content marketing

Hello. In this video I am going to show four excellent examples of content marketing. Two of these examples are video content because video content is more and more popular these days and show no sign of slowing down. According to a recent survey by HubSpot, in 2018 more than half of the customers preferred video content followed by text-based content such as blog post. (HubSpot, 2018)

The first example of effective video content I have chosen is from TravelZoo. TravelZoo is running their own YouTube channel where they share not just visually compelling videos, but also educational and useful video contents. Like this one: “Parent Trap Survival Kit”. Travelling with young kids? We all know how difficult it can be to keep them entertained during a long journey. Well, the answer can be the kids’ own mini suitcase packed with his or her favourite toys and colouring books and…well, whatever they want and like. This video is really useful for parents. Compered to TravelZoo’s some other videos showcasing gorgeous landscapes in Switzerland, for example, this video is really useful for visitors. It solves a common problem parents have to face many times.

 

(TravelZoo 2015, YouTube)

The next video I have chosen is from lastminute.com. Lasminute.com is the only company among the companies I have analysed that has a cabala animal being used in their campaigns. (Yes, TripAdvisor also have an owl in their logo, but they don’t use it neither in their video campaigns, nor in other format of their contents.) Lasminute.com’s cabala animal is an adventurous flamingo who travels the world, falls in love and takes part in all of the fun no matter what that is. Most of lasminute.com’s videos are around this flamingo being shown during taking selfie in Paris, scuba diving in the Maldives or sightseeing in Rome. The videos’ signature colour is pink, making them immediately recognisable for viewers. The videos like this one below are short, funny, compelling and informative at the same time.

(Facebook, 2019)

My next content is from lastminute.com again. This one is an image being shared on Twitter. This post is advertising lasminute.com’s WhatApp channel and offering 20% off of the next booking if someone subscribes. What makes this post standing out is, the visually compelling image composed for the post. The signature pink colour and the cabala flamingo both appear in the picture but not in an overwhelming or irritating way. The flamingo is rising from a smart phone with a beautiful building behind it, suggesting that the information and the offers lasmunute.com will provide by WhatsApp, are almost tangible. “Add a bit of pink to your day.” – says the speech bubble next to the flamingo.

Lastminute.com’s slogan is: ”Whatever makes you pink”. It means, flamingos aren’t born pink, they turn pink by doing what they love the most: eating shrimps. The slogan, “Whatever makes you pink” encourages latminute.com’s audience to do what they love. Whatever that is. In this case, they say: “Add a bit of pink to your day.” Clever isn’t it?

(Twitter, 2019)

The following content was shared on Twitter by lastminute.com.

(Twitter, 2019)

This is a simple blog post with a simple image and a short text followed by a link to the website. If it’s so simple, what makes it standing out? Take a closer look to the image. It’s a nice picture showcasing a woman taking pictures of a temple in the sunset. Nice warm colours…and something else! Pink! Yes, lastminute.com’s signature pink colour appears in the picture, giving the unmissable touch that makes this simple image unmissably belong to lastminute.com. What other companies use pink as signature colour? Barbie? T-Mobile? Well…not too many, right?

The next thing we have to take a look is the content this post is advertising. It’s a guide. “Where to go in March”. A useful guide for those just have started to think about their Spring holiday. The link navigates us to the actual blog post on lasminute.com’s website.

But what we find there is not just a blog post. Right at the beginning of the blog post we can find a short video to help us visualise the alternative destinations and contains a simple call-to-action at the end. The blog post contains stunning images of the different countries and a brief description of the countries and why to visit them particularly in March.

(lastminute.com, 2019)

(lastminute.com, 2019)

The blog post includes links to booking landing pages as well as followed by other related blog posts.

(lastminute.com, 2019)

If I want to compare this social media content to the other social media contents I used as examples in my SlideShare presentation, if I want to explain why I have chosen this one and not something else, I would say because this post contains everything it should contain: compelling image, the company’s signature colour, short, compelling text and a link that navigates to a blog post that really serves, in this case, the second stage of the marketing funnel: consideration.

The other posts I used in my SlideShare presentation were all missing something: for example, Airbnb posted an accommodation to Instagram offered by one of their users. There even were a short description why the accommodation would be a perfect choice and also a couple of nearby available activities were listed. But no further information could be found about how to book it, which month and for how long can it be booked, what’s the price etc.

(Instagram, 2019)

Or TravelZoo posted a beautiful image with a special offer on Twitter but they didn’t provide any further information about that particular country, only a link to the booking page.

(Twitter, 2019)

Content is king. But generating great content will not stand on its own. Content must serve the different stages of the buying journey – awareness, consideration and decision – as well as help audience to solve a problem or educate them about something they need more information about. Even if your content – a good image or video for example – gabs your audience’s attention, it also needs to be valuable to your audience and provide more information for them if they need. A photo of a beautiful accommodation and the list of the available activities nearby is nice. But if you don’t let your audience know how to book it, where it is exactly etc., if they have to dig this information by themselves, they will lose interest. We always have to make sure to give valuable content to our customers which is informative, high quality and serve all the stages of the buying journey.

 

References

HubSpot (2018) “Content Trends: Preferences Emerge Along Generational Fault Lines” [Online] Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/news-trends/content-trends-preferences#LINK2 [Accessed 13 June 2019]

TravelZoo (2015) YouTube “Travelzoo’s Parent Trap Survival Kits” [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Gu7lLx4YQ [Accessed 13 June 2019]

lastminute.com (2019) “Where to Go in March” [Online] Available at: https://www.lastminute.com/holidays/where-to-go/march.html?acntb=holiday&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social_org&utm_campaign=WheretogotoMarch_4032019&utm_content=holidays&utm_term=post_linkpreview [Accessed 13 June 2019]

Sources

https://www.facebook.com/lastminute.com

https://twitter.com/lastminute_com

https://www.instagram.com/airbnb/

https://twitter.com/Travelzoo_UK