TikTok
has often been dismissed as a video platform for Gen Z, but travel brands are increasingly turning to the app to help broaden their reach.
With a billion monthly active users, it’s little wonder why the platform is so popular, and many travel companies are waking up to its potential to help them raise brand awareness - and drive transactions - in perhaps a more cost-efficient way than traditional marketing methods.
Some are even wondering if TikTok, and social channels more widely, can help the travel industry recover by helping brands drive engagement.
It's widely known that Gen Z and millennials are big users of social media platforms for travel research: A recent study from Phocuswright reveals that
39% of U.S. Gen Z consumers see social media as very influential
on destination selection, and 28% use the platforms to research in-destination activities.
Big brands are taking notice. Booking Holdings’ CEO Glenn Fogel said in November 2021 that the online travel agency was increasingly confident in the potential of social media channels and planned to invest more in them.
For Hopper, social media helped the price-predicting app weather the crisis: It saw revenue gains and user-based growth amid the pandemic, demonstrating the power of social.
Social media success in travel
Hopper’s advertising is almost exclusively on paid social, says head of user acquisition Makoto Rheault-Kihara.
“It’s been very successful for us, particularly in times where travel might not be top-of-mind for consumers. Social is great for discovery, whereas search ads rely on people having intent and proactively searching," he explains.
He feels TikTok in particular continues to represent a big opportunity for travel brands to grow organically, adding that it’s “the only social platform left that has organic reach.”
Hannah Bennett, brand partnerships lead at TikTok, says the platform not only has a huge community, but its audience also considers travel one of the top areas of interest.
For the hashtag #TikTokTravel, she says there have been 27 billion video views “and counting.”
Other travel brands are taking note. Marriott recently launched a search for three travelers to become Marriott Bonvoy TikTok Correspondents to document “the sights, sounds, places and people they encounter along the way on TikTok and other platforms of their choice.”
An additional benefit of TikTok is its volumes of organic content. In mid-December, #houseswap gained significant traction when a U.S. user posted about needing a holiday and looking to swap her Boston apartment for somewhere in the U.K.
It demonstrates how something simple, and travel related, can blow up: The video gained 2.9 million views and resulted in many home-swap offers.
However, the travel industry hasn't successfully capitalized on such trends. Yet.
Rheault-Kihara says that Hopper has observed more adoption from travel brands, but that it’s still early days.
“Most travel brands haven’t yet figured out how to successfully engage with users on TikTok at scale, which leaves room for brands like Hopper to stand out and make an impact on the platform.”
While it’s not hard to establish a presence on TikTok, travel brands that have, including some big names, have few followers and little to no content.
Engaging content
It’s possible travel brands are struggling not only with how to approach the platform’s users, but also with understanding who the users are and what they’re looking for.
A billion monthly active users can’t all be Gen Z: Euromonitor’s recent consumer trends report said
older generations were being introduced to the platform
by their grandchildren.
Hopper’s Rheault-Kihara agrees that the age range is increasing.
“The notion that it’s an app solely for Gen Z hasn’t been true for a while. Brands that still hold onto that idea are missing out on engaging with the full audience on the platform.”
TikTok also says that the age profile of its community is diversifying. Bennett says: “A recent Kantar study found 67% of TikTok’s global audience is over 25.”
Her advice to travel brands looking to dip a toe in the water is to spend some time scrolling on the app and watching videos on the For You Feed.
“This will give you a better idea of what works, what content appeals to you and what trends and themes might be relevant for your brand specifically. It's then about testing and learning with your creative content - not everything is going to go viral, but if you stick with it you'll soon get the hang of what resonates with the audience.”
Bennett adds that brands need to think about about “fitting in” both in terms of their organic content and paid content.
She also says TikTok offers help via its advertising solutions, including its recently released TikTok Creative Center to help brands get started.
Content conversion
In addition to the age of the audience and volume of active users, travel brands should also pay attention to how content can drive purchases.
Euromonitor’s research reveals that more than 30% of consumers bought goods or services after seeing an influencer post or company advertisement on TikTok in 2021.
Although currently travel purchases cannot be made on the platform, Hopper’s Rheault-Kihara says users are indeed engaging and converting, but “the creative needs to be right to actually drive purchases.”
“This is why we’ve seen that it often takes creative iteration to get the most impactful ad.
"As the U.S. audience grows on TikTok, we’ve seen performance get better and better. TikTok is also maturing as an ad platform so we’ve noticed an enhanced capability to find the right users.”
Travel brands should also be aware of how they're establishing a presence on TikTok through both organic and paid-for content.
A recent article on eMarketer highlights the
challenge for TikTok of balancing user experience with increased advertising
on the platform.
Bennett says the brand experience is a priority and that TikTok encourages brand partners to “make ads that feel native to the platform and as much like TikToks rather than traditional ads.”
Rheault-Kihara’s view is that striking a balance between organic and paid-for content shouldn't be a trade-off.
“If you want the content to perform well from a commercial standpoint, it needs to look like it’s social and native to the platform. The content that performs best commercially is the content that feels most natural to the platform.”
He adds that companies must still ensure content is in line with the a brand’s unique offering.
“Ads that don’t perform well downstream in terms of conversion are the ones that are engaging but don’t fail to highlight Hopper’s unique value propositions.”