Why The Travel Industry Can’t Afford toIgnore Social Media Communication and engagement are pivotal to business success. What would be more engaging and content-driven platform than social media? It takes away a major pie of the digital time spent. According to eMarketer, US adults, in 2019, spent around 1 hour and 15 minutes with some or the other social media platforms. Airlines, airports, regulators, and OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) all are exploring new ways of using social media for the travel industry to grow their business. Here are six key use-cases in this line:
Brand Awareness Travel businesses invest in high-quality, engaging media content to get more followers and likes on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It pays off. Recall the Justin Bieber music video for “I’ll Show You” shot at the Fjadrárgljúfur Canyon in Iceland in 2015. The video gained so much popularity on social media that the footfalls doubled in 2017 and 2018. Social media influences the decision-making of travellers. Customer Acquisition Social media has become the most affordable customer acquisition channel for the travel industry. Organic or paid – social media brings customers through all means. The cost of customer acquisition is cheaper than that of paid campaigns on Google or Bing. Integration of Facebook Messenger Chatbots, RPA, and other technologies with business processes has automated most of the customer acquisition journey. Customer Response Whether it is travel reservation, post-ticketing service or resolving any grievance, social media for travel industry serves as the favourite communication channel. Travel businesses have integrated social media into their websites and CRM to stay glued to their customer base. Through social channels integrated with messaging bot, users can get answers to their queries regarding travel reservation and status in no time.