Share the Knowledge
Assignment 5
Assignment 5
Task 2
Video Pitch Script Notes
Slide 1 from Nomadicmatt.com.
Nomadic Matt uses content to attract readers by building trust with helpful, on point content aimed at the entire traveller journey from booking tickets and accommodation through to guides on destinations.
He offers free advice and articles and his income is generated by the sale of his travel guides which are advertised on the site. He also has links to travel insurance, flights and hotel purchase sites from which he will receive a commission.
The slide I picked shows a list of his most popular articles from how to book cheap flights and accommodation to city guides and the top things to do in popular destinations.
Slide 2 is an article from NomadicMatt on the best hostels in Paris which leads on from slide 1 as there is also a Paris City Guide authored by himself for sale on the site so there is a clear path from the content to the potential sale of the guide.
I found this to be superior to Wayne Dunlap’s article on slide 3 that focusses on his own experiences of travelling in the Galapagos Islands. While the blog post is interesting and well crafted, the reader must read the entire article to find out key information around travel costs, accommodation, and the best things to do so and see. Nomadicmatt’s site is considerably easier to navigate as all these important items of information have separate articles and within them, sub headings so the reader does not need to read the entire blog post.
Similarly, on nomadicmatt.com there is a clear customer journey from the establishment of the need for information on a certain destination through to the purchase of the guide. On Wayne Dunlap’s site on slides 3 and 4, again while the articles are interesting and relevant, the book that is advertised as for sale is a general travel book on “How to plan your escape”. Nomadic Matt offers specific guides and more tangible advice.
Moving onto slide 7 which is a blog entry from anorthernerabroad.weebly.com on the Hits and Misses of Berlin.
This is an excellent piece of content due to its honesty and impartiality. The picture at the start is important as Berlin is typically associated as a creative hub for young artists so this catches the attention straightaway and gives the impression that the author knows their subject. The article is short and well-illustrated with brief reasons as to whether a sight is a hit or a miss. Spending 24 – 48 hours on a city break to a popular destination like Berlin is no doubt a popular undertaking so readers would find the concise, direct nature of this article helpful and informative.
There is a clear call to action with flights to Berlin advertised on the right-hand side of the page.
Comparing this to for example slide 8 “Don’t let the Media fuel a fear of travelling” on passportandplates.com is interesting as this article is very much a general, rather than destination – specific piece as opposed to A Northerner abroad’s article which gives useful and tangible advise on what to do in a city. Similarly, the passportandplates.com article does not seem to have an obvious sale angle within the article. That said the article is an inspiring call to action in terms of travelling to more off the beaten track destinations in general so to an extent ingratiates the reader to the author, the main thing lacking is a tangible sale angle.
I would also mention that the passportandplates article is targeted at American Travellers as it cites the US government advice on where to travel to whereas A northerner abroad’s article would be applicable to any travellers. That said, there is nothing wrong at all with having a niche which is being targeted in the former and can be advantageous.
The podcast cited in slide 10 on the budgetfriendlytraveller.com was my personal favourite piece of content that I came across for this research. The podcast tells of a South African, Mike Sewell’s journey on the Austral Carretera in Chilean Patagonia where his method of travel was running, only supported by a pram style buggy that he pushed around to carry his gear. The podcast is an inspirational story of the challenges that Mike faced and what a huge undertaking it was. Mike also spoke about how rewarding this way of travel was as he was permanently in amongst nature and well away from the general tourist population. It was also clear that the site owner (Jackie Nourse) who conducted the interview on location in Chile had great knowledge of the subject herself and if she had not done the specific journey Mike was telling her about, she certainly had good knowledge of the destination. For me, this helped build trust as elsewhere on the site, there are tours advertised to Chilean Patagonia (amongst many others) where Jackie acts as the tour leader. The personal touch of being on location in Chile to conduct the interview and the impression she made in her tone and interview style would encourage me to take a tour with her.
Similarly, the podcast was sponsored by biketours.com. Jackie’s endorsement of biketours.com is all the more credible on the back of the podcast where she clearly knew her subject on a first-hand level, therefore one would be more likely to trust her promotion of biketours.com as well.
Comparing this to the glossy video I chose for slide 12 which is a short, set to music advert style piece of content where the viewer is taken on a journey via road and air across an all but deserted Thai Island. Much like the podcast it certainly made me want to visit the destination as to find somewhere off the tourist track in modern day Thailand is difficult and certainly something aspired to by travellers. The island seemed idyllic with its lack of traffic, deserted beaches and natural beauty.
The main difference between the two was that the podcast had a clear call to action where the reader has the option to book a tour with Jackie in the location where the podcast took place. The video was included in a top 15 best travel videos content piece on indianajo.com which features general travel adverts and there is a call to action around entering your email address to receive updates and offers. To that end I would suggest that the podcast was more effective in terms of its potential to generate revenue for the site, although the approach of Indianajo.com which curates articles and content to build trust and generate revenue by attracting readers with that approach certainly also has merit in my eyes.
Slideshare Presentation:
https://www.slideshare.net/MattThomas107/12-examples-of-good-content-marketing-for-travel-sites
Video On Script Notes