Taking familiarization trips (aka "fams") is an important part of being a travel advisor. The knowledge gained while experiencing a destination, hotel or cruise ship firsthand allows advisors to provide the right advice, service and trip for their clients.
But fam trips also present advisors with a unique opportunity to stir up bookings by sharing their in-the-moment travel experiences and a real-time look at what destinations and properties are like.
There’s no better place to do this than on social media, where advisors can access countless potential clients. Here are five tips for using fam trips to get more inquiries and bookings.
1. Prep Your Followers and Clients
Fam trips are special because you get to highlight part of your role in the travel planning process and show what the destination is like, with you at the center of it all. So much credibility, authority and trust can be built by sharing your fam experiences with your clients.
It’s a prime opportunity you don’t want your followers and clients to miss out on, so ensure you’re prepping them to watch your social media feeds before you leave.
Send an email and post about it on social media, so your followers and clients know they should follow your feeds for an exclusive look at the destination and the properties you’re visiting.
2. Highlight Your Role in The Planning Process
During a fam, you’re on the ground gathering intel that you’ll use to provide value to your clients, from vetted travel information to better travel experiences through the connections you’re making, and so much more.
It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your value, authority and credibility as a travel expert.
When posting on social media during the fam, explain what you’re doing on the trip and the role fams play in helping you as an advisor.
Pro tip: If you’ve never posted photos and videos of yourself or introduced yourself to your online audience, a fam is the perfect opportunity to start. You will build more credibility and familiarity with potential clients. When your followers know, like and trust you, they are much more inclined to pick up the phone or send an email to inquire about planning a trip with you.
3. Be Prepared to Create Video Content
Video content is a necessary part of a strong digital marketing plan. TikTok (a social media platform dedicated to shortform video content) is the most-visited website on the internet, and Reels (short videos on Instagram) continue to dominate the platform; so naturally, the best way to capture more attention and reach more people during your fams is to use video content.
Reels are great for curating the content you capture along the way as you visit the destination, but don’t forget about Instagram Stories and Instagram's live broadcast feature.
Use Stories to show behind-the-scenes moments from your fam trip experience and to generate immediate engagement and buzz around the destination you’re visiting.
Do this by using polls and quiz stickers in your Stories to generate responses, so you can see who is watching and engaging. But remember, you’re not just getting engagement. What you’re actually doing is building a list of people to follow up with post-fam who may be interested in booking. These people are some of your hottest leads.
Pro tip: Use the poll sticker to give your followers a quick and easy way to engage with you. Throughout your fam, take time in the evenings to respond to each person who answered your poll with a quick comment. You’re not selling the trip unless they ask a direct question about booking — you’re just engaging potential clients in conversation about the destination or the properties you’re visiting.
Live videos are also a great option for generating buzz, engagement and showcasing the destination. Host a live Q&A about the destination you’re visiting, or interview hotel managers and suppliers about their travel products. Build authority and trust by showing off your confidence as a travel professional in your element — traveling, making relationships and gathering information.
4. Tailor Your Content for Targeted Leads
Travelers are on the lookout for personalized travel experiences, and you want to show them how the destination and the things you’re experiencing fit their specific travel needs.
If you’re serving a specific travel niche, frame your fam experience from the lens of your ideal client by showing them things that reflect the type of travel experiences they want.
Clients looking for a romantic getaway have different needs than clients looking for a family getaway, for example. So, try to highlight what will truly inspire the types of clients you have and want to attract.
Think about their specific needs, what’s important to them in the travel experience and the types of questions they ask you. Then look for ways to show how the destination and the properties you visit will fulfill those needs.
5. Run A Post-Fam Campaign
Chances are you’ll walk away from your fam trip with a promotional offer, or at the very least, have the information to put together an itinerary your ideal clients will find enticing.
Run a campaign via email and on social media to entice bookings by highlighting the destination and properties you visited.
Share what you have learned, and talk about the types of trips clients can plan to that destination and the unique offerings they will find there.
This is also a good time to send a soft follow-up to anyone who expressed interest in your social media posts, watched your videos and engaged with you.
Pro tip: Put a timeline on your campaign to add a sense of urgency that will prompt your audience to act immediately.
