The Reasons Every Travel Agent Should Be On Social Media

Despite the amazing value and service travel agents continue to bring for many travellers, there are still some people who believe the services of travel agents are no longer needed.

They could not be more wrong. No algorithm can replace the level of customization, knowledge, relationships, and peace of mind a travel expert can give to a traveller’s vacation experience. That is why millions of travellers worldwide continue to enlist the services of these experts whenever they need to travel.

As a travel specialist, it is your job to make yourself and your brand very visible so customers who may be interested in your services, can know about what you do and know where to find you.

One of the best places to get free branding and attract leads is through social media. Unfortunately less than 20% of travel agents share this opinion, and to that I say, those travel agents are losing out on a significant opportunity to generate more business.

If you are one of those agents, hopefully after reading this article, you will catch up with the rest of the world and jump on social media right away.

Face The Facts

Whether we want to admit it or not, social media has now become a huge part of the world we live in, it is now the number way people communicate and express themselves across all nationalities and age demographic. Almost 80% of the North American population has at least one social media account. That means, 80% of your target customers will be on one social media platform or the other.

Social media is by no means a replacement for the traditional means of marketing you may currently use. Continue to send your mass emails, continue to go to trade shows, but start using social media.

It’s a great way for you to maintain day-to-day communication with potential customers, offer expertise, insight and any information that creates value. By doing this, when those following your social media profiles are ready to travel, they will naturally think of you.

How To Utilize Each Platform

Facebook- Facebook is definitely the first place you should start your social media marketing. Why? Because just about everyone you know and their pets are on Facebook. Not only is Facebook the most popular, it is also the easiest to use in terms setting up your account, sharing information and generating a following. You can create interest groups, create a fanpage for your business which you can promote for a nominal fee, post and promote marketing videos and links to your website. You can keep your fans engaged with inspiring travel articles, stories and beautiful destination images.

Twitter – If you are looking for a way to keep your clients and potential customers up-to-date with daily industry news and updates, then twitter is the perfect platform to do that. Use twitter for real time discussions, short comments, or to share a quick link.

Instagram- Instagram is popular for many travel agents because it is a social network based around multi-media sharing. That means, only images and videos gets shared on Instagram, which is perfect for travel agents to share beautiful images of travel destinations resort promo videos and any visually enticing media that may inspire people to want to travel. Instagram is a mobile platform so you can easily manage it on the go. You can use Instagram to take and share pictures on your twitter and Facebook pages.

Pinterest – Another multi-media social media platform that is amazing for sharing visually stimulating content. On Pinterest you can create media boards about different destinations, travel ideas, or anything visual that you would want to share with your clients.

All The Benefits

The benefits of using social media for travel agents are endless. You will not find a more effective marketing strategy that is absolutely free and convenient.

Drive Traffic To Your Website

The first thing people ask when they setup a new website is, “how do I get lots of visitors to my site?” The first answer to that question is “Social Media.” Use social media to promote your website, share interesting blogs and other content type you post on your site, such as, client testimonials, FAQ’s and new resorts and destinations you are featuring. Social media is your number one option to get visitors to your website right away.

Promote Last Minute Deals

When there is an amazing travel deal that you want to share, you can use social media to do a 24 hour blitz to create a sense of urgency and get the word out quickly about your offer. You can share your offer on multiple platforms, plus you can reshare the same promotion multiple times for the day on each network you are on.

Build Your Email List

As a travel agent, your customer database and email list is your most powerful marketing asset. You are always looking for ways to get more people to subscribe to your newsletter. An easy way to have that happen is to ask your social media friends, fans and followers to subscribe to your mailing list. Offer them incentives like travel discount vouchers, spa certificates or any other freebies you can leverage from your relationships with vendors and suppliers.

Learn About Your Customers

You are not the only one sharing important information about your business and who you are on social media. Your customers are doing the same thing too. People share images of the places they visit, the things they like to do, and many times, they will share their upcoming travel plans. You can use this information to generate new business for yourself by sharing content and information that are specific to the interests of your fans and followers. When your social connections post their travel ideas, you can send them private messages offering your services and sharing ideas around their interests that you can help them with.

I could continue all day on the hundreds of ways in which you can benefit from using social media as a travel agent. Hopefully the information shared above is enough to get you moving towards setting your social profiles immediately and start capitalizing on some of the business you are currently missing out on.