when the real thing is on the horizon again? Well, the answer lies within the question, doesn’t it? People are craving an immersive experience in the area of travel, and online content is still the best option for that. Now, we have the opportunity to segue from providing a stellar virtual experience to helping people plan what is certain to be, for many of them, the best vacation of their lives. With that in mind, here are a few ways you can begin integrating virtual content with a larger marketing strategy that will accomplish what you want or need.
Develop a Virtual Travel Blog
Your blog is the anchor for most or all of your other travel marketing content. In the case of virtual travel, you are also in the position to leverage a large amount of curated content and create a unique experience for your readers around it.
For both travel agents and content marketers, that means being able to provide reliable information to potential travelers that goes way beyond print brochures or even destination websites. Think of your blog as a resource that provides the trip before the trip. Get the reader involved in the experience of visiting new places and building new memories by curating virtual content and developing blog posts around it that get people excited about talking with you or clicking your affiliate link.
Develop Your Own Virtual Travel Content
I’ll be honest here – I’m including this because it is definitely a very good idea to generate your own unique, branded content, but doing so can be very pricey. Factor in the additional costs of gathering content from actual destinations and all the expenses associated with that, and the concept can quickly become daunting. Want to tap the VR market? How many investors do you have lined up?
If you don’t have unlimited resources but still want to produce your own content (and I’m referring specifically to multimedia content here, not copy), I strongly recommend a few things. First, have your audience clearly identified and established. This is not the content area into which you want to pour money without at least a reasonable guarantee of good ROI. Second, be an already-established brand with a large online following. Last, work with professional producers who know how to present the content to your specific target.
Use Existing Virtual Travel Content to Promote Affiliate Programs
This is another form of content curation that you can leverage to sell affiliate products or market affiliate travel services. It is a very good strategy for blogging, social media posts, and more.
Social media is a particularly good platform for this in that much of the virtual content you curate has the kind of visual impact that gets people to stop scrolling. You can link directly to your affiliate page from your social posts and eliminate steps like landing pages and more. That said, you do want a well-rounded content strategy that incorporates those kinds of content, so here are a few comments about that.
Develop A Solid Support Content Strategy
There are plenty of effective ways to market virtual travel content, and I recommend utilizing as many as possible as part of a structured online marketing plan. Here are just a few things you should consider:
Email Sequences – Email remains a very effective tool that accounts for more click-throughs and conversions than any other form of written content. I recommend looking into a narrative email strategy for reaching potential travelers, especially now. Storytelling can be a powerful way to steer your target audience to more of your content or affiliate sites.
Social Media Posts – Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are great for marketing multimedia content so don’t neglect them. At least one unique post with unique visuals per day will start getting your brand noticed, and more content will extend your reach significantly.
Squeeze Pages – Capture more emails, expand your list, and increase conversions. It’s a simple equation and content type to develop and implement.
Blog Content – Great curated and unique, branded content is essential to any successful virtual travel marketing plan. Well-written, well-formatted blog posts also go a long way to increase SEO.
Press Releases – Mostly for agencies, but with their own set of content marketing implementations, press releases can keep your target customers aware of advancements in topics related to virtual travel. New technology, new services, and even new content can be reported in a press release. Note that I said reported, not promoted.
If you haven’t written press releases in the past, I recommend learning about their purpose and structure beforehand. A press release not properly formatted or that deviates from fact-based messaging too much will not successfully aggregate.
If you need help developing these or any other types of written content, contact us here at BeezContent. We have a talented, dedicated team of writers with a passion for creating quality travel copywriting content that is ready to help you launch a successful virtual travel marketing initiative.
