Just how popular is TikTok?

TikTok has exploded so quickly in popularity that you might not be aware of just how many users it has. As of 2024, TikTok has over 1 billion active montly users. TikTok is now the 4th largest social media platform, with more monthly users than Snapchat, Pinterest and X (formerly Twitter). There is a common misconception that only teenagers are on TikTok, but in reality over 40% of the app’s users are between ages 20 and 39. As TikTok has grown in popularity, it has become widely uses across many demographics.

Over 45% of TikTok users are Gen Z. As this generation continues to age, their spending power is increasing rapidly. Destinations and attractions not marketing to Gen Z are missing out on a huge group of people who are planning trips every day. TikTok is one of the best ways to reach this generation.

TikTok also stands out as having the highest average session length of all social media apps. The average users spends 11 minutes on TikTok per session and 52 minutes on TikTok per day. TikTok provides marketers with an amazing opportunity to capture people’s attention and keep them engaged.

What makes it so popular?

There are a few aspects that really separate TikTok from other social media apps.

The FYP 

Unlike Facebook where you see the posts of your friends and family, TikTok automatically greets you with a “for-you-page” (FYP) which is customized by your interests and past likes. This means that every single user has a unique experience on the app and is only shown what they want to see.  

Anyone can be an influencer

Originally just a dance and lip-syncing app, many of the most -followed users are teenagers and young adults. Anyone can be an “influencer,” but to reach that number of followers, they have to post enough to keep attention on themselves.

Unlimited Possibilities 

The possibilities for content are endless. Just scrolling through your FYP for five minutes, you could see a variety of creative media from livestream debates between content creators, to a 2-minute crime video, to someone marketing themself with a “video resume”, and many videos of people dancing along to the latest dance trend.  

Trends

A “trend” on TikTok refers to any specific sound being used repeatedly by users, a new dance move that everyone is attempting to perfect, or a specific format of a video. Users are quick to recognize new and exciting trends, which is why it is especially important for your business or organization to take part. They make your page more personal, relatable, and noticeable. The thing about trends, however, are that they come and go very quickly. You need to be on the lookout for what is new. Watching other videos and paying attention to what is appearing on your FYP can inspire new content ideas that will help your company gain traction.

How companies use the app as a marketing tool

As there is so much room for creativity and so many users to appeal to, some companies are ahead of the game when it comes to getting their name out on TikTok and following the latest trends. For example, Duolingo, the language learning platform, consistently posts creative videos of their owl mascot working in the office. Chipotle shows off workers creating special bowls or videos of relatable moments like the “when-your-best-friend-doesn’t- know-your-Chipotle-order” moment. Sports teams, such as the Toronto Blue Jays, use the app to make fun videos of their players and will often comment on other videos or respond to fans.

TikTok as a search engine

In recent years, TikTok has transcended its origins as a platform for entertainment to become a powerful search engine. With its algorithm finely tuned to user preferences and behaviors, destinations and attractions can harness TikTok to reach potential visitors in unique and engaging ways. As of 2024, 74% of Gen Z use TikTok as their go-to search engine. By optimizing content with relevant hashtags, engaging titles, and captivating visuals, destinations and attractions can improve their visibility on TikTok’s search results, making it easier for travelers to discover them. Creating informative and inspiring TikTok content that highlights the distinctive features of a destination can spark interest and inspire travel decisions. This shift towards using TikTok as a search engine represents an exciting opportunity for tourism marketers to connect with a generation of travelers who prefer authentic, visually driven content to plan their next adventure.

TikTok and the tourism industry

So, all this knowledge now leads us to the topic of the hour: how to use TikTok to promote tourism. With over 1 billion users, this is a perfect marketing tool for the tourism industry. Tourism sells a product, just like Duolingo or Chipotle. The amount exposure you can create, followed by people being inspired to buy products and visit places is incredible. For starters, one of the most followed destination on TikTok is Palm Beaches Florida with 126.3k followers! 

If you scroll through travel or tourism hashtags, you’ll see lots of individual influencers promoting traveling through brand deals. Destinations and other travel-centered organizations are showing off their products through a wide array of trends or creative points of view. For example, hotels and resorts will often show the behind-the-scenes, or the different rooms and amenities they have to offer. If we are looking at a smaller company, the manager might do a “day-in-the-life” of their work routine. People, especially the younger generation, LOVE to see how other people spend their time at work. This also makes it more personal.  

Is it time to add a new social media channel? Here’s how you know 

The future of TikTok

TikTok’s rapid rise to success has not come without it’s challenges. Currently, the future of TikTok is very uncertain. TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. Due to concerns over the security of U.S. user’s data, the House of Representatives created a bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok, or the app would be banned in the U.S. The bill was passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden.

Before you get ready to abandon all your plans for TikTok marketing, let’s take a look at what this really means. Is TikTok definitely going away? The answer is no. As of May 2024, ByteDance has nine months to divest the app. TikTok has stated that the plan to challenge this bill in court, as they have deemed it unconstitutional.

You might be wondering if it is worth putting time and money into a TikTok startegy when the app’s future is so unclear. It boils down to this: TikTok is not going anywhere anytime soon. The bill gives the app nine months to sort out a deal, and the recent legal retaliation means the whole process could take even longer. It could be months or even years before a resolution is reached. The reality is, every day you are not marketing to users on TikTok is a day wasted. We recommend you continue to utilize the platform, but never put all your eggs in one basket. Social media changes rapidly, but right now, TikTok is where people are spending their time.

Examples

Here are some inventive examples of travel, tourism and hospitality companies that are already using TikTok: 

Expedia

This 59-second video explaining the Expedia Rewards Status with a few graphics and captions has 3.6 million views: 

Visit London

Visit London made this walk-through “Explore Westminster Abbey with us” video to highlight the iconic landmark with some pop-up facts about the church. This 15-second video has over 135,900 views:  

EF Tours

Education First, a company that specializes in travel tours and studying abroad, has a TikTok account that highlights all the perks of traveling to a different destination with people your age. Recently this account has been highlighting different destinations through a trend with eccentric music and pictures that flash before your eyes. Take a look: 

Hilton

Hilton Hotels and Resorts show off the perks of their pet friendly hotels with this adorable video that encourages people to travel with their dogs:  

Palm Beaches

Finally, let’s see what our friends at Palm Beaches, the most followed destination on TikTok, are doing to attract followers. This video is a day trip itinerary, in video form:

What all these companies have in common is that they are focusing on what their audience wants to see, and they participate in trends, no matter how silly they may seem.  

