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10 Marketing Terms to Know: Your 2025 Travel Agent 101 Guide

If you want your travel business to grow, you need to know (or learn) how to market your business. You don't need to hire a digital marketing agency to do it for you. You can easily market your own business if you master these key marketing terms to know.


Marketing is essential. Without good marketing, no one knows your travel business exists.


But what exactly is marketing?


The term “marketing” can be confusing. And a lot of would-be marketers combine marketing and advertising under the same umbrella and just say “learn marketing”.


Advertising is not essential. Marketing is.

 

So let’s start at the beginning. 

 

For travel advisors, modern marketing isn’t about selling everyone on the idea of booking travel through a travel advisor. 

 

In fact, marketing isn’t just about selling. It’s about building relationships. Visibility. Storytelling. Personalization.


The goal is to attract the right people. You know, the ones who actually want to buy what you’re selling! 

 

A lot of business today is conducted online. So we're going to focus on digital marketing, not traditional or direct marketing.


Traditional marketing generally refers to hard copy pieces of marketing material like mailers, postcards, flyers or pamphlets.

 

Digital marketing is much of what you do online. Think website, email, social media, blogs, those sorts of things. Technology is central to so much of what we do in life. Which means digital marketing needs to adapt to changes in technology, like the growth of AI tools like ChatGPT. 


This isn't an exhaustive list of  marketing terminology. We're not going to talk about terms like inbound marketing, having a content management system, b2b marketing, value proposition, or outbound marketing.  


You're a marketing team of one! We're not going to talk about creating a marketing goal or ad spend. And we're not going to talk about affiliate marketing or even creating a marketing plan.


Instead, we'll focus on the basics. Those Travel Advisor 101 marketing terms that are important to your small business.


So let’s dive in!

 

1) Call to Action (CTA)

 

A call to action tells someone exactly what they need to do next. Don’t leave them wondering about the next step. 

 

Things like the button on your website that says “schedule a consultation” or “take the quiz”. Or a link in your email newsletter that says “read more” and goes to your latest blog post.

 

Having a single call to action is important. Don't give someone three options - they won't pick any. Give them one “next step" and they're more likely to take it.

 

 

2) Content Marketing


Content marketing means creating valuable, sharable content that showcases your expertise and builds trust with potential clients. It includes everything from blog posts and email newsletters to podcasts and social media. And it's a key digital marketing term that's used frequently.

 

Even your lead generator (also called a lead magnet or opt-in) is a type of content marketing.

 

The goal of content marketing is to keep your business top of mind so potential clients think of you when they’re ready to book.

 

It’s important to create authentic, personalized content. Mass-produced content (the kind that some advisors decide to purchase) aren't seen as much as original content. Social media algorithms can recognize repeated content that’s copied across a bunch of accounts. 

 

If you choose to purchase content from someone else, use it as inspiration. Re-write it in your own voice for your ideal client before posting it on social media or adding it as your latest blog post.

 

 

3) Email Marketing


Sending regular emails to your list, whether it’s weekly, every other week, or monthly, is email marketing. It's not complicated.

 

It’s a way to communicate directly with people who have asked to hear from you, so you’re top of mind when they’re ready to plan their next vacation. 

 

But you can’t spam people. Make sure they’ve given you permission to email them (like opting in for your lead generator). And never buy an email list.

 

Email providers like Kit (formerly ConvertKit) give you great tools to automate and personalize your emails. You can even segment your list based on subscriber interest.


And don't forget about that existing customer who's thinking about where to go next. Email marketing is a great way to stay connected with them until they're ready to book their next vacation.

 

 

4) Ideal Client Avatar (ICA)


This semi-fictional character represents your perfect client. Tailoring your marketing messages to resonate deeply with the specific needs, desires, and wanderlust of one potential ideal customer means attracting more clients who are aligned with the travel you want to book.

 

When you try to speak to everyone, you end up speaking to no one.

 

Speaking to one person helps your marketing resonate with your target audience so they say “you’re talking to me!”

 

Your ICA will naturally evolve as your business evolves. Review and refine your ICA regularly. Market and client preferences evolve. Your ICA will too.

 

 

5) Keywords


The words someone types into a search engine when they’re looking for your services are called keywords.

 

Short-tail keywords are one or two words like “travel” or “travel agent”. These are not the type of keywords you want to try and rank for on Google. They may be important words, but you’re up against every other agency and booking engine that’s out there.

