In-Flight Viewing. How Marketers Can Land Travel Audiences Across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram INDUSTRY STUDY 2018

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1 1 INDUSTRY STUDY 2018 In-Flight Viewing How Marketers Can Land Travel Audiences Across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram Copyright Pixability, Inc. All rights reserved.

2 2 Unpacking Travel Across YouTube, Facebook, And Instagram Nothing 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.

3 3 TL;DR Need 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 longform 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.

4 4 Breaking Down Travel Sub-Category Performance Overall Travel Space 306B Views 35% YoY Growth Airlines 63B Views 29% YoY Growth Hotels 61B Views 42% YoY Growth Cruise Lines 26B Views 36% YoY Growth Theme Parks 23B Views 29% YoY Growth Car Rentals 23B Views 36% YoY Growth Online Travel Agencies 5B Views 53% YoY Growth

5 5 YouTube Attracts A Massive Travel Audience Viewers Flock To Digital Video Environments Like YouTube To View Travel Content YouTube Views Marketers Can Drive Awareness During Periods Of High Viewership Across Travel Content Quarterly YouTube Views Consumers are escaping to exotic 800B 80B locations on YouTube in particular, 641B 70B 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 600B 400B 200B 326B 306B 190B 145B 60B 50B 40B 30B 20B the year progresses, as viewers 10B increasingly turn to travel content during the summer and holiday Food & Beverage Beauty Travel Fashion Personal Care Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 seasons. Pixability anticipates the travel space will attract a total of 96B views in 2018.

6 6 Consumers Are Looking For Made-For-Digital Travel Content Marketers Video Strategies Should Reflect What Viewers Are Watching Share of Top 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. Vlog Ad POV Experience Other Informational List Review Comedy 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

7 7 Guidebook: Learn the Language Of Travel Content Across Digital Video Vlogs Lists Commercial Ads 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. POV Experience First-person point-of-view videos focused on a specific destination or attraction. Tips, Tricks & Hacks Advice on efficient packing, affordable travel, or how to travel alone. Informational Travel guides about destinations, typically produced by brands or publishers. Reviews Reviews of popular travel gear, lodging, or brands. Giveaways Promotional videos to attract engagement and subscribers, raffling off travel gear, tickets, or cash.

8 8 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 3B 2.5B 2B 1.5B Total Views.64% Engagement Rate 0.70% 0.60% 0.50% 0.40% 0.30% 1B.20%.20% 0.20% 500M 0.10% Influencer Publisher Brand 0.00%

9 9 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 Share of Brand Publishing Share of Viewership 10+ minutes 5-10 minutes 3-5 minutes 1-3 minutes seconds 0-30 seconds 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

10 10 SPOTLIGHT Ride-Hailing Platforms Dominate Traditional Auto Rental Brands Ride-Hailing Apps Attract 13X More Views Than Traditional Auto Rental Brands On YouTube 500K Views Ride-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. 400K 300K 200K 100K Ride-Hailing Apps Auto Rental Brands

11 11 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 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% Share of Travel Viewership Engagements per Subscriber 3.09% 2.39% % 10% 5% 1.06% 1.09% 0.61% 0.24% Theme Parks OTA Cruise Hotel Airline Car Rental

12 12 SPOTLIGHT Marriott s Successful Influencer Strategy One 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. Marriott Drives A Much Higher YouTube Viewership When Collaborating With Influencers 500K 450K 400K 350K 300K 250K 200K 150K Average Views 100K 50K For Influencer Collaboration Video For Non-Collaborative Video

13 13 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 Facebook Page Likes All-time Facebook Videos 6M 5M M 3M 2M M 50 Carnival Royal Caribbean Norwegian Disney Princess Celebrity Viking Windstar 0

14 14 SPOTLIGHT Celebrity Cruises Expertly Navigates Facebook Video By 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.

15 15 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 longform content for branding. Low-Fare Airlines Are Investing In Short-Form Video on Facebook Videos Published Last Year Share of Videos Under 30 Seconds % 27% 7% 49% 44% 75% 61% 47% 75% 0% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Alaska Southwest Hawaiian United American Spirit Delta JetBlue Frontier Virgin

16 16 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 Videos Published Last Year Share of Videos Under 30 Seconds % 82% 66% 62% 94% 54% 14% 44% 56% 38% 20% 50% 100% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Best Western Hilton Choice Hotels Four Seasons Radisson IHG Hyatt Kimpton Hotels Travelodge Preferred Hotels Red Roof Inn Marriott Wyndham

17 17 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 Followers Posts 800K 700K 2.5K 3,000 2, K 2, K 400K 300K 200K 1.5K 774 1K 602 1K 1K 1.2K 1.3K 1.5K 1,500 1, K 0 Four Seasons Marriott Hotels Sheraton Hyatt Holiday Inn Double Tree Hilton Hotels & Resorts Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Radisson Preferred Hotels

18 18 Fasten Your Seatbelts As 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. CONTACT US info@pixability.com PIX.VIDEO

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