OK, so we know that content is king. And we know that great content marketing involves telling your brand’s story. But your brand is also part of a bigger story, which includes your competitors and customers and everyone else in your industry. And you want to be the hero.
Sound like the tagline of a choose-your-own-adventure story? Well, that’s exactly what travel is. Adventure. Experience. Personal history. If you want people to invite you into their stories, you have to let them in on yours. That’s why content is more than a buzzword. The most compelling content builds familiarity and trust—and establishes your brand as a leader in your industry. Or a hero in your story.
Diving in to content marketing
Sometimes it takes a smaller tourism company to show travel brands how ripe this industry is for storytelling. Take Dive Rite, for example. Established in 1984 by two underwater cave explores and diving instructors, the Florida-based company calls itself “the first technical dive gear company in existence.” Today it’s also the world’s leading online community for serious divers.
In early 2006, the Dive Rite website was essentially an online catalogue. The company had long standing relationships with print media partners, and relied on them for most of its advertising. Dive Rite’s organizational structure and budgeting—like most retail brands—was set up to sell products, not to produce content. But the company knew it had a lot more to offer divers.
So Dive Rite contacted content marketer Russell Sparkman who suggested the company establish itself as the “definitive resource” in the technical SCUBA gear market. The company launched a blog, an instructional video channel and a dynamic FAQ tool called the “Solution Finder.”
Dive Rite also reinforced its role as a SCUBA gear pioneer by writing itself into the story. The website features a historical timeline, which takes readers through the early days of underwater cave exploration up to today’s technical advances. The timeline places the launch of Dive Rite into this history, highlighting the fact that the brand was around before virtually all of its competitors. They’re the heroes.
Return on engagement
Dive Rite’s leadership-based content strategy paid off. With relatively little ad spending, their website’s traffic has increased by 33%. The site ranks organically in the top 10 for their most important key words and phrases, and numbers 1, 2 or 3 for primary key words. The average time spent at Diverite.com is an impressive 30 minutes, with an 80% sale conversion rate when referred to one of their online dealers. Now, that’s return on engagement.
Up in the Air
Don’t want to tell your own story? You can be the hero of somebody else’s…through clever brand integration. Co-starring with George Clooney, American Airlines shines in the new movie, “Up in the Air,” which showcases the airline’s friendly employees, posh Admiral Club lounges, and Clooney’s character—the ultimate Transumer?— pining for 10 million frequent flyer miles. Think about product placement, cross-promotion, and sponsorships as a way of attaching your brand to like-minded content.
Travel sells itself
Dive Rite’s online brand took off because the content they created is compelling and useful. The company also has an important advantage; wreck diving is exciting. But so is air travel. Or visiting a new, faraway place. Travel is an adventure that sells itself. Convincing customers to engage with your brand is a whole other story.
This article sparked by thinking about stories. The default storyline for the U.S. Olympic athlete is how he or she overcome some hardship in their personal life to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. I like stories where the drama hinges on the hero taking a courageous and much ridiculed step within the arc of his field: the diving company which explored the cave tunnel not taken; the snurfer rider who tossed aside the guide rope and lashed his feet to the board
RT @sparksheet: You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story — Travel, Content Marketing and American http://bit.ly/8IjPe6
You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story http://bit.ly/56Hsv0
RT @inspiredmag: You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story http://bit.ly/56Hsv0
RT @sparksheet: You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story — Travel, Content Marketing and American http://bit.ly/8IjPe6
You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story http://bit.ly/6ETqRI
You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story http://bit.ly/4peTDU
RT @inspiredmag: You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story http://bit.ly/56Hsv0
@Sparksheet – You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story – http://tinyurl.com/y8h5sv8
You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story – http://tinyurl.com/y8h5sv8 featuring @fusionspark thanks @sparksheet
RT @fusionspark: You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story – http://tinyurl.com/y8h5sv8 featuring @fusionspark thanks @sp …
You Don't Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand's Story — Travel …: With relatively little ad spend.. http://bit.ly/7SFU1f
You Don't Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand's Story — Travel … http://bit.ly/57yHQj
RT @inspiredmag: You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story http://bit.ly/56Hsv0
RT @sparksheet: You Don’t Need George Clooney to Tell Your Brand’s Story — Travel, Content Marketing and American http://bit.ly/8IjPe6
http://sparksheet.com/you-don%E2%80%99t-need-george-clooney-to-tell-your-brand%E2%80%99s-story/
Jeah – http://sparksheet.com/you-don’t-need-george-clooney-to-tell-your-brand’s-story/
Diverite.com's content strategy results in 80% sale conversion rate when site visitor clicks thru to online dealers. http://bit.ly/86allh
Great article from @sparksheet saying you don't need George Clooney to tell your brand's story: http://bit.ly/8IjPe6
You don't need George Clooney to tell your story #content #marketing http://tinyurl.com/yek7qqk
RT @SpottedWombat: Great article from @sparksheet saying you don't need George Clooney to tell your brand's story: http://bit.ly/8IjPe6
Dive Rite’s leadership-based content strategy paid off.W/ little ad spending, website’s traffic increased by 33%.http://tinyurl.com/y8h5sv8
@MFGcom This article has a silly title, but it's a decent description of the Dive Rite project http://bit.ly/86allh
[...] Corporate blogging works well for brands that create a distinctive voice people trust. Many technology-related businesses find success by providing expert opinions about developments in their industry. Tech companies also benefit from a sophisticated understanding of the Web; they just ‘get it’ when it comes to capitalizing on a blog’s strengths, giving them an advantage over, say, a scuba gear company. [...]