Stopovers. Some of us love them, others detest them.

Like it or not, in some cases they’re unavoidable. In some cases, it’s the difference between going and not going away – for the simple fact that they tend to involve respectable cost savings.

However, what if your layover is stretching beyond the three or four hours that tends to be the norm? Whether your layover is part-way between flights or even cruises, let’s take a look at some of the best ways you can make the most of it.

Could this be the time to catch up on sleep?

Before some of you yawn at the so-called boring suggestion, give us time.

Let’s not forget that stopovers are typically in the middle of a long journey. As such, this can be the prime time to book that hotel and catch up on some sleep. After all, when you do arrive at your destination of choice, nothing quite beats feeling fresh and ready to go (versus the dread of somehow finding your hotel whilst half-asleep).

Give it some thought; it might not be the terrible idea that it’s sometimes described as!

Turn to an organised tour of the city

We’ve used the term ‘organised’ for good reason here; after all, the last thing you want to do is get lost as you race back for your next leg of transport.

Most cities around the world offer free walking tours which last a few hours at most. This can allow you to see sufficient amounts of the city in question and add another element of interest to your getaway.

Of course, if you are leaving the airport or cruise ship, make sure you already have insurance in order from a reputable provider like Staysure, you never know if anything will go wrong as soon as the holiday starts.

Utilise the hotel’s facilities

If you do decide to book a hotel for the night, then you’ll want to make the most of the facilities.

For starters, this can involve swimming pools, restaurants and, of course, the all-important bar. With that in mind, it can be the perfect opportunity to relax and forget about the journey for a while!

Could this be the time to shop?

We all know that airports and cruise terminals can be a hotbed for retail therapy. However, have you ever considered doing your shopping whilst on a layover?

Depending on where you are in the world, this can actually be a fantastic opportunity. For example, Hong Kong is renowned for its night markets which are filled with great bargains (just be sure to haggle!) – and this of course is not the only example in the world.

Check out the local food scene

Let’s not forget that one of the best ways to experience any destination is through its food.

As such, if you have the time, then it might be worth checking out some of the local restaurants. This can be a great way to try something new and, in some cases, it can be a lot cheaper than eating at the airport!

The post How to make the most of a long stopover appeared first on TravHQ.

A family trip to Rome sounds exhilarating, and maybe even a bit exhausting! You may think it difficult to find activities to get the entire family involved while in Rome, but don’t worry; this ancient city actually has a lot of attractions that will grab your kids’ attention. 

While not all places in Rome are kid-friendly, you can still find more than enough things to occupy your time, teach a little history and culture, and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Apply for your passports, pack your bags, and plan an epic family trip to Rome. Sign up for walking tours, visit children’s museums, and join a pizza making workshop. The ideas are endless in Rome!

But be sure to drop your bags at a Rome luggage storage location while out for the day to ensure your things are kept safe. The kids will tire less easily if you drop off their backpacks mid-day to give them a break from carrying them. 

Then you’ll be free to check out some of these family-friendly attractions in Rome while you are visiting with the kids in tow. 

Gladiator School

Sign your kids up at Rome’s Gladiator School and prepare them for a trip to the Colosseum. The Gruppo Storico Romano hosts several courses and you can sign up your little bundles of energy for as many as you would like.

Each child will get their own tunic and training sword and learn basic combat moves that ancient gladiators used to best their opponents. A certificate of participation will be awarded to everyone who finishes the course.

Photo by Kevin Olson on Unsplash

The Colosseum

Exploring the Colosseum may not seem all that fun for kids, but when you join a tour group with a fantastic guide that regales them with stories of gladiators fighting wild animals in front of vast crowds for entertainment, and then it comes alive for everyone.

Nab your tickets online for a skip-the-line tour of the Colosseum that includes full access to the arena floor. See where the wild animals were kept before being released into the arena and listen to tales of epic battles between beast and gladiator. 

Trevi Fountain

What better way to keep your kids entertained while they learn to appreciate Roman art than by tossing coins into the Trevi Fountain! The biggest, most impressive fountain in Rome is a particular favorite for tourists.

The tossing of a coin into the Trevi Fountain is an absolute must and many people do so after making a heartfelt wish. There is an Italian urban legend that claims anyone tossing a coin in the fountain is destined to one day return to Rome.

