Here are some basic statistics regarding YouTube as a distribution channel for tourism advertising and promotion. Currently, there are 6,380 video clips on www.youtube.com for the search term “tourism” [Search conducted today - July 19]. But how many tourism companies are using this free service as part of their marketing mix?
The answer? Not many.
Number of videos posted on YouTube vary for keyword and phrase entries as follows:
- tourism attractions, 774 videos
- tourism venues, 22 videos
- bus tours, 4,930 videos
- sightseeing, 2,330 videos
- sightseeing tours, 343 videos
- boat tours, 1300 videos
- trolley tours, 46 videos
- train tours, 2,020 videos
- tram tours, 145 videos
While there may be a number of videos posted for keywords such as boat tours, bus tours, and train tours how many of these videos are creative, fun, different, captivating? Not many.
These key word searches also include often misplaced videos because of the keyword “tour”. So how many videos are relevant for destination specific key word searches. Here are the results from three random destinations:
- toronto bus tours, [Toronto, Ontario, Canada], 13 videos, [sightseeing companies], 1 video
- san francisco bus tours, [San Francisco, California, USA], 25 videos, [sightseeing companies], 0 videos
- chicago bus tours, [Chicago, Illinois, USA], 23 videos, [sightseeing companies], 0 videos
This is just a small sample of keywords and phrases, but the results are clear. There is a significant opportunity for tourism businesses to use www.youtube.com as part of their marketing mix. But taking some video while out on a tour, or inside an attraction is not enough. To use this channel effectively, you’ll need to be creative, fun, different, captivating. This is another way your business can separate itself from the rest of the pack.
