3 Reasons Evergreen is a Good Look for Your Tourism Marketing Content
Photo by Joseph Young
If you’re not sure what the term ‘evergreen’ means except for the “never-drops-its-leaves” kind of way – that’s about to change.
And if you DO know what it means, but you’re not sure it’s worth your time and effort – that’s about to change, too.
After reading this article you will understand…
WHAT ‘Evergreen Content’ is
WHY you should invest in it
HOW to work it into your marketing plans
What is ‘Evergreen Content’?
The term “evergreen content” derives from exactly where you might imagine: the evergreen tree.
In nature, we see evergreen trees like the Spruce or Fir stay vibrant all year round because they never drop their leaves. They maintain their shape, and, in some climates, they provide shelter during cold seasons when everything else is bare.
In marketing, ‘evergreen’ is used in much the same way: all good tourism marketing agencies will tell you that producing content unmarked by identifying social elements, political happenings, or dating references will stay relevant through the changes of seasons for your company.
Some content serves a specific purpose by going viral and garnering huge numbers of views, reads, and shares in a short amount of time. Trends pass though, and these viral hits then languish in the dustbin of your marketing scheme. Though they have their place in tourism marketing, they get used up and then fall to the wayside.
Evergreen content is different: slow and steady is the name of the game for your evergreen plan. Since it’s not based on trends or one-hit-wonders, your evergreen content isn’t likely to chalk up huge numbers in a short amount of time, but it also doesn’t lose its luster in the long term.
Photo by GLP
So why should you use Evergreen Content?
Simply put, if it’s well done it should continue to draw in an audience long after you’ve forgotten all about the work it took to produce it.
Moving beyond the basic fact that this type of content stays useful year-round, there are 3 major reasons you should utilize evergreen content for your business:
Timelessness
Just like evergreen trees, evergreen content stays fresh and beneficial well beyond its initial publication.
How? By utilizing timeless content.
Obviously, some aging is inevitable. Articles written at the dawn of the internet are relevant today simply because technology has changed so much. None of us are carrying around floppy discs anymore… are we?
But in the marketing sphere, if you have an article that’s still largely relevant years after the time of posting? That’s a feat to be honored. Consider this content produced for the Tourism Authority of Thailand campaign. These videos were filmed at the onset of COVID-19, just as global tourism came to a screeching halt. Yet, because of the compelling nature of these stories, views continue to stack up, even three years later. That’s timelessness in marketing.
Repurposability
When you take the time to create timeless content, it yields multiplying rewards. Besides the reciprocating effect of consistent views over time, this content generally lends itself well to repurposing.
When you have a set of videos like this, created for the Georgia National Tourism Administration (GNTA), you can do so much more with them past the initial campaign launch. In this case, The GNTA was able to take these two pieces of content and snip them into smaller pieces to utilize in social media campaigns over and over again.
Yet, segmentation is only one way to repurpose. In GLP’s #TourismStrong campaign, pre-existing footage was blended with virtual interviews in order to create entirely new videos. This practice saved money and broadened the scope of influence to include people that never could have featured in an in-person shoot.
Add bonus points for minimizing environmental impact!
Using one larger project in multiple ways can maximize your efforts when planning evergreen projects.
SEO
The last reason to utilize evergreen content in your marketing plan is simple: search engine optimization.
SEO remains something of a mystery in spite of all the information trying to explain it. Search algorithms are constantly evolving – once you get it figured out, something is bound to change.
But consistency in messaging remains crucial to performance over time.
Evergreen content is about the long game, just like SEO. It’s not a viral spike in impressions or sudden launch to first place in this arena; instead, it’s setting your sights on the prize and then producing quality, valuable content that can stand the test of time.
Search engines love evergreen content. Obviously, you should too!
Photo by Geran de Klerk
But how do you generate Evergreen Content?
The first step is to find the perfect subject matter.
Content that revolves around a popular event is NOT evergreen material! Content revolving around a year-round tourist attraction, however, would be. For example, check out this project highlighting Maine’s offerings that would work for a variety of travelers and times of the year.
When we’re formulating a content plan for a client, our team draws on years of experience and some technical skills to determine whether or not a given topic will be evergreen in nature.
The second step is simple… make it good.
It should go without saying that quality content will out-perform mediocre productions every time. That’s especially true of evergreen content, however, because of how long it can stay in circulation if viewers think it is worth sharing and interacting with. Poor content, even if evergreen, will probably still flop.
That’s why we put so much time and energy into ensuring our evergreen campaigns are top-tier pieces of timeless art. We want them to last!
Photo by Dawid Zawila
Evergreen is for everyone
Every industry needs evergreen content, including the tourism industry. Thankfully, creating, repurposing, recycling, and updating it is a completely sustainable practice.