Back to school? More like back to the pool! For teachers and parents with school-aged kids, back to school means the end of vacation season. But for everyone else, now is the perfect time to promote your travel destination. Here are three ways to continue getting bookings even after the first school bell rings.
Target People Who Aren’t Affected By Back to School
Adjust your digital advertising targeting to reach people who are most likely to book a vacation during the back-to-school season. Here are two interest-based and lookalike targeting ideas.
People Without School Aged Kids
Using social media platform data, you can target an audience that’s most likely to book a Back to School vacation. For example, in Facebook Ads Manager, you could target people who have younger children or an older demographic. By excluding back-to-school and teacher-related interests and industries, you’ll also be most likely to reach people who are more likely to book.
Target Lookalike Audiences
Do you have a list of guests who have visited during back to school season in previous years? Leverage travel customer data to create lookalike audiences and target people who have similar interests and digital behaviors. You can also create a website visitor lookalike audience to target people who “look like” your current website visitors.
Highlight the Value of Taking a Vacation During Back-to-School Season
From discounts to exclusive travel experiences, there are many reasons people book vacations. Here’s an ideal way to tailor your ad creatives for an audience that’s skipping through back-to-school ads.
Leverage Ad Copy & Creative Assets
For some travelers, no children and fewer crowds mean it’s the perfect time to book their visit. By highlighting these value propositions in the ad copy and visually displaying them in the ad images and videos you’ll capture your audiences’ attention and consideration.
Focus on Building Awareness
If your travel destination’s only audience is families, then now is a great time to pivot your strategy from driving conversions to focusing on building awareness and consideration for a 2021 fall break, holiday vacation, or a 2022 summer vacation.
Run Advertising Optimized for Awareness and Engagement
People plan their vacations anywhere from 1 to 12 months in advance, so even if they’re not currently booking, there’s still an opportunity to make them aware of your travel destination. By running advertising campaigns that are optimized for awareness and engagement. You’ll stay top of mind at a lower cost per impression (CPM).
In 2019, pre-pandemic, advertisers spent $76 million targeting parents with back-to-school messaging. By targeting a different audience, you’ll not only reach people who are most likely to book, but you’ll also see lower costs per click and conversions.
Curious how to reach travelers during this season? As a travel marketing consultant, I love brainstorming ways to digitally engage with your audience. Let’s connect.
