This document provides guidance on developing engaging content to promote tourism experiences. It recommends focusing on experiential storytelling rather than just listings of activities. Content should bring the destination's experiences to life through vivid descriptions of sights, sounds, and smells to transport readers. A variety of media like photos, videos, sounds, and maps can be used alongside blog posts and social media to engage customers and search engines. The goal is to showcase the feelings and values that travelers will gain from visiting the destination.

1. Feeding the beast
How to keep your website up to date
Rogier Gruys, Canadian Tourism Commission

2. topics
• Why is content important?
• Knowing and talking to your customers
• Delivering your content

3. Product vs experience
Product is what you buy
Experience is what you remember

4. communicating experiences
Brand + unique selling proposition + target audience =
Experience
The experience brings your brand and product to life
Communicate the experience to visitors through
content

5. Content is
Types of Content
• Experiences
• Supporting destination content
• User-generated content
Translate into
Words + images + video + maps + sounds
Push to potential visitors

6. Content channels - traditional
• Hard copy: brochures, posters, pamphlets, etc.
• Traditional media (magazines, newspapers, etc.)
• Website: brochure site, aimed at consumers

7. But…
Consumers are inundated with advertising messages
Don’t respond to traditional marketing lingo
Need to change our tone and channels
Know your customers

8. Content – new channels
• Your website:
• Photo gallery
• Videos
• Blog
• media resources
• Social media: travel review sites, forums, Flickr,
Youtube, etc.

9. your customer

10. Psychographics
Traditional marketing: demographics
Age, income, education, etc
But,
Travel decisions based on social values
• Do I like culture
• Do I love nature
• Do I want to get away from it all
• Or, do I hate travelling?

11. Who is our customer
People who:
• Participate in life
• Inquisitive
• Want to learn about themselves and the world
Curious travellers.

12. How do I sound?
Informal
Personal
Intimate
Straightforward
Concise
Tell a story to a friend – traveller to traveller

13. It’s about feeling
NO activities, events and places
Other places can also offer mountains, oceans and
forests
Focus on the experiences

14. Take readers with you
What does the
• ocean sound like?
• forest smell like after a rainstorm?
• wind in the mountains sound like?
Let them feel as if they are there

15. Keep it simple
We’re straightforward; reflect it in the writing
Don’t try to make a hard sell
Bring the experience to life
The traveller is the star of the story

16. cycling vacation on PEI
3 night package, includes bicycle rentals, luggage
transfer, accommodation at heritage B&Bs, and all
meals. $450 per person.

17. the ultimate Canadian cycling vacation
Every morning, you’ll step outside your B&B, look out
and be awed by the tranquil pastoral landscape
surrounding you. You’ll smile, breathe deeply…and
gasp, as the crisp sea air quickly reminds you why
they call this place “breathtaking”.
3 nights/4 days, $450 per person

18. But
Do provide details
• How to get there
• What to expect
• What’s included

19. Photography

20. old
Photo credits: Tourism PEI

21. Tourism PEI /Russel Monk

22. Tourism PEI

23. Add photo from BC brand
Tourism BC/Tom Rya

24. But
Do have a gallery with detailed photos
• Your rooms
• People on your ski trails
• People on your trips
Can be user-generated
But keep quality high

26. Video
Short videos of experience
Tell a story
Keep them engaging, funny, decent quality
Keep it short! (2-4 min)

27. Sounds
Can add to experience
• Song from your festival
• Call of migrating geese over your resort
but don’t over do it

28. Maps
Very important for orientation
Thematic map:
• Distances
• Directions - printable
Topo map: Google map
• Keep standard interface

29. Channels

30. Website
Update your website
Fresh content
Fresh way of talking to customers

31. Channels
But
get content out to consumer too
• Set up a photo group on Flickr
• Post some videos on YouTube
• Look at travel review sites:
• What do people say about you?

32. Travel forums
What do people say about you? Respond too!
Lonely Planet Thorntree
Trip Advisor
Realtravel
IGoUGo
Wiki Travel

33. Travel guides
Check out what the guides say about you:
Lonely Planet
Rough Guides
Moon Handbooks
Fodor and Frommers

34. Become a blogger
• Get a blog, be an expert in your area
• Post about any relevant topic from your area
Why blog?
• Customers learn more about you
• You’re more trusted
• Search engines love fresh content
More ways for people to find you

35. http://Bayoffundy.blogspot.com

36. How to blog
Keep it relevant to your experiences
Short entries, often
Spread out postings
Choose titles for entries carefully
Link back to your main website

37. Example
You offer snowshoe trips near Vancouver
Blog topics
• Snow conditions in your area
• Why snowshoeing is easy to learn – video!
• Types of snowshoes (old vs new) – photos!
• Wildlife sightings on your last trip
• Links to cool snowshoe videos on YouTube
• Info on a local snowshoe race

38. Blogging platforms
Instant blog:
Set up your blog at www.blogger.com (no technical
knowledge required). Ask your web designer to
redirect the blog to blog.yourdomain.com.
Optional fancier and more expensive solution:
Take advantage of more advanced features by asking
your web designer to set up Wordpress on the server
where your website is hosted, and set up the blog as
blog.yourdomain.com

39. Advice on blogging for small operators
Experts provide advice for a small Vancouver travel
operator
Challenge: attract new, younger customers
Plan: become an industry expert through media outreach
Payoff: new generation of customers ready to travel
http://tinyurl.com/32b5u4

40. Experience toolkit
Download copy from
www.canada.travel/experiences

41. Thank you
Questions?