How can Travel Agents have a “visual” social media strategy?

20 MAY, 2013

Travel marketing is moving ahead at a break neck speed. The field changes so fast that while you are sleeping after a hard day’s work of selling tickets and wake up the next day, a new trend emerges.

A lot of this is attributed to the ever changing social media landscape. New social media channels evolve every now and then.

Also, whether you accept it or not Social Media has gone visual in a big way! What started out by writing a long paragraph text for a “status” on Facebook was promptly shortened by Twitter in 140 characters flat and as if 140 characters was too long, Pintrest changed the game by making #tags a rage and pictures, a way to share.

Today, every single #traveler at an airport is armed with one device that can connect to the free wireless internet available at the airport. With these internet enabled smart devices becoming ubiquitous and attention spans shorter with every passing day, pictures have become a norm.

Of course, a bad picture can put the consumer off track but then in today’s world travel marketers / travel agents cannot avoid a visually intensive online strategy.

Here’s what travel agents can do to have a great visual social media strategy in place –

Engage your traveler customers in your social media activities

1. Share travel memories online– Peer reviews sell your content in the best manner today. Encourage your travelers to share their memories across your official channels on various social networks.
2. Competitions and Rewards – Organize competitions for your travelers. Encourage travelers to click the best pictures, add a catchy caption and share across your official pages on social media. Give away a few gifts for this effort.
3. Video Contests – Make your travelers feel special. Interview travelers to know their travel experience on camera. Share this content across your official pages on social media.

Make your social media content engaging and appealing

1. Images, Images and more Images – Accept it or not, Great pictures invoke emotions and help you sell your products to the customers.  Invest in professionally shot pictures which you can share across various social media channels. Always use catchy captions to go with well shot images. Remember – The whole point of the activity is to invoke emotions so strong that it could influence a purchase decision positively.
2. Brand Videos – If you have the dollars to spend, invest in some great eye catching brand videos. Have a storyline laid out to clearly communicate what your brand is all about.
3. Blogs – Have travel bloggers write professional content for you. Supplement all content with proprietary images. Create graphic art or info graphics or employ a professional photographer to shoot images for you.

Some online tools that can help your travelers share their memories –

Here are three top tools that your customers can use to share their travel memories –

3 Apps that will record and share your travel memories

For any queries please contact: info@staging.tavisca.com