Conversations with GTI – We Are Explorers
This month in conversation with GTI we talk to the Founder of online adventure publication We Are Explorers to uncover some of the current travel and marketing trends and discuss how to connect with consumers through great storytelling.
This month, we chatted with Henry Bryon an expert content creator and founder of We Are Explorers, a media company spreading the excitement of adventure travel, nature and environmentalism to over a million people in Australia and New Zealand, for his thoughts on how to attract and sustain audiences with authentic content.
01. How has the fallout of COVID-19 impacted We Are Explorers?
Initially it was tough commercially, but at the same time our readership and engagement went bananas which is great!
Our content has always been rooted in local travel –adventure isn’t something you have to fly overseas to experience – so when we launched Explore Your Backyard in May, a campaign devoted to domestic travel with landing pages and content devoted to each of the states, it went gangbusters.
Our traffic figures have grown month-on-month since we launched the campaign, as more people click through to the website looking for domestic travel tips and ideas. We’re starting to work with domestic destinations and operators seeking to attract more of the domestic travel market.
02. Have you seen any changes in terms of travel trends as a result of COVID-19?
The conversation around micro-adventure – the idea that adventure can be small and achievable – has accelerated over the past few months.
People have been forced to think locally and are starting to recognise that nature is one antidote to all the madness. Day hikes, camping and road trips – that’s what people are getting excited about right now. So, we’re trying to bust the myth that adventure is exclusive to the hardcore and open it up to the masses. Heading out to a waterfall with the kids or going on a walk and finding your own pocket of paradise is still adventure!
Check out some of the micro-adventure content We Are Explorers and the team at GTI have created in conjunction the Vanuatu Tourism Office.
Microadventure in Vanuatu – the Blue Cave, Tanna
03. What kind of content performs well on the website?
To get the best reach out of your content, we’d always recommend video over other formats. Short, social-first videos are an incredible way to get your messages out there. I think the penny has dropped now that video is the most powerful form of storytelling, but we still have to offer clients advice in terms of duration, style etc. Having said that, now is the time to up the ante with destination marketing videos. Anyone can shoot beautiful content and lay it down with an aspirational soundtrack, but it’s not enough to achieve cut-through anymore.
To get your message out there, you need to dig deeper and uncover the stories and people who shape a destination. Destinations that give us more freedom to explore and storyboard, are seeing the best results.
Check out the massive content partnership We Are Explorers and the team at GTI have created in conjunction with Vanuatu Tourism Office targetting adventure lovers.
04. How do you work with destinations & operators on branded content?
We have created some incredible video and written content with destinations over the years.
Generally, we travel to the destination, explore and capture video we know will appeal to our audience. We cut this into a series of 15/30/90 sec videos, depending on the brief and budget. Usually one long-form video works and then a series of 15-second videos for social. We promote this content on our platform with a combination of written blogs and EDMs as well as images and videos amplified across social.
We are excited to now offer a package in partnership with GTI to provide destinations with a useful package to kick start their content marketing to the micro-adventure market and engage industry to convert interest into bookings. (You can reach out to GTI to request the package at [email protected]).
The package includes: a 90 second, 60 second and 15-second video, and a suite of 24 images, with usage rights for five years. In addition to this, GTI will engage two to three social influencers who are also passionate about adventure travel to create additional images and video. At the end of the project, you’ll be left with a suite of beautiful destination images and videos with usage rights for 12 months.
This content will be amplified on platform by We Are Explorers, on the social influencers’ channels and via a twelve-month paid amplification plan executed by GTI. GTI will also work with destinations to engage their industry partners to invest in retargeting to serve tactical deals to anyone who has engaged with the branded content.
This is an easy and efficient way for destinations and operators to cost effectively launch a basic 12-month content marketing plan that will really drive interest and bookings.
05. What have you got coming up?
Last year, as part of the process of becoming a certified B Corp, we crowdfunded $30,000 in seven days to save a hectare of rainforest in the Daintree. The whole team got behind the project to make it a massive success and we made a promise to each other that we’d do a similar campaign every year. The next one will launch in November with more details to come!
If you’d like more information about the starter content package, click here to get in touch.