In this installment of our Facebook Page Reviews we will be turning our attention to the travel industry, which has recently been recognized for its exceptional performance on its social media platforms. Will they hold up to the hype? What are they currently doing on social media?
Visuals
One of the most important aspects of a brand’s Facebook page are the visuals. These are the first thing that visitors to the page will see, and visuals tend to take up the majority of space on the page itself.
Expedia puts its visual opportunities to use by featuring the Expedia logo as the page’s default–a practice that should be standard for any brand, as it reinforces the brand name and image.
The most memorable visual feature of a Facebook page is the cover photo. For their cover photo, Expedia features a scenic, picturesque photograph of Venice, Italy, with the phrase “Find Your #Storybook” across the top. This is a subtle but very effective marketing strategy, as it invites fans of the Facebook page to follow Expedia on other social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, where they can share their own vacation photos with the advertised hash-tag.
Photos
On the topic of visuals, the photos that a brand has posted to its page are also important. These can be used to promote fan engagement, or even showcase pictures from fans.
As a travel company, Expedia can get the best of both worlds from their photos. Pictures that they post themselves can act as advertisements for travel to specific locations, while fan photos through the #storybook campaign promote a strong social media community for the brand.
Promos and Deals
Offering promotions and deals on your Facebook page is a great way to get fans involved with your social media endeavors, as it gives them strong incentive to frequent your page, instead of simply “Liking” it, and then forgetting that it exists.
One of my favorite things about the Expedia Facebook page is that they are always promoting a wide array of deals. All of their deals are also accompanied by a visually stimulating travel photo, which is a very nice touch.
Customer Service
Unfortunately, this is where Expedia loses some serious points. Unlike other brand pages I have seen thus far, Expedia has had relatively poor levels of engagement and customer service. Scrolling through their posts, I saw a multitude of complaints from customers which went unanswered–and the ones that were answered were few and far between.
Molding a strong bond between the brand and fans through social media is one of the most important aspects of social media marketing. If you aren’t going to listen to and converse with your fans on a regular basis, why bother have the page in the first place?
To improve your brand engagement, check out our article here!
What Could be Improved
There is always room for improvement on a brand’s Facebook page, or any social media platform for that matter. Here are some ways in which Expedia could raise the social media bar.
Travel Videos – adding the occasional travel video, or even a slideshow of an album of travel photos would be a nice change of pace.
Reviews – The page could up its informative side by posting reviews of hotels, cruise-lines, etc., to further help fans of the brand. Of course, crowdsourced positive reviews – it’s not like Expedia would like to expose their prospective customers to the horrible hotels they’d like you to stay at!
Better Engagement – Expedia needs to assess their current lack of customer service and fan engagement on their Facebook page–this is their number one problem. Respond to customers who are experiencing issues or who are dissatisfied with a service, it can go a long way.
Rating
Expedia’s Facebook page has a lot going for it. Great content, excellent visuals, and enticing deals and promotions. However, it is really hurting itself with its sub-par fan engagement and customer service.
Got some interesting ideas for how Expedia can do better on their Facebook page?Tweet them to us at @BetaTwentyOne and we’ll add them here! We’re always listening.
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