03/01/2019
The Tourism Industry’s Guide to Social Media Marketing
It’s easy to dismiss social media as a recreational tool with questionable business benefit. Your customers are uploading photos of their latest holiday for their friends to see and isn’t that nice.
But can social media really affect your tourism business’ bottom line? The simple answer is; social media within the tourism industry impacts on your customer acquisition, customer retention and overall brand reputation.
The tourism industry is very much suited to social media; like tourism, social media exists to bring people together and share new experiences. Travel is one of the most shared topics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tourists are increasingly going online to get reviews about hotels, destinations, travel deals and many other aspects before they take a travel decision. Sites like TripAdvisor are getting hugely popular for people to talk about anything related to travel and tourism.
Here are the Top 3 Ways that Tourism Companies can Benefit from Using Social Media:
1. Understanding your Audience
Different from traditional marketing, social media is a two-way communication tool, where you listen and take part in the conversations taking place around your brand or products/services.
Do you want to know who is interested in your product or service? Do you want to know where they live, what they do, how many vacation days they have, as well as their social behaviors?
By keeping an eye and ear to those conversations, you can have a deeper understanding of your audience’s needs, issues and trends, which in turn can influence how you market to them.
2. Checking your Competitors
The tourism industry is a very competitive field. Keeping an eye on your competition is a good way to see what they’re doing and to especially see what they’re not doing. This can help you identify some great marketing opportunities.
3. Delivering Great Customer Service
Great customer service is at the heart of every successful tourism business. Along with a great product or service, customer services make all the difference in retaining existing customers and gaining new ones.
Social media can be a great way to help deliver that customer service by promptly responding to questions in your social media brand pages, but also by searching for conversations around your brand in other pages and responding to their questions.
Social Media and the Tourist’s Buying Journey
Pre-purchase:
Your customers spend a lot of time researching their purchase before you even know they exist. Think about where they are looking for information on their next holiday, flight, or experience. They will be utilizing their own networks, like Facebook and Twitter, but also looking farther afield for endorsements such as review websites.
Part-purchase: Once the purchase, or part of the purchase has been made, social media is used for more detailed trip planning. Customers who have decided on a destination and travel company, for instance, maybe looking for attractions and eateries. Make sure your business is linked online with other relevant businesses so you are easy to find.
Product Use: While customers are using your product/service, make it easy for them to include your business when they use social media. Have details about your location for when they check-in on Facebook, and make your business easy to tag on other networks.
Post-travel:
Customers are enthusiastic about your brand, emotionally involved and this is the best time to encourage them to endorse you. Ask them directly when they leave if they will give you a positive review, connect with them online, and thank them for any content they post about your business.
Some Quick Tips for Successful Social Media Marketing in The Tourism Industry:
The travel and tourism industry is fast-paced, highly competitive and very active online. Without a good online presence, your business could get lost in all the noise.
Here are some quick tips for producing social media content:
1. Share, share, share!
A great way to grab your audience’s attention is to show them that you’re the expert in your field and the easiest way to do this is to offer free information. Share information on the best local spots, showcase helpful offers, provide “how to get around” guides for different locations and so on to become their virtual tour guide.
If would-be tourists find out what they need to know from you, you will be at the top of their list of people to talk to when they are ready to book.
2. Make the Most of Instagram
Instagram is a highly effective social media tool and produces high engagement for travel and tourism businesses. You want all aspects of your tourism business to look desirable on Instagram so that you create wanderlust and holiday envy to encourage your customers to book.
Use high-quality images and pick your Hashtags carefully so that you optimize the reach of your posts. Follow and use general Hashtags.
3. Ask for Recommendations
Whilst social media may have changed the face of marketing, recommendations are still marketing gold. Don’t be afraid to proactively contact your customers to review your services and gather recommendations. Some businesses are worried about asking for recommendations because they fear receiving a negative response. This may happen but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Responding quickly, professionally and transparently can show your company in a good light.
4. Join the Conversation
The key to success with social media is being social and that begins with listening to your existing and potential customers. Research your keywords and use sites like Hootsuite to monitor the conversations around them. If someone is asking a question that you can answer then join in the conversation with them and help them out. If you provide a service in a specific area then adding geotags to your search can help you to also be really specific about the help you can offer.
5. Competitions
Competitions are popular and frequently shared on social media. Comments on posts to enter are seen by others and they are also tempted to join in.
