Welcome to the travel industry. As an independent contractor, you are a small business. Just like any business you must get the word out to potential clients. They need to know that you exist and how to find you for your business to succeed and grow. Below you will find 5 useful marketing tips written by Laurie Beckmann, CTC, as part of her white paper requirement to earn her CTC certification.
1. Web presence
If your host does not offer a website than you must have one. Not only does it give you a place to define and build your brand, it also creates a sense of legitimacy. Most consumers expect companies to have a website. It is the first place for you to share your information and why you are the perfect Travel Planner for them. This is no longer a daunting task. You do not have to be a tech wizard or spend thousands or even hundreds of dollars to make this happen. Check out sites such as Wix.com for their amazing templates and they can be free to just a nominal fee per year. There you can create an email address that is tied with your business name, again creating a more professional image and sense of credibility and stability.
Your website will become a perfect landing page for sharing specials, preferred travel partners and travel tips. There can be a section where you share your own travel experiences and your past client’s reviews and raves. It is where your clients will go to learn more about you and your business and with the correct SEO’S and other search words, they may find your business as well. Millennials and Boomers alike have become dependent on the web – they will search you as well as the travel options you are offering. Be prepared – your clients may be more knowledgeable than you about a tour, cruise or resort – You need to reassure them that partnering with a travel professional is to their advantage and that you are ultimately the expert and have their best interest as your priority.
2. Family and Friends
Do not discount the value of family and friends. “The most credible form of advertising comes straight from the people we know and trust. Eighty-three percent of online respondents in 60 countries say they trust the recommendations of friends and family, according to the Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Report released today”
People will do business with people they trust and know; many decisions are still about relationships.
3. Brand and Niche
It is hard to be the expert in everything so begin with your passion in building your Niche. Do you wish to specialize in Honeymoons and Destination Weddings? Are Family Vacations your passion or you are an avid Cruiser. This will help identify the market you would like to reach and where to reach them. If Romance and Honeymoon travel is your passion, you may be focusing on your newly engaged couples and have a soft and romantic look to your brand while embracing corporate and incentive travel may have a more class look and focusing on corporate events and linked accounts. Disney is your passion so your look will be focusing on families and your clients may be found at your local school events and youth sports fields.
4. Networking
It is great to join your local Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, however, if you do not go into it with the correct mindset it may be a waste of time. People like to do business with people they have a relationship with. Building that relationship will also create a client for life. The easiest travel clients you will have are your repeat clients. Those relationships create your long-term success and then their referrals are almost already sold on your services. The Business and Professional Associations may be where you also getting leads for corporate and incentive travel. Networking can also happen at Church, your gym, local PTA and just about anywhere you are. Volunteer with your favorite Charity event. There you will be working for a good cause as well as creating a larger networking group for your travel business. Many of the network opportunities will cost you nothing but time and it takes time to build great relationships and those relationships will be the back bone of your business.
5.Trade shows
Participating in local trade shows can be the perfect avenue for you to gain targeted travel sales.
In Choosing which trade shows to participate in, begin by thinking of what travel you are looking to market. Honeymoons and Destination Wedding clients can be easily found at your local bridal shows. The majority of these are held in January and February following some of the highest engagement periods of the year (Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve & Valentine’s Day) These may be small events held in local hotel banquet rooms to very large annual events at your local convention center. To find the promoters of the shows, check out your community’s local website page under events. Your community website and your local newspaper will most likely have a wedding section to use as a resource. The bridal show listings will have the Where, When and Who to reach out to so that you may ask for the Vendor information.
Family travel is more what you are trying to sell, than consider the local craft shows, school PTA events, local YMCA and other community organizations that are catering to the travelers that you are seeking. These events can be found online on your community websites, local newspapers and school newsletters.
Trade shows geared towards Seniors and Boomers are also growing around the country and can be perfect for your river cruise, luxury travel and longer travel market. Fitness and Wellness travel is another rapidly growing trend, check your online community for Women’s Night Out, Fitness Night, Golf Expo etc.
Once you have located a few trade shows that may be targeting your client and have reached out to the promoters, a few details to look at before deciding to sign on the bottom line:
BONUS:
6. Social Media
Social media is a given. Spend time where your clients are. Consider your market and what they follow, If the majority of your market is 40’s + than Facebook is probably still a better media than Instagram. However, with Hootsuite and other programs you can program content to post in more than one location. Keep your posts relevant and timely. Consider a subscription to Travel and Leisure, Travel Weekly and other travel magazines that will be able to provide great content to share if writing is not your forte.
There are programs available to Travel Agents such as Passportonline offering to post to your social media accounts regularly for a small monthly fee. They keep the content timely, interesting and engaging. Use that as a fall back, the best content is the original content you write, if you are using the industry articles consider creating comments in your share that encourage engagement and further interest. Be sure to share information more than Selling. One rule of thumb is 70-20-10 rule: 70% of your posts coming from your personal travel, relevant tips, survey questions and local news, 20% from other businesses, their events, sales and shares and 10% promoting your specials, discounts, new lines and promotions.
You are looking to engage your client’s interest, position yourself as an expert and keep your name in their minds for when they are ready to travel. Just as in person to person networking, you are looking to build relationships. Do not have every post about selling or the next special. You will lose your clients interest. Post visual content. Video and photos will have some of the highest shares and engagement.
How often to post, there seems to be as many experts and articles as there are answers. The consistent answer is to be consistent, focus on Quality over Quantity. 2x a day and about 10 x a week seem to be the average.
Social Media is ever changing, and you must embrace it. It is one of the easiest and most affordable medias for you to develop, grow and maintain your relationship with your clients.
