Scroll, Heart, Fly: Social Media’s Impact on Travel 2024

Summary

Almost 17 years after Facebook first introduced advertising, social commerce’s star continues to rise. Marketers have flocked to social media fiercely strategizing to pull prospective and existing customers into their funnel. Industries like apparel and beauty have found tremendous success in their social marketing. For travel, the waters remain murky. On the one hand, social content has played a clear role in aiding certain places to grow – sometimes even directly propagating overtourism. But in many cases, companies struggle to measure the true impact of their social strategies. Understanding is clouded by the length of conversion periods, circuitous digital routes to booking, and lack of accurate attribution methods for social channels.

Phocuswright’s Scroll, Heart, Fly: Social Media’s Impact on Travel 2024 is a comprehensive consumer research study delving into the specifics of how social media platforms are used for travel planning and sharing. Key questions addressed include:

• In which scenarios is social marketing most effective? How can UGC play a role in turning scrolling into sales
• What platforms are being used for specific components of the trip and how do travelers think about which account types and platforms offer them the best information
• What travelers are looking for when they follow travel-themed or branded accounts, “like” content, post their own experiences, or even give formal tags and mentions to travel brands? 
• Are there particular factors that promote conversion? How do they differ, based on trip type and who is doing the planning?
• Do distinct demographic groups engage differently with the platforms? With influencers? If so, what are the differences? 
• How do travelers perceive creator content? What degree of transparency do they expect and prefer from these influencers?
• Can travel businesses determine which forms of creator content is most effective for their goals?
  
  

Phocuswright’s Scroll Heart Fly: Social Media's Impact on Travel 2024 series is available for purchase for $1,295. With the single purchase of the series, the following collection of reports (available now or publishing soon) are automatically included at no additional cost: 

• Social Media Usage Approach in Travel
• F is for Funnel: Social Media and the Path to Travel Purchase
• The Creator Effect: Harnessing the Power of Collaboration in Travel