Travel & Tourism: TheSocial Path to Purchase Discover how travel and tourism brands are

adapting to the great consumer power shift by

transforming their digital channels into powerful

social hubs, infused with user-generated content.

Contents 1 Introduction

3 Be Part of the Sharing Economy

4 Capture and Share Every Moment

5 Use the Power of Social Proof

6 Transform The Website Experience

7 Create the Optimal Mix of Content

8 Aim for a Lifetime of Engagement

9 Run Promotions to Capture Data and UGC

10 Keep it Legal

11 Understand Audience Preferences

12 Maximize Sales Conversions

14 Summary

IntroductionNot so long ago, consumers relied on mountains of brochures,

piles of guidebooks and the advice of travel agents to plan,

book and enjoy their dream vacation. Now, along with the

obligatory post-holiday polaroids and slideshows, those days

are long gone.

"By 2016, social media will be a primary way to generate travel bookings and revenue for half the travel industry." (World Travel Market Industry Report)

The meteoric rise of the ‘always-connected traveler’ has

empowered consumers, while fundamentally impacting the

way they buy, experience and share their vacations - before,

during and after their trip. If travel firms can tap into this

power shift, they have a great opportunity to engage directly

with travelers and establish a valuable long-term relationship.

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So What Should Traveland Tourism Brands Do?Travel brands need a new suite of tools to engage their consumers, new ways to showcase persuasive

content from their happy customers, and more detailed insights into their behavior and preferences.

Ultimately, it’s about boosting engagement and advocacy while driving socially-referred commerce.

In this white paper, we’ll explore how travel and tourism brands can:

Be Part of the Sharing Economy

Capture and Share Every Moment

Use the Power of Social Proof

Transform The Website Experience

Create the Optimal Mix of Content

Aim for a Lifetime of Engagement

Run Promotions to Capture Data and UGC

Keep it Legal

Understand Audience Preferences

Maximize Sales Conversions

2

Hyperlapse theme park rides

on Instagram

Mountain adventure videos

on YouTube

3

Be Part of theSharing EconomyTravelers are creating and sharing inspiring holiday

photos, videos and updates like never before, across an

ever-expanding choice of social networks and mobile

messaging apps. Some commentators have called this

the ‘sharing economy’.

These consumers are becoming the most powerful influencers in the travel

and tourism market. If brands can harness this influence, they have huge

opportunities to grow and retain market share.

The explosion of user generated content:

Resort recommendations on Twitter

The National Trust encouraged visitors

to its historic properties to share their

experiences on Pinterest, Instagram,

YouTube, Vine and Twitter. The best

submissions were selected and published

to individual property pages to inspire

future visitors.

Hotel selfie images on Pinterest

Six-second city tours on Vine

Capture and ShareEvery MomentFrom dreaming to booking to traveling to returning

home, consumers continually inspire their peers

through the content they create and share. Travel

brands must become agile enough to capitalize on

these moments - to capture and use this content to

inform, engage and influence.

4

To celebrate one million Facebook fans,

Etihad Airways filtered and curated the

best images its customers had created

and shared featuring the brand. Etihad

then published the images to a social

hub to convey what it’s like to fly with the

world’s best airline for first class travel.

post vacation photos to a social network

of travelers post hotel reviews

post activity/attraction reviews

After Vacation:

post vacation photos on a social network while

still on vacation

During Vacation:

76%

46%

40%

72%

Use the Powerof Social Proof The influence of sites like TripAdvisor and AirBnB serve

as undeniable proof that consumers trust their peers

more than expensively commissioned marketing stories

from the large travel brands. In fact, 84% of millennials

say user-generated content has influenced what they buy.

Today’s connected consumers are inspired and guided by other people’s

experiences, ratings, reviews, images, videos and updates. Despite their best

efforts, travel brands are now defined by how their communities perceive

and use them, rather than what they say about themselves.

To tap into authentic and credible user-generated content (UGC), brands

must find and filter it across a range of social networks, then curate the best

bits and publish it out to a range of digital channels.

By launching hashtag competitions and contests across networks like

Twitter and Instagram, brands can even encourage their audiences to

generate additional social content that can be effectively mixed with

organically harvested and owned content.

