Just about everybody in the forefront of hotel/resort/spa marketing and public relations now agrees: a winning strategy today is an engaging custom content platform. Just one problem: confusion and downright ignorance swirl around the idea of custom content in many hospitality circles. Keep reading to learn all you want to know about custom content but have been afraid to ask.

Why custom content, why now. Traditional advertising - and many websites - have screamed at consumers and consumers have learned to tune out the loud din. But they still want to know facts and details about their travel destinations and there is where custom content comes in, at least for the savviest brands.

Think of custom content as a small - but highly informative - magazine aimed at a very targeted audience. Give that audience content they want and they will read it, they will engage with the brand, their trust of the brand will grow.

Let's make this concrete. Custom content discussions often get lost in the tall weeds. Specifics are the antidote.

Understand: good custom content needs to be detailed, specific, hyper-local. In this case it's designed to help guests get the very most of their every vacation/travel minute. It also is intended to fire the imagination of prospects who are still deciding if they want to go to XYZ. Help them see what awaits them and that just may prompt them to hit "book now."

The power of custom content comes across in the richness of detail.

Imagine you want custom content for a luxury Sedona, Arizona resort. That's the high desert, where people go on holiday for specific reasons. Give a good custom content consultant/curator $10,000 and here is what you should get:

*A story on Sedona's energy vortexes, a powerful draw for a spiritual, New Age traveler. Where are the vortexes, how to get there, what to see and do.

*A story on the top 5 hiking trails in the Sedona area, with detailed descriptions of when and why to hike, landmarks that keep hikers on course, even little maps.

*A story on the three best mountain biking routes. It's a very popular activity, offer details that let guests make their own itineraries.

*A story on must-see Sedona art galleries. Cowboy/Southwestern art is another powerful draw for visitors. Help guests make the best use of their time by highlighting the best.

*A story on the five best places to have a sunset cocktail, with pictures.

*A story on the five best places to grab a quick lunch in town, highlighting good, independent restaurants.

Note: all this content accentuates the local. It has to.

Who writes it? Local experts, with editorial polish as needed by centralized staff. But accuracy and local knowledge are the foundation. Journalism style/rules prevail here. Let marcom experts run roughshod over custom content and, in most cases, all life will be trampled out of it. This is lively content that speaks to guests and prospects on a different level.

Content also must be mobilized. Forget the 27-inch monitor. Test it on a smartphone, also an iPad. Think small.

Similar content can be created for just about every other resort in just about every town - but local truths must be told. There is no template, not as such. Tell the story of the place, in ways resort guests want to discover it.

It takes creative vision to assemble the right custom content mix which is where the content curator comes in.

Word of advice: every resort and spa that wants to claim a distinctive role in the hospitality landscape needs to be building out its custom content library.

Budgets need not be overwhelming. Small outlays will buy big results because, at least for now, many hotels seem to be holding back from custom content, probably because they don't understand it.

Now you do. Don't delay.

How do you know if you are winning? When you see site visitors forwarding library content to their friends and relatives.

You'll also know you have won when you see guests on property tapping through these pages on their mobiles.

And they will. Give them good, rich content and they will savor it.

Babs Harrison
Babs Harrison + Partners
Babs Harrison + Partners