As the world’s biggest social network, Facebook is a potentially powerful marketing tool for travel brands if used wisely. However, if brands want to stand a chance at success they must be sure to create meaningful content and relevant advertisements that people will want to share. Pamela Whitby reports.

If brands focus on creating targeted, relevant and engaging advertising, it is never intrusive; it becomes a welcome fabric of the experience. This may be debatable but it is the view of Lee McCabe, Facebook’s head of travel in the global vertical marketing team. “I love travel and if I am targeted well enough with the right travel ads I will happily consume them all day,” he says.

According to McCabe, who will be speaking at the Travel Distribution Summit, North America in September, what marketers need to know is that the key component in all this is the targeting, and this is a major advantage of working with Facebook. “We know more about 1.1 billion people than any other medium. For travel marketers that is incredibly valuable. We have the targeting of CRM with the reach of TV,” he says. So no matter who your target audience, Facebook believes it can help you find the people that matter to you, everyday, everywhere.

Among the developments Facebook is working on to improve the travel marketing experience is Graph Search which, says McCabe, “will be a game changer for hotels”. Another is Nearby which “is a great example of the convergence of social with local and mobile”. Admittedly, it is still early days for Graph Search but McCabe believes the audience will grow and as such there is no time for complacency.

So what can travel brands do now ensure they are making the most of Facebook? McCabe has this advice.

1.      First things first, create a Facebook page

2.      Have a clear objective: Ask yourself: is this about branding, destination consideration, performance marketing (booking) and so on.

3.      Use Facebook Exchange to retarget your audience. Facebook Exchange (FBX) allows real-time bidding (RTB) on ad placement and retargeting. RTB lets advertisers bid in real time on a specific ad impression rather than a larger group, allowing advertisers to show more relevant ads and run more effective campaigns.

4.      Use Custom Audiences. This allows marketers to find their offline audiences among Facebook users by matching business’ email addresses and phone number databases with Facebook user IDs to find the exact people you want to talk to. Custom Audiences works through third party partners such as Datalogix, Epsilon, Acxiom, and BlueKai.

5.      Ensure your Page is optimised for Graph Search. You can do this by giving your Hotel Page the correct category (Hotel) and location details.

6.      Create a Fan Page Vanity URL. Choose a Facebook Username that is highly relevant to your hotel name and location. This Username should also be easy for potential guests to remember, as this will be the direct URL to your Page (e.g. www.facebook.com/username).

7.      Actively build your Facebook audience. Invest in effective Facebook advertising to help promote your page. Building your fan base is important to increasing your Graph Search rankings.

8.      Engage your audience with meaningful content. Engagement on Facebook is more important than ever. Create high quality, targeted content that is buzz-worthy and reflects your brand persona. Encourage fans to like, share, comment, and check-in.

9.      Use Nearby. Social, local and mobile allows travellers to discover new hotels, restaurants, etc. while they are visiting new place. Nearby makes those recommendations relevant to people on the go looking for places around them, with recommendations coming from the people they trust: friends and family. Businesses with a Facebook Page and physical location will benefit from this tool.

10.  Test what works best for you and your business. Whether your business is big or small, try out various products and tools on Facebook to see what type of content resonates best with your fans, then work to amplify that.

Lee McCabe Facebook’s head of travel in the global vertical marketing team will be speaking at the Travel Distribution Summit, North America from the 23-24 September