1 INDUSTRY STUDY 2018 In-Flight Viewing · YouTube Attracts A Massive Travel Audience . Consumers...

How Marketers Can Land Travel Audiences Across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram

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© 2018 Pixability, Inc. All rights reserved.

INDUSTRY STUDY 2018

Copyright 2018. Pixability, Inc. All rights reserved.


In-Flight Viewing

How Marketers Can Land Travel Audiences Across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram © 2018 Pixability, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Unpacking Travel Across YouTube, Facebook, And InstagramNothing transports a consumer like video — and travel content is booming on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Consumers are turning to video for packing help and travel tips, as well as to experience new places, compare travel options, and ultimately make brand decisions.

Digital video has become the new travel agency — and marketers must develop a first-class video strategy if they’re going to win audiences across these major video domains.

In this report, you’ll discover Pixability’s analysis of the travel space across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram — breaking down audience behavior and video strategies to help travel marketers understand how they can make an impact on their target audiences through video.

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T L ; D RNeed To Make Your Connection? Here’s What You Need To Know

Marketers should produce digital-first video tailored to each video domain’s specific strengths, and carefully consider their contextual targeting strategy to maximize impact.

− Among top-viewed travel content on YouTube, 3 out of every 8 videos are vlogs.

− Viewers are turning to YouTube for long-form (3+ minute) content, but brands are primarily publishing short-form content on the domain.

− Airlines and cruise lines are investing in sophisticated video strategies across Facebook and Instagram, incorporating 360-degree videos and livestreams to drive impact.

YouTube: Marketers can take advantage of YouTube’s massive built-in viewership by developing a long-

form video strategy, leveraging influencers and publishing frequently to continue building and activating their audience, deepening brand commitment.

Facebook: By investing in a robust video strategy on Facebook, marketers can stay top-of-mind among their

target consumers. Successful Facebook video strategies, such as Celebrity Cruises’s, utilize short-form video and innovative formats to engage consumers around promotions, as well as some long-form video for branding.

Instagram: Instagram is a natural fit for travel marketers, allowing them to engage consumers by

showcasing destinations and travel experiences. Marketers should lean into Instagram as a growth platform — as Four Seasons has demonstrated — and activate it through frequent publishing of both photos and videos.


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Breaking Down Travel Sub-Category Performance

Overall Travel Space 306B Views | 35% YoY Growth

61B Views 42% YoY Growth


Car Rentals





Cruise LinesAirlines

Theme Parks Online Travel Agencies

Hotels


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YouTube Attracts A Massive Travel Audience Consumers are escaping to exotic locations on YouTube in particular, with the travel space growing by 34% YoY since 2013 to reach 306B total views, across 1.3M channels, and 13.9M total videos. Pixability found that travel content tends to become more popular as the year progresses, as viewers increasingly turn to travel content during the summer and holiday seasons. Pixability anticipates the travel space will attract a total of 96B views in 2018.

Viewers Flock To Digital Video Environments Like YouTube To View Travel Content

Marketers Can Drive Awareness During Periods Of High Viewership Across Travel Content

Source: Pixability, July 2018

30B

40B

50B

60B

20B

10B


70B

80B

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

200B

400B

600B

800B

Beauty

326B

Travel Fashion

190B

Personal Care

Food & Beverage

641B

YouTube Views Quarterly YouTube Views

145B

306B


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Consumers Are Looking For Made-For-Digital Travel Content The velocity of the digital video ecosystem has led to many made-for-digital content types — and consumers are overwhelmingly viewing this type of content on YouTube. Marketers should invest in made-for-digital content like vlogs, which comprise nearly 40% of the top travel videos on YouTube, and prove 10X more engaging than other content types on average. In other major content spaces, comedy content typically attracts the highest viewership — while travel content is often comedic, educational and inspirational content takes center stage in this space.

Marketers’ Video Strategies Should Reflect What Viewers Are Watching

Vlog

Ad

POV Experience

Other

Informational

List

5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%


Review

Comedy

Share of Top Travel Content


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Guidebook: Learn the Language Of Travel Content Across Digital Video

Reviews of popular travel gear, lodging, or brands.

