Insider tips by Honeytrek

INSIDER TIPS BY HONEYTREK Influencer Marketing

BY MIKE & ANNE HOWARD

If Scarlett Johansson stayed at your glamping camp, what would that do for your business? Your property’s cachet, social media following, and bookings would grow exponentially. While the likelihood of an A-list celeb posting Instagram Stories about your camp is slim, the good news is that you don’t need luck or money to get those benefits. There are lots of talented influencers who can create impactful content and elevate your brand. With 350,000 social media followers and 11 years of storytelling experience, HoneyTrek has done influencer marketing partnerships with hospitality brands of all shapes and sizes. In this article we’ll show you how to find your ideal influencers, execute successful partnerships, and grow your business with this burgeoning marketing strategy.

WHAT ARE INFLUENCERS

“A person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting them on social media.” — Oxford Dictionary. Though to build on that broad definition, the social media experts at Sprout Social say, “An influencer is someone in your niche with sway over your target audience.” That focus is key because who’s the better fit for your brand…the biggest fashion Instagrammer in Miami or an outdoorphotographer-meets-mommy-blogger within two hours of your camp? If they have the type to content you love and the audience you want to attract, that’s the ideal influencer for you. WHY WORK WITH INFLUENCERS

With your marketing initiatives alone, you can only reach so many people. Influencers with sizeable, engaged audiences help you cast your net wider. And just like getting featured in a magazine, this coverage validates why your offering is so special.

Quality creators help capture your glamping offering in a fresh light and with a renewed energy. Depending on your agreement with that influencer (more on that below), a partnership can give quality marketing assets (photography, video, testimonials, etc) and SEO benefits for years to come. In the 2021 State of Influencer Marketing Study, influencer content outperformed branded content by 2.7 times and 71% of brands surveyed are planning to increase their influencer marketing budgets based on past success. While there are lots of great reasons to work with influencers, it’s important to ask yourself what you hope to gain from such a partnership. Is it a bigger social media following, beautiful photography, a marketing video, website traffic? The next step is to find influencers with the strengths that match your goals.

HOW TO FIND GOOD INFLUENCERS

That’s the hardest part. Here’s how to get started:

• Do Your Social Media Research:

Go down the rabbit hole of Instagram,

Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube looking for glamping, travel, and lifestyle content creators that impress you with their quality of imagery and snappy text. Search hashtags like #glamping #luxurycamping #glampingnotcamping #glampinglife #couplestravel #familytravel. Follow those hashtags to see more posts like that in your feed and follow the accounts that catch your eye. Google around for bloggers that glamp or specialize in your region; they might have a smaller audience but more synergies with your guest demographics. Make a list of your favorite accounts and follow them closely. Notice the engagement each post receives. Are they getting quality comments or mostly robot-like responses? Comment on a few posts to see how that influencer responds to you. If all bodes well, direct message them to start the conversation.

• Partner With Your Tourism Board:

Another effective strategy for finding qualified influencers (and journalists) are your county and state tourism boards. These government orgs have a budget to promote your area and they’re always looking for interesting places to highlight in their promo materials and press trips—like your camp! We wouldn’t have known about one of our favorite glamping properties, Cozy Peach, if we didn’t meet Visit Mesa at a travel trade show! Let the tourism boards know you are interested n hosting media and they’ll help send the right people your way.

• Put Out the Feelers:

Let your website viewers, social media followers, and community know you are open to working with content creators. Our client

Airydale Retreat added a Work With

Us page to their site that says, “Are you a

Photographer, Social Media Influencer,

Blogger, or Videographer? Let us know if your interested in capturing the beauty of Airydale by filling out the form below.” As a result they’ve gained beautiful photography for their website, improved social media metrics, and made the most of unused room nights.

If a content creator sees this call to action on your site, it means they’re already thinking about staying with you, so you’re already half way there!

MAKE A PLAN & MANAGE EXPECTATIONS

Once you pinpoint a good influencer for your brand (and budget), reach out about a potential partnership and continue the conversation over a video conference call (it will give both parties an immediate vibe check and humanize the experience). Some influencers are happy to create content in exchange for a lovely room, meals, and activities (especially if they are newbies or already in the area), while others require a fee for their time and digital assets. Remember, the more you give them (be it money, room nights, or experiences), the more you’ll get in return… so be generous, it all comes around! Ask the influencer how they typically work with properties and, if you have specific goals, see what they can deliver in exchange for an awesome glamping experience and/or your budget. Make sure to have an email outlining the specific deliverables (from both parties) to help manage expectations and increase accountability.

THE STAY: SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS

Give them an Instagram-worthy experience! Make their stay as delightful as possible so it’s easy to say wonderful things about your property and show why it’s a must-see destination. Make sure they visit at a good time (nice weather, pretty foliage, adequately staffed, and no construction projects or group retreats going on). When they arrive, be there to escort them to their room. The space should make them go WOW, with inviting lighting, fresh flowers by the bed, a bottle of wine, hand-written welcome note, and other touches that make it feel uniquely theirs. This won’t only build good will but also give them props for better photos. (We can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to use our own stuff to style a room to make it photograph well!) Once they’re settled in, invite them to dinner, drinks, or a walk to get to know each other and give you a chance to naturally share your property’s story. Ask them what you can do to make their visit more enjoyable or photogenic. Point out the best places and times for sunset, sunrise, wildlife sightings, picnics, and the must-do experiences on- and off-site. Further facilitate that magic by arranging special meals and activities to help them create more robust storytelling. A word of caution: their audience will want to do these things too, so don’t offer experiences that you couldn’t replicate for normal guests. That said, coming up with creative offerings for this partnership could spark new ideas to improve your guest experience for all!

HoneyTrek photographing Mendocino Grove

Arapaho Valley Ranch, photo courtesy of Comfortably Wild

AMPLIFY THE CONTENT

While it’s lovely to relish in a storyteller posting nice things about you, don’t just sit back and watch the imagery go by. Before they start posting, ask when their content will go live and remind them to tag your business so the name is clickable and you’ll be alerted when the posts happen. Offer them a promo code for a discounted stay or third night free to give something special to their followers. Comment on each post and share the content across your business and personal social media platforms. Ask your inner-circle (employees, relatives, friends, etc.) to engage with the posts to help boost the momentum. Follow the comment thread and chime in when people have questions. Celebrate the success of the campaign by including the content in your newsletter and featuring any articles or videos in the “press” section of your website.

MORE TO COME

Influencer marketing is not a silver bullet, but it is an important tool that nearly every successful brand is leveraging. It also shouldn’t be a onetime thing, as each influencer brings a completely different audience and creative flair. Continue to engage with this vibrant community of storytellers and get excited for what’s ahead!

For more on how to grow your business with influencer marketing, be sure to attend our talk at the Glamping Show at 9am on Wednesday, October 5th and stop by the HoneyTrek Booth (#1211) to ask us any questions over a glass of mulled wine!

About Mike & Anne Howard

Traveling for the last 10 years across 63 countries, Mike & Anne are travel experts with a glamping speciality. They launched HoneyTrek.com to chronicle their journey, and have since written National Geographic’s bestselling book Ultimate Journeys for Two and the first guide to glamping in North America, Comfortably Wild. Earning a Lowell Thomas Journalism Award for their book and a seat on the American Glamping Association Board of Advisors, they are committed to the success of the glamping industry. Businesses from budding glampgrounds to established tent manufacturers have partnered with the Howards for their skills as photographers, writers, influencers, and consultants to improve their guest experience and share it with the world. Visit HoneyTrek.com/GlampingExperts