Spring break is fast approaching, and travel brands have the opportunity to appeal to travelers of all ages seeking myriad experiences. Whether you’re looking to maximize your reservations & bookings, upsell your popular add-ons, or convert your guest experiences into positive reviews and repeat business, you’re going to need to have the strategy in place to act fast. Here are the top trends and tips brands are using to gear up for the spring break rush.  

Turn to Influencers to Reach Any Demographic

There is a reason why the Fyre Festival relied primarily on influencer marketing: it works. When done well, it can create an extreme demand for experiences and places. But you don’t need to go out and hire models and celebrities to reap the benefits of the influencer phenomenon. Often times, your passionate customers and existing social followers can have the same effect. Remember, authenticity is key when selecting influencers. Who better to represent your brand than local fans, previous customers, or happy fans? Plus, it's a great way to resonate authentically with your target audience. Whether it’s a college-aged audience or a family vacation audience you’re trying to reach, you can find influencers that will resonate with either demographic. No matter who you’re looking to market to now is the time to use influencer marketing tools to find your most passionate fans with an engaged community. Depending on your brand’s popularity, you may be surprised at the reach of some of your top fans. By using influencer discovery tools, you can quickly discover, manage, and interact with your influencers.

Micro-Influencers for the WinSometimes the best influencer content comes from individuals with fewer followers. Great travel brands excel at managing new and existing relationships with content producers who can share authentic brand experiences through their content. Building this relationship encourages them to share their experiences on social media, which you can then re-purpose in many different ways. Through micro-influencers relationships, you can collect authentic content while involving passionate fans closer to your travel brand.

Curate Experiences and Recommendations that Foster User-Generated Content (UGC) The more positive pictures, videos, and social reviews you can garner, the better your brand presence will become. Physical attractions that draw a crowd are always social media magnets, for example, what Breckenridge Resort dubs a “Heavenly Instagram envy shot at Sapphire Point”.  Plus, these sorts of ‘Instagrammable experiences’ are a hot draw for millennials looking to travel for Spring break. These can be used as a medium to discover your brand’s new and top influencers, but also bridge the gap between a physical location and the digital experience that fuels tourists during Spring break.

Drive Better Conversions with Scalable Authentic ContentThe beauty of using user-generated content (UGC) is you can repurpose it across multiple marketing channels. Studies show that UGC in all channels converts better, and it’s more scalable. Your brand can generate highly interested and authentically engaged visitors with guaranteed popular content through successful ads, to validate your brand’s travel experience.

There’s still some time before Spring break kicks off around North America. A few simple process changes coupled with a shift towards community-driven marketing will pay dividends for your brand for Spring break, and for the summer months ahead.