Social media is one of the most misunderstood and abused marketing channels in today’s digital landscape. And travel and tourism brands can sometimes be the worst offenders.
Unless you’re currently seeing sales or leads directly attributed to your social media channels, you shouldn’t assume that organic social media will be your main source of conversions.
In most brand scenarios, people don’t buy directly from social media. Why? Because that’s not the default behavior. The majority of people use social media for entertainment, inspiration, education (including research) and to stay connected with people, brands, trends and events.
Why Sales Shouldn’t be Your Goal for Social Media
Most people didn’t pop open TikTok to buy something, they just want to take a scroll break from their day. Can a TikTok video inspire someone to make a purchase? ABSOLUTELY. Will it inspire them to make an immediate purchase? Probably not, and that’s okay.
Instead of setting unrealistic expectations for your social media channels, start developing content and engagement opportunities that will help your audience on their travels through the customer journey.
Goal #1: Brand Authenticity & Credibility
Let’s say you want to book a camper van for an upcoming national parks road trip. You probably search on Google, visit their website and then visit them on social media.
When website visitors check your social media channels they’re:
- Validating that your brand is who they say they are
- Finding relevant content related to their research
- Gaining social proof that you’re worth working with through reviews, social interactions and user generated content (UGC)
In this Instagram post example from Native Campervans, they’re using UGC to showcase how real renters are using their vans to have amazing experiences. This is exactly what their website promises and now this social media post is further proof.
How to Measure Brand Authenticity & Credibility
Brand authenticity is the cool cousin of brand awareness. The social media visitor is aware that your brand exists, but now they’re confirming your brand’s identity.
Similar to brand awareness, good Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure are impressions, reach and profile visitors. To ensure that you’re putting your best social media foot forward, monitor and maintain:
- Reviews
- Social media mentions
- Tagged social media content
- Brand hashtag usage
Goal #2: Engagement
Engagements can occur in two different ways, 1) people who interact with your social media content, and 2) finding people who are asking questions or discussing things that are relevant to your brand.
In this example from the hilarious Twitter account of The Museum of English Rural Life, you can see that the account actively engages with comments. Which then inspires more Twitter engagement.
How to Measure Engagements
There are multiple ways your audience can engage with you on social media. Depending on which types of content you post or what calls-to-action (CTAs) you focus on, consider measuring the following:
- Reactions
- Comments
- Shares
- Saves
- New followers
- Messages
- Video views
- Link clicks
Goal #3: Research
From trip planning to deciding what to pack, social media is the center for travel research. Each week, more than 1 million hashtags related to travel are searched.
Get found during the research phase by posting helpful or inspirational content, incorporating relevant hashtags (e.g. #bestofaustralia), tagging locations, working with an influencer or using keywords on Pinterest.
In this Pinterest example from Visit North Carolina, a traveler researching mountain rentals in Great Smoky Mountain would find this pin helpful and informative.
How to Measure Research
How do you know if people are visiting your social media channels to conduct their travel research?
By benchmarking and monitoring your monthly social media channel visitors, month over month (MoM):
- Impressions
- Profile visitors
- Social media attributed website sessions to your site
What are your goals for social media? Share them in the comments below. Are you feeling confused and frustrated by your social media goals and strategy? Let’s talk. We can call it a “discovery call,” but really it’ll be a therapy session.
