Likes, favorites, comments, retweets ... Nobody escapes the hook of social networks. According to statistics portal Statista, this year 2018 began with more than 2 billion users on Facebook, 800 million on Instagram and 330 million on Twitter.

That means that every day there are millions of people browsing the social networks looking for products, brands and services and you have the possibility to be present by showing your brand to be found.


Social networks in the tourism sector
The tourism sector has undergone a real revolution since the advent of the Internet and social networks.


Every day, millions of people share their travels or content related to tourism on social networks with other Internet users. To give you an idea, hashtags like #travelgram or #wanderlust, a term used to describe the insatiable desire to travel, have at this moment more than 60 million entries on Instagram.

This is how the influencers of travel have come into being, people who are exclusively dedicated to traveling and sharing the digital content (photos, videos, articles ...) they create during their trips on their social networks, and brands pay them for it.

In response to this phenomenon "wanderlust" and the thousands of searches and entries on tourism that are on the Internet every day, tourist accommodation, restaurants, airlines, travel agencies, etc., have understood that it is essential to have an online strategy to win visibility.

According to a report by the National Observatory of Telecommunications and the Information Society of 2016, 73.8% of the accommodation companies with more than 10 employees and 69.4% of the travel agencies use the networks social.

In addition, 93.7% of travel agencies with more than 10 employees have a website.

How does it benefit me to use social networks as a tourism brand?​
The advantages of having profiles in social networks for a brand and using them frequently are many:

• They are a way to gain visibility, to build a brand and improve your reach. We could even affirm that, nowadays, if you are not on the Internet, you do not exist. By spreading your content and your brand on social networks, you will get people to know you and, if you do it right, create a community interested in you.
• You attract traffic to your web page. Your goal is to close sales and most often this sale occurs on your website. Therefore, it is important to link your social profiles with your website and that it is equally interesting and attractive. In addition, launching links to your website from your social networks will help improve your positioning and your authority.
• You can improve the relationship with your customers and build loyalty. Social networks are a tool with which you can communicate directly with your customers, so with it you can create personalized messages, answer those who speak about your brand and quickly control problems to generate trust.
• You can know your target audience better and establish a relationship with them. Thanks to social networks, you can study your ideal clients, know more about their interests and concerns, and, from there, offer them a valuable message for them.

What role do Social Networks play in the Traveler Journey?
The latest infographic developed by WebpageFX and related to the latest study "Online Travel Marketing Trends", shows us in a simple way how they affect and what kind of impact generated by social networks before, during and after the trip. 

Inspiration and Social Networks
Research shows that social networks can have a significant impact when planning a trip. In fact, 52% of Facebook users say they have been inspired by photos of their friends for their future travel plans.

Planning and Social Networks
Before planning a future trip, 1 in 5 travelers use social networks as a source of inspiration to choose their future destination (27%), Hotel (23%), Activity (22%) or Restaurant (17%) among others.

During the trip and Social Networks
Travelers are still connected to social networks while they are traveling. In fact more than ever. It is estimated that 72% of people post photos of their trip while enjoying this, and that 70% of travelers usually change their status on Facebook while on vacation.

After the trip and Social Networks
Finally, it should be noted that travelers continue to use social networks once they have completed their trip. When returning home, 55% of travelers often give "Likes" to Facebook pages related to their vacations, 46% usually post comments about their hotel, 40% usually post comments about the activities they have carried out during his trip and 40% published opinions about the restaurants he was in.

Conclusion: Raise your social network strategy based on the behavior of your users and customers. Define your Traveler Journey correctly and focus your resources and investment on what good analytics will discover. And finally, trust your business strategy only those digital experts who can build an ecosystem of deep analysis to support your future decisions.