Your Business

Boost Your Marketing & Social Media Game

Every travel agent, whether you’re a part of a network or are an Independent Contractor (IC), needs to flex their marketing muscles in order to be successful. Here are some vital steps you should be taking to create and execute your very own successful marketing and social media strategy:

MARKETING 101

CREATE A MARKETING PLAN: The key to any good plan is knowing what your ultimate goals are. Your marketing plan is a business road map that keeps you on target. Be specific with your goals: Are you looking to increase new customers by 10 percent? Do you want to target a certain segment, such as honeymooners? Put it in writing, and then find a way to make it happen!

INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS: Saying, “I’m a travel agent, and I specialize in Europe,” is not enough. You need to get your name out there through social media, ads, promotions, publicity and more. Put your logo on your purse or sponsor a local event.

PERFECT YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH: There will be many times when you have 10 to15 seconds to explain your job and your value to a potential customer. It’s called the elevator pitch—create yours and practice it until you can deliver it flawlessly.

MAKE YOURSELF THE CALL TO ACTION: Always put your website, your social media handle and your office phone number on your marketing collateral. There should never be any hesitation on the part of the client; they need to see you and your services as the first and only Call to Action.

MASTER THE SOCIAL BASICS

USE PLATFORMS YOU ALREADY KNOW: When you dally across several social media platforms, you tend to miss chances for engagement. Choose the platform you’re most comfortable with and use it to seriously promote your services. While some people use their existing personal accounts, it’s more professional to create dedicated pages or accounts that are business-focused. 

SHOWCASE YOUR PERSONALITY: There are a lot of people on social media, so you need to consistently stand out to be heard. The best way to do this is to be yourself. Show the social world that you are a human being who loves craft beers, weird pizza toppings and Molly Ringwald movies. The more “human” you become in a digital world, the easier it will be for others to contact you.

BUILD EXCITEMENT: Build excitement by posting useful travel tips, exciting travel deals and the latest info on new hotels and cruise ships. Whet prospects’ appetites with customer reviews, videos, tales of your latest travels, and stunning pictures to inspire your followers to book their next vacation with you.

RESPOND AND SHARE: Join in on discussions when people are talking about wanting to book a trip. Search popular hashtags that relate to your specialty and join the conversation. Don’t come right out and sell at people; instead, conversationally illustrate your worldwide knowledge of destinations and best travel practices.

REACT TO REACTIONS: The simple act of posting on social media is not enough. You need to watch that post and see how people are reacting to it. Posting an inspiring photo about hiking through Colorado leads to people wanting more details, so be prepared to respond immediately to anyone who inquires, “Wow…how do I get there?”

MIX YOUR MEDIUMS: Use more than words to show off your services.

Photos and videos are not just more engaging to your followers, they are also more visible in your timeline due to advanced social media algorithms. In fact, videos are prioritized ahead of photos. Try Instagram Stories or Facebook Live and see what works best for you!


NEXT STEPS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

PROVIDE CUSTOMER SUPPORT: People expect you to deliver stellar customer service. So open up all of your social media channels to your clients as a way for them to contact you. Make sure they know that they can contact you 24/7 through email, phone, Facebook, Twitter…every way you are able to receive messages. When you open up your communication channels, people are more apt to contact you.

HASH OUT YOUR HASHTAGS: Create a specific hashtag that you can add across platforms to all of your posts. Encourage your clients to use the hashtag when sharing pics while they are traveling. When someone clicks #CindyKnowsFrance, they’ll be instantly connected to your happy clients and your promotional posts.

CHECK YOUR METRICS: The beauty of social media platforms is the ability to track, analyze and optimize your ads and posts. Use your platform’s analyzation tools to see if traffic has risen or declined to your site following certain styles of online communications, prompting you to choose future posts more intelligently. 

THINK LONG TERM: Your marketing plan should have a long-range schedule filled with posts that are targeted around specific events or holidays. For example, if you know many of your clients start their spring break planning in December for their March trips, start scheduling posts about family vacations around that time.

CREATE A CONTENT CALENDAR: Consider social media management tools like Hootsuite to help schedule your content ahead of time. If you have a marketing budget, boost a post on Facebook to gain more impressions or create Facebook Ads to reach a new audience.

 

Related Links

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/sponsored/30-reasons-why-travel-agents-are-your-travel-bffs

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/running-your-business/travel-leaders-network-officially-launches

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/sponsored/benefits-belonging-to-a-consortium

The editorial staff had no role in this post's creation.