Throughout the pandemic, many tour operators and experience providers have been severely hit, both emotionally and financially. With things starting to open up again across the world, many are worried about how they can attract customers on limited budgets. 

Well today, to help the many operators in this situation, I am announcing something that no other marketing agency in our sector offers. TMA now provides a free WordPress website for your tourism business with every marketing package we offer… even our entry level package.

The Benefits of a WordPress Website for Tour Operators

While we are offering these websites for free, they do not use some second-rate template. 

On the contrary, the template we use provides a fantastic platform to better showcase your tours and activities, your brand, and your team, as well as providing a better platform for SEO. 

Not only that, it can either integrate with many widgets from existing reservation systems or you can use the website’s own internal booking and availability calendar for seamless sales.

We have seen many reservation and booking systems offer free websites, but you do not own them. If you decide to move to a new booking platform, you can’t take the site with you. We always want tour providers to maintain control over their businesses and to have more say in their own success.

With our solution, you fully own the website and we are happy to show you how everything works, giving you even more control over the aesthetics and functionality of your own business (if you’d like to learn).

And even if you decide to leave TMA — for whatever reason — the website is yours to keep. While you are with us, we can host, maintain, and provide support on an ongoing basis. If you ever leave, we can continue to host your site for a fee or you can choose to take your site and hosting elsewhere. It’s all in your control!

Example Websites

Why are we offering a free website?

On top of the financial situation many tour operators face due to the pandemic, we have noticed a troubling trend with many operators’ websites. We have had many operators come to us for help with marketing, but their websites are in such a sorry state that they are unfit to use as a platform from which to market tours and activities. 

We refuse to spend any operator’s hard earned cash on marketing if their website is not up to the task. However, many operators do not have the means to rebuild their site, so they are left in a state of limbo. They’re unable to effectively attract customers with the site they have and cannot capture the bookings they are looking for to increase their revenue.

Our ethos has always been to help the tours and activities industry grow, helping as many operators as possible. Today’s announcement is an extension of this ethos.

We have all been left devastated with the covid pandemic and we are all looking for ways to dust ourselves off and fight for the sector we love. With this shift in our marketing options, it is, in some small way, our way to offer additional help.

If you want more details or are interested in this offer, please do get in touch and we will be happy to help.

The post A Free Tour Operator Website Offering You Full Control appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

The team at TMA is extremely excited to announce the launch of our new website!

This new website better highlights how we can help tour and activity providers market themselves more effectively. We also showcase many new case studies that highlight our successes, even during a global pandemic. So much has changed for us over the last few years, and this new site better represents who we are and what we are capable of. 

Complete Transparency

We have always been upfront and transparent with the operators we help, and today we are taking this one step further. Our new website now details the packages we offer and all our prices. Compared with many other agencies, we charge very competitive rates while providing a comprehensive list of services.

Success Stories

Our new success stories section better highlights some of the operators we have helped. We made a conscious decision to mostly highlight recent successes so that you can see how effective the Tourism Marketing Agency can be — even during the devastating effects of the last 18 months. Our recent success is a credit to the hard work and expertise of the team here at TMA. More stories to come shortly.

And to all the operators that stood by us during these uncertain times, we all thank you for your belief in us. It truly means a lot.

The Digital Tourism Show

With the new website comes a better platform to showcase The Digital Tourism Show, the podcast series created and run by our founder, Chris Torres. Up-to-date with all episodes, you can now filter these episodes to find the topic that best suits your needs. We also have a site search function that will help you find what you need.

New Content to Inspire and Educate

As some of you will already know, Chris has made it his personal mission to educate the tours and activities sector in all-things branding and marketing, often with free access to meaningful content, advice, and guides. Our new website will serve as the platform for lots of new articles, videos, and advice that Chris and the team at TMA are working on. Expect a huge library of content and research to be uploaded in the coming weeks and months.

If you have any questions or would like to become part of our family here at TMA, please do get in touch.

The post TMA’s New Site Launch appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

In this special episode of The Digital Tourism Show, Chris takes you through a step-by-step workshop on how he creChris takes you through a step-by-step workshop on how he creates a promotional video fro a client using stock footage and audio.ates a promotional video for a client using stock footage and audio, all for only $28!

Watch how he easily creates and edits the video live, adding titles and graphics while exporting to landscape and square formats for social media advertising.

Chris uses Final Cut Pro X ($299) on his MacBook Pro but other software is available (see below).

Final videos from the workshop can be seen here*:

Landscape: https://youtu.be/8UcAFv1TeIY

Square: https://youtu.be/Y12V2pyUtqA

*Please note the client made some small text and font changes so video updated slightly from workshop.

