The Travel Industry was an ever-thriving business. But ever since COVID, the industry has seen unprecedented growth and gained back 98% of its market share from the pre-pandemic era. And from now on, the trajectory has only one way to go – that is, above. It is an awesome time to have a travel booking agency. If you are one of the fortunate few, then with this guide, we will tell you how to optimize Instagram for travel booking conversions.
So, let us begin!
Why Should You Focus on Instagram?
Out of so many social media platforms, why should you focus on Instagram to find travel clients? Here are 3 reasons why you should:
- Instagram boasts a 1 billion monthly user base, which means everyone and their neighbour is on Instagram searching for their next travel destination.
- A visually focused platform, which means you can show stunning imagery as a motivation to visit locations.
- Has a long line of travel influencers from budget to luxury for you to collaborate with and introduce your business.
So, if you already have an Instagram profile for your business and would like to take it to the next level, then read on!
Making Instagram Your Personal Conversion Machine in 9 Easy Steps
How do you convince your viewers to make Travel bookings with your business? With these Instagram optimization tips, we are sure you will see better results in no time. So, let us begin.
1. Set up your Profile for Success
If you have a travel agency or an independent agent, then you will definitely have a professional or business account. If you instead have a personal account, stop and convert it now to gain access to the whole suite of analytical tools offered by Instagram.
With that out of the way, here are some simple tips and tricks you can use to optimize your Instagram for Travel agencies:
- Ever seen some social media channels have additional CTAs other than Follow and Message on their profile? You too can have a custom CTA in your profile, such as “Book now”.
- You can add a clickable link to your profile, and use that wisely. You can add your website link to help your site SEO wise. Or if you don’t have a website, you can add a link to your portfolio, testimonials, and so on.
- Without using a lot of technical mambo-jumbo, convey clearly what your business does. Research competitor pages to find common keywords and use them in your description as well.
- Finish up your description with a clear way to contact you, either via email or DM.
- Is that the best-performing piece of content that is bringing you leads? Pin that to the top of your profile. Add it to your highlights and walk your customers through valuable pieces of content on your profile.
Your profile is what tells your business story to the world. This means you have to set up a cohesive and complete story that people can buy into.
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2. Build Social Proof and Loyalty
The travel industry is notorious for its competition, and to make people choose your business over the rest is to build brand loyalty. The trust that comes with having established social proof of your business is more valuable than you can imagine.
So, how do you build social proof? Here’s how:
- Influencer Marketing: There are travel influencers of all ranges, from budget travel to ultra-luxury escapades. Collaborating with them can help boost your brand image, gain access to new customers, and put your business on the radar.
- Get customer reviews: Have happy customers? Encourage them to share their stories with your audience as well. You can compile these to a story highlight and tell your potential customers to check it out. This way, they understand you are trustworthy.
- UGC: User-generated content is another way of building social proof for your business. If you are confused between UGC and influencer-generated content, there is a small difference between them. UGC is created by regular users sometimes without compensation. Whereas influencer-created content is often a paid collaboration with the brand.
- Referrals: Getting clients through referrals is one of the easiest ways of converting them. They are already aware of you, know you do a good job, and they are ready to make a purchase. With little to no coercion, you can convert them. But getting your existing customers to refer you, now that is a whole different ball game. To make sure your existing customers spread the word about you, have a robust referral program that incentivizes them. For example, you could offer customers 20% off for every client they bring in.
3. Visually Appealing Instagram Page
Travel needs to be Instagram-worthy these days. People are constantly on the lookout for aesthetic spots to visit, snap pictures, and share them with their friends and family.
There are even statistics that prove that the Instagrammability of a location affects people’s inclination to visit that place. If it is not Instagrammable, then it is not an appealing choice for many. It might sound shallow, but that is the reality of the world we live in.
Thus, to attract and convert this kind of audience, you too need to have a strong, visually appealing Instagram account. You can show the ethereal beauty of oceans, the tranquility of mountains, and masses of beautiful flowers. Make a location look too beautiful to skip out on, and encourage your readers to visit at the earliest.
You can also use the Highlights feature to help you in this. You can segregate based on packages, destinations, experiences, and so on.,
4. Interact with your audience
Building a brand is not a one-way path. It is a two-way conversation between you and your audience. Constantly keep an eye out for any general enquiries or booking questions from your audience. Answer them promptly and accurately, and make yourselves the first choice they want to reach out to.
5. Use Data to your advantage
People are so chronically online that their whole lives are laid out in the form of data. And as a business owner who has a social media presence, you get to access a piece of this valuable data as well. The real challenge is to know how and where to use them.
Use this guide to know how to understand Instagram analytics and optimise your strategy based on the findings.
6. Run Contests and Promotions
Interactive content, such as contests and promotions are way in which you can bring more customers to your profile. Run limited-time promotions that create a sense of urgency in the user. Make the offer too good to be true and pair it with an irresistible CTA.
You can also conduct contests, such as slogans or captions, and offer small gifts as giveaways to your audience. These are some ways you can accumulate followers in a relatively short period and optimize your Instagram for travel booking conversions.
7. Use stories strategically
Stories are only available for a short duration of time, making them highly sought after. Your followers experience a sense of urgency to get in on the action and find out what your business has to say.
Use the urgency to the best of your capabilities. Show snippets of new experiences that your business offers to your clients. You can also show a busy day at your office and an exciting BTS.
You can introduce flash sales and deals for people to consider and opt into.
Stories also offer a great opportunity to interact with your customers, get their feedback, and find their preferences. For example, you can run polls to find people’s favorite travel destinations. Or you can ask them about their favorite vacation activities.
8. Be Consistent
If you are waiting to create the perfect social media strategy and then start posting, you will wait forever. Instead, create a content plan based on what is followed by other Instagram travel agencies, and stick with it.
Being consistent on social media, on top of running a business, can prove a bit difficult. But the process could be made easy with Predis AI.
With Predis AI, you can:
- Generate social media posts with AI in a matter of minutes
- Get content ideas, captions, hashtags, and more generated with our intelligent tools
- Use our library of templates if you prefer designing your own social media posts
- Visualise all your content for the month in a centralised content calendar
- Collaborate with teammates and get posts approved in a timely fashion
- Schedule content in advance and let Predis AI take care of the posting for you
So check out Predis AI today and stay consistent with your social media strategy.
9. Run Ads Efficiently
Supplementing your social media organic content strategy with paid ads can help you grow your audience quicker. When creating ads for your Instagram, keep in mind the following things:
- Meta offers a myriad of segmentation options that allow you to target the exact set of audience you want to focus on. To make the most of the feature, figure out where your customers are coming from.
- Create ad creatives with less than 20% text, high-quality images, a compelling offer, and a clever CTA.
- A/B test your ads until you create versions that perform best with your target audience.
The Final Takeaway
Making your Instagram optimised for travel booking conversions is pretty easy if you follow the steps detailed in this guide. Even if you don’t have the bandwidth to follow all these steps, sticking to a consistent social media schedule is non-negotiable.
And as established above, we know that Predis AI can make creating, planning, posting, and scheduling content easy on your part. So, sign up today to get your own free account and start elevating your travel business!
