Written By: Andy Ogg, Editor and Sales Director – Travel Professional NEWS
Facebook, the worlds largest social media outlet continues to be a hot spot for Travel entrepreneurs to invest time marketing their business. However, many Travel Professionals feel that the investment may not be producing the results they were hoping for.
Let’s look at 5 ways for you to maximize your efforts, time and investments on Facebook to increase your reach and produce results.
Focus
If your travel business “sells it all” than this may be a daunting task but even if you offer and specialize in most areas of Travel, choosing one segment to focus your Facebook efforts on is a good idea. Let’s use River Cruising as an example. By focusing your marketing efforts on Facebook at River Cruising, you’ll be able to refine your reach to a smaller market, create a following of possible clients and also establish yourself as an expert in selling this type of Travel. By focusing your marketing efforts, you will see more engagement, interactions and leads compared to a “offer it all” approach.
If you are having a hard time picking one area to focus on, it may be helpful in the decision making process to ask yourself “What makes me the most money?” or “What do I enjoy selling most?” Narrowing your focus will undoubtedly assist in your effectiveness while using Facebook.
Utilize Groups
While Facebook Pages are not always allowed to join Groups of Facebook, your personal account can. Of course this means that you must be ok with the fact that you and your business become one, so to speak. If you are ok joining forces, joining relevant Groups on Facebook can be a very fruitful way to interact with people that you wouldn’t normally know or find. Facebook currently has over 620 Million groups of all sorts. By joining some Groups focused on your hobbies and personal life, you’ll be able to not only connect to like minded people with similar interests, but also obtain the ability to share your business with the found community.
By sharing your professional life with these Groups, you’ll find many people that may be interested in your business based on the common ground you’ve established through your hobbies and likes. You can start your search for Groups by simply typing in the city you live in, your favorite pastime or an issue that is important to you. There are Groups for just about everything on Facebook, with more added every single day.
Engage
The age old truth of “You receive what you invest” couldn’t be more true on this topic. If you want to expand your Facebook marketing to new heights, it takes work and time. Commenting, sharing and engaging with your prime market is key and an absolute must if you are planning on making Facebook your premier focus of social media marketing. Whether it’s an hour or 10 minutes a day, the investment of engagement will not only bring back return but it will also expand your reach to new possible clients.
Commenting and engaging with content as your Facebook Business Page is one way to expand the reach of your content and should be utilized. If you have questions on how to do this, Facebook can assist in their Help sections. Be warned that Facebook has put forth some new stipulations about what, who and where a Facebook Page can interact so if you are finding hurdles, it isn’t user error, it’s the rules and algorithms at play.
Think Local
In recent discussions with Travel Professionals, it seems to me that your local market could be one of the largest untapped sources around. Joining and interacting on local community Pages and Groups could be a great way to expand your local marketing efforts without even leaving your home. For example, my wife and I are a part of a local Exchange Group. People post things for sale and offer their services on these Groups and through this particular group, we have acquired our plumber, landscaper, and even a few personal friends.
By interacting locally, the common ground of living close to one another is a fantastic introduction and comes a certain level of preconceived trust. In addition to local Pages or Groups, partaking in your cities Facebook Pages for localized Government and events can be another great way to share your business and what you can offer. You may be pleasantly surprised with how many of your neighbors will become your clients.
Become a Content Creator
Seems simple enough right? Well it is and it isn’t. Being a successful creator of content on Facebook not only requires you to Travel for the creation but also to learn how to produce high quality content that people want to see. Do you have any acquaintances that post pictures of their trips and every photo looks like it was taken in the darkest room ever during an earthquake? Don’t be that person.
Invest in a high quality camera or utilize applications and assistive tools for your smart phone to create stunning and enticing content that will draw in attention. For under $100, you can purchase a Gimbal and high quality photo application for your smart phone will enable you to create breathtaking photos, videos and marketing assets that can be used across your marketing efforts. To top that off, there are hundreds of thousands tutorials, webinars and classes to help you maximize your latest adventure.
As a Travel Professional, you not only handle the process of arranging Travel, you are an influencer and creator of memories for your clients. With each trip you take, one of your main goals, besides enjoying yourself, should be to document the experience and create content for your business. The content itself can used for a multitude of reasons and as you compile more and more experiences, your following of clients will not only enjoy the high quality experience but they will most likely be looking at their calendar looking for their next opportunity to experience what you have shared.