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The travel and hospitality industry is thriving as more people explore the world than ever before. While big players and online travel agencies (OTAs) dominate the search engine results page, there is still a tremendous opportunity for smaller travel agents to succeed. By using the right tools and implementing the correct strategy, you can effectively reach your target customers and generate leads, even in the face of fierce competition.
However, generating leads for a travel company is not the same as it is for other industries. You need to take a unique approach in order to stand out. For instance, if you’re a car or property dealer, you can advertise your products easily on a property or car portal (check out our article on real-estate lead conversion script examples). But in the travel industry, you can’t advertise on big travel sites because they are technically competing against you. The good news is that, depending on your offerings, there are still ways to leverage different platforms and marketplaces, such as Airbnb Experiences.
In this article, we’ll share some best practices for lead generation for travel agents. We’ll guide you through a step-by-step process to help you increase brand awareness, attract potential customers, and ultimately boost your business. Here are the steps:
Table of Contents
Step 1. Define Your Niche
Step 2. Create a Website
Step 3. Be Active on Social Media
Step 4. Create interesting destination-focused content
Step 5. Partner up with local media, travel vloggers, and influencers
Step 6. Explore other places to find customers
Step 7. Customise packages for each theme/audience
Summarising lead generation for Travel Agents
Step 1. Define Your Niche
As a travel agent, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your niche or the specific market segment you want to serve. This includes defining what type of travel services you offer, such as tours, flights, hotels, or all-inclusive packages. You should also consider who your target audience is, which could include adventurers, families, couples looking for a romantic getaway, or individuals seeking Instagram-worthy destinations.
By having a clear understanding of your niche and target audience, you can tailor your marketing efforts to better appeal to your potential customers. It also allows you to differentiate yourself from your competitors and provide unique experiences that cater to your audience.
Step 2. Create a Website
Creating a website is essential for any business, including travel agents. Your website serves as a digital storefront that helps you establish an online presence, showcase your services, and generate leads. And thankfully, creating a website isn’t a big deal anymore. There are many website builders and templates available that make it easy for travel agents to create their own website without extensive web design knowledge.
However, just building a website is not the most important part when it comes to improving lead generation for travel agents. Your website should be easy to navigate and provide all the essential information that your customers need to plan their travels. Plus, it should be optimised for search engines to help you appear in the search results page when people are looking for travel agents in your area. But don’t worry about that if you’re just starting out.
Another important aspect of creating a website is to ensure that it is mobile-friendly since many people use their smartphones to research and book their travel plans.
Step 3. Be Active on Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool that helps boost lead generation for travel agents by connecting travel businesses with potential customers. By posting regularly on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, you can showcase your services, provide travel inspiration, and engage with your followers.
When using social media, it’s important to consider your target audience and post content that is relevant to their interests. Travel is a visual industry, so posting photos and videos of beautiful destinations can be a great way to grab people’s attention. You can also post travel tips, interesting facts, and stories about your own travel experiences to provide value to your followers.
In addition to posting content, you can also use social media to run lead generation ads. These ads allow you to target specific audiences and encourage them to take action, such as signing up for your email list or contacting you for more information.
Step 4. Create interesting destination-focused content
Once you know what you’re offering and what people are searching for, it’ll be much easier for you to create content for your audience. You can create content around your offer and related destinations or experiences. It could be anything your target customer will find interesting or something that helps them solve a problem (from money-saving tips to travel hacks).
For example, if you specialise in adventure travels, you can create a blog post about “5 most beautiful natural waterfalls in South America” or “7 cafes in Santiago with the most Instagrammable coffee”. Alternatively, you can focus on cultural experiences by writing an article about “8 unique cultural experiences in Japan for adventurers”. By creating destination-focused content, you will help your potential customers discover new destinations and experiences, while showcasing your expertise in the travel industry.
It’s important to publish your content regularly and share it across different social media platforms, so your target audience can consistently engage with your brand. Not only will this keep your audience interested and engaged, but it will also improve your search engine rankings, making it easier for potential customers to find you online.
Step 5. Partner up with local media, travel vloggers, and influencers
You don’t need to create all the content by yourself; other people are already doing it too! Partnering up with local media, travel vloggers, and bloggers will help you reach a wider audience and they’ll also appreciate the reshares or exposure – win/win.
For instance, you could collaborate with a popular travel vlogger or influencer who is travelling to a destination that aligns with your niche, and ask them to create a video about your services or packages. You could also sponsor a local event and have your brand featured on their promotional materials, or write a guest post for a travel blog that has a significant following.
Partnering with others in your industry can increase your credibility and visibility, while providing your target audience with the resources they need to plan their trips.
Step 6. Explore other places to find customers
Go wherever your customers are! Not everyone goes to Expedia or social media sites to plan their travels. Consider listing your business on sites like Craigslist or Gumtree, or actively participating in travel-related forums and message boards to provide your expertise and advice to potential customers.
You can also use Google My Business to optimise your local search presence, which is particularly important for improving lead generation for travel agents. By listing your business on Google, you will be able to capture customers who are searching for your services in your area.
Step 7. Customise packages for each theme/audience
Travel is very personal, especially if you’re offering specialised packages and experiences instead of just flights and hotels. Create bespoke packages around interesting themes like persona, history, budget, etc.
Make your message more specific. People will relate to specific things, such as price, theme, place, and offer. Instead of “Awesome summer packages,” go for “Awesome summer packages for Bali starting from $500″. You could also offer a 5-day Thailand beach and hiking itinerary for nature lovers or a romantic getaway package for couples looking to escape.
By customising your packages for each theme or audience, you will be able to better target your marketing efforts and generate higher quality leads.
Summarising lead generation for Travel Agents
Generating leads for travel agents is a vital part of building a successful travel business. In the highly competitive travel industry, it’s crucial to differentiate your services, create a unique brand identity and target the right audience to stay ahead of the curve. The steps outlined in this article, you can increase your chances of generating more leads, and ultimately, grow your travel business.
Remember, it all starts with defining your niche and creating a website that appeals to your target audience. Social media is a powerful tool that can help you connect with potential customers and showcase your services in a visually engaging way. Consistent and high-quality content can help build your brand reputation, whereas partnerships with local media, travel bloggers, and influencers can help expand your reach.
Finally, creating customised packages and offers for each theme/audience can help you stand out from the competition and appeal to the unique needs and preferences of your customers.
If you have been generating leads for your travel company, consider using Privyr to convert more leads into customers. This mobile-first CRM enables you to instantly receive leads on your smartphone and connect with them using messaging apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, or SMS within seconds. It also streamlines your lead management process by allowing you to organise lead data on mobile or desktop and create personalised messages tailored to each new lead.
Get Privyr for free and boost your lead conversion rate.
