- Travel influencer marketing: a complete guide
- Published 09/11/2023
- 9 min Read
- Written by Julia Shandrokha
Table of contents
Travel blogging is “a sort of Renaissance of travel writing on social media.” The relevance of this work lies in the fact that with the advent of the Internet, social media quickly became popular among consumers of travel and tourism content. The Internet has enabled tourists to become more knowledgeable and has also helped them to seek value for money, so the tourism industry has become flexible by providing personalized and relevant information.
Travel bloggers influence followers who are potential consumers to increase or decrease interest in visiting a destination. So, is influencer marketing in the travel industry valuable in general? In this article, the Famesters experts will figure it out.
WHAT IS A TRAVEL INFLUENCER?
Influencer marketing for the travel industry is part of the broader field of influencer marketing, which aims to promote and influence the tourism industry. In the past, influencers tended to focus mainly on promoting products, but with the development of this trend, their scope of work began to expand into other areas. Tourism has become a trendy topic on social media due to the increased accessibility of travel to the general public. The trend is to share travel experiences, impressions, and travel memories on social networks. In this way, influencers become a source of inspiration and guides for other travelers looking for travel tips and advice.
Influencers who deal with tourism are called travel influencers. They are the ones who can use posts, photographs, videos, comments, and other general materials to shape the perception of their followers on social networks.
In particular, Instagram has become a popular platform for travel influencer marketing. Various tourist organizations often work with influencers to build and increase brand awareness and spread the word about the destinations. Young people show interest in participating in the activities of travel influencers, accept their advice and suggestions for new places, and later decide to visit these places. Statistics show that 57% of Gen Zers confirm to consult top travel influencers to help them prepare for vacations. If an influencer provides quality and credible content related to the promotion of hotels, destinations, restaurants, and other services, it can create a solid emotional connection with its audience and attract a large number of potential customers. Active social media users such as influencers and their content can change tourists’ attitudes and inspire them to plan their trips.
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WHY ARE TOURISM BOARDS LOOKING FOR INFLUENCERS?
Tourism boards that work with influencers aim to promote their destinations for the following reasons:
- Authentic promotion: influencers can provide original and relatable travel content that resonates with their followers. When influencers share their personal experiences and adventures in a destination, it often feels more genuine and trustworthy than traditional advertising.
- Reach and exposure: influencers have a significant online following, which allows tourism boards to reach a broader audience. This exposure can raise awareness about a destination and attract potential travelers.
- Social media impact: influencers excel at leveraging various social media platforms, which are vital channels for travel inspiration and planning. They can communicate with their followers on multiple platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, to showcase a visually engaging media kit for destinations.
- Cost-effective marketing: collaborating with influencers can be cost-effective compared to traditional marketing campaigns. It often provides a higher return on investment (ROI) due to the personalized and targeted approach.
- Trend-setting: influencers can help set travel trends and preferences by highlighting emerging destinations, activities, and travel styles.
Speaking about trend-setting, we must admit that several trends in the travel industry are closely related to travel influencers. They can influence these trends and thus have a direct impact on their followers.
Famesters’ experts highlight the following trends that the influencer marketing travel industry faces today:
- Sustainability is becoming increasingly popular in travel. Influencers can spread the word about sustainability and help reduce congestion at tourism sites through campaigns that target to reduce your carbon footprint.
- Digital nomadism was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people have been forced to work from home, and even after returning to normality, this working style remained popular. Travel influencers promote this opportunity where travelers combine their work responsibilities with traveling the world.
- Sharing economy is another trend that involves sharing the cost of transportation (e.g., BlaBlaCar) and accommodation (e.g., Airbnb). Social media makes luxury travel accessible to a broad audience. Influencers are primarily reaching out to younger generations who have higher disposable income and are influenced by social networks.
- Nomadic van life, where people decide to give up commitments and travel the world freely, is also a trend. The pandemic has also increased the desire to be more distanced from others and to travel within reach of home, increasing interest in domestic tourism.
- Living in nature, more and more people go on mountain hikes, discover little-known places, and seek adrenaline sensations even with less comfort. All these trends are mainly aimed at the young Generation Y, who are greatly influenced and inspired by social media.
