31
TMR OUTLOOK ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Which social media platforms are most
important to your business selling travel?
On a scale of 1 to 5,
5 being the most important/1 being the least important,
which
social media platforms are most important to your business selling travel?
Facebook for both owners/managers
and advisors is not only the most
dominant platform in terms of use, but is
by far the one both groups say is “most
important” to their business of selling
travel.
Over 70% placed Facebook a 4
or 5 in terms of importance, compared
to 39% for Instagram, 27% for LinkedIn,
20% for Twitter, and 18% for YouTube.
For Facebook, 74% of advisors rated it a
4 or 5 in terms of importance compared
to 69% for owner/managers. Conversely,
18% of owners/managers find Pinterest
important compared to 11% of advisors,
the only two platforms where the two
groups were out of sync.
1
2
3
4
5
Facebook
16%
4%
6%
12%
60%
Instagram
10%
7%
14%
14%
25%
LinkedIn
11%
12%
19%
14%
13%
Pinterest
13%
7%
11%
6%
7%
Snapchat
12%
4%
7%
4%
4%
Twitter
10%
9%
12%
11%
9%
Tumblr
11%
3%
3%
1%
3%
WeChat
11%
2%
4%
1%
3%
YouTube
10%
6%
10%
8%
10%
CHART 10
|
31
* Excludes respondents who “Do not use.”
Results may not add up to 100% due to roundup°
© Shutterstock°com
Instagram
Tumblr
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
WeChat
Snapchat
None of the Above
Pinterest
YouTube
Advisors are less likely to engage in paid advertising
on social media than agencies by a 56% to 38% margin,
however, for those that do, Facebook dominates with
61% of agencies telling us they use paid advertising
on the platform and 44% of advisors doing the same.
Instagram was used on a paid basis by 10% of both
advisors and agencies while 5% of both groups said
they used LinkedIn. While only 3% of advisors used
paid advertising on YouTube, that was still higher than
the 1% of agencies which did.
“We have had no success with Facebook ads, but
that hasn’t kept us from trying every so often to see
if we can hit a successful ad combination, set for local
advertising only,” said one respondent.
Overall, the responses underscore how social
networks have become a game changer for agencies
and advisors who can use it to either supplement or
replace more expensive traditional marketing activities,
with many choosing to simply take advantage of social
media’s free access.
Which, if any social media, do you use to run
paid advertising or posts?
32
|
CHART 11
Which, if any social media, do you use to run paid advertising or posts?
(Check all that apply)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
My Social Media
as a Travel Advisor
The Social Media of
the Travel Agency I
Own/Manage
Average
5%
10%
44%
3%
1%
1%
2%
1%
56%
5%
12%
61%
3%
0%
0%
0%
0%
38%
5%
10%
50%
3%
0%
0%
1%
0%
49%
3%
1%
2%
Results may not add up to 100% due to roundup°
33
TMR OUTLOOK ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Industry pundit offers ideas to
help travel advisors win at the
social media game by making
connections with new
customers around the globe.
Thousands
of
travel
entrepreneurs
(agents, cruise lines, tour operators
and
hoteliers)
have
embraced
the
opportunity that social media marketing
has offered their businesses. Most of
them, regardless of technical ability, have
attempted to jump onto each new social
media platform and trend, and they have
given it their best shot, some with a plan,
but many leaning on a combination of
intuition and trial-and-error.
Certainly,
they
continue
to
face
steep learning curves, as social media
algorithms and best practices change
faster than most of us can keep up with.
But for those travel agents and travel
trade marketers who have diligently
soaked up every bit of training, advice,
and experience available, there is big
money to be made.
Social media is being leveraged to
attract and maintain new clients, as well
as to uncover growth opportunities and
areas for improvement within the travel
industry overall. With over 500 million
active users on Instagram alone, it is no
surprise that a vast majority of travelers
are keen to consume travel-related
content. What’s more, the opportunities
for the travel industry to engage and
convert this audience are unprecedented.
