digital branding hacks for travel agencies to attract millennial travelers
TRANSCRIPT
What is the world’s fastest growing travel segment? Millennials! According to Expedia (2013) study, millennials travel more frequently as compared to baby boomers, generation X or generation Z. For travel agents it is necessary to appeal to the GenY fraternity. Know that millennials avoid conventional communication channels – they are digital consumers.
DIGITAL BRANDING HACKS FOR
TRAVEL AGENCIES TO CHARM MILLENNIALS
MILLENNIAL TRAVELERS
Ask travel questions via smartphones
Focused more on delightful experiences
International destinationsare valuable
They believe inwork-life balance
GenY loves reviewingeverything online
They haveadventurous
instincts
They like immersiveculture exploration
WHAT MILLENNIALS WANT FROM TRAVEL AGENCIES?
Convenience
Discount deals
Experienced advisors
Trust-worthiness
Long-term association
Millennials aged 18 to 24 own a smartphone
Americans (13 to 34) are snapchatters
Searches on Google are via mobile devices
Of digital time is spent on cell phones
MUST KNOW FACTS
60%
50%
85%
54%
THE DIGITALSPHERE
DIGITAL BRANDING TECHNIQUESFOR TRAVEL AGENCIES
Website
Social Media
Micro-blogs
Blogs
Forum
Mobile Apps
Virtual Reality
CHALLENGES
Escalating competition
Oodles of data volumesEver-enhancing digital channels
TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
• Save user’s time and avoid infinite scrolling on website• Embrace multi-page sites and limit buttons on mobile version• Make responsive web designs to cater to all GenY travelers• Develop a design style according to your travel business niche • Use millennial-centric keywords to optimize your travel website
WEBSITETRAVEL DESTINATIONS
• Be on Foursquare, Google Review, Pan Travels • Post local travel articles on your blog • Take advantage of user-generated content
LOCALIZE
• Use Facebook Canvas for your travel agency visual story• Share clients’ testimonials and experiences• Write travel micro-posts on LinkedIn and Medium • Start twitter hashtags to promote your brand• Put sneak peek images of hot deals on Instagram• Reveal travel tips and tricks via infographics on Pinterest• Run single-day Snapchat contests for promo codes
SOCIAL MEDIA
DIGITAL BRANDING TECHNIQUESTarget millennial’s demands, and be where they are!
TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
• Build an app to store and share travel information with clients• Promote travel agency brand by customizing app experience
MOBILE APPS
TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
• Take clients on a virtual tour to destinations and hotels• Hand out Google VRiew headset to promote travel agency
VIRTUAL REALITYTRAVEL DESTINATIONS
Check out: Thomas Cook campaign – Try Before You Fly
LAST MINUTE TIPS• Show your brand is as alive as its target market• Recognize the millennial purchasing revolution • Personalize online responses for engagement
SOURCES: http://en.destinationcanada.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Resources/millenial/mtp_backgrounder_businesspartnership_final_en-links.pdfhttps://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/travel-trends-4-mobile-moments-changing-consumer-journey.htmlhttp://blog.virtuoso.com/traveler_trends/5-trends-know-today-millennial-traveler/http://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Insights-into-American-Travelers-and-Their-Use-of-Travel-Agents-from-MMGYs-Steve-Cohenhttp://tts.com/blog/millennial-traveller-travel-agent%E2%80%99s-new-favorite-type-clienthttp://www.dcsplus.net/blog/how-can-a-travel-agency-win-millennial-travelershttp://www.inc.com/make-a-name/5-ways-to-dominate-digital-branding-in-2016.htmlhttp://www.globetouch.com/news/always-connected-millennials-travelling-21st-century/