Travel content is exploding on social media. With amazing photos, real-time updates, travel tips and more, there are so many ways travel professionals can connect with customers, partners and suppliers to increase their visibility and revenue.
But where do you start? What travel topics are trending and garnering attention right now? How can you leverage these trends to enhance your digital, marketing, and revenue strategies? Consider these ideas:
Sustainable and eco-conscious travel is here to stay, with eco-friendly accommodations, sustainable practices and experiences that support communities leading the way. It's important to balance content around reducing carbon footprints and promoting sustainable practices. This includes cultural experiences such as agritourism and voluntourism, which are growing in popularity and interest. Ethical travel continues to evolve and attract more interest from travelers.
Although far from sustainable travel, food tourism encourages the use of ingredients and support of producers in many ways. Users share their experiences in unique restaurants and local markets, putting food at the heart of their travel adventures while trying to use local ingredients as much as possible, again supporting local communities and legitimizing a more sustainable approach to travel. In fact, eating and drinking locally is one of the most popular activities across social media platforms.
Travelers are now actively searching for affordable alternatives to popular destinations, a practice known as “destination dupes.” Many influencers are choosing to showcase less-visited but equally beautiful locations that offer a similar experience to the more well-known destinations, such as visiting Paros instead of Santorini.
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Recently, what has been called the “White Lotus” effect has seen pop culture become influential again, with networks such as HBO and Netflix proving to be not only entertainment agents but also travel agents, encouraging viewers to travel to popular TV destinations. Travel agents would be well advised to keep a close eye on the operations and broadcast schedules of the major networks to find out where they might be able to take advantage by planning their next must-visit destinations.
For thrill seekers, social media is a popular and vibrant hub for finding exciting activities like skydiving, scuba diving and other extreme sports, and as more experiences and destinations are brought to market, the trend is likely to continue to grow in terms of content and engagement.
Types of Social Media Content
But knowing compelling trends is only half the puzzle: to ensure your social media strategy is commercially effective, you also need to know which social media tools and types of content are proving to be most effective for travel businesses today, and which are likely to become the standard in the year ahead.
Make sure all of the following are part of your social media strategy.
User-Generated Content (UGC) – As the saying goes, “people buy from people they know, like and trust.” This also applies to social media. Guests sharing their experiences on social media platforms build authentic and relatable content. This can be encouraged by running contests or offering incentives for content that drives the most engagement. Similarly, reposting and highlighting user-generated content on your own social media channels helps build trust, showcase real experiences and build a loyal community around your brand. This results in increased engagement and, importantly, repeat business.
Short-form video content – The popularity of short, engaging videos has grown significantly and shows no signs of slowing down. Customers scrolling through their feeds have an unprecedented amount of content to navigate and choose from, including destination introductions, how-tos, behind-the-scenes footage, and more. For your video to catch people's attention, make it impactful, inspiring, and memorable. We've seen a noticeable increase in the desire to watch short-form vertical content recently, and this trend is set to continue.
Live Streaming – Going back to the topic of video, live streams offer real-time interaction and the opportunity to provide a real and authentic glimpse into travel experiences. This can be done by engaging viewers through live tours of popular destinations, hotels and experiences, answering questions in real time, through live Q&A sessions with travel experts, discussing itineraries and tips as part of collaborations with influencers, showcasing current promotions, etc.
Personalization – In an era where guests are increasingly managing their travel plans from the palm of their hands and expect more personalized services and experiences, guest data is key. Data gained from social media interactions can provide insights into customer preferences, allowing operators to tailor content and offers accordingly. Similarly, interactive content such as polls, quizzes and surveys can also glean insights to make more qualified and personalized recommendations.
learn more!
Gav Buggy will be speaking at this year's TravelTech Show, which takes place at London's ExCeL from 19th to 20th June.
About the author …
Gav Buggy is the sales team lead for TikTok's UKI and Nordic high value customer acquisition team.