Chris recommends

High End

Final Cut Pro X (Mac only) – https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/

Adobe Premier (Mac & PC) – https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html

Med-Low

End Video Studio (PC Only) – https://www.videostudiopro.com

CyberLink PowerDirector (PC Only) – https://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-video-editing-software/

Pinnacle Studio – https://www.pinnaclesys.com/en/products/studio/ultimate/

Free

IMovie (Mac & iOS) – Comes free with all Macs

Movavi (Mac & PC) – Free and paid version available https://www.movavi.com/mac-video-editor/

OpenShot (Mac & PC) – https://www.openshot.org

MovieMaker (PC Only) – https://www.videowinsoft.com

YouTube – Has a basic editor

The post Creating Promotional Videos For Your Campaigns appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

These days, you do not need expensive equipment to create outstanding videos, as most smartphones now record 4k footage and can connect to devices that stabilise your shots for you, making them more cinematic. Check out one of my own family holiday videos during a bus tour in Barcelona below. I filmed this on a GoPro using their Karma grip which acts as a gimbal to stabilise the footage.

1. Plan ahead

When creating a video, you must first determine who and what it’s for. Is it for a social ad to promote your destination or product? Will it be used as an ‘itinerary video’ on a product page to highlight the experience you’re selling? Think about what the end goal of the video is. Think about the following:

1. What do you want to produce?
2. What results would signify success?
3. What KPIs (key performance indicators) could be used to measure this success?
4. Who is the target audience?
5. How will the target audience discover and watch the video?
6. What are the key messages that need to be communicated?
7. Why are these key messages important to your target audience?
8. When watching your video, what would you like the audience to think, feel, and do?
9. How would you like your brand to be perceived?
10. What product or destination do you want to highlight?

Ask yourself these questions and plan accordingly. To help, download our video briefing document to help you plan your next video.

2. Prep your team

Make sure your team know what is expected of them beforehand, as this minimises mistakes and wasted time. Allow your team time to prepare themselves as it’s usually the case that not everyone is super comfortable behind or infront of the camera.

Also, don’t have your team read off scripts. Notes or q-cards are handy but make it as natural as possible. Videos that are obviously scripted come across as disingenuous and cold. 

3. Take more footage than you need

Let’s say you are filming a 60-second social ad, you should try to film at least 5 minutes of footage, if not more. This gives you more options at the editing stage. It also allows you to create a larger bank of footage for later use.

Also think about cut away shots of your destination and experience. If you are talking to the camera, your audio could continue while other footage is showing. Mixing the visuals up like this makes for a more dynamic final video, which keeps your customers engaged.

4. Keep recording for longer

When filming your shots, especially sweeping shots of a destination or experience, don’t stop recording as soon as you get to the end of the shot you are trying to achieve. Keep recording for at least 10 seconds longer as this will give you more options when editing. This is also necessary when using transitions as you need that extra footage to take the transition time into account.

5. Use the rule of thirds

When you shoot video, or take a photo for that matter, think of the rule of thirds. ‘What the hell is that?” I hear you say. Well, imagine that your shot is divided into nine sections, using two horizontal and vertical lines. Position your primary subject where the lines intersect. This will be either on the left or right hand side of your frame.

For us humans watching video, our eyes will naturally be drawn towards the top right or left point so positioning your main focal point in one of those positions is best.

6. Film multiple takes

If you are speaking to camera, film 2-3 versions as this allows you to edit the best parts of each. It also allows you to edit out any unforeseen mistakes or someone in the background making gestures you may not have noticed. 

7. Use simple, straight cuts in transitions

Using many, crazy transitions in your video makes it look cheap. Look at modern filmmaking: straight cuts are the most commonly used transition. Use these to cut away to other shots and refrain from using wipes, spins, and any other zany methods.

8. Edit to music

Before editing any footage, select your music track first. You can purchase royalty free audio from Audio Jungle for around $30. Select a track you like and one that suits your target audience. 

Edit your footage to the beat of that track as this will give a more cohesive, professional look to your videos. Your music track should have a repetitive beat to it every 1-4 secords. Edit your cutaways to a specific beat. For example, you may have an adventure company and you want to produce an energetic video that fits with the products you offer. Cutting away every 2-3 seconds, to a sharp, upbeat song, will really help sell the adventures you offer! Below is a prime example of footage cutting away in time to the music. Notice how the footage cuts at the highpoint in the beat.

9. Film everything in 4K

Filming in 4K gives you greater flexibility when editing and also helps you futureproof your raw footage to a certain extent.

