What if your travel agency marketing content could practically write itself?
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Let me introduce you to Ashley…
She’s 38 years old and loves eco-friendly tourism. She enjoys traveling with Brian, her boyfriend, and occasionally a few of their friends tag along too. She makes decent money, but “works to live” rather than “lives to work”.
One of her favorite things about traveling is finding off-the-beaten-path places to go. She really likes finding great places before they’re super touristy.
Her favorite place to shop is Whole Foods. She wants to know exactly what she’s putting in her body, and loves that they emphasize health and community involvement.
She’s not a social media addict, but she likes spending time on TikTok. When it’s time to start planning her next trip, she has an Instagram collection of places to go and things to see.
Google is also her friend. If she hasn’t heard of someplace, or is interested in learning more, she’s searching for destination guides and exploring new places to travel.
So what does Ashley have to do with your travel agency marketing strategy or content?
Actually, a lot.
If you sell adventure or ecotourism, Ashley just might be the ideal client for your travel agency.
If you specialize in something else, your ideal client is going to look different.
I'm giving you all this detail about Ashley for a reason, and it's not to copy Ashley as your ideal client.
The goal is to help you understand your own ideal client as specifically as Ashley.
Getting to know your ideal client
Ashley loves shopping at Whole Foods.
I know, it sounds like a silly detail when you’re thinking about who your client actually is. (And it doesn’t mean you direct content blindly towards anyone who shops at Whole Foods.)
Knowing details like this about your ideal client is what helps you get to the core of what actually drives her.
It helps you understand why she makes intentional decisions about where she spends her time and money.
You get a clearer picture about the types of businesses she trusts and the language that might appeal to her.
It also gives you some insight into the types of things she may be willing to pay more for, and the types of claims or statements she may question.
In other words, it gives you a much clearer picture of what drives her and appeals to her than simply knowing her name, age, income, marital status, and travel preferences.
Good marketing is more than just surface level info. It’s super specific!
Marketing done well means you know exactly who you’re talking to and why.
It helps you talk to your client in the way she already goes about life and how she thinks and makes decisions. That means when she hears (or reads) it, she feels like you’re talking directly to her.
Your ideal client should want what you’re selling
This should be a no-brainer, but I’ve found that sometimes it helps to state the obvious.
Don’t start with creating your ideal client.
It starts before you know who they are.
Start with the destination or type of travel
Think about what it is you really want to sell. Maybe it’s a specific destination, or maybe it’s more a style of travel.
The more specific you can be, the easier it is to create marketing around it.
Think about who’s naturally interested in it
What type of person would be interested in what it is that you want to sell?
It’s important to go a little deeper, as a lot of different types of people can like the same place for very different reasons.
If you want to sell the Mexican Caribbean, is your ultimate ideal client the wife of an older retired couple looking for an upscale resort? Or is it the wife (or husband) in a younger family wanting an enjoyable beach vacation that doesn’t break the bank?
Develop a deep understanding
It’s more than just basic demographics.
Think about where they live and why?
Where do they shop? Why do they shop there?
Are there specific brands they like? Why or why not?
Do they usually live paycheck to paycheck, or do they save most of what they bring in?
Are they big spenders or penny pinchers? Remember, this isn’t a reflection of their income. Sometimes clients with the largest paychecks can be the biggest penny pinchers.
The answers to questions like these will help you understand more about what drives your client and what’s important to them.
Use language that speaks to the underlying drivers
Let’s go back to where we started with Ashley.
Based on what you know of her, which of these two options do you think will most appeal to her?
A mass-market mainline cruise or land tour that hits some “adventure” spots with an attractive low price point
A smaller hiking tour that costs more but operates on “leave no trace” principles and includes experiences involving the local population, like joining a local family for a meal
That small hiking tour is going to appeal to her a whole lot more than the more mass-market options.
When you’re creating content (social media, emails, blog posts, etc.) intended to evoke her sense of wanderlust and inspire her to visit new places, it’s about more than just the place itself.
The language you use should fit too.
Don’t take this to mean you should just take the promo materials provided by the tour operator and use those.
It’s more about your take on it, and who it would appeal to and why.
Example: Dreaming of seeing someplace new before it’s overrun by tourism? Come walk the paths the locals have walked for centuries. Have dinner with a local family and understand how their alpaca farm has provided sustainable clothing for their village for the last 150 years.
