Mr. Boni

Website / Online Mechandising / SEO

Using Video to Engage and Interact with Online Travel Shoppers

By Paolo Boni, President & Chief Executive Officer, VFM Leonardo, Inc.

As a hotel marketer (whether it’s a big or small part of your role), you’re always looking for ways to attract more travel shoppers and get them to book. By now you’ve added video to your online strategy, or are considering it. After all, video marketing is easy, inexpensive, and, in most cases, yields a high ROI. In fact, 62% of hotel eBusiness professionals believe that video is a very effective online merchandising feature. Interestingly, for 74% of hoteliers, actually developing video content is the number one barrier to adding video to their online marketing strategies or realizing more value from it.

Before you start developing your first or next video, consider this: if you don’t know how to use video effectively, you could lose out on bookings. Many hotel marketers spend their time worrying about the details of how to produce and promote video rather than going for it; meanwhile they are looking for solutions to solve challenges like:

• Improving their website performance
• Managing poor reviews and unprofessional user-generated content posted by guests
• Getting travel shoppers to book with them over their competitors
• Increasing conversions from online marketing campaigns
• Increasing interactions with fans and followers on social media sites
• And the list goes on…

What they don’t realize is that video could help solve many of these challenges. Video is naturally engaging and gives travel shoppers an opportunity to interact with and experience your hotel. It’s also easy and affordable. Believe it or not, a one minute full motion hotel video can be produced for under $1,000. For those who don’t know where to start, here’s a piece of advice from Ashish Khurana, the CEO of GeoBeats, Inc., an industry-leader in the development of online video content.

“Online video should be an integrated part of your online marketing strategy. Think of it as a series of assets that can be presented in front of different audiences and it is also inexpensive and quick to produce. The possibilities are tremendous. The best place to start is with an overview video which showcases the general experience of your hotel, the facilities and amenities that tell your story – what makes your hotel different. It’s the best place to start because it is relevant to most of your guests.”
As a general guideline, a powerful video story is:

• Short (2 minutes maximum – the best videos are often 1 minute in length)
• An appropriate style for the hotel (scripted voiceover vs. on-site interviews or tour)
• Focused (2-3 key unique aspects)
• Contextual (includes area attractions, destination information, etc.)
• Educational and informative (not sales-pitchy)

And most importantly, relevant. Without understanding who your target guests are, you risk creating video that might not resonate with them. Daniel Edward Craig, hotel marketing consultant and published author of a novel series, states that hoteliers typically gravitate toward the tangible elements of the hotel, but to create a compelling story, it is important to integrate and dramatize the intangible elements that matter to your target guests. This is a great tip for any hotel marketer to keep in mind when determining what experiences to develop videos on and key aspects to focus on.

Although developing the content is the number one barrier to using or realizing more value from video, it’s not the only barrier. When we asked hoteliers what their main challenges are when it comes to using video, we also received comments on syndication and return on investment, like:

• “Other than hosting on our website and on YouTube, what other distribution channels exist?”
• “Is there a positive return on investment? How do you measure it?”

Using video to engage and interact with travel shoppers doesn’t stop once a video is complete. David Attardi, the Director of E-Commerce at B.F. Saul Company has tapped into the power of video as an effective way to attract and convert travel shoppers. “The reason that we use video is because our top customers like it and video is important to them,” says Attardi. His strategy is creating targeted videos and using them on a number of different channels. “Video has become very easy to do. It allows us to have multiple videos. Having an overview video is sort of a standard now. Having other more specific videos is really important. It’s easier than ever before. One of the reasons is because of how affordable it is.”

According to studies conducted by Invodo, video has a more powerful attraction than many other elements and can be expected to outperform text, still images and other more traditional elements. Retailers are finding that videos boost their sales conversion rates.

• According to an Internet Retailer study in April 2010, Customers who view product videos on onlinegolf.com are 85% more likely to buy than shoppers who do not view videos.
• The shoe/apparel e-tailer Zappos realized a 6% to 30% increase in sales conversion rate in products that have videos according to a ReelSEO study in December 2009. Clearly video is providing positive returns for online retailers. So, the question is: does video work for hoteliers? The answer is yes.

“We experienced a 30% bump in bookings after we went from no video to video. We found our sites became better, more efficient and stickier and we experienced more revenue per site visit after we launched video,” says Attardi.

That is why more hotels need to use video. The use of video enhances everything you’re doing. With every marketing campaign you create, find a way to naturally include video.

• Websites (hotel specific, blogs, brand)
• Landing pages (linked to from Google ads, email campaigns, linking partnerships, etc.)
• Social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, relevant blogs)
• At the property (guest rooms, lobby, etc.)
• Sales (client pitches, trade shows)

Attardi’s advice to other hotel marketers: “Don’t be intimidated. Start trying things. It’s easy, it’s fun, it’s effective.” Video works! And when done right, it works well. It gives you a chance to communicate more effectively and ensure you’re connecting with travel shoppers.

The video revolution in e-commerce is finally underway and the age of static, generic content is over. In fact, the percentage of Internet users who watch all types of videos online at least monthly is expected to grow to 77% in 2014, up from 64% in 2009, eMarketer forecasts. And it’s not only a US-phenomenon. ComScore tracked video viewing behavior in Europe in 2008 and found that 27 million people in the UK watched more than 3 billion videos in August that year. Similar results were found in France and Germany. The point is that consumers around the world love web video… a lot. And they won’t stop watching it anytime soon.

And the head of Microsoft Online’s Travel Industry Solutions, Geraldine Madeira, believes that online video is one way to get out of the price comparison rut and bring some life back into the travel shopping process. “It is difficult to deny that a compelling price drives bookings and in challenging times, price tends to be the center of advertising. At the same time, online video has the power to bring online travel imagery back to life.”

It’s time for hotel marketers to focus on the marketing concepts that really result in increased sales: video.

Paolo Boni has lead VFM Leonardo’s vision and strategic direction since 2001. Under his leadership, the company has expanded globally and now has over 80,000 hotels, over 30,000 travel related website partners worldwide and the largest online visual content distribution network for the travel industry. As a recognized travel industry expert, Mr. Boni frequently speaks at major travel conferences on subjects relating to online travel marketing, online hotel merchandising and rich media. He holds an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School and a B.A. Economics from McGill University. Mr. Boni can be contacted at 1-877-593-6634 or press@vfmleonardo.com Extended Bio...

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