Social media can be an invaluable tool for today’s travel companies. But with so many social media platforms to choose from, how do you know which one is right for you? And how do you maximize the potential of each one?
Keep reading for our top social media tips for travel companies, and you’ll learn how to make the most of your online presence.
Enable Location-Based Pages
If you are a medium or large travel company, you probably offer services in multiple locations. But you can tailor your social media platforms for this. To illustrate this, we’ll look at a boat charter service as an example.
As a travel company, Facebook is one of the top social media platforms for you. Perhaps you offer boat hire in the UK, amongst other places, and want users to be able to view location-based info on Facebook.
You can set up Facebook ‘Store Pages’ to post info once but have it relayed to multiple locations. Remember that you are not only speaking to a wider audience. You need to address the needs of existing and potential clients in each location that you are operating.
Post Regularly
Almost half the world’s population regularly engages with some sort of social media. That’s a large audience waiting for you to tap into. But if you don’t post to your accounts regularly and keep your content fresh and up-to-date, you may as well not bother.
Stay on top of the latest trends. The best way to ensure you engage visitors to your social media accounts is to stay current. As with all industries, the travel and tourism market is subject to changes and trends. And so is the world of social media.
Staying abreast of these trends with regular posts will help you stay relevant and enlarge your client base. But have you got the best social media for your niche? Are you reaching your target audience? That leads us to our next tip.
Consider Your Target Audience
Who is your target travel audience? This is easily answered if you are in a niche tourism market. But you need clarity on this because it determines the most suitable social media account for your travel company.
If you are mostly dealing with high-end and corporate travelers, LinkedIn and Indeed may be more effective marketing tools. Ecotourists, however, would respond well to educational videos on YouTube about the ecotours you offer.
And with apps like TikTok gaining in popularity among younger users, you may want to look into it. But this may be more relevant if your target market is the young backpacker crowd. But remember that the more visual a platform you choose, the more skill is needed in posting relevant content.
Promote Your Brand Clearly
In the travel company industry, the social media presence is dominated by Facebook. Instagram and LinkedIn are also extremely popular. But be sure that, no matter which platform you use, you promote your brand.
In such a competitive industry, you need to make your voice heard. So clearly communicate your mission, your company culture, and what sets you apart from the rest. Consult an online marketing specialist if necessary, to tweak your content so that it is more engaging.
The most effective travel company social media accounts contain more than just basic information. They also feature varied content such as blog posts, customer reviews, and travel videos. If a guest on your social media page feels you are speaking to all their needs, they will not look elsewhere.
Create A Content Calendar
Create a content calendar to keep track of your posts on your social media accounts and your email communications. This will help you to stay organized. And you will quickly see where you need to put in more effort.
You could create a content sheet yourself, or use a content planning and scheduling app. In this way, you will be able to plan and schedule content, across multiple social media like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.
Some of these visual planner apps also measure your content’s performance. This brings us to our last social media tip.
Measure Your Metrics
You must gauge your efficiency on social media so that you can see what’s working for you and what isn’t.
What are visitors to your social pages commenting on? Which of your videos are the most popular, and why? By taking these social media metrics into account, you will be able to streamline your social media content. What works for other travel companies will not necessarily work for you.
The most relevant metrics in social media are your reach, engagement, ‘shares’, referrals and conversions. If you see that a particular metric is lagging, go back through the above tips to see where you can boost that area.