Promotional videos to attract engagement and subscribers, raffling off travel gear, tickets, or cash.

Reviews Giveaways

Travel guides about destinations, typically produced by brands or publishers.

First-person point-of-view videos focused on a specific destination or attraction.

Advice on efficient packing, affordable travel, or how to travel alone.

InformationalPOV Experience Tips, Tricks & Hacks

Created by influencers to document their daily lives, showcase travel adventures, and engage with their viewers.

Informative video ranking top travel destinations or brands.

Brand advertisements, typically 30 seconds in length.

Vlogs Lists Commercial Ads


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Travel Influencers Have Cultivated Engaged Audiences On YouTube Influencers have honed their content strategies to produce highly-engaging videos, and have cultivated active audiences as a result. Influencers attract 2.5X more views and 3X higher engagement rates than brands — but by taking a page from influencer playbooks, marketers can close the gap.

Marketers Should Borrow Content Strategies From Influencer Playbooks To Drive Views And Engagements

1.5B

2B

2.5B

3B

1B

500M


0.70%

0.60%

0.50%

0.40%

0.30%

0.20%

0.00%

0.10%

Influencer Publisher Brand

Engagement RateTotal Views

.64%

.20% .20%


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For example, YouTube travel audiences are overwhelmingly searching for long-form content, with 63% of top travel videos clocking in at 3+ minutes. However, 83% of brand videos are less than 3 minutes in length. Marketers should expand their horizons beyond traditional TV ads, and invest in long-form, made-for-digital content to connect with their audiences.

Viewers Choose To Consume Long-Form Video Content — But Brands Overwhelmingly Produce Short-Form Content

10+ minutes

5-10 minutes

3-5 minutes

1-3 minutes

30-60 seconds

0-30 seconds

5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Share of ViewershipShare of Brand Publishing


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S P O T L I G H T

Ride-Hailing Platforms Dominate Traditional Auto Rental BrandsRide-hailing platforms like Uber and Lyft have extended their innovative approach to digital video, developing a sophisticated strategy to carve out audiences on YouTube — and significantly outperforming auto rental brands as a result. By partnering with celebrities and influencers, and investing in frequently publishing made-for-digital content, ride-hailing platforms are leaving auto rental brands in the dust.

Ride-Hailing Apps Attract 13X More Views Than Traditional Auto Rental Brands On YouTube

200K

300K

100K

Ride-Hailing Apps

500K

400K

Auto Rental Brands


Views


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On YouTube, theme park brands like Disney have attracted the largest audience. Disney drives a large viewership by combining an aggressive paid media strategy with media investment, while hotels have cultivated highly-engaged audiences on YouTube — clocking more than 3 engagements per subscriber on average. Marketers should look to hotel brands on YouTube to identify successful strategies proven to resonate with travel audiences.

Theme Parks Attract The Largest Viewership Among Travel Brands, While Hotels Have Cultivated The Most-Engaged Subscribership On YouTube

15%

20%

25%

30%

10%

5%


3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0

0.5

35%

40%

Theme Parks OTA Cruise Hotel Airline Car Rental

Engagements per SubscriberShare of Travel Viewership

2.39%

0.24%

3.09%

1.06%

0.61%

1.09%

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Marriott Drives A Much Higher YouTube Viewership When Collaborating With Influencers

350K

150K

200K

250K

300K

100K

50K

For Influencer Collaboration Video

500K

400K

450K

For Non-Collaborative Video


Average Views

S P O T L I G H T

Marriott’s Successful Influencer StrategyOne outstanding example of a brand adapting to the new video ecosystem is Marriott. The hotel brand partners with popular and rising influencers to engage its audiences with digital-first content — and it’s clear that working with influencers like Jeana Smith, Louis Cole, and JackHarries is driving video performance for the brand.


