Over the last year, consumers changed their online behavior. Sitting in the safety of their home, binge-watching television is long-gone. I’m not saying the Netflix-and-chill affair is over. Quite the opposite – we certainly enjoy movie marathons, but our preferences on how we do it have altered.
Most obviously, we are paying attention to more than one screen at a time.
Users once watched video content on one screen, but nowadays rather than gathering ourselves around one screen, we collect all the screens we own and watch different content on every device. Social media has transformed into a new get-together point or after-school/work hang out spot – all the content is at our fingertips and easily accessible, and smartphones have turned into a personal consultant, therapist, trainer, friend, etc.
Think about this: “2 out of 3 people say they pick up another device during a television break,”[1] meaning they start using several screens at once. Surely, some of those put down the second device after the commercial break is over, but how many keep using it?
Ask yourself:
Will the non-stop buzzing of your smartphone let you enjoy a movie? Do you often feel the urge to send a double-chin-flower-crown Snap to your friends? Is your will power strong enough to resist scrolling down the Instagram feed or answering a message the instant you get it?
(Probably not.)
In the past months, we’ve already talked about the importance and the impact video has on the travel industry. To refresh your memory, travel (usually) isn’t a very spontaneous decision. It’s a long process of research and decision making, and on average, consumers visit 38 travel sites[2] before making up their mind.
Let’s take a look at the chart below, showcasing how videos are influencing travel decisions[1]:
Through video content destinations and travel brands get the opportunity to trigger travelers’ emotions and offer consumers a personal travel experience. Video enables them to create compelling content on local attractions and increases the possibility of instant booking and/or purchasing. Video content has been successfully used not only as an inspirational tool, but as an opportunity to stimulate and encourage consumers’ purchase decisions, to increase engagement and conversion, and to create value for travel brands and destinations.
When we talk about driving and steering travelers’ purchasing decisions, travel brands need to make sure to engage with them and transform “just researching” travelers into “paying customers” who will take action.
Video content has been proven successful when it comes to landing pages as well – an Eye View study found that video on a landing page increases conversion by 86%[4]. Take this number into consideration when developing your business model or restructuring your website.
As previously discussed (here), savvy and well informed consumers want to find “unique, unusual and unknown” places. More and more travelers seek the local experience while traveling.
We know the market’s demand. So, why not give consumers what they want? For example, emotionally rich video content that can help consumers engage and influence their bookings. That’s why we give you ArrivalTV – our own TV channel for destination videos.
With ArrivalTV we aim to take full advantage of the evolving digital marketing and content landscape by providing travelers with high-quality, locally produced destination videos. We are therefore making alliances with global Smart TV providers and STB manufacturers to ensure destination videos are available to users the world over. ArrivalTV is part of our API and all other content solutions that we’re offering to travel brand across the globe.
For better understanding read the full report from Expedia Media Solutions The Impact of Travel Video Content.
[1] Think with Google: YouTube on TV or TV on YouTube? The Blurred Lines of Online Video Consumption, 2016
[2] Expedia Media Solutions: The Traveler’s Path to Purchase, 2014
