A good friend of mine called Victor Borge once visited and told me; “You know, just like Santa Claus, I conveniently visit people once a year and I always keep it special”. Ladies and gentlemen, Christmas is just around the corner and travel is on many people’s to do lists. As they plan to do so, how are you making your product/service known to these merrymakers as a tourism provider?
Digitization stands critical in today’s economies. Day in, day out and across sectors; players keep taking advantage of digitization to enhance their businesses, brands and create positive customer experiences. Not to be left out, is the travel and tourism industry. As both technology and the nature of the business keeps evolving, players in the industry need to continuously embrace the latest trends and developments to stay competitive.
Think about it, how many people do you think use the internet daily? Newsflash! According to Datareportal, global internet users climbed to 4.95 billion at the start of 2022, with internet penetration standing at 62.5 percent of the world’s total population, with the number of people going online on the rise by the day. Given that this is a boundary free market, it goes without saying that this is a minefield of an audience to be reached out to.
“As travel became more difficult during the pandemic, travelers spent their time doing online research as they looked forward to a time when they could travel again.”
Marketing is all about connecting with your audience in the right place and at the right time. Today, that means you need to meet them where they are already spending time: on the internet. No doubt, digital marketing continues to be used by so many businesses of different industries and has proven its worth in delivering many more leads and conversions. And of course; more leads-more conversions mean more business, and more profit.
The travel industry is no different and continues to rapidly adapt well to the realm of the digital world. To increase their brands’ awareness, interest, and desire and be able to reach more possible customers; this, they must do.
So, after the pandemic lockdowns that brought tourism and travel to a standstill, what has changed? Truth is, consumer values have changed since the pandemic, as has consumer demand. As a player in the travel industry, understanding these trends and equally shifting your marketing strategies to better engage with the audiences will ultimately increase sales and ROI and here’s the plan-digital marketing.
Why digital marketing?
Before the pandemic, travel and tourism dominated the business world. And though things might still seem uncertain, history shows that travel has always rebounded in the wake of other major life-altering events. As it does, it is only sensible that one positions at the earliest. As travel became more difficult during the pandemic, travelers spent their time doing online research as they looked forward to a time when they could travel again.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), during the COVID-19 pandemic, Internet user ranks grew to 4.9 billion in 2021, from 4.1 billion in 2019. To date, the trend continues to record positive trajectory in terms of internet usage, and one cannot ignore this market. The big question then remains, how does one effectively play in this field?
Social Media Ads (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
The impact of social media marketing in the travel and tourism industry is profound. It allows businesses to connect with potential customers in exciting ways. Tourism marketers can share engaging and inspiring content with potential customers via social media. For instance, it is recorded that 84% of millennials use online reviews and postings to work out their travel plans.
That means they’re searching the web for what others say about one destination or service. Positive reviews attract more significant numbers of venue visitors and even more excitingly, they also enable companies to increase prices and profitability! Moreover, social media marketing also allows customers to communicate with each other and build communities of advocates. Learning how to tap into these networks remains vital, therefore.
Blogging
Being in a world where Google processes over 63,000 search queries per second, investing in a company blog is a smart strategy. From all those queries, a small percentage is from people looking for things to do at your destination. And the best part is, all that’s needed is your time to make this marketing strategy work. From choosing a destination to making a reservation, a customer will use Google at different stages of the buying journey. And how will they find your business during this process? As a result of their queries, which are made through keywords.
By regularly writing blogs using the right keywords, chances are your business will be visible to this audience. By providing relevant content that includes keywords, you’re more likely to be ranked on page 1 by Google and other search engines.
Video Content
Videos remain one of the best travel marketing tools, as they offer lots of visual content for travel consumers. Videos engage potential travel consumers more deeply than images or words can, transporting viewers into your world and shining a spotlight on the type of travel experience you can offer them. As a travel business, one key tool you might also want to consider is forming partnerships with micro-influencers as key message disseminating channels.
Virtual Reality Tours
Think about it, would be nice to take a tour in the Maldives before being there. A VR tour can promote your AirBnB, hotel rooms, resort, or other tourist attraction. At the same time, the experience can offer your guests a fantastic experience, transporting them to another reality that provides a nice prior escape from reality. These Panorama and 360-degree videos continue to become popular travel marketing tools because they create a real-life experience for potential travelers. Key to note, when creating a VR experience, it’s important to create an engaging and authentic story; adding fun facts to draw the travel consumer to your brand. Always keep the target in sharp focus while creating this.