Sources:Talking To Strangers: Millennials Trust People Over Brands, 2013Source Nielsen 2013 Study

A recent study from a Chase Card Service

survey found that Millennials are leading

the charge by creating and sharing their

experiences on social media:

Millennials are more likely (44%) to ask for

travel opinions on social media.

Virtually all Millennials (97%) post on social

networks and share experiences with friends

while traveling.

And this type of content is incredibly

powerful at inspiring and influencing

other travelers:

of consumers around the world trust word of

mouth over any other form of advertising.

of consumers around the world say online

consumer reviews are their second most

trusted form of advertising.

5

44%

97%

92%

70%

6

Transform The Website ExperienceWhile having a social presence on networks like

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is important, single

networks can only provide a narrow view of your brand

and community. In addition, it’s almost impossible for

marketers to ensure their brand has a credible presence

across the growing range of social networks and mobile

messaging apps.

Travel brands have now realized their websites and microsites are the most

effective environments to consolidate and display authentic, persuasive

consumer content. These locations are also where brands can capture

valuable consumer data, encourage the creation and sharing of more UGC

and seamlessly move visitors directly into the purchase process.

In 2010 only 15% of travelers visited the

hotel website when making a purchase

decision. By 2013, this had more than

doubled to 31% - and it’s still rising.

Source:MMGY, 2014 Portrait of American Travelers

7

Create the OptimalMix of ContentUGC is one key to a successful website strategy, but

travel brands shouldn’t ignore their own professionally

produced content. According to comScore, brand

engagement rises by 28% when users are exposed to both

types of content. So, it’s all about ensuring the right mix

and balance of owned and earned content.

When publishing social content to their digital channels, marketers have

the choice of embedding a social hub directly into a web page or using an

automated feed via a content API. In addition, they can also feature a variety

of mechanics to drive further participation, maximize data acquisition and

power socially referred commerce:

User ratings

and reviews

Instagram and Twitter

hashtag contests

Interactive

competition apps Price promotions

and coupons

Polls and

surveys

Third party

reviews

Research carried out across a group of

EngageSciences customers in 2014 shows

some very positive results when websites

and microsites feature social content:

reduction in bounce rates

increase in dwell times

on pages

increase in click-throughs on

calls to action

overall increase in web traffic

300%

22%

11%

10%

8

Aim for a Lifetimeof EngagementTravel brands are realizing that today’s connected

vacationers no longer have purely transactional

relationship with them. Instead, brands need to develop

ongoing relationships across multiple digital channels

that are punctuated with real-world transactions (and

the associated travel).

Not only is long-term engagement good for energizing your

customers, identifying and targeting your most effective

advocates can also have a dramatic effect on preference and

consideration among their peers:

They need to create their own social ecosystems where

consumers can engage with and encourage other users

to create and share UGC during their vacations. In turn

this provides a valuable mix of content that is highly

effective at driving brand engagement, consideration

and sales conversions.

Source:Dr. Kathleen R. Ferris-Costa, University of Rhode Island, College of Business Administration. 2011

They’re 31% more likely

to share information via

social media

They’re 50% more likely

to influence a purchase

They’re 70% more

likely to been seen

as a good source of

information by people

around them

31%

50%

70%

Run Promotions toCapture Data and UGCTravel companies can generate interest and demand by

running promotions on publisher websites, on their own

web properties and on social channels. With this type

of engagement mechanic, marketers can increase the

opportunities to engage with their audiences and acquire

richly profiled data.

Competitions on your website, sweepstakes on Facebook and hashtag

competitions on Twitter and Instagram are all effective ways to encourage

audience participation. They’re also a great way of generating more

UGC to use across your marketing portfolio, such as caption, photo or

video contests.

9

AOL Travel uses competitions to highlight various destinations. It also collects data on thousands of people who are interested in a particular type of holiday and collects their opt-ins for follow-up marketing.

Aria Resort & Casino created an interactive experience where participants could pack their virtual suitcases by selecting products from Aria’s retail partners. The app featured curated content from existing customers and recommended places to see.

10

Keep it Legal As part of their UGC campaigns, travel companies typically encourage participants to create and share

content that can be re-used in future marketing promotions. The good news is that you’ll typically

have explicit permission to re-use the shared content if it has been submitted via a form embedded

in a promotion or via a campaign on a social network featuring a unique campaign hashtag.

