You cannot have missed it: videos have taken more and more space on our social networks, especially this past year. While we used to watch this type of content on YouTube only, we are now exposed to videos everywhere and in many forms. One just has to look at their newsfeed to understand that it is a tendency that is constantly increasing. If an image is worth a thousand words, a video allows to say many more things in very little time, and both brands and social networks know it very well.

Brands cannot miss out on it, and even less travel brands! We know it: there is nothing better than images to promote a destination. Nowadays, video is the most efficient way to have the largest number of people discover landscapes, cultures and experiences. In 2015, a study already showed that among 409 “travel enthusiasts”, 87% agreed to say that watching a video had much more influence on their destination choice than reading an article. And no less than 50% had looked for information about a destination after having been exposed to a video. This does not only include institutional videos, but also those created by influencers. Actually, it is now well understood that we prefer videos produced by a third party for their apparent independence. French influencers like Vizeo, World Else or Clo et Clem have made sure to include videos in the content they procude, each which their own style, from vlog to esthetic and contemplative video.

Nowadays, it is not just about YouTube and Facebook. If “stories” used to be available on Snapchat only, Facebook has not waited for a long time before riposting: first, by including stories to Instagram, then to WhatsApp for a few days, and more recently to on Facebook and Messenger apps. These are all places were social media users can share moments in pictures, and more importantly through short videos.

A tendency that contributes to what we call “snacking content”. It is obvious that we do not systematically stop on every post when we scroll down our newsfeeds and that we tend to zap a bit more every day. Today, it is absolutely necessary to think about “zapping” when we prepare content that will then be shared on social networks. Short, powerful, with subtitles, but not too many… There are many constraints to meet to catch the zappers’ attention! Did you know the average time spent on a video on Facebook is 5.7 seconds, for mobile users? For a destination, it is essential to find a balance between what will make the user stop and watch and the quantity of information we want to put on said video. It can be difficult, however, to show the beauty of the landscapes, to share a culture or emotions, in a video that will last just a few seconds…

Jetlag, a French media which built its strategy around “Snacking Content” 

All of those obligations and uses make it essential to master the codes to make sure that there will be a real return on investment, which explains why so few destinations regularly use this type of content. However, with a little practice and time, it is possible to include the creation of videos to your strategy while limiting the budget spent. If working with a professional videomaker is compulsory to obtain quality videos used for a special campaign, it is easy to use existing content to create short videos that will both answer the need to catch the audience’s attention and the particularities of algorithms which favour videos, while diversifying the type of content that you create and share. A quick example with the Singapore Tourism Board, for which our team has included short videos to our editorial calendars:

Even simpler, the “slideshow” Facebook posts allow pages administrators to gather several photos into one video and therefore to take advantage of Facebook algorithm! Example with our newest client, the Cap Cotentin tourism board:

It is only the beginning, and we know that video content will be developing more and more. Between the democratization of 360° videos, live, 360 live and augmented reality, the required expertise will be more and more specific and the experience increasingly immersive! We will soon become the heroes of videos that will not only tell us a story, but will also completely include us to them to inspire us even more. We can’t wait!