An agency boss has called for the industry to change its approach to social media by creating more original, user-generated content.
Jake Cullum-Hollins, chief executive of The Good Travel Agent, said he was “despairing” of seeing the same offers pushed by agents across social media and subsequently getting lost within algorithms.
He warned that the industry is in danger of becoming stuck in the past at a time when the way in which people search for holidays and travel inspiration has changed.
The industry needs to overhaul its approach to social media as the current strategy has not changed since Facebook first launched and the content being shared no longer has the same impact.
Instead of posting deal after deal with little reach and interaction, the trade needs to be original and create content that its audience engages with.
The traditional travel agency customer base may not even be on social media as they have a personal travel agent already who they have probably used for years and do not search Facebook looking for the latest deal.
Therefore, Cullum-Hollins believes the trade needs to start thinking of travel agents as influencers and creating similar content to attract a new audience, thus future proofing businesses for years to come by capturing the imagination of the next generation of customers.
The Kent-based Advantage member also hopes to encourage trade partners to provide agents with the materials needed to create engaging social media content.
He argues that agents need high quality unbranded videos and images from which to create their own engaging content and this is “simply not readily available”.
Cullum-Hollins said: “After doing extensive research and training into social media algorithms it has become very clear that the current social media strategy does not have longevity and needs to change.
“We need to stop blaming the algorithm for the poor reach and engagement on our posts and start sharing original, user generated content in order to grab the attention of our desired audience.
“Once you understand how the algorithm works, it’s easy to create content that can go viral. It’s all about feeding the algorithm with what it wants rather than posting what we want and hoping that it works.”