However, there are times when you might want to re-use the content in a different format, such as TV advertising, or use public content

that has been curated on any number of popular social networks but not shared as part of a campaign. In these cases, travel and tourism

brands must adopt an approach to:

Request rights to re-use

the most compelling

content

Track rights requests

and have an audited

history of the

permissions process

Optionally set content

to automatically publish

when rights have been

granted

Filter, curate and

review UGC from many

different sources

11

Understand AudiencePreferencesRunning programs where travelers share their

preferences can bring a wealth of profiled audience data,

which in turn leads to better and deeper insights. Travel

brands can then leverage this data to create unique

experiences and campaigns that resonate with their

audiences and convert them to sales.

Through ongoing engagement, they can integrate a layer of social data into

CRM alongside traditional and transactional data. As a result, campaigns can

be more targeted and feature personalized offers, while the performance of

email marketing improves.

Hawaiian Airlines ran a quiz sweepstake

on its website, where participants

answered questions to determine their

perfect Hawaiian island. As well as

inspiring visitors, the brand captured

valuable profiling information that could

be used for onward targeting via email.

Use Authentic UGC Across Other Marketing Channels:

12

Maximize SalesConversionsOngoing engagement, featuring user-generated content and data capture at key points on the user journey, enables travel brands to:

Maximize propensity to purchase

However, marketers need to encourage and influence the ‘always-connected

traveler’ to book flights or hotels on their owned digital channels, instead of

being hostage to peer-to-peer brands and price aggregators.

Increase lifetime value

To capitalize on the authentic UGC created by their advocates and drive

traffic to their owned properties, travel brands can use it across email

marketing and online advertising. In addition, by tailoring email promotions

to target expressed preferences captured through quiz campaigns, marketers

can increase propensity to purchase on their websites.

Sources:2013 - Tradedoubler Travellers and purchase pathsResearch Now 2014

of travelers look at price

comparison sites to ensure

they get the best hotel deal

of travelers look at price

comparison sites to ensure

they get the best flight deal

increase in email marketing open

rates when featuring social content

better performance when online

advertising features social content

(compared to standard banners)

of travelers shown a personalized

digital ad focused on discounts,

upgrades or other offers would

be more likely to purchase 73% 71%

Minimize shopping

cart abandonmentIncrease loyalty

8x

59%

59%

13

Once the consumer is on the brand website, marketers

need to increase engagement and maximize the chance

of conversion.

While more than 8 out of 10 online customers now

abandon online travel bookings (OptiLead 2014), brands

need to source and curate inspirational UGC that can

feature ‘shoppable’ links that both reassure and persuade

potential customers to complete their purchase.

Laundry Service, a New York social media agency, analyzed data

from 100 million impressions, including ad campaigns from

more than 15 advertisers. They found that Instagram-style photos

achieved a 25% better conversion rate than glossy product shots.

Research also shows that featuring user-generated photos at the

point of purchase boosts conversion by up to 7%.

Source:Talking To Strangers: Millennials Trust People Over Brands, Evercore, 2013

Teletext Holidays asked its customers to

share why they loved their holidays. The

best photos and tweets were published

to their website alongside the latest

travel deals to inspire consumers to

purchase their next vacation.

25%

7%

14

SummaryTravel and tourism brands need to move faster than their

competitors, analyze what works and have the flexibility to

change. It’s all about the end-to-end experience.

Sustainable success in this industry will come from owning

the consumer journey (both digital and physical). Brands

should inspire consumers with ideas. They should help them

evaluate options, plan before they travel, engage during the

experience, share afterwards, and review and participate

in communities. The end result is a deeper, more valuable

relationship between brand and consumer.

About EngageSciencesThe EngageSciences marketing engagement platform

enables travel and tourism brands to dramatically boost

brand engagement and drive socially-referred commerce

by transforming their digital channels into powerful

social hubs.

EngageSciences operates across 76 countries, working

with many of the largest and best loved travel brands in

the world:

The Marketing Engagement Platform

engagesciences.com

@EngageSciences

facebook.com/EngageSciences

15

Request A DemoIf want to see it in practice, book a

demo of the EngageSciences marketing

engagement platform:

See how you can achieve deep brand engagement

across mobile, web and social channels and use

UGC to drive commerce.

Take a look under the bonnet to find out how

to create the ideal blend of social campaigns,

user-generated content and unparalleled

customer insight.

Decide whether EngageSciences is right for you.