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Cruise lines are leading the way on Facebook through sophisticated video strategies, including 360-degree video and extensive video playlists — in fact, the average cruise brand attracts 10X as many Page Likes as the average auto rental brand. By publishing frequently, investing in innovative video formats, and developing an optimized video page, travel marketers can replicate the success that cruise lines have found on Facebook.

Cruise Lines Are Attracting Large Audiences Through Innovative Video Formats, Optimized Video Pages, And Frequent Publishing

3M

4M

5M

2M

1M

All-time Facebook VideosFacebook Page Likes


400

350

300

250

200

150

6M

100

50

0Carnival

364

Royal Caribbean

355

Norwegian

206

Disney

377

Princess

150

Celebrity

365

Viking

300

Windstar

105

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S P O T L I G H T

Celebrity Cruises Expertly Navigates Facebook VideoBy aggressively investing in organic and paid video, Celebrity Celebrity has amassed an audience of more than 1.2M consumers on Facebook. The brand publishes a new video every other day on average, and drives awareness through strategic paid support.

The brand’s videos showcase the cruise experience — from food and excursions to recreation and lodging — and include short-form content videos (47% of its 152 videos last less than 30 seconds), 360-degree content, and livestreams.


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When approaching Facebook, marketers must develop a holistic strategy to reach and engage consumers throughout the buyer’s journey. Alaska Airlines has developed a healthy mix of content for the domain, utilizing short-form content to stop consumers from scrolling — promoting deals, sharing service updates, and highlighting destinations — and investing in long-form content for branding.

Low-Fare Airlines Are Investing In Short-Form Video on Facebook

60

80

120

100

40

20

Alaska

Share of Videos Under 30 SecondsVideos Published Last Year


60%

30%

20%

10%

Southwest Hawaiian United American Spirit Delta JetBlue Frontier Virgin

160

140

80%

70%

50%

40%

70%

27%

7%

49%44%

75%

61%

47%

75%

0%


16


60

80

120

100

40

20

Hotel brands are also investing in a sophisticated Facebook video strategy, as seen by the diverse set of content they are leveraging: long-form video for branding, and short-form video to drive awareness around launches and promotions. Best Western leads other hotel brands in recent videos published — and the brand is also investing in optimizing its video page on Facebook, with 9 playlists showcasing its diverse array of video content.

Hotel Brands Are Producing A Healthy Mix Of Content Lengths On Facebook

Best Western


100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Hilton Choice Hotels

Four Seasons

Radisson IHG Hyatt Kimpton Hotels

Travelodge Preferred Hotels

Red Roof Inn Marriott Wyndham

Share of Videos Under 30 SecondsVideos Published Last Year

65%

82%

66%62%

94%

54%

14%

44%56%

38%

20%

50%

100%


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As a visual-first domain, Instagram can help travel brands showcase inspiring and engaging creative from picturesque locations. Pixability anticipates that travel brands will continue to lean into their Instagram strategy, investing in more frequent publishing to grow their audience and drive awareness and loyalty on the domain.

The Four Seasons Leads Hotels In Instagram Followers And Posts

300K

400K

600K

500K

200K

100K

Four Seasons

Followers Posts


2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

Marriott Hotels

Sheraton Hyatt Holiday Inn Double Tree Hilton Hotels & Resorts

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants

Radisson Preferred Hotels

800K

700K

3,000

2,5002.5K

1.5K

7741K

602

1K 1K1.2K 1.3K

1.5K


Fasten Your SeatbeltsAs digital video environments like YouTube and Facebook continue to evolve, travel marketers must invest in sophisticated video strategies to make an impact among their core audiences. By understanding what their viewers are watching, and how other brands are approaching video, marketers can put their best foot forward in the travel space, reaching and engaging their audiences across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Want more insights?

To learn more, and to find out how your video strategy stacks up across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, contact us to set up a meeting.

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1 INDUSTRY STUDY 2018 In-Flight Viewing · YouTube Attracts A Massive Travel Audience . Consumers...

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Transcript of 1 INDUSTRY STUDY 2018 In-Flight Viewing · YouTube Attracts A Massive Travel Audience . Consumers...