Viral video showcasing Seychelles quickly reaches 2 million views

A view from Le Niole of the north side of the island where many tourists activities are held especially at the Beau Vallon beach. (Steve Amade)

(Seychelles News Agency) - A video published by the Seychelles Tourism Board showcasing a range of activities you can do in the island nation recently went viral – exceeding a targeted 1 million viewers in 48 hours.

The video first posted on UNILAD’s travel-themed Facebook page -- UNILAD Adventure -- was an instant hit with over 500,000 views in the first 24 hours, with several thousand shares and comments.

The board’s chief executive, Sharon Francis, said, “This is one of the most successful campaigns we have had online. The fact that the video has had over 2 million views, with the highest ever number of engagements, has surpassed our expectations.”

The three-minute production entitled ‘Things to do in Seychelles’ was commissioned by the Seychelles Tourism Board and produced in partnership with the British viral online news and video publisher UNILAD. 

To produce the video, the UNILAD team spent eight days in Seychelles, recording their experiences of things do to while visiting the archipelago, accompanied by STB’s digital marketing executive, Randy Rosalie.

The video centres on a young couple visiting the different islands, experiencing the various adventure activities available such as zip lining, diving, jet skiing, parasailing, snorkelling, and hiking.

Francis said that the joint campaign with renowned social media experts is a sure way of obtaining much-needed visibility.

The board’s director of digital marketing, Vahid Jacob, said they will be working with some of the world’s leading content developers like UNILAD, LADbible, and Condé Nast Traveller among others.

Jacob said that working with these video platforms enables Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, to create amazing content at a fraction of what it would cost to advertise on major international television networks.

“It’s a very affordable and interactive way to reach a large audience on the internet through social media sites. This form of marketing appeals primarily to young couples who plan to visit Seychelles for their honeymoon for example,” he added.

The next project will be the launch of several 360 destination videos about the Seychelles which will also be channelled through online media platforms.

As part of its digital marketing strategy for 2018, the board plans to create several viral videos in the coming months, so as to greatly increase visibility online, mainly on social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube.