If you’re working in the tourism sector right now, the chances are that you’re wondering what to do next. You ‘might’ have noticed there’s a lot of uncertainty around now, but, at the same time, you can’t afford to furlough your brand and wake it up in a few months.
People will want to travel - the pent-up demand is huge - and this year the UK will travel to itself, with domestic tourism likely to be the most active part of the market. Your task right now is to keep yourselves visible in the most resource-efficient way you can.
But you might not have much to spend on advertising. ‘Organic’ options are your most cost-effective bet. And, alongside content marketing, your social media presence might give you the most bang for your unspent buck. So try these six tips for size as ways to keep your brand at the forefront of mind of this year’s customers.
It’s all about the audience
It sounds obvious, but we see an awful lot of companies who talk about themselves - who the CEO has met; what their brand values are and what the company dog looks like - and not their customer. Focus on what the customer needs to know and what you offer, not about who you are. You can sell your brand values further into the user journey, it’s not your opening gambit. What do they want to hear? (And that may be different to what you’ve been telling them)
Know your target customer
What are your products: are they geared towards families, adventurous types, senior travellers…? Whatever the mix, create a set of personas to help you understand their needs. Personas are, essentially, fictional characters but they do help envisage the needs of others and can help add some thematics to your social media content.
So, if your offerings work best for young families, then create content which attracts their eye - lots of pictures of happy children engaged in enjoyable, healthy pursuits, with cheerful, relaxed parents in the background, for instance.
Plan your platforms
Once you know your market, you can plan out your platforms. If you’re aiming at ‘mature’ markets, then TikTok might not be your ideal platform and you might lean more towards Facebook or Instagram. If your products are themed - around art or museums perhaps - then maybe Pinterest. Almost all of your customers will have some sort of digital presence that they refer to, so work out where they are most likely to be. And you’ll soon know if your assumptions are right, because you’ll be checking the analytics to see what works, right?
Engagement metrics are the good numbers
Many businesses simply post ‘stuff’ and hope for the best: broadcasting to bored audiences in the hope that something lands. But a one-sided conversation doesn’t hold attention for long and, especially in tourism, a human touch goes a long way. If people have been denied travel and are investing as much emotionally as financially into their holiday time (and even in ‘better’ times people would save up for one annual trip), then the least you can do is sound like people who would listen, and do your best to make their time special. That care and attention can come over from businesses who engage meaningfully online with audiences - answering questions, replying to comments and following and liking, re-tweeting the comments of others.
Keep it visual
Tourism is an experience industry and, if we can’t yet deliver the Proustian hit of nostalgic aromas via digital means, then visual is the next best. People are tempted to travel by visual prompts - video and photos - and it’s worth investing in a professional bank of content in those media to consistently deliver posts that tempt your audiences.
Get your customers to carry the message
Maybe ordinarily, you’d suggest to tourists or trippers, as they left your care, that they might want to share their memories on social media and tag you, or use a hashtag you use a lot.
That’s been a bit tricky this year, with no-one popping by, but you can still encourage past visitors to share their memories (perhaps via a quick email campaign). Getting happy customers to show those memories on the major social platforms can carry your message for you.
You may be able to incentivise by offering prizes or discounts for the best, but driving the awareness through recommendation is still the most powerful way. And by re-posting, liking and re-tweeting and so on, you can amplify those memories too.
Getting these basics right will help keep your brand in front of audiences at a time when there’s little willingness to pay for ad campaigns of any kind. Using your existing resources - the digital assets held by your and your past customers - can ensure the marketing lights are kept on until the market begins to open up.
If you want to talk about how we can give you value-for-money support for your social media work, then get in touch. We won’t bite.