When you upload video to social or YouTube, the normal way is to upload in 1080p which is standard HD resolution. By filming in 4K, you can zoom into your footage by 200% without loss of quality, as long as your editing software is set to 1080p. This can give your footage the impression it was filmed with two separate cameras when you cut away or get closer to your main subject. I use this sometimes during The Digital Tourism Show.

It also allows you to cut to a close up when you are speaking to camera. This comes in handy if you screw up a line you just can’t nail it in one take.

10. Film in landscape 

Film everything in landscape. I know that since the advent of social media, we can film in portrait but this limits your footage to specific platforms.

If filming in 4k, as advised above, you can crop your footage with most editing software to suit the desired platform, be it YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram posts and stories. Below is a still from a video we shot in landscape and what it looks like in the main platforms and formats you can publish to.

Conclusion

My hope is that by following this guide you can create amazing videos simply by using your phone or devices like the GoPro without the need for expensive equipment.

If you can afford a professional then by all means do it, but I suggest that you mix this in with homemade videos as these can sometimes be seen as more genuine and honest.

At the end of the day, all the advice above is meaningless unless you have a good, interesting and engaging story to tell.

If you would like help editing your tour videos, or need further advice on filming, please do get in touch.

FREE Webinar: How to use video, on any budget, to market your business successfully as well as creating over 100 days of social content.

In the video below I explain how you can use video to better promote your tourism brand, showing live examples. Not only that I explain how you can create a 100 day content pyramid from one video.

Need more free advice?

Chris and his team will send you a weekly email offering high-value insight and advice about a variety of marketing and business development topics related to the tourism industry. We address specific destinations, tours and activities, and the hotel industry. We also provide important travel industry news and updates.

The post 10 tips for recording video for your tour and travel business appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

Guide To Video Marketing – The Digital Tourism Show Episode 211

How to use Video in your Marketing Strategies

In this video I discuss how you can use video to boost your marketing strategies and increase your chances of bookings.

Need more free advice?

Chris and his team will send you a weekly email offering high-value insight and advice about a variety of marketing and business development topics related to the tourism industry. We address specific destinations, tours and activities, and the hotel industry. We also provide important travel industry news and updates.

The post Guide To Video Marketing appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

On top of speaking at Landing, I was also on the judging panel. I had a great experience and I learned a lot. I also hope that I added plenty of value by sharing some of my own insights with everyone who attended. With this blog, I’d like to take stock of my experience at Landing 2019, to reflect on the talk I gave, and to highlight some of my favourite tourism videos.

What is Landing-Madrid?

Landing was a week-long event created to celebrate the best destination tourism videos from across the world. There was a conference element to the event, but it also finished with an awards ceremony at the Madrid stand of FITUR. Landing is, essentially, a great way for anyone producing videos for the tourism sector to receive the recognition they deserve, and for the influential people within the industry to meet up and swap ideas.

My Presentation at Landing

Being the very first speaker, I had the pleasure of opening the event with my workshop “Why we should use video in tourism marketing”. I was speaking to a large Spanish audience and was a little nervous about getting my message across clearly. Luckily, the audience members were equipped with earpieces provided by two fantastic translators who understood my Scottish accent well. Apparently the English speakers understood my accent as well… thankfully!

My workshop highlighted the importance of video and how one piece of footage can inspire someone to become a loyal follower of a tourism brand. Loyal brand followers are still an invaluable part of marketing and a well-made video can inspire your audience. I referred to my own experience, when I visited Japan and had a fantastic experience with the tour company I booked with, after watching a video they had produced. 12 years later, the business I booked from still receives referral business from me. All off the back of one video.

As well as showing a range of illuminating statistics, I provided a guide on how you can create around 65 marketing touchpoints and content form one video. This went down so well that I have been asked to do a full workshop on this particular topic next year. Given that Madrid is one of the best cities I’ve ever visited, I certainly don’t mind returning next year…

The Other Speakers at Landing Madrid

The best thing about attending Landing was that it gave me the opportunity to to meet some really impressive people who create videos for the tourism industry. I had the pleasure of hearing some amazing speakers, including Aina Cortina, of DEC BBDO in Barcelona. Aina showcased some great examples of tourism videos and trends. Theo Papadoulakis, filmmaker at Indiego View in Crete, showcased some of his amazing work. His video on the Incredible Hospitality of Crete was a particular highlight of mine:

On day three, Theo also provided a workshop on the ‘Art of Storytelling’ and he offered many great insights and examples. Although not tourism related, one of his videos, entitled ‘Brother’, was a stunning display of creative storytelling and I was not the only one who had a lump in my throat by the end…

The team at Landing Madrid did an amazing job running the event; the entire event’s success is a testament to the hard work and professionalism of Hugo Marcos, Alexander V. Kammel, and Santi Valldepérez. Not only did the Landing team do an amazing job of running the event, they even treated all the speakers to a traditional flamenco night (which I absolutely loved).

