Within the last decade, social media changed the way we communicate, connect, and, yes, travel.
According to Statista, 36.5 percent of people use social media for travel inspiration and ideas, and 60 percent share photos on social media while traveling. Each week, more than 1 million travel-related hashtags are searched, so whether we're planning to travel or vacationing, travel and social media are connected.
Even though social media keeps us connected to family while on vacation and offers a space for instant reviews, these online platforms have had negative consequences like overtourism, highlighting how social media's impact on travel is complicated.
To gather more insight, we spoke with leaders in the travel industry to get their take on how social media platforms affect the way we travel today.
Travel Agents
Tammy Levent, CEO of Elite Travel and founder of TASK, says, "Social media has helped [travel agents] grow our industry. We have a stronger presence than ever before."
Passport Online, a company that posts social media content for travel agents, found that Facebook shares for travel agents were up 44 percent over the first six months of last year, and in 2018, engagement on social media channels was up over 100 percent from 2017.
"You have agents that have built their entire business on social media and have a great amount of followers, [which] is crucial when you have such great competition on social media," Levent explains. "The longevity of constant material, blogs, posts, video and photos are the key to building your agency with social media. Creating a space of shares and likes with great content has grown many agencies."
Despite how great social media can be, Levent says that it isn't the only key to success: "Some agents rely on social media alone to build their business and it is not a wise move, they need to be seen on all platforms…Their brand, marketing efforts, along with a website has to work together. Customers still need to be assured they are working with a legitimate company."
As the founder of TASK, Travel Agent Success Kit, Levent has found that Google outpaces social media in terms of travel agents connecting with consumers. Though, if agents are looking to utilize social media, she has found that Facebook is the best platform to engage with consumers.
Travel Public Relations
Thanks to social media, travel brands are no longer limited to print media. It provided a new place to share campaigns and ads that could be targeted to specific travelers all with the click of a button.
"With the rise of social sharing and the correlating desire for experiences over material items (in particular by millennials), social media has become the go-to destination for travel-related decision making," says Allison Focella, Senior Digital Strategist at TURNER, a PR and social media agency that represents tourism boards like Bermuda Tourism Authority, adventure tour companies like REI Adventures, and hotels like The Lodge at Chaa Creek in Belize.
On the marketing side of things, Focella says that social media analytics has been a game-changer and saves travel brands significant time and money, while providing customers with travel ads that are more specific to their needs.
"Social media's analytics allow much more targeted delivery and measurement, but they also often help us target our PR programs more effectively by showing us which types of editorial content is driving real-world results, allowing us to be more effective with our time and messaging," she says.
"In older PR metrics, we'd measure success by securing an article in a high-circulation publication; but in today's environment, we can show when a much smaller niche outlet article was shared, engaged, and clicked substantially more in the social world, allowing for direct measurement of a PR placement on business goals."
From TURNER's perspective, brands do best with social media when they use it as it was meant to be used - as a place to connect.
"Social works best when brands think of it as a collaboration with their customers, rather than a one-way sales channel," Focella explains. "Developing the right social strategy based on business goals and users' behaviors is key, therefore we use a hybrid approach of organic social, custom content development, influencer programming and paid social media."
Perhaps the best thing social media has done is "level the playing field somewhat and allow small, independent, boutique brands to compete against much larger established brands with significant marketing budgets," according to Focella.
Small charming B&Bs and locally-owned hotels who couldn't afford to put ads in travel magazines now have a fighting chance to connect with tourists who are searching for those localized places to stay on social media.
Adventure Travel Companies
Intrepid Travel is the largest small-group adventure travel company in the world and they didn't get that way without using social media.
"Social media is incredibly important as a customer service channel for us, as well as a customer engagement, one that serves up education and inspiration for our community," says Amanda Cunningham, Intrepid Travel's Global Social Media Specialist.
