THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FOR TRAVEL BUSINESS -Author Sultan Nazir
Many moons ago, I read the story of two salesmen sent by a shoe company to an Island to check the market for their shoes. The peculiar thing about the island was that everyone was barefooted. Salesman one reports, "This is terrible, everyone is barefoot, there is no demand." Salesman two reports, "This is fantastic, everyone here is barefoot, it is a huge market." The point is there are more than one way to look at something.
I sometimes wonder if the second salesmen was living today, he would have known what shoes the islander will go for, when they would wear it, with whom they would like to wear it etc etc because in the present day and age we have tools at our disposal which, with digital foot print and behaviour can precisely pinpoint outcome of any audience interaction. One of my colleague at DeepDigitallifestyle, Diane has written an interesting blog about these Insights that can help businesses in travel space to understand and target their audience. The point is data can be powerful if used properly.
Today, one of the important channels that travel businesses can take advantage of is social media. The growth and popularity of different platforms in this space is unprecedented. Below, are just 5 of the benefits of marketing on social media platforms:
1. THAT is where customers are... for any business it is important to know where they customers are, where do they spend their time, long long are the days before the digital age where there were only few mediums dominated by television and newspapers. Sure, platforms can come and go but business needs to see what are the trends and focus on that. The starting point is where the customer hang out.
2. BRAND awareness.... what better way to have a conversation with your target audience, understand them, provide value, promote and market your business than on social media and especially when it is FREE (well most part). It is great resource to interact with the audience and create credibility.
3. SOCIAL Proof... imagine a business in travel sector and having no presence and following on social media. One important factor in buying decision that customers consider is what other customers think and say about the business, I don't know about you but I don't won't to be wrong, I will value others opinions when making an important purchase. Rory at DeepDigitallifestyle in this blog goes into more detail about the shared experience and journey that audience create which can be great marketing tools for a business.
4. MARKETING system in itself... this is an extension of pervious point, this social proof and experiences becomes a source of referral for the business. Customers will equally recommend any good or bad experience they have, if it is a good one is a source of business and free revenue, if it is bad one than it fixing the issues and becoming better.
5. COMPETITION... "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" How can we forget important benefit of social media marketing, that what the competitors are doing, what is working for them or not working, how can a business with that research and information improve its offering.
THE last word.... social media marketing is essential, ignore it on your won peril, the key is to identify the right channel/s and drill down.
Author : Sultan Nazir
For more Interesting views and Insights visit our blog at https://deepdigitallifestyle.blogspot.com/
Hey Sultan, nice post! I'd like to add that, since every business in the travel space has a different kind of audience, not all the social media efforts should be focused on the same platform. We live in an era where social media communication has expended incredibly and it interests people of different ages and expectations. Social marketers need to try out different approaches on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and in case of business travel even LinkedIn to engage with the right audience and be able to laser focus towards the highest converting segments. Not to mention the raise of TikTok, where Gen Z seems to have a really strong presence. In conclusion, just because a channel was built, doesn’t mean tha users will come: it's about entertaing a conversation with different audiences in the language (or platform) they understand and build trust and positive experiences.
ReplyDeleteRory Dignam
Firstly i'm honoured to of got a mention in your blog, Sultan i always enjoy your opening paragraph as its unique, clever content and i'm definitely influenced by your blog posts. You opening paragraph really highlights how two people or companies can look at situations differently. It is very true to say that the travel industry's customers are on their devices searching/scrolling through images wanting to escape. If your customers are on social media well then you as a business should be too. Its free, other then paying for ads and someone's time to post, but with clever content your customers will do sharing for you and become admirers of your work. Like how your broke your points down and simplified your content which makes it more clear. Definitely enjoyable. Thanks Sultan
ReplyDeleteThat should read, thanks sultan from Diane :-)
DeleteSultan, as always a wonderful and informative blog, it is always a pleasure to read your articles! I agree with Diane's comment about the story that reveals the article, which clearly shows that everyone has their own point of view and the success of the business will depend on which side to look at the situation.
ReplyDeleteI liked the benefits of using social media that you highlighted, especially point 4 of the marketing system about when customers are sharing a negative experiences on social media isn't always only a bad side, it's can help a business change and grow - that's a great point.
Thank you! Ksenija Karpezo