We spend a lot of time on Facebook, whether to catch up with our friends or to engage with the brands we follow. With over a billion people logging into their Facebook accounts everyday, it makes complete sense for brands to look for their potential customers here. However, with more brands fighting for visibility and an array of paid advertising options, the efforts on the platform aren’t translating into the kind of returns they used to get earlier. As more and more travel content is generated and shared over social media platforms, the challenge scales up even further. While we aren’t suggesting that you should stop putting in efforts on Facebook, we are certainly advising that you should look at marketing channels beyond Facebook, Twitter and Instagram if you aren’t already. Here is a list of platforms you can consider to start off:

Pinterest

Travel marketing is all about selling the experience to the potential customer. That is why it relies heavily on high quality visuals. Pinterest is a visual platform with around 100 million active users. It doesn’t focus on the content being shared and reshared by your followers but instead allows them to collect the ideas in a noticeboard sort of manner. A significant fraction of the users are female which could be an advantage if you are targeting people travelling with their families. As you would have guessed, the content should be visually appealing and your Facebook post shared over here won’t cut it.

Snapchat

This one is a bit tough to get the hang of if you are not a teenager but a powerful platform nevertheless. From an obscure app, it has become quite mainstream with over 100 million daily active users. An average of 9,000 snaps are shared every second. You can use Snapchat to broadcast major events and activities. Travel brands like Conde Nast Traveler, Matador Network and Marriott are using the platform to lure young travellers. Icelandic low cost carrier WOW Air recently hosted a Snapchat contest to give away free trips clearly indicating that it is a platform you should experiment with. If you need help starting on this platform, here is your guide.

Medium

Not exactly a social media platform but a very good platform for creating and sharing collections around your business. It is more of a personal publishing platform but an excellent way to tell your story. Quality takes a much higher priority than quantity so you don’t need to have thousands of followers or an active blog. In fact it is a great alternative to your brand’s own blog and would put you in front of right audience. Just remember that it is a place for telling good stories, not blowing your trumpet and you are sorted.

Tumblr

Another blogging platform with love for visual content. All those listicles you have been making about places to visit and dishes to try for your brand blog can fit very well here. Good posts with visual content can go reblogged hundreds of times and could give your brand instant visibility. Instead of making it more about your brand, you should make it around your focus areas. This is really the platform to show your creative side and should be used like that.

Vine

With the ever increasing number of video content creators, nobody has time to watch long videos if they are boring. Expert marketers say, you have got the first few seconds to get the attention of the user. Vine is about just the few seconds. It is made up of short quirky videos that loop. Create videos that make people laugh, tell them about something in few seconds, show them a small timelapse of an amazing destination. These things work very well on Vine and could go very well in giving your brand a boost on Vine.

What other platforms do you think travel marketers can use to promote their brand? Join the discussions on travel marketing and get inputs from the topic experts here.

The post Travel marketers, look beyond Facebook and Twitter. Here are the platforms you shouldn’t be missing appeared first on TravHQ.

With the growing number of young travellers, it is becoming increasingly important for brands to market specifically to them. To be more visible to these travellers, they are leveraging newer platforms that play host to more such users. Snapchat is one app that is much loved by young travellers and has come a long way since its inception in 2011. It has more than 100 million daily active users sharing over 8,000 snaps per second. Thanks to the high rate of usage and a visual approach, it is catching up fast in travel industry.

Users are leveraging the app to share their travel experiences. Similar to apps like Periscope, the shared moments are mostly unrefined and without the validation from social network in form of likes. The ‘Our Story’ feature can be nicely used to broadcast major events and activities. Travel brands like Conde Nast Traveler, Marriott International and Matador Network are actively using Snapchat. Of course there are some limitations for brands at this moment and it might not be the right fit in marketing strategy of all travel brands but it is a platform that can’t be ignored.

Here are some tips if you are planning to integrate Snapchat into your marketing strategy:

#1- Create urgency

The stories on Snapchat expire after 24 hours. While some might see it as a downside as the content isn’t available for long, it can be a great way to send out discount deals or host flash sales. Once the audience starts to build up, this can be a great way to create a sense of urgency and in turn drive up the number of transactions. It will also boost your Snapchat community over time.

#2- Be quirky

This one goes without saying. As the audience are younger, you can go off your conventional serious tone and choose to be a little cheeky, of course if the character of your brand allows. Some humour will make sure that your audience remember you for long. Also don’t forget to use a mix of photos and videos. It has been observed that shorter videos engage more audience so try to keep them as short as you can.

#3- Share mega events

Similar to Periscope, your audience at Snapchat won’t mind a slightly shaky video or unprocessed photos. You can use it as an ‘in the moment’ platform and share updates from your events. This will keep the audience hooked for live updates from your brand.

#4- Go behind the scene

You can use Snapchat to give your audience a tour in the everyday life of your employees. This can also be done with the introduction of a face for your brand. Ireland’s Airline company Aer Lingus can be a good example. They have used Snapchat to take audience onboard inaugural flights and give sneak peek into the life of their employees.

#5- Use influencers

Travel brands often join hands with influencers for activities like fam trips and meetups. If it is the same story with your brand, you can use it as an opportunity to boost your Snapchat following. A string of snaps can be used to create interesting travel stories through your brand account attracting more audience. Account takeovers are also a good option to leverage the influencers’ audience.

If you are looking to connect with more young travellers, Snapchat is one platform that you shouldn’t leave out of the equation. A large fraction of the audience is under 35 years of age and uses the app frequently.

Do you use Snapchat for promoting your brand? What tips would you like to add to the list. Join the discussions on travel marketing and get inputs from the topic experts here.

The post Are you missing a trick by not using Snapchat for your brand? appeared first on TravHQ.