Any brand now has more platforms than ever to communicate with their audience, each one slightly different than the other. Social media platforms hold a significant spot in the entire marketing map of any brand yet their relevance has changed over the years. Some have gained an even more important spot while some have lost their lustre. To complicate matters further for the brand, audience now prefer even simpler channels like messaging to be in touch with the brand. The likes of WeChat are already giving plenty of sleepless nights to the social media giants and the trend is likely to continue. Who would have thought things will be promoted and paid for via a chat app?

The change isn’t just limited to the platforms where the users are but how rapidly existing formats are gaining momentum and new formats are coming in. While we haven’t seen the pitch, we are quite sure that video wasn’t something that Mark Zuckerberg focused heavily on when he first pitched Facebook to Peter Thiel. And yet, the platform is now full of videos and is taking the fight against the video giant. YouTube on the other hand now has a large array of 360 videos and VR is the talk of the town.

But where does that leave the marketers? It is an everyday fight between maintaining the momentum on already popular platforms and identifying where the action is shifting. While it is easier for brands with a global scale to allocate resources to experiment, it isn’t the same for startups. And the challenges extend much further.

For almost two years, we have been actively meeting and getting acquainted with entrepreneurs in travel industry. Each one of them building something unique to address the pain points of travellers. Some of them carry strong experiences of working in marketing roles and teach us a trick or two while many others are tech superheroes who rise up to challenges with code. However, irrespective of the expertise, they have to do a bit of both to minimise the required resources in the early days.

We are trying to make the job a little bit easier for the second type of entrepreneurs by bringing together the best marketers, tourism boards and content creators from across the country to share their knowledge with them during TravelNEXUS. For the first type of entrepreneurs who have cracked the marketing code, we are offering a platform to showcase their work and share their learnings with others (Sign up here, we want you there).

We have an array of discussions and keynotes lined up where domain experts will join to share insights. There will be discussions on how travel and hospitality companies can unlock the maximum potential of conventional social media channels as well as identify the upcoming ones or how brands can maximise the impact of their campaigns among many other things. The event is supported by hospitality partner Ramada Gurgaon Central and travel partner Plush Escapes. Leading social media news portal Social Samosa will also bring its expertise to the event. You can read more about TravelNEXUS here.

Full Schedule

The event was originally scheduled to be held on March 25, 2017 at Ramada Gurgaon Central however, we have to push it further due to some unavoidable circumstances. New event date will be updated soon. We know you want to put your every penny towards your business which is why we have kept the registration costs as low as we could. You can reach us through our social channels, mail or use the comment section for any queries you may have.

Registration link.

Update March 17, 2017- Event date to be rescheduled.

The post Travel marketers, let us help you identify where the action on social media is appeared first on TravHQ.

It isn’t easy to market a product online. Developing a product and building a web presence is only a fraction of the battle. Travel industry is highly competitive and with every other brand fighting for the customers’ attention, making progress isn’t easy. Social media and Google ads are the first tools that we think of when it comes to promoting online. But there are various other ways you can promote your travel startup online for free. Here are some of them:

#1- Communities

It is very important to engage with the right kind of people online. Put some analysis and thought in where you can find your potential customers online and talk to them. There are various forums and communities that relate to specific segments of travellers and you can join the conversations and help people there while disclosing your brand. You can answer queries that relate to your field of expertise on Quora to gain visibility over time.

#2- Press release

New feature, updated app, new campaign or just a new offer. Don’t miss any chance to send out a press release. There are services like Newswire that would allow you to publish press releases for free which will not only help boost your online visibility but also allow you to create buzz about the activity. Such online PR platforms also offer paid options to increase the reach of your press release.

#3- Blog

We are certain that your SEO expert told you about the advantages of having a blog on your company website but there is more to it. The blog not only serves the purpose of improving your visibility in search results but also gives people a reason to visit your website. Even if they are coming for the content, they are more likely to remember you when they have to book their travel.

#4- Guest publishing

Most of the publications are open to the idea of guest authors. You can approach relevant media portals for your industry and discuss the possibility of guest posting. It is likely that you know about your industry domain better than most people and you can offer to share your knowledge. If you are working on some innovative technologies, the possibilities are even higher. This will allow you to reach different kind of audience and will position you as an expert on the topic which in turn will help your brand.

#5- E-mail

With the emergence of so many marketing channels, email often gets ignored. But even today, nothing has managed to replace email and it still works very well to promote. Ask people to subscribe to your newsletters. Your blog can come in handy to build the mailing list. It would be easier to sell to your subscribers as they are already interested in what you do. (Also read: 5 e-mail marketing tips for travel marketers)

What other alternate marketing channels do you leverage for your travel brand? Do share with us.

The post 5 ways to promote your travel startup for free online appeared first on TravHQ.