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Few industries have been hit as hard by COVID-19 as the travel and touring space. The pandemic has caused travel restrictions and decreased consumer demand. The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimates that tourism could reduce globally by 20-30% in 2020, triggering losses around $50 billion. The travel industry and COVID-19 are now intricately linked in a bad way for companies in the industry. Whether you market for museums, amusement parks, resort destinations, tours, or any other travel experience, you need to have the right plan.
In this article, we’ll discuss how tourism and travel brands can change their approach to survive and thrive during this unique time. Below are ten powerful strategies and tactics to run profitable pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, even during coronavirus:
If you run PPC campaigns for tourism brands, there are a variety of things you might be focused on:
Furthermore, your campaigns should consider the buying journey of people interested in tourist activities. There are four main stages:
In this first stage, travelers are just beginning to get an idea of where they want to go. They might be looking up photos or information about particular places. They know they want a great experience. They just don’t know where they are going for sure yet.
When targeting people in this first stage, do your best to provide compelling reasons to consider your offering. Great photos, videos, and descriptions can go a long way.
Now, the average traveler is doing more research on their trip. They have moved past the stage of merely dreaming about their destination. They will begin looking for specific details. This includes information about where they can stay, nearby activities, and even historical information about their dream trip.
Be sure to have something in your campaign to appeal to travelers in this stage as well. On your landing page, you should provide sufficient information so that your market feels they have all the details they need to make a great decision. Remember that travel is often a very expensive undertaking, so do your best to remove doubt by answering potential questions in advance.
With the information you provided, the traveler is now ready to purchase their housing, events, and other activities. Make sure your site has an easy way to provide payment details and complete the purchase.
In travel, the experience itself is the central focus of any marketing. When you have successfully gained a new customer, make sure to follow up with them. You can gain valuable insights.
When you get feedback, testimonials, or reviews, you win no matter what. If they are positive, then you can use these statements and reviews in your future marketing. And if there are issues with their experience, you can drill down on exactly how to improve on it next time.
Now that you understand the lens through which your campaigns should be conducted, you are better equipped to create compelling advertisements, landing pages, and sales funnels.
It’s now time to learn about strategies and tactics that will make the relationship between the travel industry and COVID-19 positive for your brand:
We are living in strange times. And that requires a new way of approaching your online marketing. Let’s discuss ten ways to get more out of your advertising for better growth and profits:
Travel and tourism could take weeks, months, or years to normalize in your market. It depends where you are and what you offer. However, you can always do the following to prepare for the opportunity when your market is back to normal:
Storytelling is a great way to get your audience emotionally involved. And when you think about it, travel and tourism are based on emotions and fantasies instead of logical reality. People want something to lift them out of their normal lives, so they are willing to spend so much money to attain it.
You can use storytelling in your ads, but also on your landing page and social media. By doing this, you create a more vivid image of your offering and encourage visitors to share your content to achieve more reach.
Here are some ways to leverage storytelling for higher engagement and conversions:
Video can be useful in several ways. You can encourage deeper connections with your destination with beautiful videos and imagery. Besides, you can provide video footage of other customers enjoying their time. This allows your prospects to visualize themselves in a similar scenario, with all the sights and sounds of your incredible experience.
Keywords and phrases used to search for travel experiences should be something you study extensively. You might choose to phrase your experience that you offer in a certain way. And by all means, you should embrace your creativity and passion for your brand when you are creating your advertising. Intent of user is a key. It’s much easier to persuade them to book your trip if you use their words since they will have a real-life attachment to them.
Live streaming is taking off around the world. People love the authenticity and real-time connection that it provides. But during this pandemic, as you cannot visit many places and live stream what you can do you if you can, set up a live stream that answers questions or promotes your destination in some way.
Search ads are excellent when there is existing demand for your offer. However, there are ways to spark more demand. Social ads are useful for promoting your brand in different ways.
Don’t underestimate the power of your brand terms. If you take this for granted, competitors could claim them. Take advantage of brand terms to increase your exposure in the market. It’s a small price to pay for owning the traffic generated by your business.
Far too many brands leave out the follow-up process in their campaigns. This doesn’t always mean reaching out via an email or phone call. You can designate certain ads to appear around the web with Google, Facebook, and other platforms that serve ads. Sometimes, the real profit is in remarketing because someone will be continually reminded about your travel package until they are ready to buy.
There are a lot of brands in the travel industry, and COVID-19 has made it more competitive. Try a unique angle by helping out the frontline in this pandemic.
Medical personnel is performing at high levels during all hours of this pandemic. They love to feel appreciated. Consider specific promotions or discounts for this segment of your market. They will increase their affinity for your brand, and hopefully, end up booking a well-deserved break from their stressful duties.
The last thing you want is for potential customers to abandon your booking page. You could have an excellent funnel set up, but if you make it difficult for your customers to hand over their hard-earned money, you’re only shooting yourself in the foot.
Invest in the best payment technology you can afford – customers this far down in the funnel already want to buy, and accepting their payment should be the least of your worries.
There is no excuse for not having a Google My Business Listing. It’s free, it’s easy to set up, and it gives interested searchers more information about your company. You can reach a global audience by inputting your business information so Google can help promote you to more users. With the challenges of the travel industry and COVID-19 combined, you need every advantage you can get.
You need to manage your reviews and treat them like gold. Consider hiring a team member or two who is responsible for this aspect of your marketing. They should be responding to reviews (both negative and positive) to show that your brand cares about feedback and is willing to make things right.
A great reputation is worth its weight in gold. Whether that means social media campaigns, press releases, or responding quickly to errors, you need to maintain a stellar image. It’s hard to track increased revenue due to these kinds of efforts, but if you look at the before and after picture since your brand reputation management started, you should see a significant improvement.
Every business needs to be testing ads constantly. Through a simple “A/B” test, you can run two different versions of similar ads at the same time. By simply changing out a headline, image, or landing page, you will gradually see what your market responds to more favorably. And that means you can stop wasting money on underperforming campaigns by following optimization steps.
Don’t avoid collaborating with potential competitors. There are many of them in the travel industry, and COVID-19 has made their lives harder.
While anyone in the travel and tourism space is technically a competitor, some companies will complement your offer in a mutually beneficial way. Reach out to them and see if there is a chance to cross-pollinate your target audience for a win-win situation.
Looking at the link between the travel industry and COVID-19 makes it clear that old methods won’t work today. The economy around the world has taken a hit and changed consumer behavior – potentially for the foreseeable future.
As a PPC marketer, you need to adapt, or your brand will suffer from lower conversions and rising costs. Use the ten tips above, as they will help you gain clarity about your goals and implement unique campaigns that genuinely speak to your target market. That way, you can take control of your business results instead of letting coronavirus disrupt your profits.
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