Visit the Catacombs

While exploring underground in Rome may not be every child’s dream, if you have an adventurous family sign up for a tour of the catacombs. Spend part of the day exploring the deep recesses of Rome’s crypts and catacombs and learn about burial rituals.

Explore the secret Christian meeting places of ancient Rome. Check out a chapel made up completely of human bones, and listen to chilling stories as your guide takes you through these underground networks.

Day Trip to Pompeii

Pompeii is just a train ride away from Rome and kids generally love exploring the ruins of this ancient city. The city was buried under ash and lava after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

Pompeii is now an incredible archaeological site where visitors can come and wander through the fabulously preserved city. Be sure to take the kids to the amphitheater, the oldest one in the entire world.

Le Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini

Spend more time underground when in Rome and explore some amazing homes that have been fully excavated. Domus Romane is a series of underground houses that sit beneath the Palazzo Valentini. 

Listen to stories about those who lived in the houses while you explore. These tours do fill up quickly so be sure to grab your tickets early. The tour is ideal for older children and teenagers, not necessarily younger children and toddlers.

Bocca della Verità

This famous landmark translates to the Mouth of Truth and is located in the Chiesa di Santa Maria. The legend of the Bocca della Verità is that if you tell a lie the mouth will close and bite off your hand.

Learn the full legend of the Mouth of Truth when you visit and snap a few photos of your kiddos sticking their hands inside the mouth. Your kids will find it thrilling to shove their hand inside the marble mask’s mouth and see if anything happens.

Centrale Montemartini

This unique museum is housed in an old electric plant and it still looks very much like an old electric plant! Kids will find the ambiance fascinating and may just learn a few things about ancient Roman art at the Centrale Montemartini. 

Amazing art is nestled against an industrial backdrop creating a one-of-a-kind experience filled with fine art and large machines that once produced electricity. Be sure to check out the old Papal carriage, a part of the Pope Train.

Pizza Making Class

Head over to a local trattoria for a few hours of learning how to make an authentic Italian pizza from the masters. Sign up for In Rome Cooking Classes and discover how pizza is really made in Rome. 

These classes are geared for families and allow the kids to get in and work the dough as well as add the spices and toppings. After you have learned how to make the pizza, sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Walking Tour and Gelato Tasting

A walking tour of Rome may not sound fascinating to your children, but they might be more motivated to come along if gelato is on the itinerary. The two-and-a-half hour tour takes place in the evening, so feed the kids dinner before joining the tour.

While walking your tour guide will regale you with stories of the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Spanish Steps. After the tour, you will stop for generous servings of tasty gelato.

Resources:

https://parcocolosseo.it/

https://www.turismoroma.it/it/node/1286

https://citywonders.com/rome-tours/rome-crypts-and-catacombs-tour

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/pompeii

http://www.gruppostoricoromano.it/

https://www.palazzovalentini.it/index.php?lang=

http://www.centralemontemartini.org/

https://www.inromecooking.com/

https://www.walksofitaly.com/rome-tours/welcome-rome-walking-tours/

The post Roam Through Rome With The Kids appeared first on TravHQ.

Bangalore is a perfect base for the adventure-minded traveller as it is close to some of the thickest forests and highest mountains of South India. One can easily book a rental car and hit the highway to the green summits, discovering many other treasures and experiences along the way. A trip from Bangalore to Wayanad is a destination which evokes images of untouched nature and magnificent scenery complimented with an idyllic, rustic pace.

A Scenic Trip

The route to Wayanad, as it gradually climbs into the misty mountainsides of the Western Ghats, is one that is flanked by verdant forests. Travellers can assuredly switch off their air-conditioners and take in some of the pristine fresh air. The 300-km journey along the NH275 is a journey into a primal landscape, characterized by gushing currents and dramatic heights.

Srirangapatna is a historic city that falls on this very eventful route, home to Tipu Sultan’s tomb. The city of Mysore is a great halfway point – a cultural hub that is also home to some of the most breathtaking architecture of South India. The route to Wayanad also skirts the Nagarhole National Park, home to the Bengal tiger and other flagship species. If time permits, a stop here for a safari is recommended.

