The world of travel journalism can seem bewildering amid huge variety in quality, segment specialisms, demographics and tones of voice. Gone are the days of clear distinctions between dedicated travel writers and journalists; nowadays there is seldom little difference between the two. Throw into this mix the spectacular rise in popular accounts on Social Media and influential blogs such as Nomadic Matt, and the picture may seem further complicated.
At the same time, the essential goal for travel companies, hotels, destinations and attractions remains the same: to win as much positive coverage aimed at their target markets in a timely, cost effective way.
However, a little knowledge can go a long way in helping make sense of this diversification and using it to reach your target audiences. It remains true that many writers and journalists will know how to get in touch with you and of course, it makes sense to make the relevant contact details available online. The real goal is to identify your influencers: the bloggers, writers and social media experts who know how to develop quality followers and can influence their decision making.
According to media database firm Cision, blogs rather than journalists are now recognised by consumers as trusted and influential sources of information. The key attributes needed in pitching your travel product to bloggers are their quality and quantity. You’ll need to visit the blog, perhaps over a period of months to examine the tones of voice, quality and quantity of images, the interaction with followers and the quality of that interaction to determine if it is of value to your product. Does this blog speak to your audience and potential customers?
Further online tools can also help you examine the breadth of the blogger’s coverage. Platforms such as LinkedIn, Vocus and compete.com should certainly be key places to visit online as part of your initial research in scoping the important outlets for your messaging, although other tools are available. These tools should give you a good idea of the strengths of a particular blogger and allow you to determine if this person is reliable, truthful and likely to generate positive coverage. A further resource well worth exploring is the Travel Bloggers Exchange (TBEX). This organisation holds conventions each year in the continents of North America, Europe and Asia and is one of the most recognised forums to find recognised and active travel bloggers. The conventions also offer workshops, networking opportunities and presentations.
Finally, in establishing which journalists and bloggers to target, it is also well worth exploring authoritative Social Media sources using similar methods, such as assessing their Klout score, the number of followers they maintain and the volume of interaction with their followers through sharing or retweeting.
To find out how Chapel can help your travel business reach your key target markets through journalist and blogger relations, get in touch with our team today through using our online contact form or by calling our head office on +44 (0) 207 129 1330.