Social media have transformed the way companies present themselves to their customers. And this is also the case for travel agencies.
Social media have made travel decisions more convenient, with travel specialists now enjoying more opportunities to create content and promote themselves. But you're probably wondering who to target with your campaigns, what to share, and if it will really promote your travel agency.
Here are some tips on how to manage social media for your travel agency.
I/ How does social media promote your travel agency?
The use of social media is increasing every day, and they influence our behavior, our decisions and our consumption. As a travel agent, being visible on social media is a wise choice to exchange with your current or potential customers. You need to maintain and develop your relationship with your subscribers in order to create a relationship of trust.
Here are the top 5 social media necessary for travel agencies
Most of these social media will help you gain notoriety and visibility, and this, for free. Your customers will be more loyal and will come more often to your site, which will increase your conversion rate.
II/ How does travel agents create content?
One of the best ways for travel agents to reach a wider audience and connect with existing customers is to have a well-planned content marketing strategy.
Creating quality content is an important task to do, and you can quickly run out of inspiration.
CREATE DESTINATION GUIDES
Destination guides can highlight the attractions of a destination, city or country. This will make your subscribers and customers want to discover that destination and therefore book that trip.
You can create these guides as photo reports, infographics or PDFs and publish them on your social media. To stand out from the crowd, you can focus on more specific things, for example, there are many guides on Paris, but few on a Paris bike tour or a culinary tour.
PUBLISH STORIES
Publishing stories on Facebook and Instagram has really taken off lately. This feature allows you to create ephemeral content that will only be visible for 24 hours, it gives your content an attractive edge. Generally, these ephemeral contents are seen more than regular posts, which encourages you to interact with your followers, you can ask questions or ask for feedback from your followers. These stories will help you drive more traffic to your business page.
PARTNER WITH INFLUENCERS
Finding partners/influencers for your social media will help you get more attention for your travel related content. The influencer doesn't necessarily have to be from the travel industry, but it can be a local celebrity in the area promoting you. Take advantage of this support, to create lots of content, interviews, photos, blog, podcasts...
III/ How can I promote my travel agency according to the media ?
Each social media has its own particularity, here are some tips to manage your strategy according to the media used.
Facebook is the media to start with. This is where you will secure your customers, add photos, promote your content, manage customer service requests, link your other social media, advertise and create events and contests.
INSTAGRAM/ PINTEREST
These social media are the platforms for photo sharing. The important thing here is to share beautiful photos, as there is a unique connection between travelers and these sites. For example, a study by Schofields Insurance found that 40% of 20-35 year olds choose a vacation destination based on its ability to be "Instagrammable."
Instagram has great potential for travel agencies because:
- 80% of Instagram accounts follow a business
- 30% of users buy something they saw for the first time on the platform.
And to all this, know that more than 120 million Instagram users have visited a website, gotten directions, called, emailed or direct messaged a business because of advertising.
As for Pinterest, it's a real inspiration for the travel industry, the difference with Instagram is that users don't share photos of their lives. They bookmark images that describe how they would like their life to be. Take Expedia as an example, it has over 56.2k followers. Here he groups inspirations by boards like "Traveling in Canada" or Traveling with kids".
LinkedIn is dedicated to professionals, it is a great way to show yourself as the expert in your sector. It allows you to run recruitment campaigns and media with important people. You can easily interact with other professionals, and these professionals may be going on vacation, so post attractive images and content that show how nice it is to go on vacation and get away.
Twitter is the right platform to provide dedicated customer service and communication to your followers. Using Twitter will also allow you to stay on top of industry news, track travel trends, follow influencers and promote your content. Be sure to join the conversation by using trending hashtags and adding shortened links to your content.
IV/ Who is the target of travel agencies?
Before promoting yourself and launching content on social media , it is absolutely necessary to know your core target. This is a basic step and yet it is often forgotten. Because the goal is not to sell to everyone, but to define who you want to address. You are not going to address the same way if you target a young couple or a family. This way, you will attract the right people to your services.
You should know that the under 30s (62%) prefer to go through booking sites such as Booking, while the 40s (43%), the 60s (45%) and especially the "50s and over" (91%) prefer to go through a travel agency.
The budget per person is between 500 and 1000 euros for 55% of people, and between 1000 and 1200 euros for 22% of people. Price is a determining factor for 69% of people.
V/ How to find content on travel and know the trends?
The key word is to keep an eye on the market.
Social media are also useful to get inspired, go and have a look at the pages of travel specialties.
Our selection of the top 5 Facebook pages of the travel:
Our selection of the top 5 Instagram pages of the travel:
Now it's easier for you to find potential customers and interact with them via social media. Now all you have to do is get started.
Decide where to start, create quality content, share user-generated content and stay on top of trends. Once you find the right balance, you'll be on your way to giving your customers the vacation of their dreams.
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