Tips for using TikTok to your advantage

1. Create brief 20-60-second videos that appeal to short attention spans.
2. Work to translate your brand into this new channel in a way that is consistent with your company yet is able to be recognized by TikTok users, such as the Duolingo owl workplace videos.
3. Find influencers to show off your product and company.
4. Have fun with it! Pay attention to trends and challenges that you could apply to your business or organization.

The post TikTok for Tourism Marketing appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

1. Keep it simple.

Keep your messages simple and concise. Each post should have a focus, and get right to the point. Whether you’re sharing something fun and engaging, or asking your audience to take action, the shorter the better. Of course there will be times that you need to share enough information to give context or tout all the great aspects of what you’re sharing. Make sure it’s clear and that the audience knows what to do.

Keep in mind that people don’t want to read paragraphs of text. A common misstep we see often is a social media post with a full press release or blog post text on it. It’s better to link to the full blog or press release (better yet – link to the placement you got from the release!).

2. Make it visual.

More than just eye-catching, it needs to be thumb-stopping. Shaky, lowlight, low-res photos just won’t cut it. If you don’t have the photos you want, crowd-source and repost them (but don’t forget to give credit).

Visual retention is your best bet to be memorable. It’s often cited that people remember 65% of information when text is paired with a visual, but only 10% of what they read or hear. Over and over again, the data tells us that people prefer visuals and video over written text.

In addition to high-quality photos, consider incorporating infographics, GIFs, and videos to make your content more dynamic and engaging.

3. Embrace video content

Video content has exploded in popularity, with platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels becoming dominant. Incorporating video into your social media strategy can help you capture and retain your audience’s attention. Experiment with different types of video content, such as tutorials, behind-the-scenes footage, answering FAQs or storytelling.

4. Know your audience.

While knowing your audience’s demographics and habits is important, it’s also essential to understand their interests and preferences. Conduct surveys, engage in conversations with your followers, and use social media analytics tools to gain insights into what your audience wants to see from you. Are they online at 7:30 am or 3:30 pm? Do they like questions or exclamations?

5. Have a call to action.

What do you want your audience to do when they see your post, Reel, or video? Don’t expect them to know what you are asking. Include a direct ask, a button (on ads) and simple instructions on how to complete the task. Make it easy for them to do what you want them to do. And ask yourself if you’re measuring those actions.

6. Monitor social media constantly.

Your posts don’t exist in a vacuum. Pay attention to the stats of your ads and posts, and make adjustments as needed. Watch your reviews for unhappy (or very happy) customers. Also watch out for spam reviews and get them taken down. Know how people are engaging with your channels and how to change or increase your content.

7. Engage whenever possible.

If people are taking the time to comment or like your post, find ways to engage with them. Like their comment, reply to a happy (or unhappy) comment and answer their questions about the product or service. Let your audience know there’s a real person on the other end of the page who cares about them.

8. Be flexible.

Having a plan is important, but don’t be afraid to deviate from that plan. Take regular stock of your most engaging posts and repeat the topics, tone, or style that is working. Your audience may surprise you from time to time, so trying variations is a great way to gauge reactions if you’re unsure.

9. Have fun!

Social media is a lot of work, and can be frustrating at times- but if you’re not having fun with it, your audience won’t either. Get creative with your posts, ads, photos, contests, and more. Social media is an opportunity to reach your audiences and consumers on their level- so don’t forget to play!

10. Watch for platform changes

Stay informed about platform changes. Social media platforms constantly evolve, introducing new features and updates. And new platforms are starting to rock the boat in terms of popularity (but Meta is still the most popular). It’s important to stay up-to-date with these changes to ensure that your strategies remain effective. Follow social media marketing blogs, participate in webinars, and join online communities to stay informed about the latest trends and updates in the industry.

The post 10 Beginner Social Media Marketing Tips appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

How to find local influencers

Identifying influencers in your community can feel like the biggest hurdle to overcome. First, define what an influencer means to your organization- is it 2,500 followers? 5,000? 10,000? Is it important for them to be on multiple channels, or is Instagram enough? Once you’ve figured this out, the search begins.

• Search by top posts on Instagram. Look under “places” to find geotagged locations, or “tags” to search by your own hashtags or similar/relevant hashtags.
• Google them. There’s a good chance your local news has covered one or more influencers in your area. The search results for “Rochester NY influencers” yields lists of influencers in the area from aggregating websites and local news channels, reddit threads and more.
• Use influence.co to filter by location, number of followers, platforms, reach and more.
• Ask around! Who do your coworkers, neighbors, friends, and family follow in the area? What do they like about them?
• Look at your own followers. As a destination or attraction, local influencers may already be following you!

Also consider local groups or individuals that may be part of your target market and have influence or clout in the community. A networking group of executives? Maybe a foodie group exists or craft beer club. Keep the search going on Facebook, LinkedIn and Meetup – all popular sites for getting together.

Starting the conversation

Cultivating a relationship is key to any partnership and influencers are no different. Start the conversation by supporting their work or letting them know how much you appreciate what they’re doing for the destination.

• Engage with their work. Like or comment on their posts to show support for what they’re doing. Make sure that your comments are genuine and valuable- not repetitive or canned. This added engagement is good for their metrics, so it’s win-win.
• Repost their photos (with permission!). Comment or DM them and ask to share their work. Most influencers are happy to share and show their work to a new audience. These photos, videos, or blogs are great user-generated content (UGM) for your channels.
• Send them a message. A short and sweet note that says how much you love the work they’re doing in the area is all it takes. Everyone likes to be recognized!
• Send them destination swag. A branded pen, notebook, or reusable bag is a great way to show your appreciation. You might even get a post out of it!

