TECH TO KNOW : YouTube
WORDS / ANDREA SEDLACEK
XANDERST / SHUTTERSTOCK . COM
Useful Technology
THAT SAVES YOU OR YOUR CLIENTS TIME .
Facebook is the social media platform of choice for travel advisors , and it makes sense . Facebook makes it easy to post content , comment on other users ’ content and even communicate with suppliers , clients and your fellow advisors — and 1.62 billion people use it every day . There are some agencies that get most of their business from Facebook and don ’ t even have websites . It ’ s a very valuable tool for any small-business owner . But what if you ’ re looking for something new ? Something untapped in the world of travel advisors ? Turn to videos on YouTube , the social platform you ’ re probably not using ( but definitely should be ).
How does it work ? You definitely know YouTube as your place for funny cat videos , at-home workouts and tween influencers . But YouTube has a practical side perfect for a travel agency .
First , create a channel for your agency — it only takes four steps , one of which is creating a YouTube account . Think of a channel as the same thing as a Facebook page for your agency and only use it for business-related content . Our smartphones , laptops and tablets have great cameras that you can use to shoot videos , now you just have to create engaging content .
The travel industry has endless amounts of # travelinspo images and videos to use ( just make sure you have permission to use them ). Otherwise , you can try short five-minute videos of you talking about a destination , a recent trip or even a recent FAM trip , with a brief video tour of the hotels and resorts you ’ ve visited .
YouTube can be an especially valuable tool in the current travel landscape . What better way to share your recent travel experiences , with updated health and safety protocols , social distancing and more , than to create quick-hit videos for YouTube ?
How many people use it ? YouTube is used by more than 2 billion people — that ’ s almost one-third of the internet .
How much does it cost ? Nothing . You can create a YouTube channel for free . If you want to promote your channel or videos , YouTube offers advertising plans that allow you to manage your budget and reach .
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TikTok is Lit , as the Kids Say
TikTok , the app for sharing short videos , launched in China in 2016 , but really only made its way to the U . S . in 2018 . It was the most-downloaded app on the App Store in 2018 and 2019 and more than 500 million people are now using it . TikTok ’ s primary
users are 16-24 years old .
But don ’ t let that younger demographic fool you — agents like Kevin Clark of Box Alarm Travel in Pennsylvania are turning to TikTok to find millennial travelers ( who are currently 24- 39 years old ). “ Millennials are the future of this business ,” he says . “ They ’ re actually traveling more than older generations .”
So Clark , who learned how to use TikTok from his kids , started experimenting with videos promoting travel offers to help his agency get out in front of “ the millennial crowd .” Though he ’ s still quite new to the platform himself and finding his groove , he ’ s learning a lot . His best advice for agents looking to get into the TikTok game ? “ Just try to make it a little fun .”
Find Kevin on TikTok at @ boxalarmtravel .
26 / THE COMPASS / SPRING 2021 vaxvacationaccess . com / thecompass