Like with the tourism and hospitality sectors, Intrepid Travel employs social media's marketing capabilities to reach new customers and spread brand awareness, but unlike other travel brands, they do so with the intent to make travel more sustainable and responsible.
"We're aware that social media has also made the world smaller, in a way that has both positive and negative consequences," says Cunningham. "The ability to tag locations in images can bring disproportionate attention to destinations ill-prepared for tourism - and even contribute to overtourism."
As Cunningham mentioned, geo-tagging on social media has hurt some destinations like the Galapagos and many national parks around the world. Social media users, enticed by stunning photos, descend upon these destinations, leaving in their wake, disastrous damage to the ecosystem and community. Intrepid Travel tries to battle the negative effects of social media with responsible posts.
"We've been able to use our platforms to shine a light on lesser-known regions, to dispel travel misconceptions, and spread awareness of responsible travel initiatives," explains Cunningham.
In the past year, they used social media to announce new initiatives like being the first global tour operator to ban elephant rides on tours and shared authentic travel stories from people like Annette, founder of a body positive community, Fat Girls Traveling.
"We don't want to just be the best travel company in the world, we want to be the best travel company FOR the world. So, whether it's teaming up with influencers or brands who care as much as we do about sustainable and inclusive travel, it's fair to say our focus on people and the planet is only going to amplify in 2020," says Cunningham.
Hotels
Diana Trowbridge, Vice President, Owner & Franchise Relations + Brand, Marketing & Digital for Marriott International Caribbean & Latin America says that it isn't merely enough for hotels to be on social media.
"Simply having a social media presence is no longer enough; as a company we need to be social media savvy," she says. "Customer service expectations are rising year over year and consumers are looking to brands to create a seamless experience that spans the hotel property to the Facebook or any other timeline."
Due to social media, a hotel's customer service is no longer limited to what happens on the hotel property. Rather, customer service includes in-person interactions and the interactions between hotels and consumers on social platforms. When a consumer tweets a complaint, there is now an expectation for hotels to remedy the situation immediately, which is a large task when hotels have to manage multiple social media accounts and service tens of thousands of customers.
However, Marriott International has stepped up to the challenge.
"With so many consumers using different social media platforms every day, it was a natural evolution for Marriott to use digital channels as a marketplace, where we can target potential customers where they are spending their time," she adds.
As we enter a new decade, Trowbridge explains that Marriott is always looking for new ways that social media can be used to improve customer experience: "We are looking to find ways to connect with our guests, to listen to their feedback, and to help them have amazing, memorable travel experiences. Social media helps us do that."
Travel Bloggers & Social Influencers
Travel bloggers rose to prominence with the introduction of sites like WordPress and Blogger, but there is no denying that social media has had a hand in their ongoing success.
Today, travelers look to travel bloggers and social travel influencers (which are not always one and the same) for travel inspiration. Popular travel blogger Jasmine Alley explains, "Social media has given travel bloggers a new outlet to creatively share their travels. Whether it's through photos, videos, tweets, etc., social media allows us to curate a portfolio of our travels."
Social media has also created an opportunity for people like Alley to start their own business.
"For me, social media has actually enabled me to be a full-time travel blogger," Alley says. "Tourism boards, hotels, etc. reach out about travel opportunities because of my social media presence."
Travel brands like tourism boards and hotels pay travel bloggers to post content on social media platforms in order to entice the travel blogger's massive followers to visit. Because of this new method of marketing, bloggers and social influencers make full-time wages in a career that didn't exist 10 years ago.
"As I continue to build my blog, the income I earn from social media lets me travel whenever the opportunity arises," says Alley.
In looking ahead, Alley predicts platforms that involve photos and videos will continue to be the most effective in the travel industry.
"TikTok provides an easy way to compile travel videos, so I think it will be a big player," she says. "Additionally, anything where people can share reviews will probably be effective. People want to see what a place looks like and what they should know beforehand, so they feel prepared."
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