Is It Time to Purchase Digital Ads?

Social media giants like Facebook are squeezing organic reach for small business owners to less than one percent of your followers, but that doesn’t mean travel agents should give up entirely on social media.

With some targeted goals and a little planning, travel agents can generate sales leads that could easily pay for a modest social media marketing campaign.

In an exclusive study conducted and published by Travel Market Report, 87 percent of professional advisors said they are using social media to gain new clients, while 77 percent say they use these platforms to position themselves as experts, and 74 percent say it’s a tool to market to existing customers.

Despite these goals, only half of the respondents to the Travel Market Report survey say they run paid ads. This might be a missed opportunity, because social media advertising tools can help businesses effectively and efficiently target ideal clients by demographics.

Some 65 percent of American consumers told Blue Fountain Media that they like that social media ads show them products that they are interested in and wouldn’t have found otherwise. (The company recently surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers between the ages of 18-55.)

When asked what they like the most about social media ads, 45 percent of respondents said paid social ads introduce them to new products and services they wouldn’t have found otherwise. Some 20 percent said that they like seeing ads of products and services that they are genuinely interested in, and 3 percent feel that social media ads make life easier.

Not surprisingly, Facebook is the number one advertising platform, both for consumers and travel agents. Blue Fountain Media found that 38 percent of consumers are most likely to click on a Facebook ad, while 37 percent would click on an Instagram ad. Another 14 percent said they would click on a YouTube ad.

According to the Travel Market Report study, 50 percent of advisors paying for social advertising are doing so on Facebook, with only 10 percent paying for ads on Instagram, and just 3 percent of advisors using paid advertising on YouTube.

Be strategic
Attracting ideal clients and reaching existing customers through targeted advertising is relatively simple through the Ad Manager platform provided by Facebook, but it still requires a strategy.

Choosing which suppliers and destinations to sell, and narrowing down your target audience to a client persona potentially interested in those vacations, comes first. When you are building a Facebook ad, you can target Facebook users by geography and a host of other demographics, interests, hobbies, etc. This will help make your ads more relevant, decrease your campaign costs, and increase conversion to whatever call to action your ad poses to the viewer.

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Being strategic will increase the likelihood that you will attract the right clients, and most importantly, engage them in a manner that will direct them into your sales funnel. This means that advisors need to become savvier about targeting their “ideal client” by using tools like Facebook’s audience targeting tools.

According to Blue Fountain Media, 31 percent of respondents said ads targeting them by demographics do not bother them, while 29 percent said they are in favor of companies targeting them by demographics if that will mean more relevant ads.

However, 23 percent of respondents said they felt that ads targeting by demographics “is a creepy way of advertising,” and 15 percent responded that they don’t like being targeted based on their race or gender.

Get creative
Travel advisors should use high-quality, compelling photos and video in their ads, to help cut through the clutter. Of those consumers surveyed, 46 percent told Blue Fountain Media they see 1-5 ads a day, while 26 percent say they see 5-20 ads a day. Some 13 percent say they receive more than 20 ads a day on their feeds.

If you are going to spend money on an ad, make certain that your photos or video aren’t “visual wallpaper” fading into the background. Check your business’ Facebook newsfeed to see which organic posts (with photos that match what you are trying to sell) have had high historical engagement. That might mean the photos or videos will be more compelling for your ad.

Travel advisors looking to grab attention on social platforms should be honing their video marketing skills. According to Blue Fountain Media, 31 percent of consumers said they enjoyed video ads the most, followed by “eye-catching ads” (25 percent), and product ads utilizing the platform’s “Shop Now” feature (22 percent).

Importantly, to leverage paid social advertising effectively, you want users to click from Facebook or Instagram to some kind of relevant content that will engage them, and optimally give you permission to contact them.

Some 69 percent of consumers want to visit a company’s website before buying a product off of their social feed, Blue Fountain Media found. Only 10 percent will just click and buy a product (a percentage that is very likely substantially lower for large-ticket purchases like vacations). Twenty-one percent say they will never buy through a social media ad.

Agents should have a specific web page (not your homepage) that describes a travel experience the consumer is interested in, and that is directly linked to the ad both through text and visuals.

Alternatively, you could create a landing page with some kind of content, like an eBook, that provides the prospect with useful and relevant information demonstrating both your expertise and the value you can uniquely provide as a professional travel advisor. The prospect would obtain this lead magnet by providing their email address, and potentially answering a question or two that helps you decide if they are a high-quality prospect.

Don’t promote sales
The internet is notorious for being a source of travel “tire kickers.” According to Blue Fountain Media, 36 percent of respondents to its survey say discounts are the biggest motivation to buy a product. One out of three consumers said the actual product is what motivates them to make a purchase.

Advisors need to be careful about what they promote in paid advertising. If you use Facebook to advertise a special discount promotion from one of your preferred suppliers, you likely will attract clients looking to see if you can get them a price lower than they can obtain from the online travel agencies, or companies like Costco.