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WHAT SHOULD TOURISM BOARDS THAT WORK WITH INFLUENCERS CONSIDER BEFORE STARTING A COLLABORATION?
Influencer marketing is a modern, effective tactic that promotes many of the firm’s marketing goals. But they need to be strategically managed and planned. Normally, a model of the cooperation process between a company and an influencer includes five stages:
Planning → recognition → inclusion → motivation → coordination
When planning any marketing campaign, it is important to set goals the brand wants to achieve. These goals will most likely be consistent with the brand’s overall marketing strategy and will influence the selection of suitable content creators, their requirements, and the overall cooperation.
The second stage of recognition is focused on choosing an influencer who shares the brand’s values and has an engaging audience. It is also essential to consider the budget of future cooperation. Large companies or even countries interested in attracting new tourists can afford to cooperate with celebrities like Qatar did when inviting David Beckham for the commercial:
Small businesses often prefer to invest in micro- or even nano-influencers. Content creators with a relatively small number of followers are often more helpful for businesses as they are credible, have a real connection with the audience, and show better results in local campaigns, like the content creator from Morocco:
At the stage of inclusion, the businesses study the number and the quality of the influencer’s followers, the engagement rate, communication style, type of posts, authority, and overall popularity of the influencer. Companies can also request various campaigns, not just through social media, which is expected. For example, a company may undergo master classes or meetings with an influencer. The tourism and travel businesses must have a clear understanding of the market they are targeting and the platforms that are popular in this market. Based on this, they can decide if the selected influencer will be included in the marketing campaign.
The stage of motivation is not as easy as it seems. There are several reasons why influencers share their personal lives. We often talk about the joy of attention from their subscribers and the popularity of the influencer, about the great interest in promoted products, services, or topics, or simply about financial rewards and other benefits from cooperation. These reasons may change over time as interests and values change the influencers themselves. This also applies to the assessment level. Influencers should be motivated to do excellent work.
The last stage is focused on coordination, negotiations, monitoring, and support of influencers during the period of cooperation. The influencers’ activities must be aimed at achieving the goals set at the beginning of the campaign. The company must monitor these activities to stay consistent with desired results and goals. This stage also contains feedback from influencers on what was great about the cooperation and what needs to be improved or done differently.
What else to pay attention to
However, with the rise in popularity of influencers, distortion also occurs. Influencers often depict some destinations as ideal places that would suit them. However, the photos and videos they promote sometimes create a misleading impression. Influencers use different programs to edit the content to get the best results. They get up early to visit an attraction without a crowd of tourists.
The reality of a famous place can be completely different. The tourists are lining up in the photo queues for which the local community often charges a fee. These days, influencers usually pay attention to this and try to go against these trends. They directly depict the reality of the place and show their audience what it looks like there. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between genuine and misleading content creators and especially the truthfulness of their posts.
WRAPPING UP
The influencer marketing travel industry offers almost unlimited opportunities for business promotion and new audience attraction. Travel influencers can create compelling and inspirational content that influences the plans and decisions of potential travelers. They can be effective partners for tourism boards and companies, helping them establish and strengthen their market presence, attract new customers, and stimulate demand for specific tourist destinations, services, or products.
If you want to start a marketing campaign with an influencer to promote your travel business, ask Famesters for help: [email protected]. We will help with the determination of the campaign goals, selection of the right influencer, building a strategy, and carrying out the advertising campaign. In influencer marketing, we can do everything.
Frequently asked questions about travel influencer marketing
What is a travel influencer?
A travel influencer is someone who shares their travel experiences, destinations, tips, and insights through social media platforms, inspiring their followers to explore new places. These influencers leverage their expertise, credibility, and personal narratives to guide travel enthusiasts. By creating engaging content like posts, stories, videos, and reviews, they influence their audience’s travel decisions and preferences. Travel influencers often collaborate with tourism boards, hotels, and brands to showcase destinations, accommodations, and services, acting as a bridge between these entities and potential travelers.
What is travel influencer marketing?
