Influencer Marketing for the Travel Industry in 2017
Transcript of Influencer Marketing for the Travel Industry in 2017
WEBINAR:Influencer Marketing for the Travel Industry in 2017
March 2, 2017
Presented By: Jeff RiddallDirector of Product Strategy, gShift@JRiddall
#TravelInfluencers @Jriddall @gShiftLabs
#TravelInfluencers @Jriddall @gShiftLabs
AGENDA
Influencer Marketing Overview
Adding Influencers to Your Marketing MixThe New Customer Journey and the Dark Funnel
Running an Influencer Marketing Campaign
Monitoring and Reporting on Influencers
Key Takeaways
Q & A
INFLUENCER MARKETING
Influencer marketing is a tactic of digital marketing where brands partner with key industry thought leaders to amplify (distribute) the brand content/message to their audience, mainly using social channels.
Influencers are credible, authentic and highly engaged presences who hold a power of influence over their audience based on the trust they’ve built.
What is influencer marketing?
Who are influencers?
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WHERE DID INFLUENCER MARKETING COME FROM?
74% of consumers rely on social media to inform their purchasing decisions
trust peer recommendation (only 33% trust sponsored ads)
take action from peer opinions
84%
84%
Data: ODM Group
Data: Nielsen
Data: Opt-out Effect
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MORE INFLUENCER STATS
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• Twitter users now trust influencers as much as they trust their friends.
• It’s more effective than PPC advertising since 47% of online customers use ad block technology.
• 73% of Millennials see it as their responsibility to guide friends, peers and family toward smart purchase decisions.
• Influencer marketing content delivers up to 11X higher ROI than traditional forms of digital marketing.
Brooke B. SellasB Squared Media via BusinessGrow.com blog February 2017
WHERE DO TRAVELERS GO FOR ADVICE
Source: Adweek - Social Times, August 2015http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-and-travel-go-hand-in-hand-infographic/625230
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AND HOW ABOUT VIDEO?
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• YouTube reaches more 18-49 year olds than any U.S. cable network and is the 2nd largest search engine.source Mediakix.com Aug 2015
• Video watch time on Instagram is up 40% over the last 6 months.source TechCrunch Feb 2016
INFLUENCERS IN YOUR MARKETING MIX
Channel of distributionPower of word of mouth
Cost-effective
The off-site content challenge
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Source of content
THE TRADITIONAL CUSTOMER JOURNEY
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This is where influencers live.Up to 90% of the purchasing journey is off-
site
THE DARK FUNNEL
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IT’S THE CUSTOMER’S SALES JOURNEY, NOT YOURS
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“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is–it is what consumers tell each other it is.”
Scott Cook, Founder and CEO of Intuit
RUNNING AN INFLUENCER MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Monitor & manage
Set parameters
Identify audienceResearch and create a content strategyIdentify, engage and arm influencers
Measure & report
Maintain relationships
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SET CAMPAIGN PARAMETERS
Identify key objectives and goalsReach, UGC, brand affinity, engagement
Set realistic numbersMeasurable and attainable goals
Allocate your budgetDictates content strategy and influencer identification
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IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE
Understand who your audience is. This goes beyond knowing their demographics. What are their interests? Where are they in the purchasing
cycle? Where do they live online?
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● Identify keywords with relatively high monthly organic search volumes/social mentions
● Focus on your existing content which maintains visibility / authority
● Search for influencers who use these keywords socially and/or in their site content
● Have these influencers promote/link to your authoritative content
RESEARCH KEYWORDS AND CONTENT
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● Listen and engage with paid influencers and other customers/guests
● Instagram taking the lead for images and video content – encourage influencers to post, hashtag and include CTAs for their audience to engage (e.g. “Tag a Friend!” or “Visit ‘Your Website’”)
● Encourage content variety – blogs, links, photos, video, live streaming
● Authenticity is key as even influencers are being judged with a critical eye
TRAVEL INFLUENCER CONTENT TIPS
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Audience-centric vs. influencer-centric
Audience size vs engagement - getting the best bang for your buck
Influencer scoring - authenticity, engagement, credibility
IDENTIFY INFLUENCERS
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INFLUENCER ENGAGEMENT
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• Personalized email with campaign overview
• Negotiate compensation
• Influencer Brief• Key messaging• Content/links• Keywords/hashtags• Timing• Reporting
• Build a relationship
CLOSING THE LOOP
You’ve created great content, developed strong social, messaging through your influencer marketing
campaign…
Now what?
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TRACKING OFFSITE ENGAGEMENT
Likes and Shares are nice….
BUT
Visits and Conversions are better.
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>
TRACKING OFF-SITE ENGAGEMENT
Smart URLs
Near Real-Time Segmented Engagement Metrics
Off-site Analytics
Conversion Paths
Branded, Vanity Short URL
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● Track and report on content engagement by Influencer, by Channel, by Content Type, by Keyword Group, by Buying Stage
● Create Conversion Paths to map off-site content engagement all the way through to ROI
MEASUREMENT & REPORTING
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
Focus on influencer quality and audience interests
Consumers increasingly look to influencers for advice and recommendations
Plan, monitor and optimize influencer campaigns for maximum conversion and ROI
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Engage and build relationships with influencers
Encourage content variety and strong Calls to Action
Q & A
Audience Development & Discoverability
gshift.it/elu-audienceguide
Influencer Marketing Toolkit
gshift.it/elu-influencer-toolkit
Find this presentation on SlideShare at gshift.it/TravelInfluencers
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