How 360 Video Can Power-Up Your Social Marketing

Imagine zip lining thru an exotic tropical forest; monkeys hanging in the tree branches below you.  Birds chirping above you.  Behind and below you is a thatch roof hut.  You cross a small stream and see a family fishing on the banks.  All of a sudden a huge monkey swings right in front of you landing on the next tree branch.

Wow!  How exciting!

Your clients can experience all this while sitting in the comforts of your office.  Or while shopping at the mall.

This is the world of 360 video and virtual reality.

Are you ready?  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat are 360-ready for YOU!

Travel Oregon and 360 Video Examples

Travel Oregon is fully immersed in 360 videos using it on their social sites and website.  In talking with Emily Forsha | Content & Community Manager, Global Integrated Marketing she shared how Travel Oregon is using it.  Here’s the inside scoop:

• Imagine taking a tour of the vineyard, barrel room, bottling room and even the tasting room. All this while touring with the wine maker and learning the inside scoop from the expert.  Travel Oregon teamed up with a winery to make this happen.
• Jet boating is a hugely popular sport. Wouldn’t you love to experience it?  You can with the miracle of 360 videos and brought to you by the Travel Oregon team.

Here’s an example:

Are you thinking this may be too techy or expensive?  Guess what, it’s simple.  Emily and the Travel Oregon team use a Cannon 360 camera and a tripod.  Many of the 360 cameras start at about $100 and a tripod is probably in your photo or video tool kit already.

Tourism Calgary and 360 Video Examples

Tourism Calgary finds that their 360 video gets more attention and engagement on Facebook than on You-Tube.  Kyle Russell | Manager, Content Marketing is so thrilled with the success they found with these stories;

• Capture the moment in a penguin feed at the Calgary Zoo, a rodeo event at Stampede or a hayride at Heritage Park.
• Imagine riding the log ride at an amusement park, being in the middle of a concert, experiencing a ballet from the middle of the performance stage or careening down a halfpipe on your snowboard.

Kyle finds that one-shot experiences gain more engagement than a mash-up of events.   This means that in-the-moment experiences gain more viewership and shares.  These key factors have increased viewer retention and maximized the minutes viewed.

The goal of the Tourism Calgary 360 video is to inspire people to visit Calgary, not click thru to other info.  Creating a fun story that’s shareable is key.  When you check out their 360 videos you’ll see that some of them garnered nearly 300,000 views and 1000 reactions.

Did you know;  In the new Facebook algorithm higher priority is given to video so any form of video; slideshows, Live, 360 or quick 10-second video will get you way more reach.

DMO’s and 360 Video

Other tourism leaders diving into Virtual Reality and 360 videos include:

• Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
• Rockefeller Center in NYC
• Tourism Australia
• Qantas Airlines
• Hilton Hotels
• EF Tours
• This list is nowhere near complete and is growing daily

What awesome industry examples of 360 videos have you spotted on your social feeds recently?

About the Author

Catherine Heeg