Tourists are your best marketers if you give them something worth sharing. Forget staged photoshoots and cliché promotions. Instead, focus on crafting genuine, memorable experiences that naturally inspire guests to reach for their phones and share their joy with the world. Think beyond the usual tourist traps and embrace the unique aspects of your business to create something truly special.
The Power of Shareable Experiences
Shareable experiences are the moments guests feel compelled to capture and share online. This isn't just about pretty scenery; it's about the emotional connection, the unique activity, or the unexpected delight that makes an experience stand out. Think about that incredible meal with a view, the hilarious encounter with a local animal, or the breathtaking sunset witnessed during a guided tour.
For tourism businesses, these moments are gold. User-generated content (UGC) is far more trusted than traditional advertising. When potential customers see authentic photos and videos shared by real people, it builds trust and encourages bookings. Moreover, when people share, the algorithm is actually on your side for once. Your brand reaches a much wider audience, and at zero cost.
Consider a winery that offers a blending masterclass. Guests not only enjoy a hands-on activity but also create a personalised bottle of wine to take home, resulting in stories and photos shared online. Or a small tour group that surprises guests with an impromptu performance by a local musician, capturing the moment on video and encouraging sharing. These unique touches transform a standard experience into something truly shareable.
Getting Started: Creating Shareable Moments
Crafting shareable experiences isn't about luck; it's about thoughtful design. You can strategically create moments that naturally encourage guests to share their experiences online.
Understand Your Audience
Before you start brainstorming ideas, consider your target audience. What are their interests? What kind of content do they typically share on social media? A luxurious hotel might focus on creating Instagrammable moments of opulence and relaxation, while a family-friendly attraction might prioritise fun and engaging activities for kids.
Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
What makes your business different from the competition? Emphasise this in your shareable experiences. If you offer farm-to-table dining, showcase the local farmers and the journey of your ingredients. If you are known for your historical significance, give people a more authentic experience than other attractions and museums can offer.
Add Unexpected Delights
Surprise and delight are powerful motivators for sharing. Consider adding unexpected touches to your experiences, such as complimentary welcome drinks, personalised notes, or impromptu performances. A small gesture can create a lasting impression and encourage guests to share their positive experience online.
Make it Visually Appealing
Visual content reigns supreme on social media. Ensure that your experiences are visually appealing and provide plenty of opportunities for guests to capture stunning photos and videos. A simple feature such as a beautiful backdrop, interesting props, or unique lighting can turn an ordinary moment into an Instagram sensation.
Encourage Sharing
Don't be afraid to directly encourage guests to share their experiences online. Display signage with your social media handles and encourage them to use a specific hashtag. You could even run a contest or offer an incentive for sharing the best photos or videos.
Your Implementation Roadmap
- Analyse your current offering - What aspects are already generating positive buzz? Where are the gaps?
- Research your competitors - What shareable experiences are they offering? How can you differentiate yourself?
- Brainstorm ideas - Get your team together and brainstorm creative ideas for shareable moments. Prioritise those that align with your brand and target audience.
Key Takeaways
Shareable experiences are a powerful marketing tool for tourism businesses. They generate authentic user-generated content, build trust with potential customers, and increase brand reach.
Creating shareable experiences requires thoughtful design and a deep understanding of your target audience. Focus on creating moments that are visually appealing, unexpected, and aligned with your unique selling proposition.
By actively encouraging guests to share their experiences online, you can turn them into your best marketers. Don't be afraid to promote your social media handles and offer incentives for sharing.
Next Steps
Here are three specific actions you can take today or this week:
- Audit your current experiences - Identify areas where you can add more shareable moments.2. Brainstorm three shareable experience ideas - Get your team together and start generating creative ideas.3. Choose one idea and start planning its implementation - Don't overthink it – just get started!
Tools & Resources
Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor is the world's largest travel platform, helping hundreds of millions of travellers each month make every trip their best. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools and resources for travellers to plan and book their trips, including reviews, ratings, photos, and forums. For businesses, Tripadvisor provides a vital marketing channel to connect with potential customers and manage their online reputation, offering a platform to showcase their offerings, respond to customer feedback, and drive bookings. Tripadvisor's primary value proposition centres around providing transparency and empowering informed decisions, benefiting both travellers and the businesses that serve them. Tripadvisor works by aggregating user-generated content, including reviews, photos, and forum posts, to create a rich database of information about travel experiences. Travellers can search for hotels, restaurants, attractions, and vacation rentals, filtering results by price, location, rating, and other criteria. Businesses can claim their Tripadvisor listing and manage their profile, adding photos, descriptions, and contact information. They can also respond to reviews, both positive and negative, to engage with customers and address any concerns. Tripadvisor also provides a booking platform for hotels and other accommodations. Tripadvisor offers various integration capabilities through its API, allowing businesses to connect their booking systems and other applications to the platform. This enables seamless data exchange and automated processes, such as updating availability and pricing in real-time. Tripadvisor's platform is highly scalable, accommodating businesses of all sizes, from small bed and breakfasts to large hotel chains. They also offer specialised tools for vacation rentals, tours and activities, and restaurants. The Tripadvisor platform is designed to be flexible and adaptable to the diverse needs of the travel and hospitality industry. Tripadvisor targets a wide range of users, including individual travellers, families, couples, and business travellers. Specific use cases include researching destinations, comparing prices, reading reviews, booking accommodations and activities, and sharing travel experiences. For businesses, Tripadvisor is used to increase visibility, attract new customers, manage online reputation, and drive bookings. For example, a local tourism operator in the Blue Mountains could use Tripadvisor to showcase their guided bushwalking tours, respond to customer reviews, and manage their booking calendar. A boutique hotel in Melbourne could use Tripadvisor to attract international visitors and manage their online reputation.
