Build Your Field of Dreams: Part I

The vast majority of travel agents today agree that the biggest challenge to becoming successful is marketing their business. This is perhaps, in part, why nine out of 10 people who come into the travel agent business ultimately leave. How can you keep from becoming another sad statistic?

We have all heard of the expression, if we build it, they will come. Anyone who has run a successful travel agency business knows that this is often far from reality. Simply starting your own travel business and building a website hoping your customers will find you is certainly not the best way to set yourself up for success. Building a website is only the first step toward becoming a successful agent in today’s marketplace — you need tools to drive traffic and bookings.

At Agent Studio we give you all the tools you need to succeed, but you have to open your toolbox and use the tools available to you!

Tool #1: Integrated Social Media and Shareable Content. Seamless integration of social media is built right into your Agent Studio website so that sharing relevant content is as simple as a click of a mouse. Using social media is one of the easiest ways to market your website and grow your business. But remember, people don’t like to feel like they are being sold something. So before you run off and tweet, like or share that “I’m a travel agent, book with me,” think about the content on your website and whether it would interest your customers. This is known as shareable content. Agent Studio provides you with lots of shareable content that is automatically updated — including guides to over 600 destinations and 40 to 50 new travel-related news items every day. Your website will be a rich source of travel information and deals for clients and prospects.

Reinforce your expertise as a travel professional by leveraging your website’s content on social media. With your Agent Studio site, you can now tell your clients, “As a travel professional I would like to share something that I thought would be of interest to you.”

Instead of getting a promotional pitch from you, your friends, family and customers receive interesting information about travel that is relevant to their interests. When they click on that information, they are directed to YOUR WEBSITE.

This is what successful travel agent Katherine Brock of www.totalexcursion.com says about her Agent Studio-powered website: “I would have to spend 100 hours a week to maintain all of the content on my site if it weren’t for Agent Studio. I love how I have the ability with a couple of mouse clicks to send my message with my brand to a targeted audience. Having a branded site that is well laid out with built-in social media and the ability to showcase my blogs means a lot to my customers. They know they are getting professionalism and personal attention from someone who is knowledgeable and cares about their needs — unlike booking with Expedia or Orbitz.”

Many of the successful travel agents I have talked to also like to use a tool called hootsuite.com. It costs $5 a month and allows you to schedule tweets throughout the day. If your social media accounts are all linked together, your tweets will show up on your Facebook as well as your twitter feed. This is one of the easiest ways to drive traffic to your website, and it costs you virtually nothing.

When you have the technology and tools you need to succeed, you can focus on selling more travel! At Agent Studio, we are dedicated to supporting you, the travel agent, to help you build a thriving business. Your Agent Studio website can help you succeed in doing that. Be sure to check out next month’s column to learn about more Agent Studio tools that will help you to build your business!

Visit www.agentstudio.com