Social media is imperative in today’s digitally driven world. Initially, travellers preferred to use social media to research on various destinations and share their travel stories. But today, it is a platform that is used for information sharing and marketing as well. 

So how do tour operators leverage social media to their benefit?

When travellers share their experiences on social media it can inspire others to embark on the journey. So social media is a means of inspiring your target audience. Often your target audience researches on social media platforms to gather information and plan their travel.

Thus, social media is a means to connect, communicate, inform, inspire and acquire customers.

Having a clearly defined social media strategy enables one to have a high Google ranking. The craft of creating a social media campaign that drives customer attention and sales conversion is a matter of careful study of your target audience.

How can tour operators leverage social media?

1. Know your target audience

The first step to any social media marketing activity is clearly defining your target audience. Understanding the demographics, preferences, pain points, interests, passion, goals, and behavioural patterns leads to creating campaigns that resonate with the personality of the target audience.

This information is used to pen content that is distinctly for your target audience. Identify what will drive their attention and inspire them to make a purchase.



The buyer’s persona will then define all your social marketing concepts, ideas and content. Buyer information will help you run paid advertisements on social media. Your advertisements will be positioned in front of your target audiences to trigger interest and eventually render qualified leads.

You can also use sales lead management software to translate qualified leads into sales.

2. Testimonials and feedback – google reviews

Testimonials and feedbacks are a way of establishing your credibility and driving more attention among customers. When customers share their travel stories and speak about your exceptional services the trust factor surely builds up.

When your customers connect notice testimonials they would want to reach out to you. This is the best user-generated content.

3. Choosing the right social media platform 

There are many social media platforms and deciding the right one for your target audiences can be a difficult task. This is when you go back to the clearly defined buyer’s persona.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and many social media platforms are available to reach your audience. But, have you identified with which platform your target audiences engage the most.



You cannot possibly be on every social media platform. It's essential to identify the optimal one for your tours. Every platform has a particular set of users or target audiences.

In order to narrow down, your choices understand the audiences on various platforms and place your content where it drives the desired response.

4. Collaborate with complementing services

Tour operators are always in touch with travel agents, guides, travel bloggers, online travel agents and booking portals. We are in an age where we all agree that collaboration is more beneficial than the competition.

So, it's time to engage in social media marketing on various platforms where these service providers have a strong presence.

They can share your posts or talk about the uniqueness of your service on social media platforms, which your target audiences use.

Travel bloggers can recommend your services to their audiences. You can also talk about their services and share their blogs, images, stories or any type of content on your social media pages.

Thus, the key is working as a team to provide the best travel experience to your customers.

5. Engaging content 

Content is at the epicentre of the digital world. It is a tool that grabs attention and guides customers to take action. Content has to be interesting, informative, crisp, clear and distinct. Content is placed in different ways on various social media platforms.

Let’s take an example: Instagram’s content is image-driven and reels narrate stories. Obviously, it has evolved through the years.



While LinkedIn is a professional platform where the posts are related to the corporate world. LinkedIn can be a great platform for tour operators who arrange trips for corporate. Also, LinkedIn is more information-driven so, tour operators can share detailed information about various interesting destinations.

Also, plan your social media calendar well in advance. Choose the topics, social media platform, and time before you share your posts. Content has to be planned well in advance to be able to position the brand and drive maximum leads.

6. Affiliate marketing 

Tour operators and destination management companies should choose a company or an individual who can help to drive traffic to your site, or social media pages.

Affiliates will be paid commission on the basis of site traffic, order value, and sales volume. This percentage is pre-decided on the product sales. The outcome is that you not only drive traffic but sales as well.

Affiliate marketers share engaging content that interests your audiences and builds trust in your brand.

7. User-generated content 

When a customer shares information about your services and recommends them, it attracts audiences and builds trust in your brand. User-generated content is original and brand-specific content that is shared by customers who have availed your services and endorse your credibility. It can be done through videos, images, testimonials and podcasts. 

It comes from brand loyalists and advocates. They are enthusiastic about your work, and business. They believe that you are the best.

A study conducted by Stackla reveals that 79% of individuals say User Generated Content has a considerable impact on their purchase decisions.



Social media outwardly might seem like unplanned and naturally shared information. But in reality, it is a planned, studied, researched and systematic way of connecting with your audiences and inspiring them to purchase services. In this entire strategic planning, the customer/traveller is at the core.

So, it's important to remember that studying the target audience is the first and the most important step to creating a distinct social media presence. You will surely have something distinct to offer. So, define your Unique Selling Proposition, identify the customer interested in your USP and it's time to go ahead with your social media planning.

ETOS is an online travel technology solution provider/ travel software. Tour operators trust us for providing the best technology solutions to boost sales, and put systems in place that expedite the delivery of service. 

Get in touch with our team at [email protected] or +919820140434 to know how your business can grow by moving away from complex to simple digital technology solutions.