One of the main challenges for website owners is keeping their site updated with a stream of fresh, interesting and exciting content for their visitors.

The main reason for generating such content is somewhat obvious – to attract, excite and compel potential customers to stick around your site and maybe even make a booking that will increase your tour operator profit margin!

As we mentioned in our previous article, publishing content also helps you climb the search engine page ranks (getting closer to the elusive top spot on a search engine’s results,) but that’s a different subject altogether.

Content you post must at once relate to your business and compel your prospect to act (a “call to action”). You sell an experience in the form of a tour or activity, meaning that your buyers come to you with a desire to which you must appeal, be it for relaxation (unwind with a wine-tasting tour), education (learn a new skill with a martial arts class) or excitement (experience that adrenaline rush).

Tour and activity content usually manifests itself as customer testimonials and group photos. Even though you might already have such content up on your site, there’s always room for improvement. Take a look at how these tour and activity businesses effectively display their client experiences to see how they’re doing it right:

Photos

Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tours has lined their About page with customer photos on the left and testimonials on the right:

hunter valley wine tours

Not only is it aesthetically more appealing than a big chunk of text, but the photos evoke feelings of relaxation by highlighting the relaxing aspect of the activity; unwind with friends in a scenic vineyard over bottles of delicious wine. Text testimonials on the right further complement the purpose of the site (what to expect from the experience) by showing you how the customers felt after taking the tour.

Videos

North Star Martial Arts‘ home page is a great example of how to use video for an activity business:

martial arts classes

Their main video is 5 minutes long and shows students and teachers talking about the class and why committing to learning this new skill makes them feel so good. Benefits are stated by the narrator and reinforced by customers and their parents. The secondary video on the right shows news coverage of their business, adding credibility to their brand. Finally, the image on the bottom right (which is actually a slideshow of several images) gives the site visitor something to aspire to – it essentially says, “complete our class, become an expert, and you’ll be able to do flying air kicks, like this guy.”

If you lack the funds to create a professional video, don’t worry, because it doesn’t even need to be. Whip out your mobile phone and film the experience! It adds to your authenticity. In the same vein, don’t worry overly about grammar or being too politically correct; just say what you think. Personality is a key part of your brand, so be human, because no one wants to buy from a propaganda-spewing robot.

Blog posts

For those more thrill-seeking businesses, there is a great opportunity to post blogs that play into fears that make customers hesitant to lock in a purchase. Take Adventure Sports Holidays’ blog about whether we should be afraid of sharks:

shark diving

It begins by asking a very good question that engages the mind of every on-the-fence customer; why do we fear sharks? It then goes on to ask more questions on whether the industry is doing the right thing, before finally communicating its message:

shark diving

This blog post effectively reassures readers that they have nothing to fear; sharks have been demonized by Jaws, and we can back it up with scientific research from the experts. It also ends the article nicely by subtly linking to a list of shark diving businesses, in case it’s piqued your interest.

Know what your customers desire

No matter what your tour or activity is, it is important to know what driving desire compels your prospective customers to seek your product. If your product is deep-sea diving, which falls into the category of excitement, your content should showcase customers in the most thrilling environments; for example, with sharks. You can also address their deepest fears related to the risks of your experience. If it’s horse riding, which falls into the category of relaxation, show pictures of people out in the country and sitting around campfires. If it’s a kickboxing class, show your more advanced students kicking butt after completing your program! Put yourself in your customer’s shoes; try to imagine the first time you experienced that activity and try to create content that triggers those desires and feelings.

If you would like to learn more about how to effectively use your website for your tour or activity business, please download our free eBook on the subject:





Tour Operator eBook




What kinds of challenges do you encounter when publishing content on your site? Let us know in the comment section below.