WIth the growing craze of social media amongst desired audiences travel companies have also changed their way to engage with their customers.
Travel agencies have now replaced the traditional brick and mortar model with a digitally-driven strategy due to early access to information. Because of online travel options, over the past decade, the drop in brick and mortar locations can be seen. According to a study, it is found that more than 75 percent of tourists choose an online travel agency over the traditional offline agency as they offer the best travel deals.
Because of this shift, the buyers are now empowered to make more informed decisions. And this shift also prevents travel agencies from a two-sided coin. While the are always in a competition against constant online noise, they are presented with an opportunity to engage audiences where they are most active.
With 55 percent of people following the pages related to trips they are planning, the case for social media cannot be ignored. The most affected teams in a travel agency are the customer-facing teams. Customer service, account management, and sales team remain busy as their relationships with customers rely heavily on their reputation, market expertise, and thought leadership.
Keep reading to better understand the importance of social media in the travel industry and why big travel companies are investing so much on today’s social customer more than ever before.
Changing Buyer Behaviors
Buyers are demanding more personal interactions with companies due to the quick access to real-time information.
The growing use of social media platforms has changed the buyer’s decision making process on which company to choose and how to engage with it, and customer-facing teams have to deal with this burden mostly. To bring new customers and to promote ongoing loyalty, credibility is the key factor in functions like account management, customer support, and sales.
According to a report, content from destinations or travel brands and ads with informative content influenced 78 percent 46 percent of travelers’ decision making process respectively. A successful social media strategy is highly dependent on compelling content marketing.
Establish A Brand Presence
To stay top of mind with your audience throughout the buying journey, enabling your employees to share content, building a social media strategy, and paid ads are crucial. To keep yourself relevant in the eyes of your audience, a strong brand presence is necessary.
With relevant content, a social media strategy should keep targeting specific parts of the buying journey to stay top of mind. Thought leadership content is ideal for building credibility, if your audience is just researching. For the later journeys, content like datesheets, customer reviews, and buying guides are much more relevant.
Engage Online Travelers
To ensure they’re making a sound purchase decision, today’s travelers go online to research their destinations and accommodations. Social media has given access to information to everyone. More than 140 million adults in the USA have researched a trip online in 2018.
Without taking any help from another human, travelers can now get travel tips, do check-ins for specific locations, access review websites, and see destination photos. However, this also helped travel companies to engage with their audience. Those companies who have already reached their social media goals have become a viable source of information for travelers.
Customer Acquisition
The travel companies who have adopted a digital strategy, the tide has turned for them. People who like to view or engage with your content are often dedicated to your brand. To help your brand stay top of mind of your audience, encouraging them to keep up with your Instagram or Facebook page is crucial.
As per a study, 74 percent travel agencies use email as the main marketing tool and 68 percent use social media. Radio ads, newspapers, and telemarketing are at the bottom of the list as all of them are less targeted and don’t offer real-time access that buyers demand. With social listening and other social media tools, it is much easier for travel agencies to find new travelers and to engage them accordingly.
Building a Social Media Presence
Social media has changed the entire game for travel companies to acquire new customers. Your company can educate buyers, picturise how traveling with your company feels like, and build positive awareness by establishing a strong social media presence.
There are numerous possibilities with social media and its various tools that still need to be experimented, which can boost the travel industry even more. So, while using these methods, keep experimenting and finding new ways to engage and lure new customers. Meanwhile, check Adotrip, a leading online travel agency which promises best deals on flight tickets, accommodations, and tour packages. With us, nothing is far!
Author Bio
Vipin Saini is a Passionate Digital Marketer and an avid traveler. He likes to blog about the things he does and the places he visits. Currently, He is associated with the great team of Adotrip. He loves to share his travel experiences with fellow travelers. For planning a memorable trip to India or any world destination, follow him on facebook.