Attractions of Wayanad

In Wayanad, it is all about the natural setting. The region is one of the wettest in India so monsoon trips here always guarantee a unique experience. The coffee plantations provide a tranquil location to walk around and fresh rivulets and streams add to the soundtrack of the forest, filled with trails and gorgeous waterfalls. The trek to Chembra Peak is one of the adventurous activities one can indulge in Wayanad.

Drive over to the banks of the Banasura Reservoir and soak in the serenity of the gentle waters with the Western Ghats in the backdrop. The Banasura Hill is a 2000-metre summit that rewards visitors with mesmerizing panoramas of the surrounding ranges. One can also visit the Edakkal Caves, anthropological wonders where visitors can study ancient petroglyphs carved on the walls thousands of years ago.

Travelling in Freedom

The best road trips are accomplished on one’s own terms, a reason why car rentals are preferred for an adventure like Wayanad rather than chauffeured options. App-based rentals like Zoomcar offer the latest SUVs and sedans along with comfortable hatchbacks at very affordable rates. Travellers enjoy the ‘no questions asked’ nature of car rentals, not to mention complete privacy and total control over the pace of the journey. They can enjoy stops and detours as they wish, adding more chapters to the journey. 24/7 on-road support is a reassuring addition to the perks of a car rental. This is a major reason why most travel enthusiasts are choosing self drive rentals for long trips. Bangalore to Udupi is another popular route.

Wayanad is an abode for those who seek a reclusive and picturesque getaway, tucked in the clouds. Start the planning and packing – enjoy this epic journey from behind the wheel.

The post Bangalore to Wayanad – Self Drive Road Trip to Kerala appeared first on TravHQ.

Zomato has a cheeky tone, ixigo is absolutely hilarious, Amadeus is relatively serious and all of these impressions are drawn on how the brands communicate with their audience through their social channels. The communication style of these brands is in sync with the personality you would generally associate with these brands and ensuring the same allows them to build trust with their audience in the long run.

Now there are more channels than ever for brands to communicate with their audience. Apart from the obvious platforms like Facebook, brands are constantly moving to platforms where they can find their audience and it is likely that the process will continue forever. This makes it important for brands to constantly adapt their style according to platform while adhering to a baseline that ticks the right boxes for their brand.

This style of communication for any brand should be a reflection of the brand personality. For new brands, it is crucial to identify and define this personality sooner rather than later because even without trying, the communication style would paint some picture of their personality which might be a mash-up. Irrespective of the scale, there is a set of emotional and associative characteristics that should be carried in communication across all platforms. The voice should be distinctive, instantly recognisable and unique so that the audience start connecting with it over time.

To determine this communication style for your brand, you need to account for multiple factors. Figure out the kind of people you are looking to speak to. Also go back to your roots and think of what the initial drive behind the business was. How will you describe your brand to someone whom you have just met? That initial drive or core idea is what you are looking to communicate to your target audience and it should be expressed in your communication.

Another factor to determine is how formal or informal you are going to be. An informal tone can carry more character and warmth but may come across as reckless at times. A formal tone, on the other hand, would convey a sense of professionalism but feel like it lacks a character. The former could work better for brands targeting younger audience while the latter for B2B brands but there is no rulebook to follow here. It depends on the audience you are targeting and the products/services you are promoting. Just remember that people might not like the idea of a bank that comes across as adventurous.

Metasearch platform ixigo has built a massive community of fans with quirky videos with humour of different degrees. They educate about places and their products while carrying a style that is instantly recognisable. Food recommendation platform Zomato is associated with its cheeky puns. The two serve as good examples of how brands should carry their communication style.

That said, it is always about expressing in a way to convey the message in best possible manner. Don’t always be too stiff on the rules and be open to try new things, particularly when experimenting with new platforms and formats to reach a new audience.

The post How to how to define the voice of your brand appeared first on TravHQ.

Despite being at the receiving end of many jokes about copying Snapchat and featuring in thousands of memes all over the internet, Instagram is pulling off Stories and is pulling it off quite well. Facebook recently shared that it now has over 250 million daily active users which is almost 80 million higher than Snapchat already and is growing faster than ever. While Instagram was already an important piece in the marketing puzzle for travel brands, we observed some interesting use cases for Stories when it rolled out last year.