Collaboration opportunities

Once you’ve initiated a conversation, the next step is showing them how you can add value to their content and audience. An influencer’s brand is themself, so authenticity is key above all else. They want to provide value to their audience in the same way you do. Offering them something exclusive or special is a great way to do this. For groups and other individuals in the community, it’s still about value and often about content, too.

• Ask them to do a takeover of your blog or social channels. A guest post or day-in-the-life creates variety for your content and pulls in a new audience.
• Invite them to an event as a special guest. If you’re attending a festival, celebration, or exclusive event, consider adding them to your invite list. Any kind of special showing or behind-the-scenes peek is great content for their channels. Maybe it’s a soft opening of a new restaurant, backstage tour at a concert, or VIP area at a festival.
• Take them on a mini-FAM. They already do a great job promoting the area, but you know it better than just about anyone else. What hidden treasures can you show them they may not be aware of?
• Cultivate a partnership. What opportunities for an ongoing partnership can you offer? You can offer value to them through the platform you provide, payment, or whatever works best for you. They can offer authentic reviews, a different perspective and a fresh audience. Examples include:
  • Speaking at a local event
  • Producing a video series highlighting things to do around your city
  • Partnering with a stakeholder to host a VIP event

Curious to learn more about working with influencers? Check out our Influencer Marketing eBook, with 30 pages of tips, tricks and advice based on our experience.

The post Identifying Local Influencers appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Traditional Travel Writers

These writers work for a newspaper, magazine, website or other publication. They may have a regular column or specific niche that they write about. But as staff sizes continue to decrease, writers have taken on more beats – broadening their focus from travel to general lifestyle.

Deliverables

An article for their publication published online, in print or both. They publication may also share it across its social media channels. In some rare cases, they may have a photographer take pictures to accompany the piece. The rest of the time, they will lean heavily on your destination to supply high-res photos.

Itineraries

Travel writers are on assignment by their publication. (However, they don’t always have a say in when the article will come out.) This means they have a specific story in mind and unless they are a reviewer, they provide an objective look into a destination. In many cases, their itinerary should be broad. Include the “must-see” stops, best restaurants and most popular activities.

Keep in mind, there may be specific rules from their publication that they must follow. For example, some publications do not accept free products or comped meals, trips and experiences, while others will not cover alcoholic beverages.

Measurement

Print publications are measured by circulation – the number of copies distributed through subscriptions and newsstands. Online publications and articles are measured by unique visitors per month (UVM) or impressions. You can also track the additional reach of an article shared from the publication’s social media. Beyond impressions, we reference the Barcelona Principles to measure the impact of a placement, including whether it appeared in a KPI (key performance indicator) publication, the sentiment or tone of the article, and inclusion of the campaign’s key messages.

Proactive vs. Reactive PR: Why Both are Essential to Your Public Relations Strategy

Freelancers

Freelancers are independent writers that get paid per writing assignment or series of articles. They may work for one publication or website, but more often, write for several publications at a time.

Deliverables

When working with a freelancer, deliverables may not be set in stone upfront. Some will pitch the story (or FAM visit) to the publication(s) to get it assigned, while others look to have their piece picked up afterwards. Some are on assignment by a publication while others look to have their piece picked up afterwards. Since freelancers write for a variety of publications throughout their career, your destination has the opportunity to be covered multiple times in different articles. (Even years after a media FAM!)

Itineraries

For most, the idea of an assignment letter has gone out the window. That means freelancers are looking for a unique story, angle or topic that is likely to get picked up. Work with them to identify stops that are both popular and have a special backstory. You may consider including stops that cover multiple angles (such as unique food scene and your historic sites), that can result in placements in multiple publications.

Measurement

Articles and publications are measured the same way as for traditional travel writers.

Influencer Outreach and Media FAMs Stimulate Drive Market Visitation for Open Air Museum

Bloggers

Bloggers regularly write content (or posts) for a blog. Some run their own blog while others are part of a network of bloggers, such as Traveling Mom. Most bloggers make money through cost per click advertisements or referral programs.

Deliverables

Bloggers produce blog posts – informal, narrative text entries. Post formats vary but usually have a first-person point of view. Some posts include general overviews or a recap of a trip, while others share numbered lists of the best places to visit, eat, or stay in a destination. Most are accompanied by photographs taken by the blogger.

Itineraries

Because of the story-telling nature of blog posts, bloggers are looking for experiences. They want to get hands-on, knee-deep and up-close-and-personal with your destination. As you choose experiences, be sure they align with the theme or niche of their blog. Mommy bloggers want to see family-friendly stops while craft beverage bloggers would enjoy a gin-making class.

Measurement

Blogs are measured by unique visitors per month (UVM) or impressions. Bloggers commonly share posts on social media (Pinterest especially!), in newsletters and among niche networks. They may even be able to tell you the number of users that viewed a specific post.

An inside look at working with bloggers.

Influencers

Influencers are the newest content producers to the group. They are known for their loyal social media following that looks to them for recommendations and is willing to take action as a result. Some run their accounts as a side-gig while others focus on social media full-time. In some instances, influencers look to receive compensation for their content. Compensation is becoming more popular since the pandemic, as destinations and brands understand the influence of content creators, and as influencers quit their full-time jobs to focus on their content.

Deliverables

Influencers can offer a variety of deliverables: static posts, videos, ephemeral content (Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook stories), highlight reels, TikToks and going “live.” It’s important to discuss deliverables ahead of time to agree on not only the type of content they will produce but also the angle of it. Set expectations around influencers tagging your or your partners’ accounts, using the appropriate campaign hashtags and geotags. It’s important to have a discussion ahead of time of what works best for your destination, and agree on what they will produce. In addition to their social posts, some influencers also have a blog that they post on.

Itineraries

As you work through their itinerary, think visuals. Skip a world-class museum that doesn’t allow photography. Instead, pick the prettiest view of a park during the best time of day. Unlike traditional travel writers, influencers post from their personal perspective. That means the itinerary process may take longer because influencers want to be sure each spot will spark joy with them (and their followers). Be sure to build in plenty of time at and in between each location. Influencers are known to explore on their own and find a visual you didn’t even think about!