Judging the Awards at Landing Madrid

After the conference portion of Landing, I was tasked with judging the vast number of video submissions. Two stood out for me, both of which went on to win an award in FITUR.

‘Dinner With Georgia’ was produced by the talented Ringailė Leščinskienė of Funky Production House. It was a fantastic piece of storytelling with a very creative concept to back it up. The video tells the story of how they identified the 6 millionth visitor to Georgia, arriving by airplane, and caught them by surprise, giving him VIP treatment and dinner with the Prime Minister.

‘The World’s Most Honest Tourism Video’ was my second favourite. It highlighted Madhya Pradesh in India. This video used a series of real tourist photographs in an amazing, creative way. I challenge you not to smile during this video. Such a fun, entertaining promotional piece.

I showed my children this video and, days after seeing it, they are still signing the theme tune. That is a mark of a great video!

For me personally, both of these videos were great for their own reasons. Incredibly creative, and they both make fantastic use of storytelling to get their messages across.

All the submissions were whittled down to 5 winners:

Best Spanish Tourism Film by Region: Gran Canaria, Fairytale Island

Best Spanish Tourism Film by City: Alcalá your Destination

Best Tourism Film by Country: Dinner With Georgia (see Above)

Best Tourism Film by Region: The World’s Most Honest Tourism Video (see Above)

Best Tourism Film by City: Quito my Story

A Grand Prix winner was also announced and this went to ‘Croatia’s Tourism Ambassadors’:

Overall, Landing Madrid 2019 was a fantastic event that showcased some amazing, talented filmmakers from across the world. I met a lot of great people, learned a lot from them, and I can’t wait until I land in Madrid again.

If reading this blog has inspired you to start working on your own video, or some other kind of creative marketing activity, and you’d like a little help from me and the team at TMA, please feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to hear from new tourism brands!

Need more free advice?

Chris and his team will send you a weekly email offering high-value insight and advice about a variety of marketing and business development topics related to the tourism industry. We address specific destinations, tours and activities, and the hotel industry. We also provide important travel industry news and updates.

The post Chris speaks at Landing Madrid appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

There is more to video than YouTube – DigiTourShow Daily #179

We all know that YouTube is the best place to publish video not only for brand exposure, but if you contain your website in the description, it is great for backlinks to.

But YouTube is not the only one.

If you create regular video, also publish these to Vimeo and Dailymotion.

Whatever platform you use, please make sure you don’t simply link to your home page. You should link to specific products relating to the video you publish as this will also increase the rankings of your product pages.

Join our Facebook group for exclusive content: https://www.facebook.com/groups/digitaltourismshow

Filming location: Tourism Marketing Agency, Glasgow, Scotland

#digitourshow #Scotland

Need more free advice?

Chris and his team will send you a weekly email offering high-value insight and advice about a variety of marketing and business development topics related to the tourism industry. We address specific destinations, tours and activities, and the hotel industry. We also provide important travel industry news and updates.

The post There is more to video than YouTube appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

Top 10 Video Marketing Ideas For Tourism, Part 2 – DigiTourShow Daily #143

Here is part 2 of my top 10 ideas that you can implement in your business…

6. Ask customers for feedback and film their testimonial at the end of their experience.

7. Produce videos of suppliers and businesses you have a connection with or who benefit from your tours and products

8. Ask users to submit their videos through a competition. This can produce great content for your site.

9. Film company events and announcements and add a sense of fun. Be human.

10. Thank your customers. Shoot short videos thanking your customers for being part of your journey.

Join our Facebook group for exclusive content: https://www.facebook.com/groups/digitaltourismshow

Filming location: Tourism Marketing Agency, Glasgow, Scotland

#digitourshow #Scotland

Need more free advice?

Chris and his team will send you a weekly email offering high-value insight and advice about a variety of marketing and business development topics related to the tourism industry. We address specific destinations, tours and activities, and the hotel industry. We also provide important travel industry news and updates.

