Video is a fantastic way of selling the “dream” of travel. The mix of sound, visuals and text, make it uniquely effective at conveying what it feels like to travel.
But video can also be used to deliver in a quick and compelling way the key information travellers need to make decisions.
ThinkWithGoogle recently released their “Digital Trends: Air Travelers July 2016” report which highlights how travellers are using Google. The report shows who is looking online for travel information and what they want to know.
Here are five insights from ThinkWithGoogle that you can use when planning your next travel video.
1.Simplify the check in process
Questions about checking in are some of the most common on Google. In searches relating to flight experiences three of the type five questions are:
How to check in for a flight?
When can you check in for a flight?
What is allowed in checked baggage for international flights?
These are all questions that can be quickly but comprehensively answered in under sixty seconds using video travel.
2. Help them plan their travel cost effectively
Travellers want to make the most of their travel budget. Video can be used to help them travel in a cost effective way. When planning travel, two of the top five questions asked are:
What are the cheapest days to fly?
What is the cheapest day to fly?
Travel brands could target these highly searched for questions, by creating an informative & entertaining video featuring a travel insider, who shares tips for travelling cost effectively.
3. 47% of air travellers are between 25 – 44 and more than half are women
The most common age demographic for air travellers are those between 25 – 44 years. The report also points out that more than half (52%) of air travellers are women. If you are trying to create content which will appeal to the widest group of travellers then this is who it should be targeting.
Feature traveller’s favourite destinations
The top five searched for travel destinations are as follows:
- New York
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- Washington DC
- Seattle
There may be plenty of information already on these cities, but video can be used to offer something unique. Most travel videos still focus on the major tourist attractions. There is still relatively few high quality travel videos which reveal “hidden gems” and give an authentic, insiders look into hip and up-and-coming neighborhoods.
4.Travellers are active
The top five hobbies for travellers according to the Digital Trends report are:
- Hiking
- Running
- Cycling
- Swimming
- Backpacking
As you can see travellers are an active bunch. The list of hobbies provides an indication of the type of activities you may want to portray in your video. This can imbue a feeling in the viewer that you “get” them, as well as show that they will be able to do their favourite activities on holiday. Hobbies can also be used for video targeting. Using a platform like YouTube TrueView you can have your travel video ads run next to videos featuring content on these hobbies.
REFERENCE
Digital Trends: Air Travelers July 2016. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2016, from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/infographics/digital-trends-air-travelers.html