I don’t have to tell you how popular web cam pages are. This year, I’ve found myself relying on them more and more myself as my little clan picks and choses quiet times to sneak in a few runs.

But no two of these pages are created equal.

Some show a level of thought and insight into the best way to use this traffic and attention. Today, I wanted to quickly highlight two features from one of the best I’ve seen: Sugar Bowl.

#1) Embedded Instagram Stories
A lot of resorts, Sugar Bowl very much included, are using Instagram Stories to highlight conditions (among other things). These short, recent looks at the hill are a perfect, human-created compliment to the automated nature of webcams.

So, Sugar Bowl embedded their Instagram stories right on their web cam page using a service called Sociable KIT:

Notice the copy beside it:

“Sometimes the best way to check the conditions is to see it from the boots on the ground. Our snow reporters post conditions oriented content to our Instagram stories daily. Check it out to get some variety from our static location webcams!”

And the CTA to follow them on Instagram.

#2) Cleverly-Placed Ticketing Notice
I’ve seen a lot of camera pages. And I’ve seen a lot of banners and content blocks placed above and below the cameras. But I say “see” only loosely, because I don’t notice them at first. I glance right over them on my way to the cameras.

Sugar Bowl had a similar notice, but they put it inside the grid where a camera would have otherwise been.

And I gotta say, it was one of the first things I noticed on the page.

Now, this is anecdotal, but I hope that this might spark a question in your mind of whether there’s a better way to promote these messages and, maybe, set up a quick split test to see if you can’t get as many eyeballs on those messages as you do on the cams.

Smart, Smart
Again, web cams get soooo much traffic from really engaged, loyal guests or folks who are extremly close to becoming guests.

These pages are perfect places to apply a little creativity to see if you can get a little more value from every visitor who stops by.

Nice work, Sugar Bowl.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.