When I’m training travel brands how to use social media to make a genuine impact - i.e to generate more buzz and sales - clients often share the same woes that “social media doesn’t make money for us” or “we find it difficult to prove sales from it.” I regularly come across UK travel companies that aren’t using social media to its full potential and are missing countless tips and tricks. This doesn’t surprise me: limited staff, time and resources can mean that social media ma

Yet another new year is upon us, so how will social media marketing evolve in 2019 and how can travel brands embrace some of the biggest updates to generate more buzz and sales? Based on my experience managing social media channels for travel companies such as tour operators and travel agents, here are four social media trends that I think will flourish in 2019 and examples of how brands can incorporate them into their social media marketing activity: Video, video, video Vide

One of the reasons that I decided to become a freelance social media manager three years ago, is because in the back of my mind I knew I wanted to have my first baby at some point, and thought that being a freelancer would give me more flexibility. Once I’d built up my client portfolio and grew in confidence, I absolutely loved having my own small business, as well as control over who I worked with and how much income I generated. I was, and still am, one of those annoying pe

Has anyone else noticed that Facebook no longer allows you to edit the headline of links shared on its platform? Usually when scheduling links on behalf of my clients - whether it's a trending article in the travel press about a specific destination or a new holiday launched on behalf of one of my travel clients, or sharing laser hair removal tips or a website product promotion for one of my beauty clients - I usually prefer to edit the headline of the link if it automaticall

Last week I spent an afternoon researching new business opportunities – specifically small to medium-sized UK-based travel brands that aren’t using social media to its full potential. Although I’m busy, I have the thirst to take on an additional project (I manage social media channels for brands on a freelance basis). I looked at the social media channels that belonged to around 30 tour operators. While there were some brilliant examples, I’d say that around 75% of these comp

With over 500 unique monthly users, Instagram is an increasingly powerful PR tool if used correctly. The social media channel is used by around 50% of brands and that number is expected to rise to 70.7% in 2017. Here are six ways you can enhance your brand’s presence on Instagram: 1. Content is key It’s important to carefully consider what type of original content you’d like to share on behalf of your brand. Of course, you want Instagram to be a (subtle) sales tool, but also

Another new year is upon us, so how will social media marketing evolve in 2017? Here are my three predictions: 1. Audience demand for ‘live’ content 2016 is the year that the Facebook Live really took off. This live-streaming service allows users to broadcast live whenever they want, easily and conveniently. It’s clear that its live feature was a strong focus point for Facebook in 2016 (yesterday I even saw a huge bus stop advert encouraging people to go ‘live’), and I believ

Many of us lead such fast-paced working and personal lives, that it can be difficult to switch off. My job managing social media channels and PR for businesses on a freelance basis, involves a lot of multi-tasking, fast-thinking and the feeling that you’re always connected to the 24/7 digital world. Thankfully, yoga exists. Simply stopping to focus on your breath and be ‘present’ in the moment has helped me to create more balance in my work. I successfully did a crow pose at

Based on my experience managing social media channels for travel companies on a freelance basis, here are my six tips for social media marketing success: Don't neglect Instagram or Snapchat Let's be clear; Facebook and Twitter are still important marketing channels. For example, Facebook has the largest user-base by far with over one billion monthly active users and is especially effective for brands looking to target the older generation, since its fastest growing audience i

Keeping up with social media trends can be overwhelming, especially if social media marketing isn't your full-time job. I thought I'd share my thoughts on some big trends that we're seeing at the moment and explain how travel businesses can take advantage. One of the main trends is audiences increasingly using social media to experience events as they happen and interacting with people there, despite not physically being there. Here's how some of the biggest social channels a