Measurement

Start with the number followers they have on their social media channels, that’s their potential reach. Then look at the engagement on their posts about your destination: comments, reactions, shares. Ask the influencer for stats on their ephemeral content that disappears after a set time.

Pro tip: For both bloggers and influencers, create packages or promo codes to help track visitation to your destination in response to a post.

Get more insights into working with influencers in our Guide to Influencer Marketing.

The post The Difference Among Travel Media appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Writing Email Marketing Newsletters

Subject Lines

Easily the #1 tip for writing a good email newsletter is to get people to open the newsletter in the first place. Keep your subject lines short, and tell people what they are going to find inside the email. There are many different resources out there on the best ways to write a captivating subject line, but in essence it comes down to three things. First, know your audience. Second, make the headline as enticing as possible (but also truthful). Third, test it out and look at the data. Several email marketing platforms offer A/B testing capabilities for subject lines, and they work well.

Calls to Action

What goes in an email newsletter? The things you want people to act on. Emails need to be timely and have something actionable. A big, bright button will do the trick, and make sure it’s linked correctly. These can be tested email by email, and some systems have A/B testing capabilities for this, too.

Data

The top-level data you’ll receive from your email service provider is open rate and click rate. Open rate lets you know how many people were interested enough in the subject line to open your email. Benchmark rates can vary, but in the tourism industry, 18-20% is an average open rate. I like to refer to this chart of benchmark email marketing rates from MailChimp. Click rate shows engagement with the email. These people opened, read and were interested enough in something to take action. For the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, click rates range from 1-3%.

Email Design

One thing to keep in mind with all digital content is to remember that the digital space is also a visual space. People are looking for information that is quick and easy to digest, so being concise in your writing and incorporating visual elements is the best way to go.

Mobile has changed the way we create digital content. The best thing about email marketing platforms is that they give you tons of data (Break The Ice Media prefers Constant Contact for consumer emails, although we have also worked with other major services). Years ago, I saw that week after week, 50% or more of our winery client’s recipients viewed our newsletter on a mobile device. I immediately redesigned their weekly email newsletter to use a mobile-friendly template. Since then, the catchphrases went from mobile-friendly to today’s mobile-first design principles.

Proofread

We’re all human. The best way to avoid typos is to have someone else look at the email, read it top to bottom, and test all the links.

Social Media Writing

Writing for social media depends on the channels you are working in, as each one its unique from each other. And yet the messaging needs to be consistent throughout all your marketing channels. Each social media platform offers another audience to reach with your key messages.

See how key messages fit into your overall marketing strategy

Messaging was a key part to building excitement and engagement in this capital campaign.

Platforms

Facebook is one of the longest-form channels, but as with all writing, you still need to keep the audience in mind. Best to keep posts to 2-3 sentences and it’s pretty common to use a few hashtags. Twitter has a 280-character limit and you can use 2-3 hashtags. Instagram posts can be longer, like Facebook, but can also do well with a simple photo description. Feel free to go wild with hashtags – but always hashtag responsibly (if you have a lot of hashtags, add them below spaces in the post or in the comments). TikTok, Instagram Reels and Facebook Stories are the latest in social media video content. Tell a story, convey your key messages, and keep words to a minimum. Let the visual do the heavy lifting on these mediums. Remember to always tag partner and stakeholder accounts whenever possible!

Data

Pay attention to what your audience likes and engages with. It’s not enough to look at the “surface” stats on your posts – dig deeper by going to the Insights on Facebook or in Creator Studio, analytics.twitter.com, analytics.pinterest.com, etc. Dig in to what is getting engagement. If you post a link and it only gets a handful of likes, that doesn’t mean your audience didn’t engage with it. Check the data to see who clicked the link! Once you dig in to the analytics, you’ll be able to see what works best for your audience.

Website Writing

We’ve built many websites for clients, in addition to updating site content and posting regular blog content. A website is a living thing, and needs to be updated continually. We love working in WordPress and we love working with our AMI partner DigiSage for website development and hosting. The best tools for data analysis are Google Analytics, Google Search Console and, occasionally, HotJar.

Audience

Always keep in mind that a customer may be new to your website and needs to know the basics. It’s very important to be clear and informative. The challenge in writing about what you do is that you know it so well – be sure to concentrate on not leaving information gaps. Fresh eyes can be a big help; once you write it, ask someone who is less familiar with your organization to read it over and see what questions they have.

Navigation is also an important part of creating website content. Help your audience find their way to the most important parts of the website. Connect the dots for them by linking the pages that go together, and let them explore their own path through the information. The more pages link to each other, the better.

Data Tools

Google Analytics has to be on your website. It just has to be there. It collects so much information, from how many people visited in a certain time period to where they came from, keywords they used, and much more. It’s free and easy to set up. A little more advanced but even more powerful is Google Search Console. Or try Hotjar.com for a heatmap of where people click and scroll on your site. It’s really cool to see what site visitors are most interested in.

Calls to Action

Call to action is the most important marketing tool out there, regardless of whether you’re working with digital content or another medium. You have to tell the audience what you want them to do. When balancing what you want to say with who you are saying it to and whether the page looks good on mobile, it can get left off. The call to action may be as simple as a contact form, or maybe it’s to download a resource, read a blog or visit additional pages for more information.

The post Writing Digital Content: Email, Social & Web appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

In 2012, Facebook added the “Boost” button on posts to simplify their advertising platform for small businesses. Unfortunately, the boost function can oversimplify Facebook’s advertising power. It simplifies the capabilities that make Facebook advertising great for destination marketers: audience targeting, campaign goals, tracking and budget control. Advertisers quickly caught on to the downfalls of the boost, and articles (like this one) are easy to find, warning against using the Boost button.

