Introducing Steller Connect

Steller Connect is now available to DMOs and travel brands around the world. The tool allows destinations the ability to integrate Trips by Steller™ itineraries and influencer content into their website. Trips by Steller™ are detailed itineraries featuring creator or traveler UGC videos of each stop. Each stop includes vital travel information, the influencer’s personal thoughts, and is geotagged to an interactive map. The viewer can switch between 3 different views – list, map, and video – allowing them to fully explore the destination.

The most valuable Steller Connect feature for DMOs is that all Steller itineraries are connected to pre-built booking journey. The multi-channel journey retargets users through email and push notification to help them continue planning their own trip to the destination and booking it when it’s time. Steller Connect is a website plug-in tied to marketing automation that truly makes a difference in getting people to your destination.

Six destinations, including three international and three domestic, participated in the Steller Connect beta and saw impressive results.

Discover Puerto Rico implemented the tool in late October, embedding high performing influencer content and Trips by Steller™ itineraries into eight pages of their website. There are over 30 influencer created itineraries and 50 short form videos and which are monitored and optimized by the Steller content team each week to ensure they are driving planning and travel bookings for the island. 70 trips were planned through Steller Connect, with travel occurring within the first 90 days after the campaign concluded.

“We are extremely pleased with the results delivered by both campaigns we executed in partnership with Steller. A key component of these campaigns was Steller Connect, which Discover Puerto Rico integrated across eight landing pages on our website, including the homepage. We first added Video, followed a month later by Trips by Steller itineraries. This feature allows travelers to explore influencer-generated content, create personalized itineraries, and seamlessly book stays and experiences—driving economic impact for our destination. Pages featuring Steller Connect saw increases in Average Session Duration, indicating better engagement after its addition. With interactive maps, descriptions, and traveler reviews, it truly makes influencer marketing actionable and bookable”

-Astrid Emmanuelli, Senior Social Media Manager of Discover Puerto Rico.

Visit Cincy added Steller Connect to their website in mid-January. The results have been astounding with one of the trips quickly becoming one of the most saved and shared trips on the Steller travel platform. The engagement shows how powerful the video infused trips are. The videos truly tell the story of the region and the shares, saves, and number of people who have started planning their own trips is incredible.

Historically, DMOs and travel brands have struggled to link influencer marketing efforts to measurable results. With Steller Connect, destinations can now:

• Extend the lifespan of influencer content, keeping high performing content in front of prospective travelers for a year via Steller Connect on your website.
• Connect short form video content and influencer recommendations to trip planning tools and retargeting automation.
• Prove marketing ROI by tracking itinerary engagement, planned trips, and completed bookings. Steller Connect reporting includes 11 metrics through the travel planning and booking process so destinations can see the true impact of their content.

In the past, proving the impact of your travel influencer marketing efforts was almost impossible. It’s hard to quantify what impressions, likes, and views mean for hotel nights booked in your destination. In the past 3 years the price of influencer deliverables has more than doubled while the half-life of a social post has decreased. You’re paying more money for less time in front of people.

Steller Connect not only keeps your high performing influencer content in front of people for a period of 1 year but the connection to planning tools and an automated booking journey actively moves people from inspiration to booking a trip to your destination. Steller reporting allows you to see the true ROI of your content by telling you how many people planned trips, the dates of their trips, and any bookings made.

AI’s power and reach are impressive, we utilize it at Steller, but true stories can only be told by a human. A person can be an expert simply because they’ve lived an experience. Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing. Steller Connect allows website visitors the ability to experience your destination through the eyes of someone like them. Anyone can have an itinerary on their website but what they get with Steller Trips itineraries are the words and videos of someone like them.

Steller gives destinations the ability to make their influencer content actionable and bookable by connecting it to trip planning tools and a behaviorally triggered marketing journey. Steller Connect gives you the ability to do the same for your website visitors. You’re not only getting engaging content for your website; you’re getting a complete marketing flow that drives more travelers to your destination. Once a website visitor opens a Trips by Steller™ itinerary through the player on your website, we take over with planning tools, retargeting, and behavioral marketing automation to guide them through the trip planning and booking process.

Steller Connect links to planning tools that allows people to invite multiple people into the trip planning process. Instead of 1 person exploring your destination and planning a trip, you get 2 or 4 or 101 people planning the trip, watching videos, exploring hotel options and activities. It’s a powerful multiplier for destinations.

On average, we’ve seen Steller Connect increase the time a visitor spends on your site by 45% and decreased bounce rates. The content is highly engaging, so the increased time makes sense, but it also signals to search engines that the content is valuable which improves the DMOs rankings on search engines.

“Pages featuring the Steller component saw increases in Average Session Duration, indicating better engagement after its addition.” – Discover Puerto Rico 
 

If you’ve worked with creators and influencers before, you know you must pay to use their content in other places, whether it be video, photos, or written content. Steller has covered the usage rights for anything delivered through the Steller Players for a period of 1 year.  

Do you work with your own influencers and would like to feature their content and recommendations on your website? The Steller Creator Team will work with them to deliver their video infused itineraries directly to your website. We keep both your influencers and legal team happy.

How do you know what itineraries are most popular with your audience? The Steller content team analyzes your player content weekly to ensure it’s high quality and drives the travel intent you’re looking for. The team may swap cover videos or photos, tweak titles, and make sure high performers are at the front of the player. This takes place on the back end without affecting your site’s performance or needing anything from your team.

Leaf peeping in the fall, summer road trips, brewery trails, festivals, or local events we make sure your player is ready with the content people are looking for each season. The Steller quarterly content refresh loads your player with 8 new video-infused itineraries each season. Meet with your account executive once and we’ll handle the rest.

Contact us to learn how Steller Connect can help you drive more visitors to your destination.