When it comes to online travel marketing, there’s a lot of ground to cover. If you’re just starting out in the industry, it can be tough to know where to begin. In this post, we’ll provide helpful tips for new companies looking to break ground in the online travel market.
To start off, it’s important to understand the basics of marketing. This includes things like search engine optimisation (SEO), paid search, and social media marketing. In order to create an effective online marketing strategy, you need to know how these different channels work and how they can help you reach your target audience.
Take your time to just learn a quick overview of these platforms. Not every social media channel will be the right fit for business. Spend half a day watching YouTube, listening to podcasts or reading online, to understand which channel is likely to provide the best results for your company.
Now let’s move on to some specific tips for online travel marketing.
Establish and understand your brand
When marketing your travel company online (or any brand really) it is important you start with a clear brand. This means developing a consistent look and feel for your website and marketing materials, as well as crafting a clear and concise message about what your company represents. Doing this from the beginning will help you stay on track as you create your marketing strategy and make it easier to target the right audience.
Canva.com is a great free tool to help you with your designs if you are on a budget. However, in the long run, hiring a graphic designer will provide the best results.
A common mistake by new marketers is that they try to market to “everyone”. Take the time to think about what type of person is likely to purchase your product and design your brand around that.
Determine your goals
It’s important to take some time to figure out what you want to achieve with your online marketing efforts.
Are you looking to increase website traffic? Gain more social media followers? Convert more leads into customers? Determining your goals will help you focus your efforts and make sure you’re getting the most out of your marketing dollars.
Once you know what you’re aiming for, it’ll be easier to create a plan of action that focuses on achieving your objectives. Having specific goals in mind will also help you measure the success of your marketing campaigns and make necessary adjustments along the way. So take some time to determine what you want to achieve and then get started putting together a plan that will help you reach your targets.
Build trust in your brand
Make use of online review sites like Google My Business, Facebook, TripAdvisor and Yelp to generate more traffic and leads for your travel company. These sites allow customers to share their experiences with your business, giving potential customers a better idea of what to expect if they decide to do business with you.
Encouraging customers to leave reviews on these sites can be a great way to increase traffic and leads, so make sure you promote them on your website and social media profiles. Additionally, make it easy for customers to leave reviews by providing links or QR codes on your marketing materials.
A spokesperson from Local Bunch Solar, says “try to set up automated emails or texts asking the customer to review their experience after they purchased your product or service. This is simple to set up using software like Mailchimp and will ensure you get a constant flow of reviews. Before you know it, you will have a bunch of quality reviews that you can use in your marketing.”
By using online review sites, you can help build trust and credibility for your travel company, which can lead to more sales in the long run.
Create quality content
One of the most important aspects of online marketing is creating quality content. This means producing articles, blog posts, videos, and other materials that are interesting and engaging for your target audience.
Quality content is key to attracting attention online and helping you stand out from the competition. So take the time to invest in creating high-quality content that will capture people’s attention and help you achieve your marketing goals.
Remember quality over quantity when it comes to content marketing.
Create a website for your company
Well, this one is a no brainer but it is one of the most important. What many business owners don’t realise is that if your whole business is on social media platforms, then your lead generation is in the hands of other companies.
These companies at any time can change the algorithm, stop that service or just suspend your profiles for no reason.
That’s why having your own website that you control is so important. It means that no one is going to shut you down and you have a lead generation source that won’t be affected by another company’s decision.
Make sure your website is well designed and easy to navigate and includes plenty of information about your company and the services you offer. Focus on having your website easily accessible from mobile as this is where most people are now surfing the web from.
Attend travel industry events
Attending travel industry events is a great way to network, meet potential customers and partners, and learn more about the latest trends in the travel industry. You can find a list of upcoming events on websites like Eventbrite and Meetup.
When attending travel industry events, be sure to bring plenty of business cards and brochures to hand out. You should also be prepared to talk about your company and what makes it unique. Be sure to listen to what other people have to say, too; you may learn about new trends or opportunities that you hadn’t considered before.
Networking with other travel companies at these events is a great way to learn from their experiences, find potential partners, and get advice on how to grow your business.
If you’re not able to attend a trade show, consider participating in online forums or groups (e.g. Facebook groups) where travel companies connect with each other. This is a great way to get advice from experts and find potential partners.
By following these tips, you are well on your way to creating a successful online marketing strategy for your new travel company. Good luck!