The age of social media has allowed normal, everyday people to transform themselves into pseudo-celebrities. People who have been able to get a lot of followers on popular social networking sites, like Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat, have actually been able to generate a profit simply from posting their thoughts, feelings and feedback online. Marketers have noticed their sheer power and influence over their social followers, and they use these social celebrities as marketing partners to connect with their target audience.

So What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is a strategy which employs social media influencers as partners with your tour and activity brand. You can ask these influencers — whether they are travel bloggers or Instagram stars — to experience your tours and relay that experience to their followers. As social followers are highly likely to make their own decisions based on the reviews and feedback of influencers, you can generate a lot of bookings this way. In fact, influencer marketing has become so powerful, that about 84 percent of marketers told eMarketer that they would launch an influencer campaign this year.

The Rules to Follow When Working with Social Media Influencers for Your Travel Brand

  1. Be selective about your influencers. You want to discover influencers who offer more than just numbers to you. For example, you don’t want to select someone simply because they have a lot of followers on Instagram. You will want proof that they have loyal followers across several platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
  2. Be clear with your expectations. If you are going to let an influencer experience your tours and activities for free as part of a marketing campaign, you will want to outline what you expect in return. Identify the number of posts that you want per day and what channels you want the influencer to use.
  3. Be strategic with your plan to measure success. You will want to know exactly how many bookings you generate as a result of your influencer campaign. Consider using a unique hashtag or promo code to identify travelers who booked with you because they saw your brand information on their favorite social influencer’s page.
  4. Be smart with choosing the right influencer. The influencer that you work with should connect with your target market segment, and therefore should behave as such. In a sense, they become an extension of your brand, so you want it to be the right fit.
  5. Be better with amplifying your message. Return the favor by sharing, liking, and promoting the influencer’s posts on social media. This allows you to exponentially increase your exposure.

Social media influencers can be a powerful component to your online marketing strategy, but you also should be utilizing other ways to increase your brand recognition online and boost your direct bookings for your tour and activity company. To learn more about promoting your tours and activities online and developing your brand presence on the web, download the Rezdy online marketing ebook today.

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