While it takes a while to get in the swing of things, with a trusted partner (ahem, like us), you can easily add Facebook Advertising to a current or upcoming promotion. Let’s cover the basics:

What to advertise on Facebook

There are several objectives to choose from. An experienced advertiser can help you pick the best objective(s) for what you want to promote. The most common for our clients are:

• Page Posts: Increase engagement (likes, comments, shares) on current posts.
• Event Attendance: Attract new people to RSVP to your Facebook event.
• Clicks to Website: Drive traffic to a specific page of your website.
• Website Conversions: Measure the actions taken on your site after people click through. This can be form submissions, adding items to a cart, check-out and more.

Elements of a Facebook ad

• Defined target audience: With Facebook’s audience tool, you can drill down to very specific geographics, demographics and interests to build an audience.
• Good visuals: These are key to catching the eye of your target audience while they’re scrolling.
• A place to go: Every call to action needs a place to send people. If you’re sending them to a website, make sure they know what they need to do when they get there.
• Pixel Code: Facebook pixels require a code placed on the website, the location depends on what you are measuring. You can run ads without the code, but without this element, you lose some opportunity for data. Namely, the data that tells you how many people did what you wanted them to do.

Other Facebook Advertising Tools

• Instagram: Facebook owns Instagram (and Whatsapp), and their ads platform allows you to place ads on Instagram. You also have the ability to advertise solely on Instagram. One issue with Instagram ads is that they don’t report metrics on likes, new followers, etc. You’ll only really see actions taken on your objective.
• Lookalike Audiences: Make your audiences more specific using Custom and Lookalike Audiences. Using these tools, target customers using spreadsheets, tracking data or activity on your Facebook page. Facebook then matches those people to Facebook profiles, and finds more people like them to make an audience that “looks” like the audience you already have. It doesn’t take long to get the lookalike audience up and running!
• Lead Generation: This tool is great for collecting lead information – names, emails, etc. – without needing to leave Facebook. Staying on the platform increases the likelihood that people will take action. One of my favorite uses is to grow email marketing lists with this tool.

Budget

Facebook requires that you allocate at least $1 per day of your campaign, per objective. If you run a “Clicks to Website” campaign, you’ll need to allocate at least $5 per day. These are the minimums, but it’s better to estimate the reach and frequency you want to achieve with your audience, or base your spend on the budget you have and the results you’re aiming for.

Learn more about Facebook advertising with us.

Contact us about the Social Media Advertising Architect – a DIY solution where we teach you how to implement your own strategic social media advertising campaigns.

The post Beyond the Boost: Digging in to Facebook Advertising appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Ah, Facebook. The social network so popular, everyone from your little cousin to your grandmother is on it. Of all the social media channels, Facebook has the biggest reach and most diverse audience. This makes it an ideal channel for almost every kind of business to find their target audience, destinations and tourism businesses included. While we dive into a few key considerations, including if paid advertising is the right fit, keep in mind they are all connected in the grand scheme.

The Algorithm

The elephant in the room, the ever-changing, elusive Facebook algorithm. The algorithm is essentially responsible for what posts you see, who the posts are from, and how often you see them. The exact calculation of the algorithm remains (and will likely continue to remain) a mystery, but we do know a few key things:

• It prioritizes posts from people over posts from businesses
• Newer posts are considered more fresh and are more likely to be seen
• Visual content and content with high engagement “lives” longer
• Facebook has used the algorithm to continually decrease the organic (unpaid) reach of business posts, with the intention of increasing the relevancy of the posts people see. This trend is ongoing for the last five years or more.
• The more people engage with posts from a person or page, the more posts they will see from that person or page.

In January 2021, Facebook finally revealed components of the algorithm.

Here is a thorough article from Hootsuite covering Facebook’s history and the algorithm revelations.

Posting Frequency

If you have a Facebook page, of course you have to post on it. But between the algorithm and the constant reports that Facebook is intentionally decreasing organic reach of businesses on Facebook, it can be hard to pinpoint the happy medium of posting. Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix or easy answer but you can use a few trial and error measurements to help you find the best balance for your page. Consider this:

• How many followers do you have? As a general best practice, pages with fewer than 10,000 – 15,000 followers don’t need to post every day.
• When is your audience online? It does no good to schedule your posts at noon if your audience is most active at 7 am and 4 pm. You can see an overview of when your audience is most active under Insights – Posts – When Your Fans are Online.
• What type of posts do best with your audience? Again check your post insights breakdown to see which posts had the most reach, engagement and clicks. Identify those pieces of content, and what was special about them. If your audience loves behind-the-scenes photos, or food recipes, increase the frequency of those posts.

Finding that sweet spot between not posting enough and posting too much can be best determined by audience engagement. Which brings us to…

Audience Engagement

If you’re curious about Facebook engagement throughout the years, and how the recent changes have affected it, Buffer has a great breakdown based on analyzing 43 million business page posts. The article concludes that regardless of content or posting frequency, business pages have seen an overall decrease in engagement. This is due to several factors, including the algorithm and an increase in competition for eyes on posts.

Audience engagement and posting frequency go hand in hand, so by analyzing the posts that do best with your audience, including content and time of posting, you’ll be able to more accurately find the happy posting medium.

Pro tip: It’s always a good idea to be responsive to the engagement you’re receiving on Facebook, and across all social channels. If someone comments, take a second and like their comment or reply something as simple as “thanks!”

Visual Content

It’s no secret that of all the types on content, visual does best on Facebook. But long gone are the days where you could put a photo in a video format to boost engagement (just kidding- that never worked). With a decrease in engagement, good content is more important than ever. But don’t stress if you don’t have time to go out and gather gorgeous photos of your destination for all seasons? Utilize existing assets, like local influencers or travel writers you’ve brought in, and ask to use their content. You can even seek out any posts of your destination or attraction and ask for permission to use the image. As long as you give credit where it’s due, re-post away!

Bonus: Using other people’s photos lends an element of credibility, which potential customers (or visitors in this case) love to see. This is also known as user-generated content or UGC.

Drone photography and video are now well-established and many vendors offer drone services. Seeing shots like the ones in the below video from I LOVE NEW YORK are striking and memorable and modern – everything we want our destinations to be.

