Social Media Is Your Partner in Travel Branding<\/h1>\n

It’s no secret that today more than ever, digital branding in travel and tourism matters.<\/p>\n

According to Google, only 9% of travelers<\/a> know the brand they want to book with when they start their digital travel search.\u00a0 This is both an opportunity and a challenge for hotels, airlines and even destinations.<\/p>\n

Does this mean consumers have no loyalty? Well, yes and no. It’s well documented that increasingly, people want experiences over things and travelers today lead that trend. Today’s travelers need one of at least two things: a unique experience (for which they will usually pay more) and on-demand information about pricing. It’s more important than ever that your brand is front and center during all phases of research. It also means that your brand needs to reinforce the experience using digital.<\/a><\/p>\n

Social Media Throughout The Customer Travel Experience<\/h1>\n

Social media is useful in all phases, but especially the exploratory phase. The exploratory phase is where initial budgets expand as experiences cement themselves. For example, a traveler may be thinking of going to Hawaii<\/a>, and every airline flies there. But what airlines make the journey even more special? What location has the most unusual once-in-a-lifetime experiences? And how are real people experiencing those experiences? Integrating the day-to-day experience of the visitor on social media helps the travel shopper see themselves in the experience.\u00a0 Moreover, today’s traveler wants to see a blend of “glossy” travel pictures combined with unfiltered real life.<\/p>\n

But it’s more than that. Once the experience is over, what is your brand doing to reinforce their experience? Do you have a program in place which allows them to easily share their experience via social media? Do YOU share their experience back to them? That’s the cementing of brand loyalty and word of mouth almost all travel brands miss. How are you engaging your customers using digital while they are on-site? What can you do to turn complaints into delightful experiences? How can you show you’re engaged with their entire experience?<\/p>\n

The other reason this is important is that the mobile experience is front and center.\u00a0eMarketer predicted that in 2017, mobile bookings would surpass 40% of digital travel sales<\/a>. Mobile is social and social is mobile.\u00a0According to Expedia, 27% of Millennials<\/a> have posted a potential trip on social media to canvas opinions before booking! Obviously, your website needs to be mobile-friendly, but how on-par is your social branding and advertising?<\/p>\n

Does it provide a direct experience for booking?<\/p>\n

Are you using chatbots on social to improve customer service?<\/p>\n

How can you radically improve the investigation and booking phases using digital?<\/p>\n

Convenience is exceptionally\u00a0important to today’s traveler, who have\u00a0embraced single-site travel booking experiences. BUT, today’s traveler is ALSO looking for boutique experiences, something particularly unique and for that, it’s almost better if it isn’t on a single-site because it gives the air of uniqueness. So balancing the booking trends with experience demand is important, and social media leads in this regard, because you have the change to meet the consumer where they are.<\/p>\n

Millennials Don’t “Own” Social Media Travel<\/h1>\n

These technologies, like chatbots and mobile-friendly booking, are no longer for just the largest brands. They accessible and important for today’s traveler of all ages. It’s easy to think only “millennial” travelers are using these tools, but it’s simply not true. Consider that GenX’ers are in their mid-to-late forties already and their perfectly comfortable on Instagram and Facebook as well. According to Nielsen, Adults 35 to 49 were found to spend an average of 6 hours 58 minutes a week on social media networks, compared with 6 hours 19 minutes for the younger group. <\/a><\/p>\n

If you’re looking to engage your potential and current audience in social media and digital branding for travelers, please contact us. We have ideas and most importantly the resources, to step up your digital travel branding in every phase of the experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Social Media Is Your Partner in Travel Branding It’s no secret that today more than ever, digital branding in travel and tourism matters. According to Google, only 9% of travelers know the brand they want to book with when they start their digital travel search.\u00a0 This is both an opportunity and a challenge for hotels, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/poodlemafia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/digital-branding-in-travel-shutterstock_1170409249.jpg","yoast_head":"\n