If you’ve been scrolling through social networks recently, there’s a good chance you’ve checked out photos of some phenomenal destinations accompanied by fairly detailed descriptions. Unless you’ve come across the profile of your friend who really likes to buzz around and write for pleasure, you’ve probably stumbled upon paid content made by a travel blogger.
Looking at their photos and all the places they visit, you probably envy these people. You think all they do is take a few shots, create accompanying content, write a blog, and spend the rest of their time enjoying a well-deserved vacation. Things aren’t so simple. But if you find travel blogging exciting, here what you need to do to make this your source of income.
Unlike tourist agencies and guides, their goal is not to sell travel arrangements but to present a destination in their own way. That way, travelers can ‘see the world through the bloggers’ eyes.’ And that’s a better experience than going to an agency and reading a brochure. But travel bloggers are also someone who greatly contributes to tourism development on a global level.
Bloggers optimize their content for web searches, so Internet users can easily find it by searching for specific keywords. That leads to a better ranking of the blog and an increase in popularity. Also, the audio-visualization of the content is an additional plus. Making a video with a free movie maker can be a great promotion for some travel destinations. Browsers look favorably to that as it improves the visitors’ experience and retention rate.
Discover Less Popular Destinations
There are so many world-famous destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. On the other hand, there are also less frequented, not enough advertised sites that can hide touristic gems. They may be just as attractive as popular places but insufficiently commercialized.
Agencies usually don’t advertise less popular places, even if they’re near top destinations. Thus, some parts of popular cities aren’t commercial enough to be attractive to tourists. Or at least that’s what agencies think. Most travelers would enjoy finding new, less crowded vacation places.
Most likely, you won’t find these sites on websites and brochures. But if you go to travel blogs, you can get a lot of information about places you didn’t even know existed. Bloggers like to write about something that excites them and share it with their followers, even for free.
Even places you’ve already visited can seem more interesting if you see them from a different perspective. Some travelers don’t have much time to explore new sites. So instead of relying on pre-determined routes and tourist guides, they can read travel blogs to discover new places. That means a lot for tourism because people will want to return to a destination and explore it in a new way.
People Trust Unbiased Reviews
Content marketing shows its full dominance in tourism. People and their stories sell the destination, but not in an entirely commercial way. They do it more subtly by offering their experience, advice, and even complaints.
That personal experience of a travel content creator else has become important for future travelers. That way, they find out firsthand what a particular destination offers and what to pay attention to. That became more important than whether the hotel is in the center, has a private beach, or whether it’s the cheapest in that area.
Simply put, people trust people and their experiences rather than advertising. Unlike travel guides, you don’t have to pay bloggers for their service. They guide you virtually through their stories, photos, and videos. That’s how you can see some less beautiful things and problems related to a specific site. But that’s what people want from this realistic presentation.
It Drives Traffic
The tourism industry has long understood the importance of good publicity. The Internet has been the best place to promote their niche for almost two decades. And for the last couple of years, travel blogging has become one of the most sought-after methods.
A travel blog offers more interactive content than a brochure or paid ad. It brings an entirely different experience to the reader. Plus, it has a far greater reach than printed media. That’s why travel organizations and agencies increase their interest in this type of promotion.
Bloggers optimize their content for web searches, so Internet users can easily find it by searching for specific keywords. That leads to a better ranking of the blog and an increase in popularity. Also, the audio-visualization of the content is an additional plus. Browsers look favorably to that as it improves the visitors’ experience and retention rate.
Eventually, all that results in more blog traffic and visits to the affiliate links within the content. As said, these are usually websites of travel agencies or accommodation units that’ll have a direct benefit if someone decides to visit them after learning about them through the blog.
Cost-Effective Advertising
Doing business online has become a common thing in the travel industry. One of the benefits of being on the Internet is the ability to promote your business with minimal costs. Also, travel bloggers don’t (directly) advertise, so most travelers find them less pushy than traditional paid ads or pop-ups.
There are several ways on writing a quality travel content.
Speaking of potential expenses of quality travel content, it would be accommodation costs for a travel blogger. And to be honest, the average hotel has almost nothing to lose by giving a few free nights to someone who’ll write about them. Agencies and tour guide companies can take over this cost, which is an investment that’ll bring them a rather high ROI.
Travel blogging is a relatively new concept that more and more companies from the tourist industry use to their favor. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to reach the audience and get new people to use their travel and hospitality services.
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