In an era where online content drives travel and tourism, having an effective digital content strategy is essential to capture travelers’ attention and inspire them to choose your destination, accommodation or experience. How can you stand out from the crowd and create content that makes an impression? Between immersive storytelling, optimized SEO and strategic collaborations, several levers can allow you to attract, engage and convert your ideal audience. In this article, we’ll share our best tips for building an impactful digital presence, creating a strong bond with your community and transforming your content into a real booking engine thanks to your content strategy!
1. Define your goals clearly
Before you start creating content, it’s important to clarify your priorities to avoid getting sidetracked. Do you want to attract more visitors to your website, increase your bookings, inspire your future clients or build an engaged community? A clear objective will then guide your content strategy.
To effectively direct your efforts, you can also use the SMART method (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) to define precise objectives. For example, rather than aiming to “have more bookings”, set the goal of increasing them by 25% within three months by investing in targeted advertising on Instagram and Google Ads and by publishing creative content on your various platforms (e.g. immersive videos on TikTok and Instagram, blog articles in collaboration with influencers, exclusive offers, etc.).
Crédit photo: The Storytellers MTL
2. Adapt your content to each platform specificities
To maximize the impact of your content strategy, you can’t just copy and paste on each platform. By taking the time to adapt your posts to the specificities of each platform, your community will feel understood and will also have a reason to follow you everywhere since the experience isn’t exactly the same.
For example, your Instagram followers are looking for visual inspiration, while those on LinkedIn want industry insights, your TikTok community is looking for more authenticity while your blog readers and YouTube subscribers want more details on a specific topic.
Concretely, it’s also easier to start with long-form content, ideally on a platform that belongs to you (e.g. blog article, newsletter, podcast episode, etc.), and then decline it in short-form content for social media. A detailed article on a travel experience can become an informative carousel on Instagram like an immersive video on YouTube can be transformed into a short dynamic video on TikTok. Analyze trends, but above all, the formats that work best for you on each channel to maximize the engagement of your community.
Crédit photo: The Storytellers MTL
3. Focus on immersive storytelling
To capture your audience’s attention and spark their interest, we recommend that you prioritize creating content that immerses them directly in the experience.
For a hotel, chalet or accommodation, you could, for example:
- Create a short video where we follow a guest as they discover the premises, from check-in to their room, then through the various facilities on site (restaurants, spa, trails, etc.) to give your audience a glimpse of their future stay.
- Film a morning routine where the guest draws the curtains to let in natural light, then enjoys their coffee in bed, followed by a care routine in the bathroom.
- Share a typical day by focusing on the atmosphere, from breakfast to the activities offered, including dinner and a relaxing moment in the evening.
- Recommend the best local activities to do nearby by adding a well-thought-out itinerary or narration, supported by engaging images.
By transporting your audience to the heart of your establishment or destination, you transform your content into an irresistible invitation to travel and book a stay.
Crédit photo: The Storytellers MTL
4. Use interactive content to engage your audience
Engaging your audience with interactive content is a great way to build an active community around your brand. On Instagram, use IG Stories to ask questions or run polls. Create fun quizzes about destinations, photo challenges where followers share their best travel memories, or run contests to win a unique experience. The more your audience participates, the more engaged and loyal they’ll feel to your brand!
5. Plan an editorial calendar and repurpose your content at opportune times
A seasonal editorial calendar will allow you to anticipate key travel periods to plan and publish content at the right time. Plan your articles, videos and posts according to search trends and your audience’s needs to maximize engagement.
Also, think about reusing your content periodically, both for themes that come back each year and for timeless content that can be reshared at different times according to trends or current events. Just make sure to do it judiciously and at a reasonable frequency, optimizing each time, so that it remains relevant.
6. Analyze your performances to optimize your content strategy
If you want to maximize your content’s impact, you must analyze your performances to allow you to adjust your digital strategy accordingly. We recommend that you do this at least once a month. Monitor which types of content and formats work best for you: practical tips or inspirational content, short or long videos, carousels with or without text, detailed or succinct articles, collaborations with influencers, voice-overs or trendy ambient songs.
By using each platform’s analysis tools (e.g. Instagram Insights, YouTube Analytics, Google Analytics, statistics from your email marketing platform), you can easily identify the types of content that generate the most concrete results. Observe which publications generate the most engagement, clicks or conversions, then adjust your editorial calendar and future posts according to your goals and the information you have analyzed.
