SKI INDUSTRY MARKETING CONTENT
5 SKI INDUSTRY MARKETING CONTENT IDEAS FOR A SUCCESSFUL WINTER SEASON
It’s fair to say that the tourism industry – and therefore ski industry marketing, was hit incredibly hard throughout the Covid Pandemic – and still continues to be so. As we are beginning to gear up for winter 22/23, we can begin to feel the excitement that a new winter season brings with it.
The hundreds of businesses that cater to the UK travel market have weathered a difficult few winters and – fingers crossed! – winter 2022/23 should be the first season since the 18/19 season when the full winter is open to the UK market.
So there is a lot of excitement brimming – for a return to “normal”. And if you’re starting to plan your winter communications, *spoiler alert! you should have started already!* I’ve got 5 content ideas to maintain and keep thinking of when you start talking with your audiences.
1. Double down on your informative content
If you work in the ski industry, then you know that 9/10 websites are offering similar – if not the same – content. Plus, it almost always comes with a sales push – buy a lift pass/holiday/equipment etc. However, whilst people can’t travel, ski enthusiasts are still desperate for information. So look at your core pages and ask yourself the following questions:
- What information do you have on your site that isn’t sales orientated?
- Are you knowledgeable about a specific topic, e.g. snow conditions, a region/ski resort, safety equipment etc.?
- What are your most visited pages?
- Do you have content on your site / social media channels that answers your Frequently Asked Questions?
How can you improve, rework or enlarge this existing content? Or, if it doesn’t exist, then take this time to get it out there. When it can sometimes be challenging to differentiate yourself from your competitors in the ski industry, take your specialist knowledge and turn it into a strength.
This brings me to point two.
2. Emphasise what makes your unique
It can be too easy to use stock imagery and stock content on your site. But audiences respond to authenticity. It makes you more credible and, therefore, trustworthy. This can mean looking at things like:
- Your specialist knowledge and using it to create content
- Creating personality throughout your marketing
- Developing your image through your communications – audiences want to see (and then trust) people
It’s a phrase we hear so much in marketing and business, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Identify your niche within your market. You can’t cater – and keep everyone happy. So, who is your market – your target audience, your ideal client? Now, think about what they want to hear from you?
- Family holidays
- Childfree holidays
- Singles holidays
- Powder and off-piste adventure
- Beginner and first-time experiences
These 5 quick examples are all people who might be staying in neighboring chalets on a ski holiday. But their needs and interests are quite obviously, different.
Want More Information Like This?
3. Create some guides
In these – and I want to say ‘post’-pandemic and ‘post’-Brexit times, your clients have questions – more than ever. Think about it. How many more people are now reading the small print of their holiday and travel insurance to make sure Covid is covered?
So take your communications back to basics and create some guides on what to expect on a person’s next holiday. Think about who is travelling with you and why they travel with you, and then address the core issues surrounding travelling, plus any additional concerns about Covid. As a place to start, you can look at:
- Travel (+Covid)
- Insurance (+Covid)
- Skiing with/without kids (+Covid)
- Equipment hire (+Covid)
- Après (+Covid)
- Non-skiing activities (+Covid)
- … and so on.
Jen’s Top Tip
Looking for a way to take communication with your clients further? We’ve already established that travelers have more questions, so make it easier for them to talk to you. Have you got all your bases covered?
Look at:
- Adding a chat window to your site
- Opening up Facebook (and other platform) messenger services
- You could even open up and do some live Instagram or Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions
4. Show off (but just a little!)
There is indeed some guilt when posting regularly about the mountains – snow conditions and ski areas etc., if the majority of your clientele can’t physically visit you right now. But, the fact is, you still have a business to run; there is a whole world of anglo-speaking people who can travel. Plus the British market still wants to be up to date on the latest resort news, snow conditions and more.
I have one client who has multiple snow-web-cams around their resorts. And if one of them stops working or is obstructed with snow, you better believe that we hear about it pretty quickly from their regular viewers in the UK!
Just keep your communications empathetic to the current situation. There is a difference between sharing interesting news and bragging. Check your tone and make sure you are coming across as friendly or informative and not tone-deaf to others’ hardships. If you are genuinely concerned about what to write or put out there, contact a professional! Someone like me will guide you on what, when and how to communicate strategically with your audiences.
Repurpose your audiences’ content
It is no secret that we live in an endlessly shared online world. So why not make the most of it! Regardless of which ski resort you are in, there are active communities on most platforms, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the rest. So find them! Hopefully, you should already know where your potential clients are, and *hint* this is the platform on which you should be focusing your efforts. If you don’t know why, check out my post here.
Regardless of which platforms you are on, by following, interacting and engaging with your audiences, you can repurpose their content for your own needs. Whether it is sharing their posts to your Facebook wall. Or asking for their permission to reuse their imagery on your Instagram account.
And if you’re worried about asking people to use their content – don’t be! Firstly, the worst they can say is ‘no’. Secondly, most people are posting on social media for as many likes as possible and you reaching them to to increase their reach, is flattery that most users dream of!
Jen’s Top Tip
If you are active in your community and are well respected within your niche for providing consistent and reliable information, services, and/or products, then ask your audience for their help. There are a couple of ways they can help you:
- Follow your other social media platforms
- Sign up for your newsletter
- Share your content to their platforms
- Leave your feedback, e.g. on Google business or other feedback platforms (if this has been useful, feel free to go leave me some feedback right now!)
To take it further, you can also identify industry influencers within your audience and look to partner with them. It might start with something simple like some reciprocal blog articles, but it could progress to larger projects like sponsorship, brand affiliation and more. Just remember, some of the most influential people in your market are not necessarily the ones with thousands of Instagram followers. So you need to be careful and think strategically about who you might choose to work with. Again, not sure how to do this; contact me today for a free 30min discovery call.
2022 and Beyond
Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas on how you can continue communicating with your audiences successfully whilst you wait for them to return. However, don’t be tempted to think of this as a short term fix. Strong ski content marketing can be difficult, but it is also an excellent way to establish yourself in a competitive market.
Having worked in the ski hospitality industry for 10 years and the marketing industry for almost 15 years, I am excellently placed to help you navigate this tricky – you might say, mogul-like terrain. So get in touch. I’m all ears and ready to help you find your unique stories.
HAVE A LOOK AT ALL SOME OF MY BEST SKI INDUSTRY RESOURCES HERE!
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