Updated January 5, 2024
Are you still using social media the same way you did two or three years ago?
If so, guess what. Times have changed.
We’re heading into 2024, and there are new trends to take into account if you want your travel social media accounts to continue (or start) resonating with your audience.
Plenty of social media companies track the current social media trends, and I read them so you don’t have to!
Here, in a nutshell, is what you need to know to hit it out of the park with your travel agency social media content in 2024.
How to use AI with your travel social media content
Do you want your audience to trust you? If so, you’ll want to use AI sparingly.
AI is great for creating content ideas, but if you think copying and pasting AI generated content is a lifesaver, it can alienate your audience quickly.
The younger your audience, the more likely they are to be receptive to AI in your social media marketing.
Hootsuite polled over 4,500 consumers for their 2024 Social Media Trends report, and found that "62% of consumers say that they're less likely to engage with and trust content if they know it was created by an AI application."
Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to think they can tell the difference between original and AI generated content, and are also more likely to engage in spite of thinking it may be AI generated.
Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers said they won’t engage or trust content if they believe it’s generated by AI, and are less likely to think they can tell the difference between AI and original content.
What does that mean for you?
It means that one post that sounds like it was generated by AI, whether it actually was or not, is more likely to alienate your audience, especially if they’re over 40. As Hootsuite put it, “if your audience is older, it’s best to tread carefully for now.”
If you want to experiment with AI, absolutely do so. But first, you need to know what makes your brand authentic.
What is the look, feel and sound of your travel advisor brand? As long as AI generated content matches, it won’t matter much whether it was written word-for-word by you or if you used an AI tool to help you.
But if some of your content has a different look, feel, or tone, it’s going to ring as untrue and unauthentic with your audience.
And right now, nothing puts people off more than something feeling unauthentic.
So how can you leverage AI in your travel agent social media content? Try these strategies:
Use AI to brainstorm, whether it’s a blog post topic list or some potential social media post ideas.
Rewrite anything created by AI in your own voice. Don’t just copy and paste if it’s not how you would say something.
Have AI create an outline, then write the content yourself.
Choose the right travel social media platforms
You can’t be everywhere, with an active social media account on every platform.
If you try, you’ll find that social media is a full time job, or you’ll need to hire a travel social media manager and content creator.
So it’s important to figure out which social media channels are working for you, and focus your social media strategy on them.
Do you have an engaged Facebook community, but a lackluster Instagram presence?
That’s absolutely fine! Spend your time on Facebook. Have a small social media presence on Instagram, and use it to let people know where to find you on Facebook.
In 2024, copying a social media post from one platform to another isn't a good content marketing strategy. It’s all about tailoring your content to each platform.
Someone on Facebook doesn’t want to see “head to the link in my bio” from an Instagram post, because that doesn’t work on Facebook. And someone on Instagram doesn’t want to see a link in a caption or comment because absolutely no one is going to take the time to type it into their browser, and the only links that work on Instagram are in your bio.
Your audience on TikTok is looking for quick entertainment. Your audience on Pinterest is looking for pinnable travel inspiration. And your audience on Instagram is looking for a mix of the two, whether it's in a static post, Instagram reel or Instagram story.
If you’re looking for the social platform that large brands expect to have the most success on in the next year, LinkedIn is the winner with over 70% of brands thinking their LinkedIn strategy will succeed. Are you there, or should you be based on the clients you’re trying to reach?
Instead of just posting whatever content you have on whichever platform you happen to be on, or copying and pasting verbatim content on every platform, it’s time to look at what’s working.
Where are you getting the most engagement, and where is your audience spending most of their social media time?
Be there, and it’s ok to not be active on every other social media platform. If they’re not working for you, and you don’t have the time and energy to make them work, they’re just distractions.
The entertainment shift
Ok, this is a big one when it comes to social media and digital marketing.
The number one reason most consumers are on social media, other than staying in touch with family and friends, is for entertainment.
Travel social media accounts that succeed are prioritizing entertainment. While what you can do for your clients is important, your potential customer isn’t following you day-in and day-out to hear what you can do for them, or see a behind-the-scenes of your daily work.
Unless, of course, most of your Instagram followers are your friends and family. They care about that stuff, but most other people don’t.
In fact, over 1 in 3 consumers polled by Hootsuite said they are turned off by brands who focus too much on self-promotion.
Let me say that again for all you in the back.
If you spend too much time talking about you, what you do, and how you do it, you’ll actually turn a potential client off. It’s the number one reason consumers stop following or paying attention to a company on social media.
The second highest reason is low-quality content. So if you’re posting low quality content about what you can do for a client, you most likely won’t succeed.
People are actually more likely to trust and engage with your brand if you aren’t on social media at all than they are if you post too much self-promotion or low quality content.
Let me share this, directly from Hootsuite’s 2024 Social Media Trends Report:
“While almost half of organizations are yammering about themselves, 69% say engagement is the top metric they use to demonstrate ROI (return on investment). How can you demonstrate ROI through engagement metrics when you’re giving the audience exactly what they don’t want to engage with?”
What does that mean for you?
It’s time to learn how to create high-quality, entertaining and engaging content for your travel company. Beautiful photos and videos of a travel destination your customers or target audience dream of visiting. Insider tips on where to go, what to see, and the benefits they’ll miss out on if they don’t book their trip through you.
Don’t just create social media posts that tell them “I can plan your trip, and here’s how I’ll help”.
Show them a beautiful room-service breakfast and ask them “Want to know how much my clients pay for this? Nothing! It’s included.”
Only if breakfast included is actually a benefit you can get for your clients, of course. But you get the picture.
Keep in mind that travel industry social media isn’t meant to be an immediate money-maker. It’s a long term strategy, where you build brand awareness and stay top-of-mind with your social media followers through beautiful, high-quality content that people want to engage with.
Because if they aren’t engaging with your travel business social media content, the algorithm won’t show them your content. You’ll literally be speaking to no one.
So give them what they want 90% of the time, and they’ll see the posts where you show them what you can do for them.
The bottom line: Your travel agent social media content
Keep it real, keep it entertaining, and keep using the platforms that work for you.
It’s that simple. Do those three things, and you should find that your travel social media content works for your travel agency.
For more travel agency social media tips and strategies, check out our other travel social media blog posts.