Travel influencer marketing is a strategy where brands collaborate with influencers in the travel niche to promote destinations, experiences, or products on social media. Influencers leverage their credibility and audience engagement to influence travel decisions and perceptions.
Why do tourism boards work with travel influencers?
Tourism boards look for influencers for their ability to craft compelling, authentic narratives that resonate with a wide audience. Influencers offer a personal touch to destination marketing, sharing their experiences in a way that traditional advertising cannot. Their stories and visuals on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok can vividly showcase a destination’s beauty, culture, and uniqueness, making it more appealing to potential visitors. These collaborations are not only cost-effective compared to conventional marketing strategies but also allow tourism boards to tap into the influencer’s engaged following, extending their reach and potentially influencing travel trends and preferences.
How do travel influencers impact consumer behavior?
Travel influencers have a significant impact on consumer behavior by acting as trusted advisors. Their recommendations and insights often play a critical role in shaping their followers’ travel intentions, from choosing destinations to planning activities. By sharing authentic experiences, including both the joys and challenges of travel, influencers can sway their audience’s perceptions and decisions. Their ability to generate excitement, curiosity, and even wanderlust through visually appealing content and relatable storytelling encourages followers to explore new destinations or revisit familiar ones with fresh eyes.
What makes a successful travel influencer collaboration?
Successful travel influencer collaborations are marked by a synergy between the influencer’s brand and the marketing goals of the tourism entity. These partnerships work best when there’s a clear understanding of objectives, such as increasing destination awareness, driving bookings, or promoting specific activities. Effective collaborations are built on authenticity, where influencers have the freedom to create content that resonates with their personal style while aligning with the campaign’s aims. Continuous engagement and interaction between the influencer and their audience, coupled with transparent communication and measurable outcomes, define the success of these collaborations.
Are micro-influencers or celebrities more effective for travel influencer marketing?
The effectiveness of micro-influencers versus celebrities in travel marketing depends on the campaign’s goals and target audience. Micro-influencers, with their niche followings and high engagement rates, can offer more personalized and relatable content, often resulting in a stronger influence on their followers’ travel decisions. Their authenticity and close-knit community feel can be particularly effective for targeted campaigns or promoting lesser-known destinations. On the other hand, celebrities, with their vast followings, can significantly boost a destination’s visibility and aspirational value, attracting a broader audience but potentially with lower engagement rates.
How often should travel influencers post for optimal engagement?
For optimal engagement, travel influencers should maintain a consistent posting schedule, tailored to their audience’s preferences and the specifics of each social media platform. This is why tourism boards that work with influencers should listen to the travel influencers they engage in influencer marketing campaigns: the creators know their followers the best, so they can offer the best time options for posting your ads.
Regular posting — ranging from several times a week to daily, depending on the content format and platform — helps keep the audience engaged and ensures the influencer remains top of mind. High-quality, diverse content that includes a mix of real-time updates, in-depth posts, and interactive elements like polls or Q&As can enhance engagement and foster a sense of community. Influencers should also consider the best times to post based on when their audience is most active online. This approach keeps content fresh and maximizes visibility, driving interaction and keeping followers interested and engaged over time.
Can travel influencer marketing be cost-effective?
Yes, travel influencer marketing can offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional advertising methods. By partnering with influencers, brands can tap into established audiences and leverage the influencers’ creativity and authenticity to produce content that resonates with potential travelers. This personalized and targeted approach often results in higher engagement rates and a stronger impact on consumer behavior, providing a better return on investment. Micro-influencers, in particular, can be especially cost-effective, as they tend to charge lower rates while maintaining highly engaged audiences that trust their recommendations.
How do travel influencers stay authentic while promoting destinations?
Travel influencers maintain authenticity by sharing genuine experiences and offering honest insights into the destinations they visit. This includes discussing both the positives and challenges they encounter, providing a balanced view that resonates with their audience. Transparency is key; influencers who disclose partnerships and sponsored content clearly are more likely to retain their audience’s trust. Engaging with their followers through comments, stories, and direct messages also helps maintain a genuine connection. By prioritizing content that aligns with their personal brand and values, influencers can ensure that promotions feel natural and credible, reinforcing their influence and authenticity.
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