VANCOUVER — Now more than ever, travel advisors are looking for ways to drive bookings and rebuild businesses that have been hugely impacted by the global pandemic. What’s an easy way to do this? Facebook.
Vancouver-based BranchUp, a free Facebook marketing tool and the only one of its kind, has been developed specifically for travel advisors in mind. Available in French, English and Spanish, the tool was successfully launched with advisors in Canada and the United States and is now moving to a large-scale rollout ahead of travel’s rebound in late 2021 and 2022.
Travel advisors will find a familiar name behind BranchUp: the tool is backed by Michael Drever, founder of Cruise Ship Centers, prior to its successful sale to Expedia.
“BranchUp has been in operation for some time,” said Drever. “We wanted to make sure we were ready for a large-scale launch and be able to deliver an incredible social media marketing program for travel advisors, which would enable them to reaffirm their status as relevant, tech-savvy professionals to their social media network. We drive leads, and ultimately sales, directly into their inbox from their favourite suppliers for free.”
Here’s how BranchUp works:
It creates a mix of editorial content and special offers that are posted daily to travel advisors’ Facebook Business pages, essentially allowing advisors to avoid spending countless hours sourcing relevant content to share with their followers.
Agents can then edit the posts to include their own wording or recommendations. They have the ability to control the posts to ensure content is always on point with their business.
When a friend or follower clicks on a post, they are taken to a co-branded landing page featuring all of the advisor’s contact information. The friend or follower then deals directly with the travel advisor via an automatic email that contacts the advisor to learn more about the offer.
All bookings are made directly with the supplier, by the agent.
“We believe as agents emerge from the pandemic, they will be entering new waters and we think this tool will help them navigate those waters,” adds Drever. “They’re going to love it!”
To sign up for free go to BranchUp.com.
