We are already over the mid-2017, it is therefore time to begin planning next year's digital marketing strategy. If you work in as marketer for tourism industry customers, you should already be preparing the tactics that will work best for your clients in the year to come. The choice, however, could be somewhat complicated and requires a bit of research.
For example, these days it seems like everyone is talking about augmented reality and virtual reality. However, these technologies are still far from becoming part of everyday life, and as a result they are far from becoming part of current and near future digital marketing campaigns.
What digital marketing trends should we expect to see in 2018? Let's take a look at some of the most promising options.
Personalized content centered around the client
Travel content that meets the specific needs of clients and of prospective clients has had a significant impact in the last few years. It is therefore obvious that marketing campaigns will continue to use this approach as the central objective of their strategy since it offers a personalized experience.
Conventional static content is dead because companies need dynamic websites as well as effective automated marketing solutions that offer highly personalized yet up-to-date travel content. This is the best way to communicate with clients and prospective clients alike. This is good news for emailing professionals since campaigns conducted by email will continue to play an important part in digital marketing.
Tourism industry clients want personalized content. An Accenture study found that 75% of clients were more likely to make a purchase from a company that provided recommendations based on their past purchasing history, which was perceived as being a form of recognition.
The same level of personalization will be required in 2018, and online marketers will have to adapt their strategies accordingly.
Video and GIF
People love visuals. The interesting and exciting content of a website is usually visual and whether it's a funny adventure experience, a video of trip advice or simply a fun advertisement, there is always a way to introduce an entertaining video into the content. Just remember how popular GIFs are!
With visuals like videos or GIFs, viewers are more tempted to perform an action, such as sharing, commenting and marking something as their favorite.
Digital marketing experts know very well that interaction is as good as gold in the digital world. It is far too expensive to focus on attracting the attention of clients without obtaining any commitment on their part. That is why more and more agencies are focusing on effective videos.
This statement is supported by the fact that over eight billion videos are viewed each day on Facebook. MediaKix also recently forecasted that by 2019 the total budget for video advertising in the U.S. would reach 14 billion dollars.
Influencers
Many influencers have already proven their effectiveness in influencing the purchasing decisions of social media users. For example, around 70% of all teenagers who use YouTube reported that influencers were more prominent than celebrities or brands. Moreover, 86% of women turn to social networks before making a purchase.
The power of influencers will not diminish in 2018, meaning that marketers will continue to use them to market travel services and products.
The basic strategy to encourage people to share their opinion about a brand is always the same: recognize and meet their needs.
If a person is satisfied with a brand's performance, he or she will communicate positive information about the company services within his or her social circle, or even to people outside of it.
Content development
As mentioned above, client-centric content will continue to have a significant impact in 2018. To meet the demand, online marketers are making considerable investments in travel media who are able to create a unique and engaging travel content, publish and distribute it.
Authenticity
Authenticity is something that everyone appreciates. Next year, therefore, agencies will be using genuine, unfiltered and unpolished images to tell a brand's story. Why? Because people have become accustomed to seeing pictures from image banks which no longer arouse much interest. Something real can only be told through imperfect and unique travel content.
In conclusion
So far, 2017 has been the most active year for digital marketers. Both agencies and individual marketers expect to receive even more work next year and have already begun to apply the trends mentioned above to their strategic planning processes in order to satisfy their current and future tourism industry customers.