Analytics

Facebook changed the amount of analytics it provides users this summer. While the insights information is still available, the analytics tool is no longer available. Follower count, post scheduling information, engagement and reach and other useful data is still available in the Insights tools. More data is also available through the Creator Studio, Business Suite and Facebook Ads data remains unchanged.

Facebook Ads

While this is another topic in and of itself, the consensus is Facebook is decreasing organic reach of business posts to encourage promoted posts. They want you to increase your advertising and spending more money. While it’s tempting to simply click on the Boost button, we recommend going into Ads Manager to fully take advantage of Facebook’s advertising power. It’s worth making a note that of all the options for social media marketing, Facebook ads have the most detailed targeting, and are the most affordable. You can run ads for as little as $1/ or $5/ day (depending on your goal), perfect for any small business.

The post Facebook and Tourism Marketing: Best Practices appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Optimization Strategy

Facebook offers several optimizations to choose from when running a campaign. Optimizations mean that the platform will serve the ads to the people most likely to take a certain action. So for example, if you are running a campaign that’s optimized for post engagement, Facebook will show the post to people who react to, comment and share posts.

While there are many optimization choices, for our DMO and attraction clients we focus on a top few. Keeping the goal of the promotion in mind makes selecting the right mix of optimizations easier.

• Link clicks. Drive traffic to your website page for what you’re promoting.
• Reach. This will reach the most people for your budget.
• Post engagement. Increase interactions on your post with this kind of ad.
• Event responses. Putting budget here means reaching people interested in events. And those people are your target audience. This also gives you the ability to post in the event and they’ll receive the notifications – so they’re getting more information even if they don’t like the page (yet).
• Page likes. This recently became more important to run, since the “like page” button was taken off of other kinds of ads in 2019.

Target Audience

Most destinations we work with have a solid idea of who they want to target for their promotions. It’s typically a drive-to market, so a geographic area reaching people within a 2-6 hour drive, depending on the promotion. Demographics vary based on the promotion. In tourism, women are typically the decision-makers but that isn’t always the case. We run Facebook ads for tourism around Genesee County’s golf packages program every year, and men are most likely to engage with those ads.

If you have a customer list, or leads list, you can use those to target specific individuals or to build a lookalike audience. A lookalike audience is when Facebook looks at your list, finds commonalities, then extrapolates those traits to find other users who relate to your original list. If you don’t have a list, interest-based targeting also works for tourism promotions. With the iOS 14 changes that took place earlier this year, lookalike targeting may not outperform interest-based targeting.

Measurement

Facebook automatically tracks many data points for the ads running on the platform. Measurement starts when you start building the campaign strategy. Know your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to the goals of the campaign when choosing the optimizations. If you really want link clicks, then I wouldn’t recommend only running post engagement ads. Your click results will be lower than if the ads were run with the link click optimization.

Another measurement component to keep in mind is the Facebook pixel. This requires a few more steps during setup, but can go beyond what happens on Facebook, and measure activity on your website as a result of the ads. This could be a form that people fill out, a button they click, or even a purchase they make.

Creative

The creative on Facebook ads is different from other digital ads. It’s all about the platform, so ads look like Facebook posts. There are no banner ads here and actually, highly designed images don’t do well. While Facebook did get rid of its 20% text rule earlier this year, people respond better to ads that look like native posts.

So what is in the creative? An image or visual, text in the “post,” a headline and a link. Those are the basic, main elements that you’ll see. Call to action (CTA) buttons are also a great element to add depending on optimization, and there are a selection of pre-written buttons to choose from. When making Facebook ads for tourism promotions, I recommend keeping the call to action clear in the text, supporting that with the CTA button, and using an eye-catching image or set of images.

If you’re not sure which way to go with the creative, testing can help determine between a variation on one element. If you want to test multiple variables at once, use dynamic creative, which can be used for some, not all, optimizations. I like using dynamic creative to see which combination of ad elements works best, while also testing different versions.

Want to dig in deeper? Download our ebook about getting started with Facebook advertising.

The post How to use Facebook Ads for Tourism appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

How Often to Measure

First, consider when you’re going to pull your results. It’s easy to pull it all at the end, when the campaigns are complete and the metrics are crystal-clear, but that doesn’t help you pivot and consider your strategy throughout the campaign.

Most of our clients receive monthly reports from us, but we are actually checking in on the data every 1-2 weeks, depending on the tactic. This level of scrutiny helps us understand the fluctuations as they may align to key moments in time, in order to make adjustments as needed. We also pull cumulative key metrics for longer periods of time, such as quarterly or annually, in order to spot variations and trends. Try setting up a schedule to look over your metrics regularly, in addition to a comprehensive report at the conclusion of a campaign to help determine its success.

Now, let’s break down the type of data you will be measuring, and the timeline based on the PESO model.

Measuring Paid Tactics

For paid tactics that are digital, data is provided right from the get-go. Within hours of launching a Facebook or Instagram ad, you will be able to see the number of people your ads reached and some of the early actions taken based on your campaign objectives – like link clicks, likes or shares. Even with these early insights, it can be important to let your ads run as planned without making knee-jerk reactions. These are important to monitor, but especially on Facebook, your ad may still be in the learning stage and improve as time goes on.

If you’re running digital ads, check on them each week and pull a report at the end of the month (or even slightly before) to analyze,  in order to create the next month’s plan before seeing final numbers.

For ad placements in traditional media, you’ll typically receive the data available at the end of the run. But you can ask what data is available to you and request a specific data set in your report from a media partner prior to the campaign’s end.

Measuring Earned Tactics

The data for earned tactics comes mostly from media placements. We use the Barcelona Principles for measuring media placement success on a 100-point scoring scale, and to recognize the full impact of earned media outreach campaigns. The Barcelona Principles identify the importance of goal setting, the need for outcomes instead of output-based measurement, the value of social media, and take a holistic approach to measurement and evaluation. As a measurement tool, the Barcelona Principles also help us make note of which earned placements generate the most traffic to a client’s website or social media accounts or encourage readers to complete an action such as buy a specific package or purchase tickets to an event.

