Everything you need to know about the influencer marketing boom

Young woman on a summer vacation vlogging from the city

By Alexandra Coulton

Love them or hate them, there is no denying that influencers have taken the tourism industry by storm.

40.1 per cent of millennials now consider how “Instagrammable” their holiday will be and 48 per cent of Instagram users turn to the app for travel inspiration.

You may roll your eyes at this, but, as the largest generation of consumers, millennial opinions matter. When done well, influencer marketing is incredibly effective as you reach your desired audience on the channels they spend the most time on; the average time spent on social media now is 135 minutes per day.

Is it REALLY authentic?

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Influencer posts feel more authentic than traditional adverts. Influencers have high engagement rates with their audience who then feel like they know them.

Their followers thrive off the fact that they are “relatable” and trustworthy.

Moreover, an incredible 92 per cent of consumers trust earned media more than traditional advertising methods. Influencer posts are so successful because they use powerful word-of-mouth marketing, but they turbo-charge it and digitally spread the message to much larger audiences.

Access Your Target Market

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Travel influencing is a great form of targeted marketing, and this is particularly important for the hospitality industry. With your target audience at an influencer’s fingertips, why waste money on static adverts targeting disengaged people?

Additionally, it is more cost-effective and offers long-term gains. For example, an influencer directs traffic straight to your website and social media pages.

How does it work?

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Influencer campaigns tell a story in a way that static adverts cannot. Hospitality businesses are offering an experience.

However, it is near impossible to show off all your quirks and special features in a single advert. Contrastingly, an influencer will take your potential customers on a virtual journey.

Not only will they promote everything that makes your hotel so wonderfully individual, but they can also document their experience with the local area. Their loyal audience will then be inspired to take their own trip.

Pick the Right Influencer for You

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Of course, there are some precautions to take. Most importantly, do not just work with any so-called “influencer” who approaches your property.

You should avoid accounts with fake followers. This can be checked via a fake follower tool, such as Swayy’s. With their followers confirmed as genuine, you then want to find someone who aligns with your brand values. Evaluate this by spending some time looking at previous posts, the general aesthetic, and the type of comments they receive.

In summary, the influencer industry is rocketing, and it is not slowing down any time soon. 94 per cent of marketers cite influencer marketing as effective, whilst the industry is expected to have a value of over $10 billion by 2020. What are you doing to embrace this affordable, authentic, and powerful form of marketing?

Amelia de Normann ispart of the Content Team at Swayy

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Latest comments

sting says:

August 30, 2018 at 1:40 pm

…influencers can probably work better for destinations and not for all products I guess.. it will be very hard to measure their effectiveness or success considering the attention span of their millennial audience who’s got the shortest of all generations of all time…. they want everything fast… fast food.. fast service… fast checks…. fast cars/flights…. fast answers… so if you really want to market your product to millenials you have to be fast, precise and concise…

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Chrissy says:

August 28, 2018 at 2:21 am

Im sorry but if you are just picking one imfluencer, you arent doing it right. Work with multiple influencers who influence your customers. If a property attracts a affluent consumer, having a bunch of 18 to 22 year old instagrammers isnt going help your business. Stop with the buying one off posts. Your influencers should be contracted for many posts spread out over a month or two.

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Peter Hook says:

August 27, 2018 at 1:59 pm

There are some fantastic and really hard working travel influencers out there, but the wider influencer sector is obviously under a cloud given the recent Government decision to ban the use of influencers. I suppose the other obvious point is why is there such a proliferation of full page travel print ads in the weekend papers if they supposedly don’t work?
https://mumbrella.com.au/they-did-not-deliver-value-for-money-agencies-respond-to-governments-influencer-ban-536551

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