Social media has been around for a while but with new platforms popping up all the time, travel brands must constantly rethink and redefine their social strategy. Expedia finds that looking to the physical world and taking lessons from other sectors can help.

“Looking beyond the usual channels is important but you can’t simply jump on the bandwagon,” says James Davies, social media manager, Expedia EMEA. “Finding the right platform that fits with your objectives is key to tapping into and growing a large audience there.”

One way Expedia does this is by offering magazine-type content with the aim of inspiring travellers and helping them with their travel decisions. Social media plays a vital role in this and any strategy typically includes Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. As an industry, travel companies tend to be Facebook-focused because it arguably offers the biggest opportunity to reach a large audience geographically. Targeting a broad demographic can be a challenge, which is why keeping an eye on new opportunities (Pinterest and Instagram are becoming increasingly popular) is essential. 

In addition to constantly evaluating the social media mix, Expedia looks for clues from other sectors to work out how to engage an audience. “Take the fashion brand ASOS which has had great success in bringing product inventory to life,” says Davies.

Adding relevancy to every tweet and mention is another focus for Expedia.  In the past the online travel agent looked simply at introducing products or destinations, but now brands are increasingly looking at how these fit within the daily lives of consumers. “Just as fashion shoppers need to imagine themselves wearing an item, travel shoppers needs to be able to visualise themselves experiencing a destination or hotel,” Davies explains. So for instance, Expedia is currently working with Safari magazine to use stories and pictures to help grab attention and promote holidays in an increasingly personal and targeted fashion.

EyeforTravel’s Ritesh Gupta spoke to Davies about where Expedia is going with its social strategy.

EFT: Are social media specialists doing enough to make use of different sites?  

JD: We can do more. When a new social media platform is created, there is always a rush to be ahead of the curve. The travel industry tends to be slightly behind on this, and we need to make greater use of these different strategies where they’re relevant to us. It is important to remember that each social media platform has different user behaviour; we need to keep this in mind when evaluating the success of each.

EFT: How does Expedia go about this?

JD: At Expedia we try to differentiate ourselves from others by taking a more mature approach to remain ahead of the pack. You need to match the channel with your objectives. For example, using Instagram is about pure brand only content compared with Twitter which is time-sensitive and trending. You need to be able to judge a platform by their measures and decide what you want to gain in the long run.

The content in the travel sector tends to be quite homogenous and merchandising focused. At Expedia we try to take a step back.  We want to provide enriching content the same as any travel magazine to inspire our audience and help them with their travel decisions.  We shouldn’t look at Facebook, for example, as a purely merchandising channel – we need to add value for users through the newsfeed by being connected and relevant whilst reflecting that quality style of travel magazines.

EFT: Is the travel industry making enough of social media initiatives and how are they going about it?  

JD: The travel industry is continually evolving not only in its initiatives to improve the hotel and travel experience, but also in ways we market to them. Firstly you need to add value and connect with your audience and secondly decide how you are going to stand out. Regular engagement is key and especially important in the travel industry to keep the idea and options continuously available and ‘front of mind’. There have been some great examples of social media campaigns including KLM who placed fans’ faces on the sides of their planes in 2011, or BA who allowed users to drive a 747 to their home. Although it can be hard for one-off projects to provide longevity (KLM has just run another fun campaign creating maps for friends mustseemap.klm.com), they do provide a spectacle and talking point to really get eyeballs on the brand. This can help to drive fan acquisition, which you can then build on through longer-term engagement. Equally important is the integrated approach of some of these engagements. In other words, connecting the virtual world with the physical experience of the brand. Many of the more successful social campaigns have adopted a multi-channel approach.

EFT: In your view, what is still missing in social media initiatives?

JD: Travel companies need to think about the calibre of information included. It needs to be that good to engage the audience in a very cluttered space.  This is a point I think is missing within our industry, but is recognised outside of it. It is also important to know what is going on outside a brand’s social media space. Consumers who follow you on Twitter or ‘like’ you on Facebook already know and understand your company. So what the industry has largely missed out on is the opportunity to engage with relevant communities outside of purely travel or destination focused sectors such as online forums and interest groups around interest areas or common priorities. Expedia believes in a ‘people-shaped’ approach to travel focused on individual interests so this is an area we will be exploring further. In the US we have worked successfully with the Mummy blogger community for instance. And in Europe our recent Blogger Shaped Travel campaign highlighted interest in particular types of trips like fashion and shopping among our fans. Engaging with these communities can add real value in reaching new audiences, and can offer greater credence because the members have common interest areas and can help each other with their travel choices. Conversations in these niche communities drive travel selection. And this is why we need to make sure we are part of these dialogues. This is a long-term approach for Expedia but we believe it will also grow in importance for the online travel industry in particular.

EFT: Social media has challenged traditional marketing practices and made it more difficult to evaluate success in the context of wider marketing objectives. Is this changing?

JD: I agree that it is challenging to measure social media outcomes. However, it is similar to that of measuring the success of a marketing campaign and they are increasingly comparable. They are describing very similar user behaviour and are increasingly used in combination. Social media has opened up new opportunities to drive measureable engagement, whereas traditional marketing tends to focus on awareness. Now marketers are taking the opportunity to launch integrated campaigns, increasingly driving users from above the line through to social media channels where they can measure the engagement phase of the campaign. 

Metrics tied to clear objectives are key to success in both areas. On the social media side you have likes, shares, comments and people talking about a brand whereas on the above-the-line marketing side you still have different metrics measured through focus groups and panels instead. Both need to meet revenue targets, but the importance of understanding where each aspect fits is key to success.