Additional Earned Tactic Metrics

In addition to those scores, it can be important to consider what topics were pitched during the month, how many media you’ve reached out or responded to and what publications they represent. Look at the number of media members you’ve invited on a FAM tour, the number of individuals you’ve hosted, and the number of partners you featured on their itineraries. When working with influencers, plan out ahead of time what stats they are willing to provide and within what timeframe. Ephemeral content – such as Snapchats and Instagram stories – disappear after 24 hours, so you will want to make sure your influencers are capturing and sharing stats associated with these posts. Even for those hosted media members that may not be considered influencers, we keep track of their social media posts that mention the client, destination or partners.

While you may not pull numbers and measurement until you’re ready to report, we highly recommend reviewing any earned placements as soon as you see them. This allows you to take immediate action if a link is pointing to the wrong website, a fact needs editing, or a name is spelled wrong.

Measuring Shared Tactics

Social media analytics for shared tactics are always available, and there can be a lot of data to sort through. Consider first what metrics are available and more importantly, which are most relevant to your goals. It might be follower growth if you are looking to broaden your audience in key markets, or engagement numbers if you are looking to inspire your audience to take a specific action.

These numbers can fluctuate from week to week, but like digital ads, we recommend keeping an eye on the data each week and adjusting as needed. Monthly reports then give you a full overview. Look for other available insights – such as the breakdown of your audience by gender, age or location, as well as what type of devices people are using to browse these sites. It may also be important to note what days of the week and time of day the majority of your followers are on the platforms. Facebook will tell you how successful different types of posts – such as videos, links or photos – are with your audience. Using this data, you’ll be able to make informed decisions of what kind of content you share and when you share it.

If you have Twitter, you’ll need to activate your analytics before you can see any data at all, at Analytics.Twitter.com. And you will need an Instagram Business Profile to gain access to Instagram Insights.

Measuring Owned Tactics

Google Analytics tracks owned tactics like your website and blogs. We recommend pulling stats at least every month, although you can review your dashboard to see metrics at any time. While you will want to pull the data that relates to your specific goals, there are general insights that are often useful. For example, the number of new visitors will tell you how many people are finding your site, while the number of pages viewed per session, time spent on the site, and bounce rate will give you an idea on whether your website provides the content these users are looking for. Keep track of these numbers monthly in a chronological chart so you can spot developments and trends.

We also recommend keeping yearly data readily available in order to easily compare annual trends or spot areas to turn your attention to. For example, you may notice that your website traffic always drops during the shoulder season and picks back up a few months later.

Other Owned Tactics

Other owned tactics, such as webinars, podcasts or videos, can be measured by the number of registrants, listeners or downloads you receive in a given period. Observe what topics seem to do better than others, what speakers seem to draw in a bigger crowd, or how far out you need to promote a webinar in order to bring in enough registrations. You may also be able to pull demographic information such as the location and age of your viewers, or upon launch, how many viewers watched the presentation in its entirety or who engaged further by downloading additional resources.

For email newsletters, track the number of subscribers you have, open rates, how these relate to the subject lines, click rates and what call to actions perform the best. You will see some data immediately after the newsletter goes out – but be sure to give your newsletters a few days to settle in people’s inboxes before pulling the metrics. Measure these on a similar basis to your distribution – whether it is weekly or monthly.

Putting it All Together

Whether you are reporting for yourself, a small team or an entire board of directors, it’s important to not only keep track of these measurements but pull them together into a summary on a regular basis. Consider benchmarks or industry standards, and once your report is complete, start to analyze your metrics as they relate to the greater goals you set. Interpretation is where these data points turn into a story – and the more often you analyze these, the better you’ll get at seeing the trends in the data.

Whatever you do, choose a measuring system that makes sense for you, the size of your business, and the scope of the campaign. Results are the best way to meet your goals – but they are also key in setting sustainable goals and determining the future of your organization.

The post Measuring Marketing Campaigns appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

If you’ve been in marketing for a while, you’ve probably have heard of the rule of seven. A prospective customer or buyer needs to interact with your brand at least seven times before converting.

With multiple interactions to account for, it’s important to first understand how your audience moves through the sales funnel. This is what we call the customer journey. In its simplest form, it can be broken into three phases: before, during and after conversion. But customers are not that straightforward and there are multiple fluid steps in between.

Consider the customer journey as you create your strategic marketing plan. Before you can jump to the big sale, booking or purchase, you need to help your customer weed through the available options. What is your customer looking for in that moment, and where are they looking? Your marketing efforts and content should align to connect with customers each step of the way. And if you do a good job at it, you can turn a prospect into a brand advocate for life.

Now let’s walk through marketing examples for each step of a customer journey. Customers act differently across industries and can even differ among organizations within the same industry. This exercise will give you a jumping off point for your own marketing strategy.

Awareness

The top of the funnel, or beginning of a customer journey, starts with awareness. This is when a prospect looks for an item, service or organization to fill a need. Awareness happens in a few ways:

• Recommendations: The most traditional way is asking a friend, family member or coworker for a recommendation. Now, Facebook makes it easy to pose the question to your larger network, even filtering where your recommendations come from. In hopes of your brand being the one people recommend, read on through loyalty.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): For much faster results, many people turn to Google. To have your website show up near the top of the pack, focus on your website content. How can you help potential customers? Create landing pages dedicated to specific offerings or audiences. Draft blog posts that dive deep into one topic or highlight a variety of your assets (like “10 family-friendly attractions”). Be sure to include common keywords and phrases that people search for.
• Search Engine Marketing: Taking it a step further, your website can show up for specific search terms by executing a paid search strategy or Search Engine Marketing (SEM). This should be considered in conjunction with SEO so that once potential customers get to your website, they are satisfied with the helpful content you provide.
• Earned Media: Pitching, press releases and hosting writers can lead to media placements. Third-party articles add to your credibility and customers’ trust. Publicity stunts or unique offerings may go “viral,” reaching potential customers before they even know they wanted to go cow cuddling.
• Facebook Advertising: Awareness campaigns are optimized to appear to those in your target audience that are most likely to remember your ads. You can create your audience around geographies, demographics, interests and even actions such as “planning a trip.”

