8 Key Social Media Tactics for Small Tourism, Travel, and Guide Business Owners
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Bonus tip 💡: Save Time by Using AI-powered Social Media Assistant
All tourism and guide business owners should have a social media marketing strategy. It allows you to reach potential clients you might need to learn about your business. Regular posting on social media also enables you to engage with guests and remain on their minds.
Regular posting enables you to engage with guests and remain on their minds
It also helps direct followers to where they can tour or learn more about your business. However, you will only get these benefits if your social media content for travel is done correctly. So, without further ado, let's start with eight social media tactics for tour operators.
1. Use Influencers or Travel Bloggers for PR
Many bloggers love writing about their travel experiences. Traveling around the world and sharing their experience have become their full-time job, and they do this with either their blog or social media. They should be your target since they have a niche essential to your business and many followers on their blog or social media.
Consider inviting them to experience your travel brand and talk about you on their social media channels or blogs. Lauren Carey does this for various businesses on her blog and Instagram channel.
2. Consider Live Streaming Your Tours
Profile by Exodus Adventures Travels on Instagram
Video marketing outperforms other types of social media content. This growth has been drastic in recent years on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. This has increased live video, which can be a game changer for your business.
Video marketing outperforms other types of social media content
In such moments, viewers are likelier to watch since they believe they could miss out on something good. Exodus Travels regularly livestreams some of their destinations for their viewers on their Instagram channel.
3. Engage With Your Audience
Page by Intrepid Travel on Facebook
No matter which social media platform you use, engaging with your community is crucial for building your online presence. Share unique content, utilize platform-specific tools, incorporate hashtags, and forge connections with complementary businesses such as local hotels, resorts, and chambers of commerce.
No matter which social media platform you use, engaging with your community is crucial
Collecting reviews is another powerful way to distinguish your business and bolster online credibility. Platforms like Facebook and Google Business Profile are excellent for gathering reviews and interacting with customers. Remember also to share positive customer reviews on your socials to boost your business even more.
Remember to share positive customer reviews to boost your business
Don't shy away from negative reviews or comments. The goal is to engage actively with your followers, improve your operations, and enhancing your visibility - much like Intrepid Travels successfully does above on its Facebook page.
4. Use Scheduling and Management Tools
Social Media Scheduler Hookle
Once you've determined the frequency of your content posts across various social media platforms, it's essential to implement a schedule for efficiency. Consider using scheduling apps like Buffer or Hootsuite, and for small businesses, Hookle is specially designed to manage and auto-publish your posts across multiple networks at any desired time.
Schedulers are designed to manage and auto-publish your posts across multiple networks
This approach significantly reduces administrative workload, freeing up your team to focus more on customer service and other tour-related tasks. Many of these tools also offer additional management features and AI-powered services to easy your workload and enhance your social media presence.
5. Post Compelling, Educative, and Entertaining Content
Blog post by Cruise Planners
Many entrepreneurs struggle with deciding what type of social media content to post. The answer is simple.
Post content that provides value to your audience and is entertaining, evocative, and enlightening. Educational posts teach your audience, while entertaining posts capture their attention. Additionally, you can utilize AI-powered content suggestions offered by many of the the management tools mentioned earlier.
At the same time, they read or watch your content, evoking posts to create emotional responses in your audience, and finally, enlightening posts provide more details and information your audience needs to understand your business.
Cruise Planners regularly post educative and evoking content that their readers enjoy, keeping them informed.
6. Use Paid Advertisements
Case study by CrowdRiff
Paid advertisements work wonders in various forms, like videos and images. However, you must keep running these Ads to get the most out of them. Some types of ads you can consider include video, carousel, and static images for your posts.
Discover above the Palm Beaches in Florida employed a Geographic Targeting strategy in their remarkable "Friends Trust Friends" campaign.
7. Consider Using Pinterest
Boards by MSH Hawaii Tours on Pinterest
Facebook and Instagram are not the only photo-sharing websites where you can gather followers. Pinterest offers a unique opportunity to showcase your business photos on themed boards, connect with related services, complementary businesses, and travelers.
Pinterest offers a unique opportunity to showcase your business photos
Moreover, Pinterest tends to be less competitive, focusing on high-quality images and videos that cater to your audience's needs. It's an ideal space for posting special offers, creative ads, and more.
Consider a look at the board of MSH Hawaii Tours to get inspired. Whether you aim to get a positive online presence, increase your bookings, or even connect with local businesses and customers in new ways, adopt posting on Pinterest to stay ahead of your competition.
8. Use the Right Hashtags and Keywords
Hashtags by #lethawaiihappen on Instagram
If you are active on your social media channels, as you should, you can make it easy for prospective travelers to find you by using hashtags or specific keywords. Hashtags can help your content trend and reach a vast number of audiences.
Search for viral hashtags in your niche or industry, then use them to grow. Experts suggest listing keywords that best describe your industry and business. Using hashtags such as #(destination), #kayaking, #travel, etc can help you amass followers.
For example, the tourism authority of Hawaii initiated a cost-effective Instagram campaign to build brand recognition and promote both initial and return visits to the islands. They introduced the hashtag #LetHawaiiHappen and urged travelers to showcase their most memorable travel experiences.
Save Time by Using AI-powered Social Media Assistants
AI-Powered Social Media Assistant Hookle
For tourism, travel services, and guide business owners, crafting a social media marketing strategy is crucial, but it shouldn't consume all your time. Explore different platforms to discover the most effective ones for your unique business, as success varies across channels. Simplify this process with AI-powered tools like Hookle.
These assistants can help you implement strategies, schedule posts, and analyze results efficiently, saving you time to focus on what truly matters: growing your business and engaging with your audience.
Don't just take our word for it! Download Hookle today for free and experience it firsthand for yourself!
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