Travel and tourism pros come up with the most amazing questions.
At conferences and on webinars, I hear some intriguing questions from pros in our industry. Let’s explore 6 top questions and dive into some solutions.
- How can I market my social presence? How do I bring more traffic to my social sites?
Social marketing isn’t just about increasing the number of fans. We want fans who are engaged! It’s about connecting with fans who will book travel with you and who will share your content. Here’s how to spread the word:
- Ensure your email signature shows people the benefit of becoming a fan and invites them to connect. How about saying something like this: Do you LOVE to Travel and need the latest tips? Like my Facebook or Twitter page and be inspired. (Hyperlink the highlighted info directly to your social site. Here’s a guide on “How to Create a Hyperlink.)
- Change your email signature weekly to reflect your weekly social marketing themes.
- Place the social icon onto each page of your website with a direct link to your social site(s).
- Check out social sharing buttons and add them to your blog.
- More marketing tips here.
- Why do I need a blog?
SEO! Relationship building! Showcasing your expertise! 3 reasons right there why you’ll want to dive into blogging.
- B2B marketers who use blogs generate 67% more leads than those who do not. (Source: InsideView)
- Do you hate to write? Here’s some tips to get you blogging without having to write… much! 3 Blog Tips to save time.
- Make sure your blog lives on your website. This makes it seamless for your blog readers to access other parts of your website including your booking engine.
- Take advantage of the popularity of video and audio podcasts. Embed video right into your blogs and bring them to life. Consider recording each blog post as an audio podcast so that your readers can download and listen while commuting or working out.
- Do I still need to send e-newsletters?
While social marketing is a crucial piece of the marketing puzzle, e-newsletters play a vital role in a well-crafted marketing plan. Your e-newsletter is a great place to:
- Showcase your latest blog post
- Invite readers to your social sites
- Promote your professionalism and latest offers
When sending your e-blast, be aware of timing:
Tuesday: This is hands-down the #1 best day to send emails according to the majority of the data from these studies.
Thursday: If you send two emails a week, choose Thursday for your second day.
While many of the studies found varying results, here is how you can prioritize your send times based on data:
10 a.m.: While late-morning send times were the most popular in general, several concluded that the best time to send emails is at 10 a.m. Another notable time is 11 a.m.
8 p.m.-midnight: I bet you didn’t expect that one. It looks like emails generally receive more opens and clicks later in the evening.
2 p.m.: It looks like you might be successful by sending your emails later in the day as people are checking out of work mode or looking for distractions.
6 a.m.: I guess this makes sense since 50% of you begin your day by emailing in bed. Before you even stand up, you’re opening emails. Good morning. (Source)
- What social sites do I need to be active on?
What a great question. Without sounding flippant, the best sites to be active are the social sites where your clients hang out! How do you figure out where they hang out? It’s a simple as surveying them. Check out survey tools like Survey Monkey, Mail Chimp and others, then construct a quick 3 question survey.
Don’t have many clients yet to survey? Not a problem, check out the demographics of each social platform and identify where your potential ‘perfect’ clients would get social. Here’s an in-depth analysis. Here’s a visual overview.
- How can my friends find my business page on Facebook?
Have you found yourself chatting with a friend when they mention that they’ve just booked a fabulous trip to Europe? You wonder why they didn’t book with you and they say they didn’t know that’s what you did. Yikes. Here’s a simple way to ensure that your Facebook friends can easily find your business page.
- Do I need to spend money on social ads?
Your time and talent will be well spent on social ads when you consider this:
- 25% of people who see a social ad, will then respond by visiting the store or website.
- Over 90% of advertisers and agencies plan to run Facebook video ads this year. Source
- As shown below, in B2C marketing the majority of marketers find social ads effective.
Social advertising is a boon for travel pros; fully understanding the time, talent, and tasks at hand is crucial to success. Here are some key take-aways for successful ad campaigns:
- Set up custom audiences for each segment of your client list. Here’s how.
- Effectively target new audiences by setting up Target Audiences for each travel style that’s relevant to your marketing campaign. Don’t make these mistakes.
- Split test your ads to test graphics, text, audience, ad placement, and timing.
While social marketing has been around for many years, it’s constantly evolving. For many a travel pro, that means new challenges, questions, and frustrations… as well as new-found successes.
What other burning questions do you have?
Catherine Heeg, international speaker and trainer, focuses on social media marketing & communication for the travel and tourism industry. Join the conversation and connect with her at www.cmsspeaking.com and socially.
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