Partner Article

Travel brands need to tell stories online to attract millennials

New research has revealed that travel and leisure companies looking to get UK customers involved and engaged online need to focus more on storytelling than on reviews, travel tips and tweets.

When asked what type of digital content they most want to see from travel brands, the most popular response overall, unsurprisingly, was discounts and special offers – 62 percent of UK adults want a bargain when they go on holiday.

However, nearly half of customers (40 percent) want humorous, dramatic or heart-warming stories, making it the second most-popular choice overall. Storytelling also ranked at the very top, right along with discounts, among millennials: half (49 percent) of 18-24-year-olds want discounts and the same proportion want to hear and see stories from travel brands.

It found that all consumers, and especially these key younger audiences, want stories more than they want product reviews & ratings or hints & tips. And storytelling has a clear impact on the bottom line: 55% of consumers will consider buying from a brand if they love a story it has told.

The survey of 2,000 UK adults was commissioned by content marketing agency Headstream. Importantly, it also found that travellers are just as likely to want to see content produced by their peers as material made by the brand itself: 51 percent prefer so-called ‘user generated content’ (UGC) while 49 percent want to see content created directly by travel companies.

And they want those stories to be about their peers as well: two-thirds (66 percent) of consumers prefer content to be about regular people rather than celebrities or the company’s CEO or founder. In addition, more than half (57 percent) want stories based on real people and events rather than fiction – and 38 percent specifically want to hear and read about a brand’s customers.

Steve Sponder, managing director of Headstream, comments: “Travel brands have begun to make broader use of storytelling in their online content and videos, but there’s clearly a lot more that they can do to engage their customers. Stories can be funny, or they can be dramatic and inspirational.

“This research suggests that one of the key areas these businesses need to explore further is ‘advocacy content’ – getting their customers themselves to tell the stories of why and how they used that particular hotel or resort or airline, why they loved it and why they’d do it again.

“With the travel industry particularly keen to attract millennials and expanding their presence on social networks to target younger consumers, it seems stories could be one of the best ways to appeal to those people.”

As for the type of stories people want to see and hear, video was the most desired method, with photos/images second and written articles third. The popularity of video has been fuelled in part by the increase in smartphone use and social networks that enable consumers to easily share clips and footage.

Steve Sponder adds: “Millennials have been brought up on stories – retailers and food brands that create whole narratives around their products that can be enjoyed and shared online. Travel brands need to develop and craft their own stories if they want to remain visible and relevant to those key demographics.

“Millennials are also far more willing to create their own content, particularly on video, and travel companies need to make the most of that inclination. Getting people involved in making their own content could be another great way to engage them in the process.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alex Sampson .