Social Media Marketing: Leveraging Social Platforms to Connect with a New Generation of Traveler
Social media has been providing marketers with a cost effective and impactful method of engaging with customers and prospects for some time now. Ever since Myspace first allowed entertainers to connect with their fans online, social media has been an integral part of the business ecosystem.
As a region fully immersed in the world of digital technology, and with more than
one billion active users, the Asian travel industry has been leveraging the power of social media for almost as long as it’s been around. It is predicted that
64% of people in Eastern Asia and approximately 55% of Southeast Asian people use social media for marketing or other purposes.
When comparing Asia’s social media penetration to the rest of the world, perhaps the most noticeable difference is found in WeChat. Due to China banning Facebook,
WeChat was created to fill the need for a digital messaging platform and has since grown to dominate the country’s social media landscape.
South Korea also has
KakaoTalk – a popular messaging app used primarily by South Korean businesses to engage with customers. Nearly half (41%) of South Koreans use KakaoTalk, compared to just 12% who use Facebook messenger.
A Post-Pandemic Trend
During the COVID-19 crisis, social media use around the world skyrocketed as people desperately sought a window to the wider world while under lockdowns and other restrictions.
Because of the disproportionate effect the pandemic had on people’s ability to travel, those filled with wanderlust were among the biggest social media users. The average user spent
176 hours viewing travel related content on social media in the first year of the pandemic, with
76% of those doing so stating it increased their desire to travel and 63% reporting that viewing travel content had a positive effect on their ability to cope with the pandemic.
This trend is appearing to continue now we are moving out of the crisis as well, with 25% more travelers stating they will increase their social media use post-pandemic compared to those who intend to reduce it according to research by McKinsey.
The desire to travel is also skewing towards younger generations – i.e., those for whom social media is more deeply ingrained – with
more than half of all GenZs and Millennials, regardless of income, looking to spend on travel in 2022. Over half of GenXers earning $50k+ feel the same, but less than half of all Baby Boomers, regardless of income, intend to travel in the same period.
Some of the
biggest trends when it comes to social media marketing in 2022 include:
- Improved website integration
- Video content
- Tech partnerships for cross promotion
- Live selling over streams
- In-depth and relevant content
- AI and automation
- Niche marketing
- Influencer collaborations
TikTok
One of the biggest social media success stories of recent years, and one which has its origins right here in Asia, is Chinese short form video platform TikTok.
Particularly favored among the younger generations – most notably GenZ – TikTok is rapidly becoming a valuable tool in the social media marketer’s kit – especially for those travel brands looking to engage with a young, adventurous, and increasingly affluent audience. Roughly half of TikTok’s audience is under the age of 34 and the average user spends nearly an hour out of every day viewing content on the platform.
Image Source: https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wanderlust?lang=en
Travel is a particularly popular category on TikTok with hashtags such as #tiktoktravel, #wanderlust, and #traveldiaries gaining 25, 1.1, and 2.2 billion views respectively. The aspirational and FOMO (fear of missing out) nature of travel content makes it an ideal fit for the quick content hits provided by TikTok.
Companies such as Delta Airlines are succeeding on TikTok, such as with its #FavouriteTripChallege, which asked users to post clips of their favorite vacations. The campaign garnered over 19.5 million views in its first 36 hours.
The keys to success on TikTok are to make the most of the platform’s branded content advertisements Spark Ads, keep abreast of emerging trends, find ways to incorporate your brand into trending hashtags, and to work with influencers to maximize the reach of your promotional messaging. Expedia owned Hotwire achieved this when it got singer-songwriter, Jason Darulo – who has more than 47 million followers – to judge its $50,000 TikTok dream holiday contest.
TikTok offers fantastic opportunities for user-generated content (UCG), which you can use to promote your business in the incredibly busy social media space. Social media trends move on quickly, however, so you need to make sure you’re keeping your ear to the ground for the next big thing.
To read more about how community engagement strengthens the relationship between you and your consumer , click here
