The Importance of Content Marketing

Attract, retain, and engage with your customers through Content Marketing!

Written By: Jenna Buege, Associate Editor of The Compass – VAX VacationAccess

 

In today’s digital age, just being online isn’t enough. Brands need to engage with their target audience to see real results. That’s where content marketing comes in. And although it sounds big and scary, mastering the basics of content marketing isn’t as tricky as it sounds. In fact, you might be doing it already.

Keep reading to learn what content marketing is and a few easy ways to implement it into your practice.

 

What is content marketing?

The dictionary defines content marketing as such, “a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products and services.”

Essentially, content marketing is a way for your brand to establish its digital presence. And when you put the time and effort into content marketing the rewards can be plentiful with increased brand awareness, web traffic and overall sales. Additionally, content marketing is a handy tool for developing a relationship with your audience as it can answer questions, build trust and generate leads.

Establishing a content strategy

Before you start posting all willy-nilly, you’ll want to develop a content strategy. Simply put, a content strategy helps you recognize your “why”— why are you posting and who do you hope to reach? It also helps you determine some practical aspects of adopting a social media presence.

To get started on your content strategy, ask yourself these questions — Who’s reading your content? What do you want to communicate to your audience? Which types of content will you post? Which social media platforms will you use? And how many times a week do you want to post?

Tips for applying content marketing to your business

Utilize your website

One of the easiest ways for travel advisors to begin their content marketing journey is to commit to writing and publishing content. And a great place to share that content is with a blog on your agency’s website. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a professional writer either, what’s important is that you’re sharing your stories and experiences as a travel advisor with your audience. And, luckily for those of us in the travel industry, there are so many interesting things to write about from beautiful destinations to lavish resorts, the possibilities are endless.

Consistency is key

Whether you’re writing for a blog, sharing posts on social media or creating videos, consistency is key. The thing about online platforms is that you don’t often see big results right away. Instead, viewership, followers and engagement grow with time. All this is to say, don’t get discouraged if the content that you share doesn’t immediately gain traction. Instead, look to your content strategy and stay committed to posting a specified number of days each week whether that be every day, several times a week or just once.

Need help getting started?

Don’t know where to start? VAX VacationAccess is here to help. By now, we hope you’ve heard the hype about The Compass, but if you haven’t, allow us to introduce you. The Compass is the editorial side of VAX VacationAccess where we provide advisors with top-quality content specially curated for travel professionals. The Compass covers various topics with six categories to choose from — Agent Development, Travel Inspiration, Perspectives, Making Waves, Around the Industry and Destinations — and each article is equipped with handy shareable buttons making it easy for advisors to share content on several social media platforms. And don’t worry, The Compass isn’t behind the VAX login so clients and other travel pros can easily view the content that you share.

And the content marketing tools available on VAX don’t end with shareable articles on The Compass, we also have The Travel Inspo Tool Kit, a collection of ready-made memes, social media posts and supplier content that’s updated on a regular basis. All you have to do is copy and paste!