In the traveler’s journey, this phase is called inspiration. It is when travelers picture what their next trip could look like. During the pandemic, most travelers were consuming content that allowed them to day-dream of future travel, such as inspirational videos, slide shows and virtual tours.

Consideration

The next step of the customer journey is consideration. This is when customers give careful thought to your brand – or begin planning a trip – and start to narrow down options. Help them through the process with these tactics:

• Retargeting Advertising: This step falls in between awareness and consideration and helps keep potential customers interested. Using a tracking pixel, you’re able to track all users to your website, or specific page(s) on your website. You can then serve them digital banner ads on other websites that they visit. Because these users have already shown initial interest in your product or destination, we recommend linking these ads to a landing page a little further into the funnel – such as a ticket purchase or booking page.
• Visitors Guide: As travelers begin to consider different destinations, they will likely turn to visitors guides to review options. Make your visitors guide easily accessible online – since everyone is spending more time than usual on their devices.
• Blogs: Blogs can give visitors an idea of what to expect at your destination and can help with planning. Consider roundups of best hikes, must-try restaurants or “Top 15 Things to do in the Fall.”
• FAQs & Planning Tools: How can your website assist visitors with planning or customers with purchasing? Pages with Frequently Asked Questions help buyers understand the experience, especially with new regulations put in place. Trip planning functions allow visitors to picture their visit. Such as the ability to map out routes to specific attractions or selecting which assets they are most interested in visiting. Users may also skim itineraries (“72 Hours in X Destination”) for inspiration of how to fill their time.
• Social Media: First, have your social media channels linked to and from your website. Customers want to be able to see themselves in your destination or with your product. Highlight the experience in posts. Share pictures of food dishes and hotel rooms, or amateur videos from people at your most popular festival. They also look at reviews and your response, and browse for any promotions or packages that could sway them towards a decision.

Purchase

This is the step where your customer makes a purchase, converts or books. Consider how these tactics fit into your marketing strategy:

• Website or Booking Agent: Make sure the purchase process is as simple as possible. Write clear and concise instructions on how to book a room, make a tasting reservation or purchase tickets so you don’t fall victim to cart abandonment.
• Add-on Experiences: While they are looking to book, consider promoting additional experiences your customer may be interested in. Think packages, private tours, and upgraded tasting flights.
• Customer Service: Some may not consider customer service as part of your “marketing mix” but it’s important to have people ready to assist customers with booking or with questions before doing so. These days, there are plenty of ways for buyers to reach out for help – over the phone, website, via email and through all social media channels. You may consider automated messaging through Facebook Messenger or creating a chatbot on your website to help field requests.
• Itineraries: Once a visitor has made their decision, they are ready to start filling their time. Have itineraries available to download for inspiration or with the ability to purchase as a package.
• Newsletter: Once customers have purchased (and subscribed to hear from you), send them helpful content. You may create a packing list, shoot a short welcome video or include blog posts related to their interests.

Yes, you got a customer! While this step is important, the journey is not yet over.

Delivery

This is the step where you now deliver on your brand promise. In the case of a visitor, it is where they come and experience your attraction or destination. When the experience aligns with expectations, this step is likely to lead to retention – a visitor that would come back again.

• Front line Staff: One of the first (and some may say most important) ways that visitors interact with a destination are through your front line staff. Included are front desk staff, servers at a restaurant, even Uber drivers picking up visitors at the airport. Host training sessions or create e-learning platforms to empower these individuals to provide a great guest experience. Make sure they’re armed with recommendations on places to go and information on how to get there.
• Website: Keep your website updated with available offerings, restaurants open for dine-in or take-out service, hours and updated experiences at attractions, etc. In addition to helping potential visitors in the planning phase, your website can act as a hub of information for visitors currently in-market.
• App: Travel apps help visitors get around and can provide similar (if not more) information to your destination website. They may also include fun content or challenges – like tasty ice cream trails, passport programs, trivia to stay busy during down-times or virtual scavenger hunts around town.
• Social Media: Visitors may use social media for destination updates, ideas on activities or events taking place, or to double-check that a restaurant or attraction is open. Real-time posts allow visitors to act in the moment. Use Facebook or Instagram Stories to showcase what’s happening in the moment, like a farmer’s market or dinner special. Be prepared to answer questions that may come up.
• In-Market Marketing: Consider advertising and signage around town directing people to open attractions or events. Not only does this help a visitor while they’re in your destination, but locals are a prime target audience as travel slowly starts to reopen. Set up fun photo ops or interactive activities around town, like the Strong National Museum of Play zones found in the Rochester airport.

Loyalty

Loyalty is the last step of the customer journey. It may also be called advocacy or sharing, and can influence a future buyer’s journey.

• Surveys: Once a customer has experienced your product or brand, follow-up with a survey to see what they think. Ask how likely they are to recommend you to others and if they have any feedback. Use this input to improve the customer journey for others. You may learn that you need to set better expectations during the planning phase or to share clearer directions in the delivery phase. Once a customer completes a survey, you may send them a discount to your store or put them into a drawing for a giveaway.
• Membership: Share the ways visitors can continue to enjoy your attraction or product by becoming a member. You may even offer to apply the admission they already paid towards the cost of membership. Thank them for joining with welcome swag or a list of member-only virtual events.
• Reviews: Don’t be shy, ask visitors to leave a review! Direct them to your Facebook page, website, Google business page, Yelp or Tripadvisor. Be sure to follow up to any less-than-positive feedback and thank users for leaving glowing reviews.
• Testimonials: Take it a step further and ask parties for testimonials. A little more formal than reviews, testimonials can be used on your website, in visitors guides and in future marketing videos.
• Social Media: Encourage visitors to tag your destination or partners when they post about their visit on social media. When appropriate (and with permission), share their photos and videos to inspire a future visitor.
• Word of Mouth: As a marketer, you have little control over word of mouth. But if you’ve successfully navigated a customer through their journey and gave them plenty of cool reasons to share, chances are, they will be willing to talk you up to their friends and family.

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