By Bronwyn White
With artificial intelligence driving sophisticated semantic search algorithms, DMOs must become publishers of content and create an emotional connection to the prospect traveller
Dear DMO, your mission for the next 12 months is to establish trust, reputation, and authority with Google and the search engines, because these days, there are only two markets that matter: Google and your customers.
Content should be the cornerstone of all of your tourism marketing. Publishing online content is also pretty much the only way you can build trust, reputation, and authority with the search engines.
So, do or die. Publish or perish.
Each time you publish a piece of content, the search engines will pick it up. The algorithms will 'whizz around' building a picture of your product, service or destination.
Eventually – eureka! – the search algorithms WILL discover what you are all about. With each piece of content you put out there, they will get to know you a little better and you will be presented in the searches of your ideal market segments.
Today, an estimated 58% of all leisure travel begins with people searching online for holiday ideas and inspiration. It is no surprise then that mounting research shows that for most businesses, online content is more effective than printing on paper.
Invest Your Marketing Dollars Online You may still want printed literature to hand out in visitor centres. But it is probably time to consider redirecting your marketing dollars to online.
Creating relevant and engaging digital content means that you are creating both an emotional and practical pull factor on your potential customer.
In today’s world, that content can come in many forms, so a diverse content plan should form the basis of your marketing strategy.
Logically, if you don’t have content on the Internet, how are they going to find you? And the more you create compelling content that is shared and liked, the stronger those all-important social signals are in attracting attention to you.
Indeed, DMOs need to start building their own online assets and real estate through engaging, compelling content and tell the stories that will create an emotional connection with their potential customers.
It is time for the tourism industry to start thinking about redirecting marketing funds from massive brochure print runs and from consumer and trade shows, to creating content such as videos, blogs, and images.
The strategic objective is for DMOs to optimise their content marketing strategies to make sure they are applicable to the new world of semantic search.
In 2018, the travel industry and destinations need to meet their travellers and customers where they hang out: on the Internet.
