LinkedIn has often been overlooked by busy marketing and digital media teams focusing efforts on Facebook and Instagram while scrambling to create new accounts on TikTok and Vine. However, that shouldn’t be the case.LinkedIn reaches more than 575 million professionals globally and is the premier social network for B2B marketing efforts. HootSuite offers a great primer to utilizing LinkedIn if it hasn’t been a focus for your brand thus far. Like with any social media platform, posting regularly is key to growing your audience.
Now, more than ever, as the travel industry comes together to figure out what the new normal will look like for all of us, it’s important to be part of the industry-wide conversation while collaborating and learning from colleagues and competitors alike. By positioning yourself as thoughtful, engaged and compassionate on LinkedIn, you can attract talent and engage in conversation with business travelers, many of whom are especially active on LinkedIn.
According to LinkedIn, video is five times more likely than other types of content to start a conversation among members and LinkedIn makes it easy to share organic native video. Videos on LinkedIn can be a maximum of 10 minutes, either horizontal or vertically oriented, but viewer statistics show that it’s best to keep videos between 30 second and 5 minutes for maximum impact.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts recently shared this wellness video for National Travel Advisor Day to lead viewers through a few simple stretches to combat tight shoulders and hips that might result from a sedentary lifestyle. This is a great example of highlighting individual team members, humanizing a large brand, showing gratitude for partners and providing viewers with something useful and immediately actionable.
We are all happy to share good news these days, and companies should not be shy about promoting their generosity and charitable initiatives. Recently, Hyatt Hotels announced a partnership with American Airlines offering complimentary vacations to thousands of staff at NYC Health + Hospitals / Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, NY and extending their friends and family rate to healthcare workers worldwide in need of a vacation. Many readers and followers might know a healthcare worker friend or loved one and this post received hundreds of reactions and shares as people sought to spread the good news so their own networks could benefit.
Toronto-based Drake Hotels celebrated the Drake Motor Inn’s recognition as the only Canadian hotel named to Condé Nast Traveler’s annual list of best new hotels in the world. One&Only Resorts also shared the good news of One&Only Gorilla’s Nest in Rwanda being named to the same list. Even in difficult times, it’s ok to be proud of what you’ve accomplished and spread positivity. Just be sure to strike a tone of gratitude and humility.
Not every post has to be directly about your business, service or product. In these tumultuous times, articles are published daily musing about what the future of travel might look like. Now is a great time to give company leaders a voice in an editorial-style blog post. This can help build authority among peers and ignite meaningful conversation about your company’s mission and values. Humanize your brand, don’t be afraid to show vulnerability and give your audience the chance to peek inside your company culture.
Thought leaders don’t necessarily have to be top executives either. If there’s an employee with a particularly poignant perspective on a timely issue, giving them an opportunity to be heard can be just as valuable if not more so than hearing from the CMO. This demonstrates to your team and your audience that you value different points of view and are not afraid to entertain new ideas and engage in debate.
LinkedIn is also a great avenue for getting the word out about any webinars you might be hosting. Destination British Columbia has launched a series of webinars to support their tourism industry partners on the road to recovery and posted on LinkedIn to encourage registration.
Check out our past newsletters here:
Strategies for Staying Connected: Tips on What to Post During this Time
Strategies for Staying Connected: What Does the Industry Post COVID Look Like?
Strategies for Staying Connected: Leveraging Influencers in the Travel Space Right Now.
Contact us today at info@luxstorymedia.com to start the conversation today.
