Before we dive into the
Digital Marketing, let’s get a brief idea about the travel and tour industry.
See, we can’t really ignore the fact the TATI (Travel and Tour Industry) is one
of the biggest growing industries in the whole world.
The industry alone creates more than 300 million jobs worldwide, everywhere, and the count just keeps on adding. Not to forget another impressive number, it generates more than $7 trillion every year. No, doubt Travel and Tourism is helping countries to boost their economy. In fact, many countries in South-East Asia depend on tourism.
But what’s the reason for the continuous growth in the industry?
Well, there are numbers of
factors which are contributing to the growth of the industry, some major factor
includes, cheaper transportation and flights, various options on accommodation,
and so on. But we think the internet is playing a significant role here.
There are likely more than 4 billion internet users worldwide; the
figure is impressive itself. So, to market your product to the right person if
you know how to use the tool is like a piece of cake. Gone are the days when
you had to market your product printing brochures and pamphlets. We still do
those things but just for the sake of formality.
So, when you can reach millions and billions of people who can be interested in your product, this is the most excellent way to promote your services or products.
Now let’s break the vague terms and know what Digital Marketing is?
Digital Marketing, well,
don’t be overwhelmed with the term. It’s a basic idea of marketing your product
using technologies. Technologies like mobile phone, display ads, and any other
digital medium. Internet, however, takes the biggest share when it comes to
digital marketing.
So, the basic idea of digital
marketing is to use a channel to create, accelerate, and transmit product value
on the digital platform to ultimately reach the targeted audience. This
involves methods like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM),
Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing, and so on, to name a few.
There are different digital marketing communication options too. Options like Website, Social Media, Mobile Marketing, Internet Specific Ads and Videos, Microsites, Search Ads, Online Communities, Interstitials, Blog, and Email are widely used all over the world.
What Digital Marketing Changed?
Digital Marketing is a dream
platform for advertisers. This has really allowed marketers to put their
messages right at the fingertips of potential customers. Digital citizens might
close the ad or skip it, but if they are really interested on something, then
they might watch the promoted content and click the action button.
It’s all about reaching the right persons, as they term it ‘targeted audience.’ So, if you target your content to the right people, the chances of turning it in to sell are likely more than 40%. Sound like a dream, but it’s true.
So, How Digital Marketing Really Helping the Tours and Travel Industry?
We assume, by now, you have a
slight idea of how digital marketing works and what should be really done to
reach the right customer. It’s through targeting the audience while promoting
your content or product.
When you have done all those
things right, then comes the crucial part – “Story Telling.”
Be it a traditional method or digital, if you don’t a sellable story don’t
expect action from a user or a customer.
In the travel industries, the very idea of story-telling plays a major role. According to one of the travel experts, Greg Oat, “tourism bureaus are describing their individual neighborhoods much better…The neighborhood-centric focus does a lot of things. It delineates the selling points of a destination in a more nuanced way, broadens the identity of the destination for more diverse audiences, customizes the destination experience for individual viewers, and answers the demand for authentic local travel.”
Digital Marketing changing the face of Tours and Travels Industry
Apart from essential aspects,
three significant factors which are on the rise to change the face of tours and
travel industry are:
- The Use of the Mobile Device: Digital era has come a long way; the use of mobile phones is on
the rise, and the situation is no different for tours and travel industry. With
the advancement of technology, people instead choose to book their flights and
hotel via phones than going to a hassle of calling an agent. Moreover, tempting
offers and deals excite people to travel. For instance, a friend of mine
recently went on a trip to Thailand. When I asked him, what was your motive,
all he answered was, “I got around ticket at a dirt-cheap price from one of the
leading ticket booking websites.”
It has become relatively easier for promoters to target people
following the rise of mobile phone users. Not only flights but people can now
dive in the world of humongous options for accommodations. Comparing prices was
never easier; the deal and offers are endless on the internet, which users
don’t want to go and search in some physical locations — everything on the fingertips.
- Research of the place: When you are planning a trip to some exotic places, of course,
you would like to see the place first on the internet. See what’s interesting
about the place, what kind of people and shop are you likely going to find when
you get there, what you should do and don’t. You love to read everything.
Similarly, just like we mentioned earlier, storytelling plays a very vital role when promoters really want to attract visitors to their place. For instance, just think why Bali is so famous? Because they are the leaders when it comes to storytelling. Even if you haven’t read much about the place, you must have heard from friends or colleagues the place is beautiful, the food is cheap, people are friendly, the islands are great, and the beaches are lovely!
So, it’s all about the storytelling which people like to read,
leaving them to want to visit the place as soon as possible.
- Social Media Influence: The power of social media can’t be undermined here. Social media plays a big role when it comes to influencing people. Travel and Tour Industry is doing it for a while now as promoters are targeting social media celebrities to promote their products or services.
This is one of the easiest ways to reach millions of people. Travel photos and videos often accompanied by captions recollecting the memories of the place is what makes people more eager to embark on their next trip to some new places.
Some Strategies to help you grow your tours and travels agency/company
Since we have some basic jargon of digital marketing, let’s find out about some of the strategies, and how they can help you grow your business.
Search Engine Optimization Marketing (SEOM): Search engine optimization is one of the most crucial steps when it comes to online marketing your tour packages. With proper optimization on the website, sellers or companies can reach their customers with ease.
When it comes to search engines, Google is the most used and preferred search engine by the customers, however, there are plenty of other options for people like Bing, and DuckDuckGO.
So when it comes to optimizing your website for search engine, you have to play with certain keywords and know about the latest things which are trending atm, and not to forget the niche as it plays a very vital role when it comes to showing your product or package on the first or second page of the search engine.
Website or Application Marketing:
Well, certainly when you want to place your tour or trek package on the
internet, you will need a place to properly advertise your product, which
people can trust and validate the authenticity.
So, if you have your own website for your tours and travels company, there are mainly two benefits: 1) People can easily reach to your product and 2) People will find the sellers authentic as the presence of a domain or an app of your company on the internet provides you with authority.
Content Marketing: You have covered your travel app or website, you have optimized your website for the search engines, now it’s time to create better content for your customer.
Like we mentioned earlier, you need to be a better storyteller when creating content for your customers. If you could tap into the emotion of your customers, people are kind of obliged to buy or book their next trip from your company.
And most importantly, give all the information
people want to see or know when they go on a trip from your agency.
Social Media Marketing: This is the age of social media. Like we mentioned earlier, social media plays a very vital role as it inspires people to travel more when they see other people traveling. It creates a phenomenon called FOMO (fear of missing out) people love to do or go places they see on social media.
So with right strategies,
travel and tour company tempt people to buy their packages. But again! Don’t
give them false hopes.
Email Marketing: Newsletter may seem like a thing of no importance for many people, but it plays a very vital role. Creating a newsletter targets your most potential clients. So make an email list of people, or make them signup them your newsletter so you can send promotional emails which will tempt them to buy or at least view your packages.
Conclusion
Tours and travel industry is one of the biggest growing sectors in the whole world. There are many factors which are providing to the growth of the sector, but among all the internet plays a very vital role.
When we said the internet, it basically means digital marketing. Different websites and apps pop up every other day, offering you very cheap deals on flights or accommodations. You can choose from hundreds of thousands of options.
Moreover, the internet plays a crucial role when people want to visit some new places. They can search and know more about the place, people, and culture. So, Digital Marketing plays a vital role for Tours and Travels Industry in today’s world.
The post How Digital Marketing changed the Travel and Tourism Industry? appeared first on Niranjan Patel.