Instagram’s new Hyperlapse IOS app is taking the tourism content marketing world by storm. Heck, it’s got everyone’s attention. Almost overnight (after its release) my Facebook feed switched from a never ending stream of ice bucket challenges to Hypersnap videos.
But here are three reasons I recommend brands, and tourism destination marketers in particular, steer clear of jumping on the Hyperlapse bandwagon.
Hyperlapse Isn’t a New Technology
While many think that Hyperlapse represents some magical leap forward in ease of creation, it really isn’t. Tourism Marketers have been able to easily create time-lapse videos with a mobile phone for years. In fact I detailed how to do it in Chapter 11 of The Invisible Sale. Here is the example I referenced (watch the Man on the Mound) video.
The Creative Boomerang
Consumer quickly tire of new technology, creative tricks and even helpful memes. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a perfect example. While no one would honestly question the benefits of the challenge, within just a few weeks you started seeing consumer backlash with consumers posting on their Facebook Walls how they were “over the ice bucket challenge” or wanting to know how they could filter out ice bucket challenge videos from their feeds.
It wasn’t that they no longer thought the challenge was worthy, they were just tired of seeing a feed full of the same thing, over and over and over.
As tourism marketers excitedly grab hold of this simple new technology and begin to use it everywhere they can in a quest to give consumers “new and interesting” content, the inevitable over indulgence will occur. And remember, it won’t just be tourism marketers jumping on the Hyperlapse bandwagon. It will be traditional brand marketers, social media and content marketing agencies and consultants, as well as your cousin Amy who decides that all of her little kiddie moments are now Hyperlapsable.
That’s why it’s so important to think through your tourism marketing strategy holistically.
Creative Techniques Serve a Purpose
Finally, if you talk to professional commercial creators — those filmmakers or ad agency creatives that have built a career crafting video stories to sell products and services, they’ll tell you that there is a terrible tendency for marketers to utilize (or over utlize) new creative techniques in ways for which they were not designed.
Hpyerlapse, like all time lapse video, is best used to condense long, slowly developing story-lines into bite size videos.
Here is an excellent example from Visit Indy where the technique is used sparingly to help reinforce a key point — 8 miles of bike/walk trail — where the technique subconsciously reinforces the text on screen to create a powerful one-two content marketing punch. (Hat tip to Jeremy Williams for pointing me to this video)
[fve]http://youtu.be/F4ykv0yrLWI?t=15s[/fve]
But look around the Internet and you’ll find that most folks are using the technique like this video…
Where the video is more about the technique than the story. Successful social media tourism marketing strategies should focus on telling the entire brand story…. over time. The beauty of social media (and content marketing) is the freedom to extend the storyline over a conversation vs having to collapse it all into a single ad.
How To Leverage Hyperlapse In Tourism Marketing
Is there a role for Instagram’s Hyperlapse video in tourism and destination marketing? Absolutely. But as with all creative content marketing techniques, use it appropriately and sparingly. Don’t become a slave to technology or trends.
Instead, think through your existing video content marketing assets. Are there places where a Hyperlapse version of the same video could be more powerful? Are there pieces of video content that you wish you had but previously didn’t include due to the duration of time required to completely tell the story or make the point with video?
These are the kinds of discussions your DMO or CVB should be having versus rushing to create your first Hyperlapse video.
Think about how you can strategically utilize this exciting new technology to increase interest in and visitation to your destination or use of your tourism brand.
As with any technique or tactics, every brand “can” but not every brand “should” and THAT is the question tourism marketers should be discussing.
Need help making sense of your digital tourism marketing strategy?
Let’s talk. Just drop us a line and describe your biggest issue. Tom will contact you and provide a half hour of free advice on how you may solve that issue.
