Articles tagged “social media”

There are many travel brands that are seemingly in violation of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's new native ad guidelines on how to disclose when social media influencers were paid. Consumers appreciate brands more when they're transparent and develop deeper connections with influencers when they know what they truly support and enjoy when they're not being paid.

It couldn't be more clear that Facebook wants its users to see the highest quality and most relevant content possible and its latest ad preferences update could have big implications for travel brands that both serve compelling and uninspiring ads to consumers. Meanwhile, Expedia and Priceline are seeing a lot of success with Facebook and are both upping their spend.

Larger influencers are still important to channeling a brand's messaging and casting a wide net, though localized micro-influencers with more niche followings often do better jobs at inspiring conversations among communities that travelers can more easily identify with.

We've said before that not enough travel brands are taking full advantage of this increasingly popular social media channel. So, kudos to Starwood's SPG loyalty program for delving into it even further than it already has, even if SPG will most likely be rolled into Marriott Rewards in just a few years' time.

More travel and hospitality brands are trying to find novel ways to monetize Instagram and although the platform has evolved to try to accommodate more of marketers' needs, its abilities as a hotel booking channel remain somewhat limited. Still, Starwood's Tribute Portfolio is betting that user-generated content from influential fashion stars on Instagram can help them boost bookings at two of their Parisian properties.

Smart hotel brands are upping their content marketing game on social media channels to generate more conversations online and off.

Earned content, or user-generated content is a new key player for travel marketers. Download Olapic's free strategy guide, "How Earned Content is Transforming the Travel Industry”, to learn more about this rising marketing trend.

How Turkey Home leveraged media partnerships and social distribution to create videos that hit home across multiple platforms.

Snapchat is utilized by major brands for advertising purposes and as a new way to push content to a younger demographic. Travel brands are deciding if that's a demographic they want to reach and if it makes sense for them to be on Snapchat, which aren't always bad things.

25 Moments that Mattered in 2015: To make our selection of 25 moments, we thought back to the stories that drove reader engagement and sparked discussion among both travel experts and the general public. Some stories were quick blips that represented bigger things while others were narratives that built slowly through out the year. Each one, though, spoke to where we are right now when it comes to the big business of global travel.