Staying up-to-date on the latest business trends can be tough, but it is essential for companies working in the adventure travel industry. Over the course of the coming year, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) will release a series of short marketing reports designed to help members stay informed about the most recent and relevant industry news.
Each report in this Adventure Marketing series focuses on a platform or marketing tactic important for adventure travel marketers. The first report, in partnership with Tartan Group, focuses on Instagram Stories.
In August 2016, the popular photo sharing app Instagram launched Stories, a functionality similar to that offered by Snapchat. Stories allows Instagram users to share real-time photos and videos with their followers, which disappear after 24 hours. Photos and videos appear in a slideshow format.
Instagram introduced the feature to increase engagement in the app — as more users were carefully curating the photos they posted, Stories allowed them to share their day in a more natural, unedited format. This was effective: Adding the Stories feature increased the number of daily active users on Instagram by 50 million in six months.
The feature has been especially popular with travelers who have taken to sharing moments from their trips in real time. Because of its popularity among this target market, adventure tourism companies should consider using the functionality to inspire travelers who are in the “Dreaming” phase of the customer journey and their trip.
Instagram boasts significant engagement among its 700 million users; 200 million use the app daily. One in five Instagram Stories results in a direct message from viewers, and 70% of viewers watch Stories with the volume on (indicating higher engagement).
Understanding how to use in-the-moment storytelling to promote your business is important as it is positioned to become even more ubiquitous. In fact, Facebook has launched similar functionalities in WhatsApp (My Status), Messenger (MyDay), and Facebook (Stories). Compared to these new tools and Snapchat, Instagram makes it easier for users who do not follow a brand to discover their Stories by using algorithms that place interesting Stories at the top of users’ feeds in the Explore tab. Therefore, Instagram Stories can be a powerful tool for destinations and tour operators promoting adventure tourism.
Download the report to:
- Get an introduction to Instagram Stories and how to use it to market your adventure company.
- View a comparison table of Instagram Stories, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and other similar features.
- Access tips and tricks for creating effective Instagram Stories and Instagram Stories ads.
- View case studies of companies that have accomplished positive results with Stories.