It has evolved significantly since then and now brings new features including various video formats and live streaming. For brands that have recently started using the feature or are looking to gain more value out of it, we have some interesting tips for Instagram stories:

Keep it coherent

While the audience won’t expect stories to be as perfect as the Instagram posts, it is important to make sure the content under stories is related. Follow daily/weekly/ hourly themes but make sure you are not jumping the sequence with disconnected posts. This will ensure that they audience isn’t dropping out without watching all the screens of the story.

Use the formats

While a photo only story isn’t a bad idea, there is no harm in getting a bit more experimental with Stories. A boomerang or a reverse video can add a dash of humour or create an interesting perspective to keep people hooked.

The video rule

Top video marketers suggest that while the whole video needs powerful content, the first few seconds are particularly important to capture the attention. The same holds true for stories as well. If you see audience dropping out after the first few screens, maybe you need a better beginning.

Don’t overdo it

What is a good number of posts per day for stories? I am afraid we don’t have a number yet. However, you have to account for the fact that even if you spread out your posts throughout the day, there will be many who will be catching up on them together at the end of the day. 15-18 posts from one account and the user would either skip through them or move to next account in stories.

Use links judiciously

Yes, you can put links in your stories. Yes, it can drive a fraction of the viewers to your website. No, you shouldn’t try to place a link everytime you post. To gain real value out of a link in stories, use the posts as a funnel to drive audience. Tell a tale with the posts with the link positioned as the final piece of that tale and make it clear how the link can be opened (swiping up might not be obvious when stories are flowing sideways).

Brands and influencers are finding great value in Instagram Stories as it continues to grow rapidly. If you have any interesting ideas to add here, do share with us.

The post Here is how to make the most out of Instagram stories appeared first on TravHQ.

Think of Uber and you instantly think of a brand innovating in ways to ease our transportation woes. You recognise Airbnb to be the company focussing on local experiences and the massive community of guests and hosts resonate with it. Tesla is seen as a forward thinking car maker. How we perceive these brands is a result of the years of effort they have directed towards branding. But why does it matter?

To start with, to leave a quality first impression. Users, or potential users see and deal with the product before the people behind it which means the product and your activities around it should also reflect your values.

Getting the branding right is more than just choosing the right colours and having a fancy logo design. It is about carrying those values you want to reflect through every element of your business and every individual representing your brand. The visual elements and the tone of communication should be in sync right from day one.

Here are some DOs and DON’Ts for you if you are trying to position a young brand:

DOs

Speak to the right people

Before you start setting a tone, identify your target audience and divide them according to how much use they will find of your product. Tailor your communication to the people who stand to get the maximum value out of your product and speak to them directly.

Position with actions

“Actions speak louder than words” should also be your motto. Telling people that your brand believes in something won’t cut it. Your actions and your growth decisions should show that you believe in, and are working towards, the goal you advertise.

Ask questions

Ask yourself questions about your product and include them as part of your communication. Who is buying your product? Why should they care about your product? How do they feel about it? What are the true benefits of your product for them? Use the pointers you get to draw the baseline for your communication.

Exceed expectations

No one advertises better than a happy customer. Don’t just get it done. Get it done in a better way than expected. It is okay to make mistakes but own up to them and make sure despite that, the support leaves a happy customer.

Take correct position

This is an important factor in P2P businesses. In case of a travel businesses, if you are trying to target both travellers and providers, you have to decide on what side you should be talking to through your communication channels. Often, as you build one side of the business, the other side will follow. Airbnb often speaks to the guests. Same with Uber. However, you will notice that some channels like the company blogs occasionally refer to the other side of business. Another good example, despite not being from travel industry, would be P2P used goods marketplace OLX. In India, the company actively advertised itself as a platform to sell with prominent messages of “OLX pe bech de” (sell on OLX). As the listings started building, buyers followed.

Focus on personal branding

Personal branding can work wonders. Entrepreneurs should work towards positioning themselves as an advocate of their brand’s mission statement and gaining trust of users. Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Travis Kalanick, Brian Chesky are some entrepreneurs to look up to. Mark Zuckerberg has also been actively taking up projects and using his own social platform for the past few years to strengthen his personal branding. In some cases, especially in case of Uber and Airbnb, this has also helped the brands in gathering public support for stepping in the legal grey area of operation.

Get the team in on voice

You shouldn’t be the only person reinforcing your brand’s vision statement. Make sure your team members share your vision and resonate the same. This won’t just come from asking your team to do the same but getting the right kind of people onboard in the first place.

