Travel brands are at currently at a crossroads to increase sales amidst huge shifts in the industry. With Airbnb creating viable hoteliers out of everyday homeowners, and mobile taking over nearly every aspect of the travel experience – from booking to tours and activities – it’s getting harder for travel companies to compete for attention and dollars. Hoteliers are looking to Travel Influencer Marketing as a sales solution.
To stay visible and relevant in today’s travel market, brands are turning to Travel Influencer Marketing or co-created content that offers opportunities for greater industry reach. In part, Influencer Marketing places a travel company on the radar of potentially millions more consumers than it would have had access to otherwise. This strategy is also a way to build more lasting relationships with buyers specifically looking for a hotel, tour organization or other product or service just like yours.
Create a Custom Travel Influencer Marketing Campaign for Your Brand’s Unique Needs
A recent Nielson report noted that influencer content can skyrocket a brand’s familiarity by 88% more than regularly branded content. This is why the top hotel chains and other providers of travel goods and services have been utilizing influencer marketing to connect with potential customers.
Are you late to the game? Jump in now.
Because the world of social media is constantly in flux, it can be challenging to create an effective Travel Influencer Marketing campaign. It’s not impossible though, especially if you know some of the best ways to start.
Here are some opportunities you can embrace when working with influencers.
Let the Influencer Act as Host
Whether you partner with influencers to post about your travel experience, location or service, let them be the host. You don’t want your influencers’ content appearing as tacky one-off pieces that wreak of advertorial content, even they are one-off deals.
Choose influencers you have a relationship with or some who are newly contracted, and let them lead the co-created content with your brand’s offerings serving as the perfect backdrop or compliment. Of course, this is much easier to do when your influencers’ typical content fits in nicely with your brand’s message.
Send Your Influencer on a Fam Trip
Travel companies have sent journalists and industry professionals on fam (familiarization) trips for years to show them the merits of a particular property, destination or attraction. You can do this with your influencers. Hopefully in exchange for authentic link promotion, invite your influencers to enjoy a complimentary hotel stay, city tour or activity.
There’s not always a need to coordinate the exact co-sponsored content that will go out after this type of influencer experience, but again, choosing the right influencer gets you far in making sure you benefit from the paid trip with a positive mention afterward.
Partner with Travel Influencers to Create Content
If it’s the assurance of positive mentions you’re after, consider working with your influencers to create custom paid content. To have this type of arrangement play out best for your influencer and you, in terms of building and strengthening an audience, it’s essential the content is authentic.
Influencers are great at creating content, so if you select them wisely, you should reap rewards from the social media posts, photos and blog posts that you’ve mutually determined would bring value to those influencers’ audiences.
Essentially, that’s what influencer marketing is about. Creating win-win-win situations that lead to more value and positivity within an industry.
Are you ready to tap into your travel brand’s influence marketing potential? To find out how to benefit from a bespoke influencer marketing campaign, contact Galileo Tech Media.
