Google enables an audience to find you. Social media enables you to find your audience.

Increasingly, successful travel and tourism marketers use social media influencers to guide —influence— new consumers to their destinations. Think not only of Millennials who have a voracious appetite for social media and look to user-engaged content to make their travel and leisure plans, but also consider an increasing number of Boomers and GenX’rs who rely on authentic reviews and opinions for brand acceptance.

According to Adweek, 86 percent of the marketing professionals surveyed have used influencer programs, and 95 percent said influencer marketing is an effective part of their overall strategy.

The three biggest goals of influencer marketing campaigns according to a summer 2016 report by research analyst Altimeter:

Eight in ten digital marketers use social media influencers to expand their digital marketing reach to different audiences on social networks. Most identify that they want to gain access to smaller niche audiences that they have not previously connected with — micro-influencers with an audience of fewer than 100,000 made up over 90% of the influencer activity on Instagram in January 2017.

Overcoming the challenge of increased use of Adblocking
It is not just reaching new, targeted audiences that social media marketers are turning to influencers for increasing exposure and reach. The increasing use of ad blocking and ad avoidance is one of the top reasons why companies are turning to social media influencers. In July 2016, mega-agency Omnicom released a study that showed nearly 70 million Americans use ad blockers. This is up 34% from 2015.

Social media influencers are not impacted by ad blocking. They promote your destination with user-engaged content and with the authenticity that consumers are now expecting.

How do you find effective social media influencers?
When you’re looking for appropriate social influencers, investigate and truly understand who the influencer’s audience members are. Are their followers the best potential audience for your destination? Pay attention to their activity, comments and propensities to make the most educated and informed choice of influencers.

Make sure the influencer regularly writes about your key message points about your destination—hiking, bicycling, art and cultural events, history. Look for the type of engagement they typically receive. Is the audience of the influencer the most desirable for your destination?

Take a look at the platforms on which the influencer best performs. Facebook has proven effective for destinations, Twitter for newsy content and Instagram for showcasing your beautiful photos to get attention. So be sure that you are working with social influencers who are masters of your preferred platform.

Three places to find social media influencers:

Now that you have influencers….
Influencers are most likely writers, so create guidelines and communicate clearly how you refer to your community and highlight your most distinctive attractions and features. Have them use the keywords that you previously selected for your area, but allow them to use their own voice and style to introduce your brand to their audience. Their followers will immediately sense when their post is inauthentic.

Measure against your key performance metrics
You would not run an ad without planning for and expecting results. Be realistic and give it time to work. Use a spreadsheet to monitor conversions based on content, platform and influencer so that you can fine-tune for the best results.

Now that you have decided to spend time, money, and effort to hire an influencer for your social media marketing campaigns, do you go it alone or do you get help from a digital marketing company?

As your digital marketing coach, CVB Digital can help you make the best decision for your destination.