10 Online Skills Every Travel Agent Needs To Know

Written By: Andy Ogg, CTIE, Editor and Marketing Director – Travel Professional NEWS®

 

Over the past couple of years, working online has become a priority. Whether it be through doing business, working with clients, or even joining events and activities, the internet and social media has made everything convenient for every travel agent.

 

That is why it’s important to develop extra skills so that you can maximize your presence online! Effectively grow your client list and expand your knowledge on online marketing through these ten helpful and practical tips:

 

Managing Social Media

Social Media plays a huge role in landing potential customers and keeping returning clients. Applications like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even LinkedIn can allow you to communicate to your clients directly. Manage your social media effectively by knowing which platform to use for each client, knowing what time to post, and responding to messages as soon as possible. By doing this, you can reach your target client niche, and even make them return!

 

Making Content

Whether it’s for your website, live feed, or even Youtube video, you need to create engaging content in order to catch your audience’s attention. For instance, use images or videos that are visually appealing, and that will surely spark conversation between you and your clients. You may opt to create a calendar that showcases what type of status, photo, or video that you should post on a daily basis to make it easier for you to track your content timeline.

 

Maximizing Online Advertisements

When you decide to use paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram, you can easily reach your potential customers! The Ads Manager tool allows you to reach people based on their location, what they like, their interests, and even their behaviors. Learn how to maximize this tool by creating a specific ad set for your potential clients. For instance, if you want to target a specific age group, include their location, hobbies, and interests in the Ads Manager tool so you can see the number of potential people you may reach through your ad.

 

Analyzing Data

Tracking the number of people who visit your website and what engages them to stay there allows you to effectively see what kind of content they respond to. You may use applications like Google Analytics to measure your data on websites, or even use the Insights tool on Facebook and Instagram to measure the performance of your advertisements.

 

Working with Basic SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is knowing if your website or social media channels have visibility to users of a web search engine. To effectively manipulate SEO, it is recommended that you insert relevant keywords on your website or social media channels to be in the top rank of the web search engine. So if you’re making content for a specific group of clients, add keywords that will respond to their search. You may opt to use keywords such as travel, budget, location, travel assistance, may help improve your SEO for your website.

 

Showcasing your Services

Social Media acts as a free platform where you get to show what you do well and how you do it. When gaining more clients, be sure that your Facebook or Instagram page is updated with reviews from your previous clients, and even past services that you have done so that they know you offer that type of service. You may also upload these files accordingly through different photo albums or videos.

 

Speaking with Followers

Now that you are able to showcase what you do best, be sure you can communicate effectively with your audience online. Be sure that you post things when they’re online, and also creating content where they can engage. For instance, you may create a poll on Facebook and ask which destination they’ve always wanted to visit, or even you can create an Instagram live video where you can answer commonly asked questions. There are plenty of things you can do to keep them engaged!

 

Navigating Through Online Project Management

Thanks to technology, managing your business has become much easier! Through applications and softwares, you can easily manage your clients’ contact numbers, sync deliverables, and even schedule things online ahead of time! Use Google Sheets, if you want to create time table schedules to clients. Download HeyMonday.com, if you need to reach a particular quota or finish a project within the week, because it tracks the progress of your project real time. And if you want schedule content on Instagram ahead of time, get the Planoly app. to It has a drag and drop feature so you can arrange photos to manage the look of your feed.

 

Keeping up with Different Trends

Social media is always changing and moving forward. A trend may work effectively today, but in a few months it may not. So to keep up with this lifestyle and technology, be sure that you are open to try different methods online! For instance, you may consider opening a Youtube account and try engaging with your audience there, or you may even try doing content specifically for travel professionals, and gain following from there. Your openness to trying new things will not just land you more clients but will also build your brand as a travel professional even more!

 

Engaging with an Online Community

Joining a community with the same common ground connected to your business can be a great help for you online! First, it helps you with audience or clients research. Second, you can learn tricks and tips from people in the same business as you. And lastly, you get to be part of a family that shares the same interest as you.

 

Join our community now at TravelProfessionalCommunity.com for more information!