When starting a travel agency, it’s important to make your business presence known. Today, nearly everyone is searching online, Googling and scouting resources within just a few clicks. If current and potential clients are online—you should be too!
More people are planning and researching travel online as consumers are becoming more informed and then turning to their travel agent for advice. The digital world offers tons of opportunities for businesses in any industry, and it can work for your travel agency too. The following tips are an easy way to get your travel agency established online.
Setup Social Media Profiles
What better way to reach clients then where they already are—on social media. There are multiple platforms at your fingertips that are easy to use and a fun way to engage with clients, as well as reach new ones. Each one has its own community culture, posting guidelines and image size specifications. Before you go making an account on every platform for your travel agency, read about who is where.
Some platforms have more users of different demographics than others. You want to be strategic in where you spend time posting. This means you don’t need to be posting on every social platform that’s available in the app store. Try two or three of the most popular ones, and measure engagement metrics to see if your efforts have been effective.
Some popular platforms include:
—Snapchat
—YouTube
—Google+
Consider creating a content calendar and posting schedule. Its good practice to stay consistent and remember to have fun. Once you get the hang of it you can dive deeper taking your travel agency social media accounts to the next level through paid advertising. Give yourself a budget, research some travel trends and start advertising! It can be inexpensive and highly effective if you target the right demographics.
Showcase Your Business on a Website
Studies show that once a consumer has an idea of what they need or want, they start researching, and 72 percent of them go online to find information, reviews and testimonials. A business website isn’t just about selling your goods and services but also about providing something of value to potential clients.
Your website should be fast, user-friendly and responsive on desktops, mobile phones and tablets. Your website should be equipped with beautiful high-resolution images, travel inspiration features and a blog you update at least monthly. In addition to writing blogs, you should focus on Search Engine Optimization to attract new visitors to your website.
Key factors to consider when optimizing your website:
Make your website useful for travelers and potential clients:
—Analyze your website data
—Get quality backlinks from relevant directories and websites
—Research keywords and search terms that are relevant to your business and base your content around them
Google My Business
Have you ever gone online and searched for a local business? Or even a business on the other side of the country? Typically, the top result will be Google profiles belonging to businesses containing info such as working hours, location, contact information, photos and more.
This is a great tool to take advantage of as it allows a way to engage with customers online, and it’s free! Your travel agency Google My Business profile acts as an online listing. People can find you via the classic google search engine or through their mobile devices on the Google maps app and then leave you a public review of your services.
On top of the visibility it gives your business, it also allows you to analyze how many people are clicking your profile, initiating calls through the profile and following your photo/deals feed—all within the platform. The world searches on Google, having a My Business profile allows you to turn those searches into customers.
Yelp Business Page
When starting a travel agency, you want to make sure you claim your business page on all major websites. There are a few main ones that people run to for business reviews. While Google is the most popular, so is Yelp. Yelp is a free directory service and crowd-sourced review forum. They have a free suite of tools for businesses to manage the page as well as easy and cost-friendly advertisements.
When creating a business page for your travel agency, you have the option to include business photos, link to your website and write a bio’s about team members. When people search for your business or businesses alike nearby, your page will populate, and users can view and interact with the content. You also have the option to publicly respond to reviews, so you can drop a nice thank you and even address negative reviews–showing customers you care about their experience goes a long way.
Get the Support You Need
Getting your travel agency’s name out there is critical to driving business, but at times, can feel like a daunting task. At Cruise Planners, we provide the marketing support, technology tools and ongoing coaching to help make promoting your business simple. Get the support you deserve.
Learn more about our existing travel agent discount programs.