Tapping into influencers and marketing to millennial travelers
Looking to tap into the market of millennial travelers? Chances are you’re already reaching them and if done right, you’re already influencing their purchasing decisions.
If you think about it, like any generation, it spans a long time so millennials includes all people born between 1981 and 2000. We know you’re not marketing to 16-year-olds but those in their 30s are probably a target demographic for your property. So, how can you use your current marketing tactics and strategies to influence these travelers?
Content
Most millennials have always had the web meaning they’re well-versed in consuming content and doing online research. When it comes to content, most millennials will be a bit skeptical of anything that reads or sounds like an advertisement and the content must be engaging and connect with them. One way to use content to your advantage is by repurposing guest reviews or photos, or even interviewing frequent repeat guests and have them tell your brand’s story for you. User-generated content is huge with the millennial audience and in a way takes some of the work off you to create.
Credit: Really Good Emails
eMarketer research found that “more than two-thirds of U.S. millennial Internet users said promotional emails affected their purchase decision on at least a few occasions.” The study showed that consumers are more than open to receiving emails with valuable promotions so feel free to add in a special to your newsletter or reach out with exclusive offers as you enter your low season.
Social media
The same eMarketer research shows that two-thirds are also affected by ads on social media – 12% all the time, 12% most of the time, 20% some of the time, and 19% on a few occasions.
Though, it’s not just ads on social media that can influence purchasing behavior or lead to direct bookings. About 75% of millennial travelers post to social media once a day while they travel and search networks when looking for travel inspiration. This is also the generation that grew up online or adopted it early so they’re very savvy and open to sharing a lot of their lives online and that includes their adventures. From your side, comment or like the photos they’re sharing of your property and provide valuable information to your users on a regular basis to keep them engaged with your brand.
For the sake of brevity, we’ll lump review sites like TripAdvisor into the social media category as peer reviews can influence a decision by 84% and reviews are trusted much more than advertisements or your website’s content. Not that you can tell your guests what to write in their reviews you can respond and follow-up with reviewers to showcase that you’re paying attention online – which can also have an impact on where millennials make their reservations.
Texting
More than half of those respondents in the eMarketer study said that promotional text messages can influence their decision and it’s been shown to be beneficial for communicating with loyalty program members. With only 21% of brand marketers using text messaging as a part of their program, this can be an easy win for millennial travelers’ dollars as about 77% of them participate in rewards programs.