Tailor for high expectation customer

Not everyone sets the same expectations from a brand. There will always be people who would expect certain quality standards higher than the masses and you need to be sure that you leave them impressed. Preparing for them will automatically ensure that all the other customers draw a good image of your brand.

Use powerful vision statement

This makes a huge difference in how people receive your brand. The examples below show how four companies doing the same thing at this point try to send very different messages to their audience. Of course this has to be accompanied with actions as well and we have already seen how Uber is working to map the world for driverless cars.

DON’Ts

Go after all users

Discounts aren’t always bad. They get people to try out new products and (maybe) stick around if they like them. However, make sure you are not targeting masses to reach numbers you can boast. The ones who stand to gain the maximum value out of your product are more likely to use the product more often than someone who just tried because of the discount.

Launch with generalities

This follows up from the previous point of not going after all potential users. In order to appeal to the masses, brands often tone down their vision statement and launch with generalities. Don’t make the mistake.

Be afraid of rebuilding

Over time, the market trends will change, the consumer demands will change and it is likely that you will feel the need to change as well. It is possible that you decided to tackle bigger challenges on the way up. Don’t be afraid to rebuild when it is required and while you are at it, rework on the branding as well to suit your adaptation.

Leave to general perception

Knowingly or unknowingly, your communication and actions will send across a message. It is important to not leave your position and the message your audience draws to general perception. Instead, take control and define how your users see you.

Be inconsistent

Don’t be inconsistent with your branding efforts. Adhere to the baseline your have drawn for your brand and don’t make it an intermittent activity.

Copy others

Look at all the brands you are competing with and observe the approach they are taking. However, don’t copy any of that. The observations should only serve as a base for research to identify how the audience is responding. Copying would never let you grow bigger than them.

What other pointers would you like to add to the list? Do share with us.

The post Starting up? Here is the branding guide you need appeared first on TravHQ.

Good design is not just about building a beautiful interface but rather a language. It needs to communicate well with the consumers and should be simple enough for them to understand. As the competition intensifies in online travel space, the brands are doing all they can to offer the best experience to their customers and their partners.

Arthur Chapin, Senior Vice President, Global Product and Design at Expedia (Image: Phocuswright)

At the recently concluded Phocuswright India, Arthur Chapin, Senior Vice President, Global Product and Design at Expedia took the stage and shared details of the experiments that are always ongoing to build a great product. While it might not be possible for young startups to actually employ many of the technologies they put to use, it is certainly good to observe and learn from what Expedia is doing and use the learnings to build a better product. Here are some highlights from the keynote:

Observe your users

The team at Expedia spends time with both partners and consumers to observe their behaviour. Not only do they try to understand how the partners and consumers are using their own product but also many other products during the course of their day. This would help in building better products that complement the lifestyle while also offering cues about their preferences.

Ask the right questions

Arthur shared that is very important to ask the right questions to get meaningful inputs. You shouldn’t ask what features your customers would like. Instead you should ask about the problems they are facing. Expedia has a research team all over the globe comprising of behavioural and psychology experts who talk to a lot of people to get crucial inputs for the product.

“It is never the feature they ask for. It’s the problem that they are turning into a feature that they think will help solve.”

Don’t consult your friends

During his keynote, Arthur stressed on the fact that building a product for the whole world requires inputs from a diverse group. You shouldn’t just rely on talking to your friends. They might have needs similar to you and won’t be the right people to provide inputs on your idea (and your friends love you, don’t they). The researchers at Expedia talk to over 5800 partners and 10,000 users every year to build a better product that the users don’t just use but love to use. The research team also leverages Facial Electromyography to gauge how people feel while using their products.

Invest less, learn more

The Expedia team, with the help of various technologies, identifies problems faced by users. Soon after that, they are quick to jump on potential solutions with different ideas. Arthur shared that the goal is to test very quickly if they are starting to solve the problem. His advice is to change one thing at a time and try out your solution with the least amount of investment to see if there is an improvement. Once you see smoke, try to evolve from there.

