Web Content
Content is King
In
Web 20 Content is king, so make it a primary and long-term investment.
Content means information –
whatever format it is held in (for example, text, audio, images, video,
and Flash animations). It
is what the medium ‘contains’ rather than the format in which it is
held- and is what will
stimulate and satisfy the needs of end-customers.
Social Networks are a new and powerful arena for tourism marketers. Identify your market
segments to decide the
priority audiences and topics, and be clear about which publishing
channels you will use, and what
formats these channels need. Don’t do it all yourself, work with
partners to achieve quality
content. Images and video are becoming paramount, both to motivate and
inform.
An open data platform to take in and feed out content, and a good
content management
system with well-trained users, are essential investments. Content is
stored separately from the
various ways in which it is delivered –your websites and other people’s,
via print, contact
centres, mobile phones, radio and TV. Some of the information may be
collected with a specific
medium or target market in mind, but the guiding principle is that
wherever possible it should be
capable of being formatted for any need.
In daily practice there is a distinction between data and editorial
content:
- Product data (including geocodes), stored in structured databases, with someone originating or procuring the data, and monitoring the quality of it.
- Editorial content created in, or imported into, a content management system (CMS), with a web editor and other staff responsible for this.
The division is practical, but it can lead to duplication unless
the two work closely
together, within the same overall marketing team.
The customer’s first and favoured source of information seems likely
to become user-generated
content (UGC). Some 70% of Internet content is forecast to be created by
individuals as opposed to
publishers and brands within three years. UGC is set to rapidly shift
from a budding consumer trend
to a serious business over the next five years. Despite the ongoing
challenges facing UGC sites to
find a business model that works, and despite continued hesitancy among
some major brands to even
go near the explosive space, eMarketer predicts that category leaders
such as YouTube, MySpace,
Facebook and Photobucket will lead the charge in terms of legitimizing
the medium over the next
five years.
The nearly tenfold increase in UGC advertising spending in the US
reflects optimism in the
ability of companies like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook to continue to
build and retain vast
audiences. Plus, users have shown no indication that creating their own
Web content for others to
consume is a passing fad, found eMarketer. By 2011, the researcher
estimates there will be 95
million Web users creating content online, up from 64 million in 2006.
Video is vital. Consumers have already adopted do-it-yourself video,
and the sharing of it on
sites like YouTube, in massive numbers. Video is likely to be the key
tool for creating awareness
and projecting brand values. Done well, it is powerful, emotive,
personal and persuasive. The
combination of UGC video and professionally-produced video will be the
mainstay of online travel
communication between tourism businesses and their customers, and
between visitors.
Establishing identity and trust with the customer are vital in
online marketing. These are
qualities that are hard to establish and easy to lose. Your content
therefore needs to be:
• Accurate
• Timely
• Attractive and motivational
Be transparent about who produced the content, whether your own or
that of third parties.
This applies to everything from weather forecasts and hotel reviews to
blogs containing personal
opinions. Advertorials and sponsored content should be identified as
[Sponsored Article] or
[Advertisement]. It should always be clear who is talking. Do not
hesitate to use the logo of a
partner where it is justified.
For internal quality control, set standards and then audit them at regular intervals – frequently if for volatile types of content, and annually for the rest.