Or let’s think about Mexico.
If you’re focused on family-friendly vacations that don’t break the bank, what you choose to talk about is going to look and sound a whole lot different than if your focus is quiet, upscale resorts for retired couples.
Once you know what you want to sell, and who you want to sell it to, deciding what to talk about is easier. So. Much. Easier.
Why do you create travel agency marketing content?
Good travel agency marketing content is important for two reasons. It engages your existing clients by keeping them interested. And it gives your potential clients valuable information.
But how do you decide what content to create?
Simple! It depends on your audience and what you want your content to do.
Take social media. You can create a bunch of content that you’re really proud of. Sometimes people will engage with it. Sometimes they don’t.
But it’s probably not converting into the sales that you want it to. Have you ever wondered why?
First off, if you’re posting on social media just because someone said you should be, just stop. Right now.
Have you asked yourself why you’re posting?
What do you want your content to do?
Figuring out your “why” and what you want your travel marketing content to do is a huge part of your content marketing strategy.
It’s what should be driving what you’re creating, so you get the outcome that you want.
Content should be part of a bigger marketing plan
You want more people to know that you plan amazing trips for them. And you want them to book more trips with you.
So how does that relate to content marketing?
It starts with turning what you want into a goal. Keep it simple, but measurable.
Your goal: Getting 20% more bookings this year than last year.
But to get 20% more bookings, more people need to find you and understand the value of the services you offer.
You already know that Ashley is your ideal client and represents your target market. You know her likes and dislikes and how she travels.
So how can you focus your efforts so Ashley can find you?
First, you know Ashley spends a lot of time on social media but she's not on it constantly.
So you want to create content on the social media platforms that she’s on the most.
What you create should be focused on what will interest her, and how you can help create the experience she’s looking for.
Remember, it's about your service and what you bring to the table. It's not about what you can book for her.
You know Ashley searches Google for more info after she’s inspired by content from TikTok and Instagram. And if you want to be found on Google, you need to write content that can be found - like blog posts.
Showing up in multiple ways with current and potential clients is important too. You don’t want to leave your audience visibility to the whims of the social media algorithms. Which means you’ll want to use email marketing to engage with your audience regularly too.
So how does this all tie together? It’s part of your marketing strategy.
But how do you create content that ties into your content marketing strategy?
Creating your travel agency marketing content
Remember, your goal is to increase your bookings by 20% this year. Ashley is your ideal client, and you’re going to use a mix of content to reach her (and more people like her).
You decide to write a blog post for your travel agent website. You’ll use the post to create additional content like social media posts and email.
The blog post you write is “5 places for adventure without contributing to overtourism”. In the post you list eco-friendly locations and eco-friendly options for getting there. You also include some great photos and sprinkle in some insider travel tips.
You share the post on your social media channels and in an email to your list.
Ashley doesn’t spend much time on Facebook, so you focus your social media marketing on TikTok and Instagram.
You create a couple of videos that can be shared, using footage you took during your last visit to one of the places you included in the blog post. And you create Instagram posts with photos and great captions that can easily be saved for later.
You follow the same plan for the next 2-3 months: one blog post, one email and multiple postings on your travel business social media accounts.
Each blog post is related to eco-tourism. You’ve created specific, well-researched content that answers questions your clients are asking so you’re more likely to show up in AI-driven search results.
You’ve also included specific, well researched, long-tail keywords so your posts are more likely to show up in traditional search results.
Just remember what you’re working towards.
More traffic to your travel agency website. Higher engagement on social media. And eventually, more bookings from eco-conscious travelers who have been inspired by your content and your expertise.
Consistently creating and sharing content that’s valuable to your audience will attract new potential clients. It also builds loyalty to your travel agency.
That’s the power of great marketing content when it’s paired with a bigger marketing strategy.
The Bottom Line
Deciding what your goal is and creating content that gets you there is the key to your strategy and content working together. It doesn’t need to be complicated - in fact, it shouldn’t be!
This content strategy can work regardless of who your ideal potential customer is. If your niche is luxury cruises, it works. If it’s Europe FIT groups, it works. Disney and Universal theme park vacations? Yep, it works for those too.
When your content aligns with your strategy, every blog post, social media update, video, and email has a clear purpose that supports your overall goals.
Your travel advisor marketing efforts aren’t just random acts of creativity. They become targeted actions that can actually drive results.
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