Facebook for Tour Operators: 5 Types of Updates to Keep Your Fans Engaged

For tour operators, Facebook is a huge deal. It’s the best way to share information about your business and it reaches a huge audience. Here are the 4 types of updates that are best for tour operators to fill their fans’ news feeds and get them engaged:

Some important facts and figures about Facebook:

• 87% of those younger than 34 are using Facebook to solicit advice before making bookings.
• 34% of Asian leisure travellers are actively looking for social recommendations and feedback on ideas via social networks.
• 80% of travellers are more likely to book a trip from a friend liking a page rather than responding to a traditional Facebook ad.

So it’s no wonder that you’re looking for ways to engage and attract customers through Facebook.

Well, these types of updates will keep your content varied enough to keep current fans engaged, and make prospective new customers want to book with you.

Types of updates:

1. Photos

We had to start with this one because Facebook is the perfect social platform for visuals like photos.

You should constantly post photos of your tours and your tour group! These types of updates not only entice new prospects, but past customers will want to go to your page to tag themselves.

Some examples to get your imagination going…

You should also periodically update your cover photo because that will show up in their news feeds too, keeping you top of mind. It would be wise to line it up with new promotions you have going.

2. Fun Facts

These types of updates you should be sharing in the form of interesting, educational facts. They’re very shareable and it showcases your knowledge.

Some examples…

People love to learn, and your updates will give them a reason to keep following you, long after they’ve attended your tour. While they may not come back themselves, being at the top of their mind means that they’ll remember you when someone asks them for possible things to do in your area.

3. Community Posts

These types of updates show you care about your community. They are necessary because it’s all a part of being an active local business, plus they endear you to the community and might make them more likely to book with you.

Some examples of how you can do this…

The scenic tour’s helicopter is being used to help fight fires, the walking tour is showing that they’re keeping clued into the happenings of the city, and the kayak operator is sharing a public service notice for kayakers. How can you show that you’re part of your community?

4. Positive Reviews

Of course, you should be sharing the great reviews others have given you. If you have a good mention somewhere or you’ve reached a milestone, share it! These types of updates are great for letting you engage in some shameless self-promotion. People won’t know what’s good about you unless you tell them!

For example, this walking tour ranked #1 in TripAdvisor for this city:

You can also add a “Review” widget to your page. This is only available for local businesses, so you will have to create multiple pages for multiple cities. Here’s how it looks on the page of another walking tour based in Sydney:

These types of updates need to be shared so people feel more comfortable with your business, and more likely to book with you.

5. Promotions

So provided you’ve done everything right, meaning someone’s gone to your page, read your updates, and are thinking about booking with you, you need to make sure that it’s easy for them.

Provided you’ve linked up your Facebook page to your Rezdy account, this should be a simple process.

First of all, post promotions that ask people to book through your Facebook page:

You could link back to your site, but you should also take advantage of Rezdy’s booking widget for Facebook. Why take them away from their beloved Facebook site when they don’t need to?

Once customers click the ‘Book Now’ button, your catalog will be right in front of their eyes, ready for them to browse and book with.

Ta-da! You can now start engaging people and getting them to book with you through your very own Facebook page.

What’s Next?

• Follow the steps in the tutorial to integrate Facebook with Rezdy
• Add the Reviews widget to your Facebook page
• Watch the on-demand webinar: How to get more bookings through Facebook