How grassroots marketing with influencers is becoming the most effective method to build interest in your destination or tourism product. Presentation given at 2016 RTO East Summit.

1. Travel Influencer Marketing
How Grassroots Marketing with Influencers is Becoming the Most
Effective Method to Build Interest In Your Destination or Tourism
Product
Al Chen
Co-Founder, Cooperatize
@bigal123

2. What You’ll Learn Today
1. Digital Influencers
2. Why Influencer Marketing?
3. Identifying the Right Influencers
4. Questions to Ask
5. Always-On Strategy
6. Why Influencers Matter For Your
Destination or Tourism Product

3. The Good ‘Ol Days

4. New Kids On The Block

5. Traditional vs. Digital
Source: l2thinktank.com

6. What Are Digital Influencers?
• Independent & creative
• Trustworthy
• Tech savvy
Source: l2thinktank.com

7. Why Influencer Marketing?
Marketers no longer control the consumer
journey.
(Unless you are Coke or GEICO)
Social Media Channels? Nope.
Better Ads & Content? Nope.
Stuff Consumer Wants to Hear Coming
From Influencers They Trust.

8. By The Numbers
90%
% of Americans
who ignore
digital ads
0.04%
Click-Through
Rate on display
ads
40%
Wasted ad
dollars on
websites
viewed by
millennials
using ad block
It’s Not Working.

9. Chocolate World

10. Identifying Influencers
#chocolate

11. The “Right” Influencer
Australian Family Who Loves to Travel

12. You Can’t Have It All
At our focus group on online dating in
Manhattan, Derek got on OkCupid and
let us watch as he went through his
options. These were women whom
OkCupid had selected as potential
matches for him based on his profile
and the site’s algorithm. The first
woman he clicked on was very
beautiful, with a witty profile page, a
good job and lots of shared interests,
including a love of sports. After looking
the page over for a minute or so, Derek
said, “Well, she looks O.K. I’m just
gonna keep looking for a while.”

13. The “Perfect” Influencer
Deal Breakers:
Category/Topical
Demographic
Lifestage
Distribution Channels
Cost
Nice to Haves:
Engagement
Aesthetic/Design
Previous Experience
Frequency
Personal Relationship

14. Questions to Ask
To Your Team:
1) What is the business objective?
2) What existing marketing strategy or content can
I leverage?
3) Do it myself or hire a company?
To Your Influencer:
1) What topics would excite your audience?
2) What distribution channels will you use?
3) What type of results should I expect?

15. Bigger Is Not Always Better
The smaller the community, the greater the
influence and more likely the audience has the
ability to buy.

16. Always-On Strategy
• Travelers are asking questions in their own
buying cycles
• As they form opinions, your destination needs to
be a part of that conversation naturally

17. Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose

18. Generate Demand By The Traveler
• 80% of tourism boards
consider adventure travel
its own sector
• Consumers shifting away
from material possessions
to experiences
• Safe and affordable
• Social media gives
travelers a taste before
they go

19. Thank you!
Al Chen
Co-Founder, Cooperatize
al@cooperatize.com