Crédit photo: The Storytellers MTL
7. Work with travel content creators
Collaborating with travel content creators is a great way to amplify your content strategy and visibility by attracting new travelers and qualified future customers. By working with industry experts, you’ll benefit from engaging and inspiring content that will highlight your offer by recommending you in an authentic way. This type of content also allows your future customers to project themselves into the experience you offer while increasing your notoriety.
If this is something you would like to develop soon within your tourism business, don’t hesitate to write to us! Whether it’s through rich blog articles, immersive videos or creative photo carousels on social media, we can help you communicate your vision through content that will captivate your ideal audience. Whether you choose to work with us or with other creators, the important thing is to identify those whose values and style are aligned with yours so that these collaborations are enriching and help you to achieve your goals.
Crédit photo: The Storytellers MTL
8. Stay on top of social media and travel trends
Slow travel, eco-friendly getaways, solo trips, wellness-focused stays, trends change quickly, and that’s not even mentioning trending audios, new app features and algorithms changes. There are nuances to be made, but in general, keeping up with social media and travel trends will allow you to capture your audience’s attention, stay relevant and, sometimes, even show a different side of your business, often more playful and light-hearted.
However, while it’s okay to be inspired by trends (and adding it your own unique touch), don’t base your entire content strategy on them. This is a practice to be used sparingly and with your best judgment, by only integrating trends that make sense with your business, your message and your values. Adapt them to your universe to offer a unique and memorable experience to your audience and give credit to the original video if it’s known.
We still recommend that you prioritize creating original content since it’s with this that you’ll be able to really differentiate yourself from your competitors and perhaps even create your own trend.
9. Optimize your SEO for tourism and travel content
Optimizing your SEO is also essential to give yourself every chance of attracting future customers looking for inspiration and specific information. To achieve this, first research and identify relevant keywords related to your destination, accommodation or service (e.g. “best hikes in Quebec” or “best hotel in Gaspésie”) and integrate them naturally into the titles, subtitles and text of your articles, but also in the description of your posts on social media and even in the alt tags of your images on the different platforms.
Searching for the most relevant keywords in your niche will also allow you to guide your content creation process by directly responding to your customers’ needs and travelers. Great SEO allows you to be visible at the right time, when your audience is actively looking for travel ideas.
Crédit photo: The Storytellers MTL
10. Build bridges between your platforms
To amplify your reach and engage your audience on different levels, encourage your community to follow you on your different platforms for a more complete experience. Ideally, always prioritize redirecting to the platforms you own, but you can also encourage people to follow you on social media if your main goal is to grow your community.
For example, you can redirect your Instagram followers to sign up for your newsletter to receive exclusive offers, end your videos with a call-to-action to visit your blog or website for bonus content, encourage your TikTok followers to follow your YouTube channel for more in-depth videos on a specific topic, or add a note at the end of your blog posts asking your readers to follow you on Instagram for real-time updates.
By multiplying entry points and building bridges between your different platforms, you’ll create a content ecosystem where each touchpoint reinforces your message and encourages action.
11. Automate your content management
To get ahead and save time while remaining active and consistent, focus on automation! Planning your posts in advance with tools like Later or Planoly will allow you to maintain a constant presence, even when you aren’t creating.
Schedule your Instagram, TikTok or Facebook posts according to a well-structured editorial calendar, taking into account key travel periods for your industry, your destination or your establishment specifically. However, for automation to not mean losing authenticity, make sure to leave yourself enough time and space to be able to adjust your content in real time and interact with your community.
12. Brings real value to travelers
Your content should always fall into one of these categories: inspire, inform or entertain! In other words, it is by helping your audience better plan, dream or discover places they would not have considered that you can convert them into subscribers, customers or ambassadors of your brand.
Inspire them with immersive stories, inform them with practical guides and entertain them with memorable anecdotes. Help them better plan their trips by sharing detailed itineraries, tips on the best activities by season or recommendations for unique experiences, such as off-the-beaten-path places they would not have considered otherwise. By creating useful, authentic and engaging content, you’ll build your credibility and encourage your audience to come back to you when they are looking for their next adventure.
Crédit photo: The Storytellers MTL
We hope these tips will help you create a digital content strategy that supports your values and will allow you to achieve your goals more easily! And if you need a hand in creating impactful content or would like personalized advice for your tourism business, don’t hesitate to reach out to tell us about your projects and needs! We offer several services to simplify your content creation process and we’ll be happy to discuss them with you!
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