Content marketing and how it can be used to grow your business in the highly competitive travel industry. Let’s look at ways to improve your content marketing using buyer personas, blogs, e-books, videos and podcasts.

1. Grow Your Travel Business
Using Content Marketing
Caroline Farrell
Student ID: 86809187

2. Introduction
Content Marketing is acknowledged as an effective way to boost your audience
engagement, brand awareness and sales. Using examples, lets look at ways to
improve your content marketing through establishing:
 Clear buyer personas
 Findable content
 Content aimed at each stage of the buyers journey
 Content types
 Social media platforms

3. What is Content Marketing?
“Content Marketing is the process
of planning, creating, distributing,
sharing and publishing content via
channels such as social media,
blogs, websites, podcasts, apps,
press releases, print publications
and more”
- Baker

4. Why is Content Marketing Important?
 Educates your customers and prospects
 Increases conversions
 Develops a relationship and a sense of trust
for increased loyalty and community
 Aimed at target audience to build brand
awareness, sales, engagement and loyalty
 Assists your audience with their challenges

5. Adventurer
Active, enjoy the outdoors. They may not have a
destination in mind and are open to expert
suggestions.
Learner
Interested in history, culture, art. Their travel experience
starts online, browsing content that educates.
Planner
Enjoy planning and booking their own trip. Shop around for
package deals and offers. Once the purchase decision is
made, they continue to create detailed itineraries. They are
fully prepared, with high expectations.
Miller (2015)
Examples of Travel Buyer Personas
CNTraveler
Lonely Planet
Australia Tourism

6. Make your Content Findable
When planning travel, 85% of people start the process
online fmi(2022). Keywords like “holiday” are typed into
search engines. Titles containing keywords are more likely
to appear in search results. E.g. when searching on
Google with “Planning my next holiday” a story by
Escape is ranked third.
When searching for “Next Adventure Holiday” they rank
fourth. They have optimised for search by using in their
title, broad keywords – “holiday” with more targeted
search terms “Adventure” and “Planning.”

7. Make your Content Findable – Paid Advertising
 Increase reach to target audience
 Generate more qualified leads
 Boost brand affinity and visibility
Smith (2022)
 Paid search: aimed at generating traffic based on
keywords or phases with intent (visitors are actively
searching and are likely to book) Ward (2019)
Bookings.com Hotels Combined
 Native Advertising- Hotels Combined ad appears on
Escape page to drive bookings.
 Travel shoppers are focusing their attention on related
content.

8. Examples of Content Types - Blogs
 Leading form of content for travel sites
 Targeted to visitors in the awareness phase of the customer journey
 Taps into buyer persona
 Evocative imagery
 Sharable
 Extensive internal and external links to improve UX, credibility
and search ranking
 Subscribe CTA at end of Blog leading to landing page
Escape Traveller
 Clever integration of user generated content,
considered more reliable and trustworthy
fmi(2022)

9. Examples of Content Types – ebooks
 After reading a blog, visitors may want to find out more in an ebook
 Both Fodors and Lonely Planet are world class travel guidebook suppliers
 High quality ebooks promoted on their blog pages
 Use decision stage tactic providing subscribe CTA with
offer – 20% off online shop - driving conversions and
sales.
Lonely Planet Fodors
 Fodor’s guidebooks have a low profile on their site
 Link through to amazon

10. Examples of Content Types -Video
 Immersive and fun
 Add to the overall site experience
 Show off brands personality
 Targeted to visitors in the consideration phase of the
customer journey
Rayco (2021)
 Position themselves as industry experts
 Includes experiences and guides
 Sharable
 Intrepid improves engagement and conversions with a
convenient CTA beside the video content
Intrepid Travel
Australia Tourism

11. Examples of Content Types - Podcasts
 Multi-task friendly
 Builds connections and loyalty
 Targeted to visitors in the consideration phase of the customer journey
Fernandez (2021)
 Interviews with experts on various
experiences
 Sharable
Traveller
 Podcast targeting women that travel
 Fun and informative
 Pop-up CTA to Subscribe to Newsletter
CNTraveler

12. Examples of Content Types - Quizzes
 Targeted to visitors in the awareness phase of the customer journey
 Provides destination suggestions based on visitor's requirements
 Interactive tool that allows the user to shape their own buyer persona
 Personalises the site experience providing relevant content
Australia Tourism CNTraveller

13. Amplify your Content Using Social Media
 Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are at
the forefront in travel
 Grow Presence
 Increase followers
Tourwriter (2022)
 Post Regularly
 Awe-inspiring imagery
 Respond to their audience
Fodors
Bookings.com  With a following of over 15 million, their Facebook posts
often link back to their website, driving traffic.
Traveller  Engage their audience with an online poll

14. Conclusion
“Content Marketing is all the
Marketing that’s left”
- Seth Godin
Quality content considerate of the buyers
persona, their journey and backed by
appropriate promotion will lead to audience
engagement and ultimately sales.

15. References
https://www.australia.com/en
Baker, K. (2019) The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in 2022. Hubspot. [Online] Available at:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-marketing Accessed 20 October
https://www.booking.com
https://www.cntraveler.com/
https://www.escape.com.au/
Fernandez, L (2021) What Travel Marketers need to know about podcasts. PhocusWire. [Online] Available at:
https://www.phocuswire.com/What-travel-marketers-need-to-know-about-podcasts Accessed 25 October
https://www.fodors.com/
Future Market Insights (2022) Travel and Tourism User Generated Content Market. [Online] Available at:
https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/user-generated-content-in-tourism-sector-overview Accessed 25
October
https://www.intrepidtravel.com/

16. References
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/
Miller, M. (2015) 4 Starter Personas for Tourism and Travel Content Marketing. LinkedIn. [Online] Available at:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/4-starter-personas-tourism-travel-content-marketing-miranda-miller/ Accessed
21 October
Rayco, (2021) The Consideration Stage: Strategies and Types of Content. Pathmonk. [Online] Available at:
https://pathmonk.com/the-consideration-stage-strategies-and-types-of-
content/#:~:text=The%20ultimate%20role%20of%20the,to%20have%20any%20promotional%20content
Accessed 26 October
Smith, K. (2022) Why Your Competitors use Paid Search and You Should Too. LYFE Marketing. [Online] Available
at: https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/paid-search-advertising/ Accessed 24 October
TourWriter (2022) The Evolutional of Social Media in the Travel Industry. [Online] Available at:
https://www.tourwriter.com/social-media/ Accessed 26 October
https://www.traveller.com.au/