Neutrals don’t get you anywhere

One of the most important points he highlighted was that building a great product should involve only winning and losing. As you deal with problems one at a time, you should either win or lose to learn something new. Neutrals don’t get you anywhere as you don’t learn from them. It is a wasted opportunity. According to him, this practice is followed religiously at Expedia and allows them to make new meaningful additions almost everyday.

Don’t build MVP targeting final product

He pointed out that at times, entrepreneurs have the wrong idea of how to go on about building a minimum viable product. The objective should be to solve a problem, not to have a final product as initially imagined.

“Don’t build a wheel if you want to build a car. Look at the problem it is solving, which is getting from A to B. A wheel won’t solve that. It is just a part of the solution and the right MVP would be a skateboard.”

He further added that it is hard to know what the final product is going to be in future which makes it even more important to not build with that in mind and instead focus on building a real solution.

We will be bringing highlights of more keynotes and discussions from Phocuswright India 2017 over the next few days. Subscribe to our newsletter below to have them delivered to your inbox.

The post Expedia’s Arthur Chapin on how to build a great product: Phocuswright India 2017 appeared first on TravHQ.

Rush to download all the content you posted on Vine first. The platform is being killed off and in few hours your Vine app will turn into Vine Camera. What was once the go to place for casual short form videos is fading away and we don’t like it a bit. The six second limit (before it was changed) forced people (and brands) to think differently and be creative. We absolutely loved shooting some quirky videos from around the office for our own account and putting the message in the tiny time frame was actually a tough job. However, marketers began moving their money away from Vine and the platform eventually reached where it is today despite its initial popularity.

Now that Vine has gone away, here are some ideas for where you can direct your energy to gain more visibility for your brand:

Instagram stories

500 million monthly active users on Instagram. 150 million using the relatively fresh Stories feature already. Instagram goes on top of the list because its success with videos is one of the many reasons Vine is going away and Stories are a great way to keep the creativity alive. You can go with quick photos or short videos (or Boomerang, even better). Instagram posts are losing visibility as algorithms work their magic but for now, stories can help with your brand visibility. If you are still not convinced, here are some more reasons.

Snapchat

How can we talk about Instagram Stories and not talk about Snapchat! The platform is built around unrefined real time experiences (and disappearing content), something that Facebook looked at for inspiration. The number of young travellers is increasing and they are on Snapchat. Travel brands like Conde Nast Traveler and Marriott are already using the platform to engage with young audience and you should too. Find your quick start guide here.

Animations

You are probably putting lot of graphics and photographs on your Facebook and Twitter account. Maybe you should try using more animations if you aren’t already. Think of it as Vine without sound and get creative. Show your audience that your brand has a funny side and get your message across with less words. Of course you should dial up the humour only in line with your brand communication style but if you hit the sweet spot, it could translate into increased reach for your social accounts. There are plenty of free tools available online that can simplify the process of making them.

WeChat

In some parts of the world, WeChat is really popular and with over 800 million monthly active users, it is bigger than Instagram. It is lot more than just a messaging app and has added social features over time (and as you would have guessed, influencers as well). There is Moments which is like Facebook timeline and brands can also choose to place sponsored content in Moments’ timeline. Subscriptions can drive your content to your audience and the wallet means that it is easier for users to spend $$$ when you convince them to.

Messenger

Facebook is bullish on Messenger as it tries to be the WeChat of West and we know Facebook is good at identifying trends. You can use your Facebook posts to get people to interact with you more through Messenger. Going a step further, you can consider diverting resources towards chat bots, for PR opportunity and the novelty if not for anything else. Even if you don’t have the resources to put towards building a chat bot from scratch, you can use some of these tools to experiment with what you can make. Bots might not have picked up yet but they certainly have potential.

What platform are you planning to replace Vine with?

The post Vine is dead. Here are 5 things to shift your focus on appeared first on TravHQ.

A recent ThinkWithGoogle report puts highlight on how people are consuming video content on YouTube and the data suggests that what we have been assuming about video consumption on mobile might be wrong. While the data indicates that most of the YouTube video consumption is on mobile, it doesn’t translate into short on the go sessions like many believe. Instead, viewing behaviour on mobile is very much similar to TV.

Three in four adults report watching YouTube at home on their mobile devices and this viewing occurs primarily during prime time. It also states that 70 percent of the viewers switch to horizontal full screen videos on their phone and are two times more likely to pay close attention compared to TV viewers.