While the big online booking engines,
large cruise lines, and mega hotel chains
are able to put millions of dollars into
paid ad campaigns and outsource niche
agencies to run their campaigns, they
fall short in their ability to create and
nurture personal relationships with their
followers. Instead, lesser known brands
and solo travel entrepreneurs are able to
take advantage of their smaller audiences
by engaging in personal dialogue and
seeking out ideal clients to connect with
on social media.
For travel agents and smaller brands
that want to win big at the social media
game, there are three key strategies to
use and perfect:
1. Conversion is key
Understand that collecting followers
brings a certain social proof to potential
clients, but there is nothing gained if
there is no conversion. Simultaneously,
building the number of followers a brand
has is a second priority to engagement
and conversion. Conversion goals may
include clicks to a website; signing up
for a mailing list; establishing contact
through email or by phone; and, at the
very least, becoming an actual follower
on social media.
2. Have a formal plan
Travel marketers and agents must learn
to strategize first and post second. This
means taking the time to identify which
destinations and experiences they want
to sell and selecting preferred suppliers
to work with. To control the sales, you
must control the narrative of what is being
posted. If an agent has a goal to sell cruises,
be it river or ocean, they need to focus their
posts on the destinations and experiences
to be had in those chosen ports of call and
onboard. Stunning imagery, descriptive
and informative captions, and intelligent
hashtags are essential for strong travel-
related posts. Curated content not only
strengthens a visual brand, but it also
attracts the right audience.
3. Follow up and stay on task
If content is king, consistency is queen.
Travel marketers and agents must post
daily; and engage with their audience
within hours of receiving questions
or genuine inquiries. Social media is
meant, by its very name, to be social
in nature. The post-and-forget strategy
just won’t cut it.
WHAT YOU CAN GAIN
A thoughtful, intentional and consistent
social media strategy can reap multiple
benefits. In order to effectively use social
media to make big money in travel, agents
must put in place a combination of strategy,
content curation, and consistency.
As 2018 comes to an end, this is the
perfect time to formulate a marketing
plan for next year that includes social
media as a high priority. It’s also a prime
time to take in some additional industry-
specific training on the topic. Travel
agent host agencies and consortia are a
good place to start in learning about and
developing a social media strategy that
brings in new business.
USING SOCIAL MEDIA
How to Make
BIG MONEY
by Sandra Cottam McLemore
Sandra Cottam McLemore is a travel industry expert and TV host based in Los
Angeles. She can be seen on inflight TV, cruise line channels, Huffington Post; and is oſten
profiled in airline inflight magazines, travel websites, and lifestyle magazines as a world
travel expert. She has worked in the travel industry for over 19 years for airlines, cruise
lines, TV networks and media agencies. She consults with travel brands all around the
world to correct their marketing and improve their revenue strategies.
Sandra also runs Village Girl Marketing, a media & marketing agency for travel
brands specializing in content creation and design. She speaks regularly at travel industry
events worldwide. In addition, she has plans to launch a new travel magazine and travel
accessories collection.
How many times a month do you post
on each platform?
34
|
CHART 12
With Facebook being far and away the most
popular platform, not surprisingly 96% of
agents told us they post at least once per
month on the social media behemoth with
58% posting six or more times per month.
While 28% of all respondents said they post
at least six times per month on Instagram,
31% of agencies post at least six times per
month compared to 25% of advisors. While
only 22% of respondents said they post at
least once per month to YouTube, advisors
were more likely to post a video by a 25% to
19% margin.
How many times a month do you post on each platform?
0
1-2
3-5
6-10
10+
Facebook
4%
18%
20%
16%
42%
Instagram
42%
16%
14%
10%
18%
LinkedIn
57%
25%
10%
3%
6%
Pinterest
78%
10%
5%
3%
4%
Snapchat
90%
4%
2%
1%
3%
Twitter
65%
11%
9%
4%
10%
Tumblr
95%
2%
0%
0%
3%
WeChat
95%
2%
1%
0%
2%
YouTube
77%
14%
3%
2%
3%
Results may not add up to 100% due to roundup°