Travel executives on the rise of ‘interest media’

Social media has perpetually modified vacationers’ reserving habits, added new sources of inspiration and launched the function of influencers. But Gary Vaynerchuk, chairman of VaynerX and CEO of VaynerMedia, not too long ago began touting the concept we’re coming into a brand new period of social media: “interest media.”

“The transformation of social media is complete,” Vaynerchuk wrote on LinkedIn.

“I actually believe the word social media might have to get tweaked. I believe we are now in the interest media era, not social media, but interest media,” Vaynerchuk mentioned in a video shared as a part of the publish. “Social was inherently like, who is your social network? Who are your friends?  We are now in an era where what [you are] interested in is coming to you from the algorithm.”

Travel business specialists who’ve closely included social media into their companies agree.

Konrad Waliszewski, co-founder and CEO of @Hotel, mentioned Vaynerchuk is “spot on.”

“The platforms [have] really emerged to know people often better than they know themselves,” Waliszewski mentioned. “When you think about how people engage with content, it’s kind of one of two ways: [One], the algorithm finds you based on what you want to see, or two, you are using social media as a search engine and you’re looking for content. And in both cases, the right content wins.”

Tim Morgan, CEO of Jerne, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2024, sees the idea somewhat in a different way. According to Morgan, “interest media” is is a push technique whereas “social media” is a pull technique.

“Ultimately, brands need to focus on the most effective way to reach consumers using whatever strategy it takes to cut through the noise,” Morgan mentioned. 

“What is different about ‘interest media’ from other push strategies is that the brand has no control over each platform’s algorithms. This can be a good thing when the algorithm promotes positive brand content, however [it] can also very much be the opposite.” 

The origins of curiosity media

Industry leaders mentioned the “interest media” period rose alongside TikTook.

“We’ve gone from having our social network where it’s engaging with posts from your friends … or your social network, to now, once that algorithm picks up what you like and your interest, then you obviously start to go deep in that,”  mentioned Travis Pittman, co-founder and CEO of TourRadar, which not too long ago launched its Moments function, permitting customers to e book from reels and photographs.

And that’s modified what content material populates—and what’s profitable by way of attain—for each people and types.

On TikTook, a brand new person with minimal followers can publish a video and obtain 1 million views if the content material resonates, Waliszewski mentioned. And whereas Instagram is beginning to prioritize attention-grabbing content material, the platform continues to put extra significance on a person’s viewers, aka their followers.

Aizaz Sheikh, head of worldwide model and content material chief for TourRadar, mentioned that curiosity media, in apply, goes again to the times of Tumblr.

“This isn’t the first incarnation of it,” he mentioned. “Tumblr was [centered] a lot more around interests and communities created through interests versus everything else that came, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.”

Like Morgan, Sheikh doesn’t imagine community-based social media is useless. But he does imagine particular person pursuits draw extra consideration than easy group connections—pursuits are “how we hang out.”

“This is the kind of future, because people you know may not like everything that their friends and social network also do, but they absolutely love solo travel, or they love mountain biking or they love sailing,” Pittman mentioned.

Pittman mentioned this can stage the taking part in discipline for smaller creators who’re doing wonderful work however aren’t in a position to shovel large funding behind their content material.

How can journey corporations faucet in?

While followers was once an indicator of success for Instagram accounts and different social media platforms, they’re not the measure of triumph, based on Vaynerchuk.

“All my followers that I’ve amassed for 15 years are becoming less important,” he mentioned.

Waliszewski mentioned views matter probably the most proper now, as a result of they present who the model or creator is reaching.

“It used to be that you built followers, and then those followers got you views,” he mentioned. “Now it’s reversed. You get the views, and if it’s content that resonates with them, then they follow you.”

With the suitable hashtag or the suitable content material that “just resonates,” the algorithm will preserve pushing it out to new audiences, Pittman mentioned.

To adhere to an “interest media” mindset, manufacturers have to have “a fundamental reset,” Waliszewski mentioned. 

“If you don’t have an audience, I think you shouldn’t be worried about that. If you do have a big audience, you shouldn’t be holding on too much to that.”

According to Waliszewski, journey corporations ought to know precisely who they’re making an attempt to achieve and publish the content material they assume matches their target market.

“That’s ultimately what it comes down to, you just have to have more volume of genuinely useful things,” Waliszewski mentioned. “It goes back to what I was saying: Create something that makes you want to save it or share it or comment.”

If manufacturers preserve that in thoughts and are in a position to obtain that, the algorithm will possible reward that apply.

“Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, etc. will continue to adjust their algorithms to showcase what they think is ‘interest media,” Morgan mentioned. “Brands need to remember that they don’t control the algorithms just like they couldn’t ever predict a viral video.”

Morgan mentioned one of the simplest ways for a model to make the most of the curiosity media period is to make it possible for their very own content material and partner-created content material matches, quality-wise, on social media. 

“When it comes to creators, the good thing for brands is that people trust people first before they trust algorithms,” Morgan mentioned.

Understanding the right way to hook a traveler and acquire their curiosity issues, too, based on David Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of HolidayPirates.

“You really have to deeply understand what people are looking for in the different markets, what is trending, and also hop on not only travel trends but also news trends you can use to hook people with,” Armstrong mentioned. “So that’s super important to have this knowledge and this mindset.”

The social, community-focused facet might stay related, too.

Morgan mentioned the journey manufacturers that may set themselves as much as win on this subsequent section of social media will prioritize creators that target their group engagement.

“As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to infiltrate daily life, consumers will focus more and more on those influential ‘pull’ voices that are part of their trusted communities than they will on ‘push’ voices or sources who, in the consumer’s mind, possibly lack that same authenticity and trust,” he mentioned.

Where does social media go from right here?

Both Waliszewski and Armstrong imagine that social media is simply getting stronger and extra related, significantly on this new chapter Vaynerchuk described.

“We really need to think about social media as just media,” Waliszewski mentioned, including that individuals spend on common nearly two and a half hours on social media every day. “No one wants to read a bunch of blue links and then read a bunch of articles. People want to see video … this is where all the attention is.”

Armstrong mentioned social media is simply turning into an increasing number of vital.

“I think whoever has a lot of good content on there will definitely not be on the loser side of things,” he mentioned, referencing latest adjustments by Google that may incorporate Instagram content material into its search outcomes. “The large language models out there now are also using Instagram for the information together. And so whoever has built a lot of content on Instagram and has, like it has a brand authority there, I would say, will be in a good position.”

Bottom line, Waliszewski mentioned the journey business must “wake up to this.” The sector, he mentioned, has lagged behind with making the most of social media.

“This is where all the attention is going, and this is where all the commerce is increasingly going.”