As the travel industry continues to grow, so does the competition. Differentiating your brand from others can be difficult, but there are ways to stand out. Travel brands need to find meaningful ways to connect with their followers. They also need to deliver better customer service. Staying up-to-date with the latest business practices is crucial for attracting new customers.
In this article, we have discussed some ways that can help you take your brand marketing to the next level. You will thrive in a competitive market by implementing them in your travel business.
Understanding Travel Marketing and its Importance
Before we go ahead, it is crucial to understand travel marketing and its importance.
The marketing strategy and activities that travel businesses undertake come under travel marketing. Airlines, hotels, restaurants, and resorts generally use them to grow their brand.
The goal of travel marketing is to increase bookings and purchases. You can do that through various channels like websites, social media, and emails, among others.
The prime reasons you should undertake travel marketing activities are survival and growth as a brand. Your brand needs to stand out from the competition to stay in business and increase revenue every year. And this can only happen if you implement the best industry practices and improve customer service on an ongoing basis.
Here are some travel marketing ways you can use to grow your travel brand.
1. Leverage the power of content
Content is an inevitable part of any promotional and marketing activity. Whether it is ads, social media posts, intro or explainer videos, blog posts, brochures, or presentations, you will need content.
This means you need visual and textual content to convey your message effectively to your audience.
A video editor like InVideo can help create high-performing videos. An SEO analyzer like SurferSEO can help create high-ranking articles. And a design platform like Canva can help create beautiful social media posts.
2. Combine technology and service for a better experience
Popular brands are now taking a modern approach towards creating and delivering services. They use technology to speed up transactions and improve customer experience. It also helps them simplify complex operations. For example:
- Quick and easy bookings
- History-based suggestions for hotels, flights, and restaurants that meet customers’ budgets and spending habits
- Voice-based hands-free booking and communication
You can integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR) in your marketing activities. They can also help improve customer service operations depending on your business type. If you are a travel website operator, a voice-based booking facility will help people book flights and hotels in less time and effort. You can also have an app combining VR and AR technologies to offer a seamless experience. They can display information and provide a demo of their respective places.
Remember that customers don’t just pay for your products or services. They pay for an experience. And if you can make them feel great during their trip, they will become your long-term, loyal users.
3. Join hands with influencers to spread the word
You have to utilize every possible way to put your brand before your potential customers. Influencer marketing is one such option that you can use to spread the word about your products and services.
You can collaborate with one or more influencers who have a significant fan-following on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook and video platforms like YouTube. Influencers create videos and write blog posts to share their work, knowledge, and experiences in a particular field. So, you can get your brand mentioned in their content.
People generally trust such individuals when they are following them. When they endorse your brand, customers are more likely to prefer you over others. So keep aside a part of your marketing budget for spending on influencers to ensure your business grows on social platforms.
4. Request reviews from satisfied customers
A review is the most efficient piece of content compared to other marketing material. No matter how much you speak about your product or service. People will pay more attention to positive words written or spoken by a happy customer while making a purchase decision.
So, while you should invest enough resources in other marketing activities, you should make sure to receive and manage positive reviews on popular platforms. Yelk, TripAdvisor, and FourSquare are some review platforms that can work in your favor if you have a good number of positive reviews there.
So look into your customer database, make a list of the happiest ones, and ask them to provide reviews on different platforms. You may reward them for a positive review. And this will further strengthen your relationship with them.
5. Facilitate social media sharing from customers
Apart from asking your happy customers to provide reviews on review websites, you can also ask them to mention your brand in their social media posts.
Some travel companies, hotels, and restaurants have digital photo booths where customers can take amazing pictures. Such pictures will have a logo or a hashtag, and the brand will reach a wider audience when shared on social media.
So, you can get better reach with little investment and effort this way. Make sure you do this to grow your travel business.
6. Focus on continuous improvement of customer experience
In addition to all the activities discussed above, you must keep improving your customer service. It will ultimately better their experience, and they will become your advocates. They will, by all means, spread the word about you. Your brand will get mentions in their social media posts, videos, blog posts, reviews, community gatherings, one-to-one meetings, and in many other ways.
So, though it may not be marketing, it will create value, trust, and loyalty. And these three things will bring word-of-mouth publicity for your travel brand. It is among the most fruitful techniques businesses use to grow their brand.
Conclusion
Businesses in the travel industry can grow their brand in numerous ways. We have discussed some of the most relevant ideas that you can include in your marketing strategy. But there are many other techniques as well, such as personalization and remarketing. The smart move is to identify the most suitable options for your business and combine them in appropriate proportions. By doing this the right way, you can achieve the expected growth of your travel brand and revenue.
Which techniques are you already using or planning to use soon? Share in the comments below.