 

Long-tail keywords are phrases like “best beach resorts in the Caribbean for kids”. They’re more specific and you can tailor your copy, or words, to the phrases you want to rank for. Even better, choose phrases that go along with your niche or specialty. Long-tail keywords are the type of keywords you want to rank for.

 

 

 

6) Lead Generator / Lead Magnet / Opt-In


A lead generator is something free that you provide to a potential client in exchange for their name and email. The terms “lead generator”, “lead magnet”, “freebie” and “opt-in” are often used interchangeably.

 

Video and interactive lead magnets (think quizzes and mini-courses) are newer marketing trends for lead generators. But they haven't caught on as much in travel.

 

If you want to create a freebie or update an existing one, AI can be a great tool to help brainstorm ideas. Just remember, AI should not write your freebie for you. Clients want to hear from you, not AI.

 

Having a lead generator can (and should) be part of your broader marketing strategy. You can use a lead generator in a specific marketing campaign. It's a simple way to get more people on your email list.  

 

 

7) Niche


Your niche is the specific area of travel you focus on. It can be destination specific (British Isles, Italy, Caribbean) or a type of travel (destination weddings, luxury honeymoons, adventure travel).

 

Having a clear niche makes your marketing more effective. It helps you attract the right clients and stand out from competitors.

 

 

8) Sales Funnel or Client Journey


Your sales funnel - also called a marketing funnel or “client journey” - is the entire experience a potential client has with your travel business. It starts with discovering you and your business. Today that's usually online with their first visit to your website or social media.

 

The client journey is about building a relationship, not selling a product or service. The goal is to create a seamless experience from the first interaction to booking and beyond.

 

If you don’t know how a client moves through your process from the very beginning to the end, it’s important to map it out. Mapping the client’s journey through your travel business helps you provide a consistent, high-touch experience that keeps clients coming back.

 

 

9) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)


SEO helps your travel website show up when people search for services like yours on Google or another search engine. Think of it like matchmaking. Google pairs people’s searches and questions with the most helpful and relevant websites.

 

Improving your SEO means using the words your clients are searching for. These are called keywords. Creating valuable content with good, long-tail keywords that answers their questions is viewed more positively by Google.

 

SEO isn’t about tricks. It’s about helping the right people find you online. Some people choose to boost how they appear in searches through Google Ads and Search Engine Marketing (paid ads) but this isn't a necessity.

 

Writing good blog posts can be the easiest way to get your site to rank better. And writing posts that answer common client questions or focus on specific keywords are even better! It's an important piece of increasing your website traffic. Every additional visitor is another potential customer.

 

The more valuable, relevant content you can add to your site, the more likely Google is to trust you and recommend your site to searchers.

 

 

10) Social Media Marketing


All social media marketing is a type of content marketing, but not all content marketing is social media marketing. This is an important marketing term to know and is used a lot.

 

Social media marketing means marketing specifically on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. It looks different based on the platform. Social media marketing can include include posting videos in Stories and Reels, sharing content in your private Facebook group, or writing a longer article for LinkedIn.

 

Just remember, social media marketing isn’t the “silver bullet” for growing your travel business like some people make it out to be. It’s not magic and it can take an incredible amount of time to do well.


If you’re going to be on multiple platforms, tools like Later can help you schedule posts for all of them.

 

In general, if your ideal client regularly goes to a specific social media platform, then it makes sense for you to be there too. Don’t be there just because someone said you “should”. Do what makes sense for your business.

 

 

Bonus term: Analytics


A graph showing website analytics, like impressions, clicks, and click through rate

You don’t have to guess if your marketing strategy is working. Every platform, from your website to social media accounts, have their own analytics. Each will help you use data to see what’s working and what isn’t.


Google Search Console is a great tool to show how people are finding you on Google. Google Analytics helps you see how your overall marketing mix is working and which marketing channel is the most effective.


Stop wondering if what you’re doing is working. Use the analytics tools available to you so you can make marketing decisions based on real data instead of guessing.


The bottom line: marketing terms to know


All of these marketing terms are important, and many of them work together, like SEO and Keywords. They all work together as part of a broader digital marketing strategy.

 

Remember, the essence of great marketing isn’t selling. It’s telling stories, inspiring, and personalizing how you guide potential clients so they want to work with you.

 

Happy Marketing!

 

Do you want bite-sized content on topics like this? Join our free Facebook group Grow With Intention: Travel Advisors Building Lasting Success. It’s filled with travel advisors like you who are focused on growing their business! 

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