The Best Social Media Channels to Promote Your Travel Brand

With more than 3.5 billion people owning a social media account, having a strong presence across social networks is the right way forward for travel brands. Being active on social media provides you with another platform to reach your audience and grow your brand.

Of course, we’re sure that most travel brands have some form of social media for their business. But it’s one thing having an account and another using it regularly to build a following and even increase bottom lines.

Whether you have an account already and are looking to give it a boost or are yet to create a social presence, we’ve put this guide together with the best social media channels to promote your brand. So read on to find out where you should be active and what you need to do to build an audience.

Instagram ❤️

One of the most visual social media platforms, Instagram is an obvious choice for growing your travel brand. After all, it’s already a hotbed for travel influencers strutting their stuff with pics of trips to all corners of the world.

As a travel brand, you want to be on at least one photo-sharing site. Images of travel have the ability to conjure up emotions about going on holiday and experience new settings and cultures. And the visual flair of Instagram is your friend if you’re looking to increase follower accounts and interactions.

The travel industry is photogenic, and there’s a distinctive connection between travellers and Instagram. For example, 40 per cent of Millennials choose their holiday destination based on how Instagrammable it is.

How to make your content pop on Instagram

Being on Instagram is one thing, but how do you create content that resonates. Inspiring travel pictures are a good start. Yet, it’s user-generated content that could be the way to go. UGC sees brands encouraging their followers to post images on their behalf, using a specific hashtag to identify a link between brand and follower.

Reach out to your followers, asking them to post their favourite pics using a specific hashtag that you’ve created. It will encourage participation, making your audience feel valued while getting them to interact directly with your brand. That’s a great way to increase engagement and add a layer of personalisation to your travel company, boosting relationships with customers in the process.

Facebook 👍

Facebook has become such a powerful marketing platform that it now sits alongside your website as a lead generation tool. Fill your account with photos, interact with your fans, run competitions and promote content all on your Facebook page.

You should also use it as a customer service tool, implementing the messenger to aid your customers with their needs, whether they have questions about how Brexit could affect travel or Covid-related queries.

Facebook is also a great platform for paid advertising and creating sponsored content that reaches further than the fans on your page. The social network provides the highest return on investment of all paid channels, with more than one in three brands citing Facebook as a better performer for ROI than Google Paid Search.

How to make your content pop on Facebook

Video is a great way to interact on Facebook, and it’s something all travel brands should actively look into. Brands like TUI are some of the best-performing companies on Facebook because they successfully utilise video to boost interactions.

The videos don’t need to be complicated; as long as you create content that gets people interested – be it travel videos or promos for your brand – you can grow your customer base with Facebook and maximise its reach.

LinkedIn 💼

If your brand is more B2B focused then LinkedIn is a great network for profile building. It’s a platform where you can become a thought leader, sharing your knowledge so other travel brands look to you for inspiration.

Even if you’re primarily a B2C brand, LinkedIn is still useful. For some companies, it’s a great recruitment tool where they can find the best talent to enhance their business. Others use it to interact with professional networks, whether they’re looking to build a list of attendees for events or just be part of the conversation.

There’s also every chance that people you connect with will use your brand to find or book their next holiday. After all, professionals accrue holiday days and need somewhere to go. Being active on LinkedIn can open up plenty of possibilities, from demonstrating your worth as an expert to increasing your bottom line.

How to make your content pop on LinkedIn

LinkedIn really is about adding value, especially as many of your peers will be active on the social networking site. Use it to educate connections with blog posts, reports and detailed information about your industry.

Start conversations about related topics of interest and encourage people to interact. Share company news from new hires to milestones reached, and use LinkedIn as somewhere to discuss all things professional-travel related.

Winning at social media

Social media provides brands with another dynamic to connect with customers, businesses and travel enthusiasts. Having a presence across different channels allows you to expand your brand, gain a stronger following, convert more customers and cement your travel company as a leader in the industry.