Looking for new ways to spread the word about your travel destination? Then Facebook is undoubtedly on your radar (if it’s not, it should be). With billions of users worldwide, Facebook delivers deeper market penetration than any other advertising medium—ever.
But does it work for destination marketing?
The short answer to that question is: yes! But you need a strategy. Before we dig into the details, though, let’s take a look at a few quick stats:
What does this tell us? Just about everybody uses Facebook—even people we don’t consider to be tech savvy. Unless your target market is under the age of five or living off the grid, they are probably on Facebook.
But not all Facebook ads are created equal.
What’s the key to reaching a specific audience with a specific message? It’s having a plan. That’s true for Facebook advertising as well. Here are 3 keys to building your strategy.
If you have done your homework on inbound marketing, you know that successful campaigns depend on knowing your audience (aka, buyer personas) inside out. Facebook’s advanced advertising platform gives you lots of segmenting and targeting options. You can create segments based on just about anything you want:
These are just a few of the categories you can segment for, but hopefully you can see how valuable segmentation can be in the travel industry. For example, you could target people with an anniversary in the next 30 days who make more than $75,000 per year and love exploring new restaurants. Now you have all the info you need to create an ad that reaches them right when they are probably looking for a fun getaway—and you can specifically focus on great places to eat.
Awesome, right? It’s one of the best ways to boost click-through and engagement rates on your ads.
Now that you have chosen your audience segments, the next step is to set reasonably attainable goals that you can measure. Here are some Facebook-friendly goals:
Measure the success of your ad campaigns by tracking metrics like click-through rates, interactions, and conversions. If you don’t see the results you want, go back to your segmentation strategy and make sure you are targeting the right people with the right message.
The final step is to create your ads. Use your audience segments and goals to determine ad content. For example, if you want to increase bookings, focus on warm prospects such as previous website visitors or email subscribers.
If you want to build awareness, your ads should focus on beautiful photography and engaging content that sparks interest based on what you know about your buyer personas.
Facebook holds tons of potential for destination marketers when you know how to target the right audience. The key is to know your buyer personas and create content that speaks to them at just the right moment.
What are your thoughts on Facebook advertising? Have you seen success with targeting audience segments for your travel destination? Let us know in the comments!