get smart about visual storytelling: drive bookings with intelligent content
TRANSCRIPT
Copyright © 2016 Leonardo Worldwide Corporation
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Drive Bookings with Intelligent Content
April 21st, 2016
Darlene Rondeau, VP, Best Practices, Online Merchandising, LeonardoFelix Laboy, CEO, WayBlazerChristopher Regalado, CEO & Founder, RevMar Digital
Technical Difficulties?Contact
Citrix GoToWebinar1-800-263-6317
Darlene RondeauVice-President, Best Practices, Online MerchandisingLeonardo
@darlenerondeau
Follow:
@VFMLeonardo
Tweets & Questions:
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Felix LaboyCEOWayBlazer
@wayblazer
Christopher RegaladoFounder & CEORevMar Digital
linkedin.com/in/chrisregalado
My content isn’t very personalized because:
We have drawn pictures for 32,000 years but have only written for 5,000
Travelers want to see the experience they can expect at your property
We process visuals 60,000 times faster than text
Why Visual Storytelling Matters
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MIT neuroscientists find the brain can identify images seen in as little as 13 milliseconds
Sephora found that Pinterest followers spend 15x more than its Facebook fans
Imagine how much more effective hotel marketers can be by adding local content, recommendations & insights in context?
In the Blink of an Eye
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Felix LaboyCEOWayBlazer
@wayblazer
The ART in Artificial “The ability for a computer system to understand natural language—
the unstructured written information that accounts for the bulk of information produced and consumed by humans”
Artificial Intelligence
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High Quality Content
AI for Travel
Intelligent Content
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Key Steps in Personalizing Travel
Hotel RecommendationsIdentifying and ranking
of the best hotels
Images
Showing relevant photos to engage
Insights
Including key hotel information, unbiased 3rd party references
and reviews
Local Area Knowledge
Providing restaurant, activities, event
recommendations
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Intelligent Content
Couple Romantic Winter
• Warm and friendly service• Walk everywhere
• Ski concierge on-site• Hot tubs on property
Vail, Co 2 Adults 0 Kids 1 Room January 5 January 8
Existing AI Enabled
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Intelligent Images
Existing
Vail, Co 2 Adults 2 Kids 1 Room August 5 August 8
AI Enabled
Kids Family Summer
• Warm and friendly service• Walk everywhere
• Mini golf & activities next door• Heated outdoor pool
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Bringing This to LifeSegment user base into trip types
Business Family
2 Adults 0 Kids
Couple Winter SnowSolo
Couple
Extract concepts from every image, review, description and local area attractions
Match segments and concepts for each traveler and trip type from
search query
Connect traveler to hotel through image and content
December
Winter
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The Right Image & Content to the Right User, at the Right Time
2 Adults 0 Kids Winter 2 Adults 2 Kids Summer
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Key Takeaways It has arrived It’s logical and emotional It’s going to get easier It converts
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Christopher RegaladoFounder & CEORevMar Digital
linkedin.com/in/chrisregalado
Be crystal clear on goals Generate revenue at lowest possible cost of acquisition Don’t just stop at demographics
o e.g. who they are; gender, age, income Incorporate psychographics to mold guest personas
o e.g. why they buy; hobbies, values, lifestyle Multiple personas within primary buyer for different reasons and time
periods Create a campaign with targeted content & storytelling Implement strategy across social, mobile, email & desktop
Personalizing Marketing – The Challenges
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Focus on rich media, photos, videos and 360° virtual
Use guest generated contento more organic and less filtered
Content should inspire a buying decision
Social Media and Mobile
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Obtain more info about guests with interviews via email, online or on-site surveys and by looking at web analytics
Now that you know your guests, cater promotions to them Measure effectiveness
o # of clicks, views, bounce rates, and ultimately bookingso Consider running an A/B version of the promo for deeper dive
If not working…..o Initial offer was discounted room, but found that it had no actual value to that
persona; values quality over price, family time & relaxationo Instead offer upgrade and more expensive room with jetted tub, more space, a
credit to offsite/onsite activity and a spa treatment
Personalized Offers
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For SEO, build your story with great copywriting
Combine short/long tailed keywords blended seamlessly into your story telling
If needed, hire a pro who can capture and convey your story using those keywords
Opportunity to reduce cost of acquisition & bounce rates
In position to improve conversion, transactions & revenue
Personalized Content & SEO
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Clients was using the hotel’s proximity to major attractions as their main selling pointo Ranking wello 34% bounce rateo Low engagement
They weren’t telling their story to differentiate them from all other hotels in the area Solution
o Created buying persona to tell story of how their property is family friendly, great for kids to have fun while mom can relax while attending these attractions nearby
o Traffic decreased 3%, but net impact was higher qualityo Bounce rate reduced to 29%o Session duration increased by 8%o Conversion rate increased ~30%
A Noteworthy Example
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Manage both revenue & marketing strategies for independent clients and on averageo 265%+ in website revenueo Importantly, commissionable revenue was
redirected from OTAs to hotel direct channels
o Went from sub 30% in net revenue to more than 65% in hotel contribution over 2 year period
Results
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Tailor content to your guestso Know who they areo Where they’re browsing buying from (mobile, social, desktop)
Desktop shopperso Use a combo of photos, videos and rich descriptions to convey your storyo Your narrative can be longer here
Mobile shopperso Spend less time on one page and look for instant gratification
Target & personalize your website Personalize SEO
o Reduce your cost of acquisition and subsequent bounce rate, increase visitor time and page views, improve your conversion, transactions and ultimately make more money
Advice for Other Hoteliers
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Key Takeaways Dig deeper Determine your story and design a
persona based campaign around it Right time, right message to fill
during need periods Marketing & revenue side by side
with emphasis on communication
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Based on today’s content, will you attend future webinars?
About Leonardo
Invitations to upcoming webinars
Recording of this webinar. Share it with your colleagues
It’s a Wrap
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Connect With Us!
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leonardo.com1.877.593.6634@VFMLeonardo blog.leonardo.com
[email protected]@WayBlazer
[email protected]/in/chrisregalado
Felix Laboy Christopher Regalado
Questions & Discussion
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