A report last month by Headstream into the most social brands in the world has ranked companies from the travel sector in four of the top five positions. In total, the travel sector accounted for a huge 15% of brands in the top 100.
So what does this tell us? Well for a couple of reasons I think this market does lend itself to social more than most:
- Facebook in particular is very image based which of course is great for travel companies – “like if you want to be on this beach right now!”.
- Customer service is a hugely important consideration for the travel sector which means that they either proactively engage with questions and complaints or they let them take a life of their own.
It’s also a strong indicator that if a few brands are doing a great job in social then that is likely to be emulated by other companies in the market. After all, everything we do on social is available for public consumption. It’s not a mystery how American Airlines gained over 600,000 fans; you can see exactly how they’ve done it by reviewing their activity. Consequently, in a market as competitive as travel, it should be little surprise that almost every major brand has developed an aggressive social campaign, with many now possessing dedicated social media teams rather than simply integrating it within the broader marketing department.
If you’re struggling to get to grips with social, you can learn a hell of a lot from this market. You can download the full report here.
Dan
