What Travel Advisors Need to Know About Calls to Action

When it comes to marketing, most travel advisors understand the importance of a call to action (CTA). In every medium, whether it be social media, blog post, website, or newsletter, advisors need to let their clients and prospects know what their next action should be. Though CTAs are as important as they’ve always been, the traditional, assertive CTA like “book now” is taking a backseat to more nuanced approaches.

Travel Market Report reached out to the experts at The Abbi Agency, a marketing and public relations firm that works with several travel destinations, to find out how travel advisors should use CTAs in today’s world to best resonate with where prospects are along their travel planning journey.

Change up your CTAs
There will always be a place for “book now” and “call now” messaging, but they should no longer be the only CTAs advisors use, Allegra Demerjian, client success director and Dani Hannah, senior account manager, told TMR.

There are no hard and fast rules about how many times you should use these traditional-style CTAs in a week. What’s most important is that you’re not hitting your prospects and clients over the head with sales messages every single time. Salesy CTAs – like “book now” or “call to book” – are often not the right message for the prospects you’re reaching.  

“One of the things we caution our clients about is getting too aggressive or thinking of calls to action as ‘nice to meet you, book a trip,'” Demerjian told TMR. “Not every traveler is at a phase where they’re ready to book right then.”

In many cases, even if a prospect is intrigued by a destination, a package, or a deal that you’ve brought to their attention, they might still need questions answered before they’re ready to consider booking.

“As an advisor, you want to be that resource helping answer those questions,” she said.

Even the slightly less aggressive “call now,” might not be where a prospect is at.

“Maybe ask them to compare Royal Caribbean with a few other cruise lines and you do a blog post comparing them, to help give them that context,” Demerjian added. “Then you can push calls to action like ‘learn more’ or ‘read more,’ and you’re building more of an authentic relationship and getting ready to queue up the ‘book now’ down the line.”

Subtle CTAs
Another good CTA for someone who isn’t yet ready to book is “picture yourself here.” This helps start the dreaming phase. Just make sure you’re leading your prospect to content that will help them picture themselves there. Don’t use a softer call to action like that and then lead them to anything that comes across as salesy.

Hannah described a campaign she recently helped Carmel-by-the-Sea with as an example.

“Essentially it’s a video series showing all of these Carmelites and their different jobs and cultural activities,” she said. “And the calls to action weren’t aggressive or overly obvious. Some of them were ‘find your inspiration’ and it would take you to a sample itinerary. Or another is ‘check out the menus.'”

Particularly on social media, Hannah added that advisors don’t always need to drive followers to go somewhere.

“You always want to be driving that next point of engagement, so maybe it’s ‘share a memory’ or ‘share a picture in the comments below,'” she said.

CTA language matters
Here’s something many advisors might not know. If you use a “call now” CTA, you’re actually chasing away younger prospects.

“Millennials and Gen Z hate picking up the phone,” Demerjian told TMR. “There are so many stats out there. If they can text, email, or do anything virtually, they’re way more likely to actually complete that call to action than if you’re asking them to pick up the phone.”

If you don’t want to be specific, you can use something like “contact me,” and have that CTA lead people to a list of all the different ways you’re reachable.

“Make sure that the audience can reach out to you in whatever medium they’re comfortable with… whatever it is, but just not pigeonholing them into one way because then they will go find someone else who will offer them the way that they prefer,” she said.

Match your CTA to funnel stage
Understanding where your prospects are in their journey, not only in terms of travel planning, but also in their relationship to you can help guide your decisions about which CTAs to use and when.

“If they [prospects] are getting an email from a travel advisor, that is an audience that’s already engaged and looking to this person for information,” Hannah said. “They’re at a different phase in the marketing flywheel. Unlike someone on social who they [advisors] may be using ad dollars to target them and try to get them aware.”

In the former case, advisors can be more aggressive with their CTAs. In the latter, not so much. As Hannah suggested, this is particularly important if you are advertising on social media. The CTA you use on a post you’re using as an ad should not be the same as a post in your private Facebook group.

“If you’re using an advertisement and it’s kind of introductory – we call that the dreaming stage – where someone is still high level… you’re going to want to be aspirational. You want to pull them into that experience,” Demerjian said. “It’s a lighter touch.”