The post Top 10 Video Marketing Ideas For Tourism, Part 2 appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

Top 10 Video Marketing Ideas For Tourism, Part 1 – DigiTourShow Daily #142

Video is vital in and should be part of any marketing strategy. Here is the first part of my top 10 ideas that you can implement in your business…

1. Have the face of the business tell the story of the company and make it mean something to your customers.

2. Use an expert within the business to create an destination advice video.

3. Follow a tour guide or employee during their working day to create a ‘day in the life’ video.

4. Have your staff and guides create a video series explaining why they love doing what they do.

5. Show that you care by creating a customer care video

Join our Facebook group for exclusive content: https://www.facebook.com/groups/digitaltourismshow

Filming location: Tourism Marketing Agency, Glasgow, Scotland

#digitourshow #Scotland

Need more free advice?

Chris and his team will send you a weekly email offering high-value insight and advice about a variety of marketing and business development topics related to the tourism industry. We address specific destinations, tours and activities, and the hotel industry. We also provide important travel industry news and updates.

The post Top 10 Video Marketing Ideas For Tourism, Part 1 appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.

Today, we go one step further and start looking at some inspiration of great Tourism marketing videos.

What makes an effective Tourism video? Well, it has to be relevant to your audience, addressing their interests and giving them the information that they are looking for.

Thankfully, you actually don’t need to have a massive budget to be able to pull off a great video campaign, it doesn’t have to be really fancy or expensive. It’s possible to create smaller scale videos as long as the style is consistent and works with your brand message.

For example, there are a number of great videos that are shot on an iPhone and embrace the ‘homemade’ look.

All you need is a great idea and make sure you execute it well.

1. Turkish Airlines: Kobe vs Messi

One of the key things that makes this video so successful is the celebrity endorsement. Within the first 5 seconds, people recognise Kobe and Messi and will instantly be hooked to find out what the advert is all about.

However, it’s not just the famous sportsmen that make this video so successful. It’s also the themes that are portrayed. There is so much fun and adventure packed into this short video that will really inspire and excite people. This, teamed together with the sporting legends in top destinations makes for a winning combination really.

There is a reason Turkish Airlines have featured so many world-wide destinations in this advert. They are trying to get away from the persona of being a solely Turkish service, they actually fly all over the world, using the new tagline of ‘the carrier that flies to more countries than any other’.

There are actually a few other short adverts such as Drogba vs Messi and even some behind the scenes clips, showing how the videos are made.

2. Tourism Australia: 360 degrees

Now, there are so many things about this ‘360’ campaign that hit the mark in Tourism Marketing. First of all, they have really taken into account the latest trends in digital.

If you are trying to watch these videos on a desktop computer, you might have noticed they look a bit weird. That is because these have been developed to cater to the mobile market. Try again, this time in the YouTube app and see how much more exciting these videos are. You can actually use your finger to scroll through the full 360 degrees as though you are really there.

These videos are an immersive experience, letting the viewer feel like they are not in a video at all, but in a virtual reality, getting to actively experience being in Australia.

For this campaign, 17 videos were created in total and you can view them all on their YouTube channel here. 

(Remember to use your mobile for these ones!)

3. Royal Caribbean: The Bloggers Perspective

Previously, cruises were thought to be mostly aimed at an older market – predominantly the 50+ group. However, cruise companies all over the world are trying to get over this and change the perception by marketing to younger people.

The key feature here is showing the adventure. Cruise ships are not boring. There is so much to do – things you wouldn’t do anywhere else. It’s a unique experience right on your cabin doorstep.

Featuring famous bloggers and making use of their younger audiences will help reach the right target market. It’s also successful because these reviewers are their peers. People they trust, with similar interests to themselves.

4. Holland: The Original Cool.

Slaying stereotypes, Holland’s tourism board have set out to inspire people to visit. Cheese and clogs are not all that they have to offer, there is boutique shopping, friendly people, and an eco-conscious way of life.

It’s not just a place, it’s a destination with much to experience. It’s the original cool.

Have you noticed each of these examples actually have a common goal? They have all been trying to change the perception of their destination, rising above the stereotypes to create a new brand message.

Turkish Airlines don’t just fly to Turkey – they fly to countries all over the world. Cruises aren’t just for the older market – they appeal to Millennial adventure-seekers too. Holland isn’t just about clogs and cheese – there is a whole culture and way of life behind it.

Did these videos change your perception? Or even make you want to visit one of their destinations? This is the power of video in Tourism Marketing. It creates a much stronger emotional connection than any other form of advertising.

The next question to ask is how do you go about creating a Tourism video? We will answer this in part 4 of our Tourism Video Series

Need more free advice?

Chris and his team will send you a weekly email offering high-value insight and advice about a variety of marketing and business development topics related to the tourism industry. We address specific destinations, tours and activities, and the hotel industry. We also provide important travel industry news and updates.

The post Part 3: 4 Great Examples of Using Video in Tourism appeared first on Tourism Marketing Agency.