Planoly
Planoly is a social media management platform designed to streamline your content planning, scheduling, and analytics across various social media platforms, primarily Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. It empowers businesses and individuals to visually plan their social media grid, automatically schedule posts, and analyse performance to optimise their social media strategy. Planoly offers a range of tools from simple scheduling to complex analytics, allowing users to manage their entire social media presence from a single dashboard, saving valuable time and resources. Planoly's key capabilities centre around its visual content calendar, which allows users to drag and drop media to plan their feed's aesthetic. You can schedule posts across multiple platforms, including creating carousels and stories. The platform offers auto-posting functionality, meaning posts are published automatically at the scheduled time. Other important features include hashtag management tools, the ability to discover user-generated content, and detailed analytics dashboards that provide insights into post performance, audience engagement, and follower growth. It also offers tools to manage and respond to comments, ensuring you can maintain a strong connection with your audience. Planoly integrates with several key social media platforms directly, including Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, allowing for seamless content publishing and data retrieval. It offers a link in bio solution, Linkit, and provides tools to track affiliate links, which are useful for influencer marketing. While direct integration with other marketing or CRM platforms is more limited compared to some other social media management tools, Planoly's API can be used for custom integrations to further extend its functionality. The platform is highly scalable, catering to individual creators, small businesses, and larger enterprises with varying levels of social media needs. Planoly is ideally suited for tourism businesses and operators looking to boost their online presence and brand awareness. Use cases include hotels managing their Instagram feed to showcase rooms and amenities, tour operators sharing captivating travel photos, restaurants promoting their menus and specials, and event organisers advertising festivals and local activities. Anyone involved in creating visually appealing content for social media will find Planoly a valuable tool for streamlining their workflow and maximising their social media impact.
Meta Business Suite
Meta Business Suite is a free, all-in-one platform designed to help businesses manage their Facebook and Instagram accounts, streamlining their social media marketing efforts and improving customer engagement. It brings together essential tools for publishing content, engaging with audiences, running ads, and tracking performance, all in one place. The primary value proposition lies in its ability to save businesses time and resources by simplifying social media management, allowing them to focus on other critical aspects of their operations. Key capabilities include content creation and scheduling, enabling businesses to plan and post updates, stories, and ads across both Facebook and Instagram. It provides a unified inbox for managing messages, comments, and other interactions from both platforms, ensuring prompt and efficient customer service. The suite also offers comprehensive analytics and reporting, providing insights into audience demographics, engagement rates, and ad performance. Users can track their progress, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to optimise their social media strategy. Businesses can create and manage ads directly within the platform, targeting specific audiences and tracking their return on investment. The platform provides detailed insights into the performance of organic content as well. Meta Business Suite integrates seamlessly with other Meta products, such as Facebook Ads Manager and Facebook Pixel, allowing for advanced advertising capabilities and website tracking. It also integrates with other business tools like WhatsApp Business for enhanced communication. The scalability of the platform is a significant advantage, as it caters to businesses of all sizes, from small local shops to large multinational corporations. As a business grows, it can continue to leverage Meta Business Suite's capabilities to manage its expanding social media presence and marketing efforts. It allows multiple users and roles to manage the account, so teams can collaborate effectively. This means that different people can handle content creation, audience interaction, ad campaigns and analytics, depending on their individual skills. Target users include small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), marketing agencies, and individual entrepreneurs who want to effectively manage their social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. A small boutique in Melbourne can use it to schedule posts showcasing new clothing lines and respond to customer inquiries. A regional tourism operator in Queensland could use it to manage their bookings and promote special offers, and track the performance of their advertising campaigns. A restaurant in Sydney can use it to manage their online ordering system and respond to reviews. Meta Business Suite serves as a central hub for all social media activities, facilitating efficient management and maximising marketing impact.