Summer is here and everyone is looking for great holiday deals. And your travel agency just happens to have them! The issue is: how do you get all these people who want to go on holiday find your offers? The answer is simple: with Instagram marketing!
Instagram Marketing and Travel Agencies: A Match Made in Heaven
To be honest, Instagram seems to be created exactly for travel agencies to promote their deals. You can share amazing, high-quality photos. You can create short stories. You can post films on IGTV. You can connect with influencers and encourage user-generated content under a catchy hashtag.
If you want to see the value of using Instagram marketing in terms of audience, we have the numbers ready for you. According to MediaPost:
- 48% of Instagram users use the app to choose a travel destination;
- 35% of users discover new places to visit on Instagram.
Also, a study published by Facebook™ on the use of its services by people looking for holiday ideas found out that 76% of them rely on Instagram for travel-related activities.
Now that you know that you will find a large number of prospects there, let us move on to a few actionable tips for your Instagram marketing strategy:
1. Make the Most of User-Generated Content
With the catchy hashtag #scotspirit, Visit Scotland has collected thousands of photos and videos from its clients. And they decided to create a beautiful photo album that practically needs no other promotion to sell the travel destination. Moreover, the travel agency uses these captivating photos sent by users for offline marketing purposes (brochures, posters, etc.).
In other words, Instagram is the gift that keeps on giving in terms of user-generated content. And you can find creative ways to make the most of this content, not just for Instagram marketing, but for other promotional purposes.
2. Get to Know a Few Influencers
Some people are famous on Instagram because they love to travel and share funny, original, emotional or exciting insights from each place they go to. Establishing a rapport with them is not hard if you are truly passionate about your travel business. They love to share experiences and they will love sharing content and insights with your followers.
With smart and win-win promotional strategies that Instagram facilitates for brands and influencers, your followers will continually discover new destinations and plenty of reasons to go there – booking their holiday through your agency.
3. Tell a Story about Your Featured Destination
People are tired of generic best deals and featured destinations. They want an answer to a simple question: “Why would I go there?” You can provide the answer to this question with an Instagram Story.
Instead of sharing separate photos and comments about a destination, group them in a Story and add some music that compliments them. This simple Instagram marketing tool will sell more packages than the cleverest ad copy.
4. Feature Your Happy Clients in Videos
The days of watching holiday videos on videotapes are long gone, but the curiosity has stayed with us. Instead of watching tapes, people go to social media to see what their friends are doing on holiday.
And if they happen to see their film featured on your Instagram page, they will certainly want to book a holiday, too. After all, if their friends have such a great time, you must know what you’re doing!
5. Promote Your Instagram Page Like Another Destination
The trouble with growing your Instagram followership has a simple solution. Since Instagram and Facebook™ are closely interconnected, encourage your Facebook™ followers to join you for fun, great photos and videos on Instagram.
Compared to the crowded Facebook™ newsfeed, Instagram is like a travel destination. You find there only great photos, a few arguments, and no fake news. With a catchy text and a few Instagram posts shared on Facebook™, you will see the number of your followers growing in no time.