

Country music legend Johnny Cash sang it best, “I’ve been everywhere, man … crossed the deserts bare, man … breathed the mountain air, man … travel, I’ve had my share, man.” At Two Rivers Marketing, we’re very fortunate to work for clients who embrace content marketing and understand the value of going everywhere to gather the success stories of their hardworking customers and dealerships.
As content marketers, we go where the products and people lead us … whether it’s to landscaping jobs deep in south Texas or construction projects up in the far reaches of the Yukon Territory, and even to winter’s fury in Mammoth Lakes, California, where we captured a long-time customer’s business journey through 20 feet of snow in 20 days.
I plan and go on many of these content trips for my client, and I can easily say they’re not fact-finding expeditions — that’s done well before we step onto an airplane. Of course, we’re flexible to adjust to changing priorities in the field — and there are always surprises — but the trips are methodically planned in advance because we know what imagery and interviews we need to get and where they’ll be used.
The goal of any good on-site trip is to maximize our photographer and videographer resources to gather content — assets that we’ll package into educational, informative, and entertaining content for our clients’ channels. And we know there’s real value in sharing these authentic customer and dealer stories.
For example, one of our talented teams developed that snow removal customer video:
It achieved 200,000 views, along with 500 shares and 2,000 likes on Facebook — in the first week it was posted. That’s phenomenal engagement that can only be sourced by putting on your boots and getting out to the people and places where the work happens.
As you plan your next content mission, consider these key planning steps:
Once you identify the stories you need to tell and the channels you’ll use, the initial scope of the trip can begin to take shape. Our clients’ products, seasons, and markets provide most of that definition, but a good general guideline is a channels checklist that includes:
A content trip can start with one good lead and be built around it, or it may start with multiple leads. Tap into your lead-generating resources and Google Maps, and start visually charting the territory and the logistics of an agenda. The best stories involve leads who are vetted with pre-trip phone interviews that help us:
Not every trip needs a full content team, such as a writer, photographer, videographer, or social media expert. And not every trip requires interviews or “Facebook Live” segments. It may only make sense to assign a photographer to complement a phone interview, or certain photographers and videographers can shoot footage and conduct interviews to trim expenses. Based on your pre-trip interviews, intended channels, and budget, consider these types of trips:
If there’s an expectation for interviews and interesting B-roll footage, make sure your experts have access to a variety of equipment to get the quality and creativity today’s viewers demand. And if you want jaw-dropping aerials, hire a commercially-certified drone pilot. Here’s a shortlist of today’s high-impact tools:
Take time to create a trip overview document that walks the content team and client stakeholders through the trip. It should not only contain the agenda and travel details, but also the shot list that usually includes photos and video of working product, customers, and dealers, job sites, and imagery that gives readers/viewers a look behind the scenes, the local environment, or a day in the life. Typical trip overview elements:
At least one week out from the departure of the content team, email all key stakeholders individually to share the agenda and any other information they need. For instance, dealership representatives can benefit from your full trip overview, and they and customers give better interviews when they have questions in advance. Photographers and videographers crave everything, but especially the shot list, and it’s ideal to schedule a trip walk-through with them over the phone.
Before the trip, develop a plan to manage the volume of assets that will be downloaded so you can quickly and easily find them for creating future content. It’s not uncommon for a shoot to generate thousands of photos and hours of video. These are top working considerations:
Taking the time to properly plan for a content trip is invaluable not only for leveraging assets across multiple channels, but in cultivating relationships for your clients. Make your case for fresh, original content, do your homework, and pack your bags. Oh, the places you’ll go and the people you’ll meet!