Advice from leading digital and social media marketers for people at Destination Marketing Organizations. How to attract and engage travellers better.

1. Social Media Tips from Pros:
In-depth advice from experts and influencers
in social media and digital marketing
How to Attract and Engage Travellers Better

2. The conversation around travel on social media is huge.
People love posting their photos, sharing their experiences,
and of course, looking for their next destination.
“How can I use social media
to engage more people and
attract more visitors?”

3. That’s why we want to empower travel brands with
better ways to use social media to talk to travellers,
and inspire them into visiting.
We consulted some experts on how brands can power
their social strategy, and here’s what they had to say.

4. “As the online sphere gets more crowded, the brands
that go out of their way to personalize content and
build one-on-one relationships with their audience
are going to ace social media.
By creating and posting content that "humanizes"
your brand, it gives people the opportunity to build
a more solid connection with you.”Brian Peters
Social Media Manager
@Buffer

5. “Too many brands focus in on trying to create viral campaigns and one-off
videos, but what they miss is that the best content is the type of content
that builds relationships over a consistent period of time.
Travel is ripe for this type of content as there are endless topics and
ideas to talk about in short, regular videos.
The bonus here is that video - and especially YouTube video - is incredibly
SEO friendly. Videos will propel your content to the first page of any search.
And if you are concerned with expense, don't be. You don't need big film
crews to shoot compelling content.
All you need is a compelling story and the patience to grow your channel
one person at a time.”
Tara Hunt
Digital Marketing Executive
and Influencer

6. “Know your brand, know what makes you special
and what your audiences engage with more than
anything, and embrace it!
When it comes to imagery, tell a story about your
destination, a story your audience can connect with.”
Dave Fluegge
Founder @Fluegge Consulting
Working with Tourism Colorado

7. “Use social media in the way it's meant to be used: to engage and inspire.
Remember that the social media can be used to cultivate a sense of
community, not just as a one-way message platform. Engage with your
followers on a regular basis to find out what excites them, makes
them come back for more, and what they’re looking for from your pages.
Then use what you've learned and apply it to future content.
“Whether it's via Twitter chats, InstaMeets (local Instagram community
meetups to take photos and videos together) or Snapchat behind-the-
scenes videos, your job is to find ways to engage with them more
efficiently after identifying what works best.”
Stephanie Arbetter
Coordinator,
Consumer Marketing
& Social Media
@Brand USA

8. “Don't feel like you have to be on every social media platform.
Select one or just a couple of social media platforms and put your energy
into those rather than spreading yourself too thin across multiple channels.
I call that platforming. Platforming is about consciously choosing the
platforms/social media channels you will be active in and putting your
time and energy into those to ensure they get traction and become effective
tools for you.”
Holly Gailbraith
Tourism Marketing Professional
& Social Media Strategist
@Go Future Media

9. Maya Shoucair
Social Media &
Community Manager
@Uberflip
“Plan ahead! There's a misconception that social happens in
real-time all the time but to do it well, it takes careful planning.
I look at my social content on weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis in
Trello and then schedule everything out once a week in Buffer, using
Feedly and Buzzsumo to curate additional content. This saves me tons
of time, helps me better measure my campaigns, and gives me more
space for creativity because I can look ahead to develop multiple posts
and graphics for different audiences and networks.”

10. “Be genuine. Talk to people on social media like
you would talk to them in real life! Taking the time
to personalize your social efforts and respond to
users who try to engage with you goes a long way
in our highly automated world.”
Erin Scott
Digital Content Specialist
@Visit Albuqurque

11. Arabella Bowen
Travel Authority
& Brand Strategist
Former Editor-in-Chief
@Fodors Travel
At Fodor's Travel, we organically grew our Instagram library to 75,000
inspirational travel images, just by inviting travellers to tag their
photos with #fodorsonthego.
“While the hashtag should be inviting, it's more important that it's
short and easy to type (especially if you want it shared on Twitter).
Be sure to socialize it everywhere--including printed marketing
materials and advertising--and reward the best posts with a credited
feature on your feed(s).”

12. “Have a measurable strategy that aligns with
your business goals and objectives! This point
can’t be expressed enough. It’s great to know how
to use a social media platform like a pro but if you
don’t know how to use it to build your business,
it won’t matter.”
Eden Spodek
Founder
@Eden Spodek Inc

13. “Use visuals! Photos, videos, and gifs are eye-
catching, and really improve engagement rates of my
posts. 90% of all the social posts I schedule have a
visual attached to it now.
Even though a tweet might be going out to thousands
of followers, craft your social messages as if you’re
only talking to one person.”Ritu Ashrafi
Marketing Manager
@CrowdRiff

14. CrowdRiff’s visual marketing platform helps marketers
power their social and digital marketing with authentic
and aspirational visuals, in minutes.
10 Examples of DMOs Using Visuals In Creative Ways
5 Ways Destinations Use CrowdRiff on their Websites
About CrowdRiff
Further Reading
Apply these social media tips to amplify your social
reach, watch the travellers line up to visit. With a strong
social presence, no one will be able to (or want to!)
ignore your destination.
Now, Over to You!