On the go viewing in portrait format has been driven by platforms like Instagram and Facebook that have always been used vertically and later adopted videos. YouTube on the other hand, has always been about videos and multiplatform so users behave differently. Discovery has also got an important role to play here. Mobile users are less likely to open YouTube on the go to discover video content that they want to watch which won’t be the case with social media platforms where they are discovering video content in between their other social interactions. One inference we can draw here is that marketers should plan their video content according to the platform. YouTube can leave a stronger impact with long meaningful videos while the other platforms, primarily Instagram can be used to drive initial interest with short, catchy clips.

The reason people are watching videos on YouTube also vary widely. They are not just looking for popular, widely shared content but for informative content and entertainment. The report indicates that almost four times as many people prefer watching videos on YouTube as on social media platforms that are less video centric. Leading content categories are comedy, music, entertainment and ‘how to’. We all love those ‘how to’ travel videos, don’t we? YouTube is also a major driver in purchase decision as people turn to YouTube to find user experiences and information. So YouTube influencers should certainly be a part of your influencer marketing plan.

Insights exclusive to APAC indicate that the trend of watching videos to learn about products and services magnifies during holiday season. In Q4 2015, the YouTube watch time increased 24 percent compared to rest of the year with mobile watch time taking a 33 percent jump.

Putting these insights to use could help you better plan your video content and tailor it well depending on the platform and user behaviour. We would love to hear if you have anything to add to it.

Source

The post Here is what the YouTube viewing behaviour of mobile users could mean for marketers appeared first on TravHQ.

Acquiring new customers is good but acquiring customers who keep coming back is even better. In travel, the frequency of purchase could be low translating into a platform or service being dropped by some customers over time. Many might not make a second purchase for a long time. However, you are not losing even if you have to spend to get the attention of customers who have previously made a purchase with you. This is because an average buyer would not be very confident when shopping with a platform for the first time and this will limit how much he or she is going to spend. Various researches indicate that repeat customers tend to spend more as they gain trust in the platform. Here are some practices that would allow you to drive up the number of repeat customers:

Contextual prompts

Email, text messages, app notifications can all be good ways to communicate with a customer. However, there is a line that you shouldn’t cross to stay useful to your customers without annoying the hell out of them. Keep some communication channels limited for special occasions and put more effort into others by making the message more useful. Pick on trends, listen to what the masses are talking about on social platforms and use that to your advantage. Sending 10 percent discount codes everyday won’t cut it.

Track behaviour

Look beyond the obvious behaviour of customers. Observe the behaviour of shoppers who didn’t buy, app users who uninstalled in a week and more. Apart from Google Analytics for web, there are powerful tools that you can use in your apps to track behaviour which would give insights on why users are abandoning and not coming back. Via.com follows app uninstalls with a mail seeking feedback which is a good practice as well.

Use deep linking

Users might have your app sitting somewhere in that every expanding app drawer but it isn’t doing you any good, is it? At times you might need to give them a nudge towards a certain utility that they would find useful. Deep linking would allow you to drive the users directly to a certain feature instead of pushing them to the app home. Deferred deep linking would allow you to direct users to specific features even if they have uninstalled the app.

Simplify accounts

A sign up process that requires the user to fill up a form not only serves as a deterrent for new customers but also for returning customers. Naturally if you get any user to sign up by filling a form, you would ask him or her to set a password which is in addition to the dozens required by mails and social media. There is a very good possibility that if you are not offering a daily utility (which is obviously the case with most travel brands), the user won’t remember the password and might just look for alternates when you ask for login. Keeping the social media sign in option can prevent that.

Give back

Arguments vary widely on the importance of loyalty programs and cashbacks but if crafted well, they can drive significant volume of returning customers. Users are more likely to use certain loyalty program and the associated service if the same program allows them to gain and use across multiple services. AirAsia BIG is one good example of such a program. The ability to gain points on frequent purchases are more likely to make a user opt for a certain program putting digital wallets and credit card providers on list of potential partners.

Quality support

Nothing is more capable than the good old methods in creating brand loyalists. Quality experience along with prompt and satisfactory support will ensure that not only your customers come back to you but also put out a good word for you online or offline.

Do share what practices you follow to keep the customers coming back to your product.

The post Here is how you can keep the customers coming back appeared first on TravHQ.