Create Your Travel Business Brand

How To Create Your Travel Business Brand

Your travel business brand will go a long way to build your specific niche and establish your expertise. Since you have already decided on your business concept, created a business plan, decided on what type of ownership you will take, chosen a business name and crafted your UVP, it is time to establish your business brand.

There is a lot of hype in our industry about branding, but it is really very simple. Remember the old western movies where they used to brand their cattle so that they would know who owned the cattle on the open range? The rancher with the three pine trees by the entrance to his ranch may have used an image of three pine trees. The rancher with the big “W” hanging over his ranch entrance may have use a big “W” as his brand.

Your brand is indicative of who you are and what you do. As an example, if you sell African safaris your brand should shout that in every way. Your branding effort should ripple throughout your marketing efforts so that it becomes so familiar to clients that the instant they see “your brand” they know it is you and what to expect. So let’s take a look at how to properly set your branding in motion.

Infographic : How To Create Your Travel Business Brand

Your Logo

You should put a good deal of time considering your logo for your business. While at first it may seem like a lot of effort, it will pay you dividends for the life of your business. There are many considerations, but here are some of the top ones.

Your UVP

Your logo should SHOUT your UVP! Avoid trendy logotypes that are used by large companies in favor of an image that pretty much says it all regarding your niche. If you specialize in selling SCUBA adventures to the Caribbean, your logo should speak to that niche in a way that the image would tell the story by itself. Once you add your business name and UVP tagline to the image, there will be no question what it is that you do.

Scalability

Since your logo may be used in many types of media, it should look just as good small, as it does large. Avoid using fonts in the logo itself, as it may not be readable when the logo is quite small. Avoid too much detail in your logo in favor of expressing the exact message that you want to deliver, whether the logo is small or large.

Color

Remember that you will be using your logo in many types of media, so don’t make the mistake of using colors that might be difficult to recreate. Stay with web-safe colors and make sure that your logo also looks good in a black and white state. Avoid pinks, beiges and pastels as they are very difficult for those with color vision deficiency to see. Also avoid using too many colors in your logo. Sure, they look great large and on paper, but how difficult are they going to be to read when in other media?

Fonts

If you sell safaris, as an example, avoid the temptation to use that really cool safari font. Stay with strong and bold fonts that are easy to read even when they are small. Never use an artsy font with halftones for your logo and avoid using fonts that are shaded or shadowed. The whole point about using text is so that people can read it. Remember this when selecting the font for your logotype.

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Simple is Better

Think about some of the most memorable logos that come to mind. Nike’s logo couldn’t be more basic. It is simply a shape and that shape is recognized by everyone that sees it. It is unlikely that you will ever get that kind of penetration with your logo, but it should speak to clients of interest and be memorable.

Your Stationery

Now that you have your logo and UVP tagline, it is time to create your stationery. Again, you should engage a professional to layout your presentation. Your stationery should also include your capabilities brochure. Everything that is designed should shout the theme of your logo and UVP tagline. Make sure that it is readable by your intended client and avoid anything that is trendy and popular at the time, as it will date your marketing efforts when trends change. Stay unique to your UVP. One of the interesting things about the COVID pandemic was the rebirth of stationery as a way to communicate. While you probably will not be sending stationery on a daily basis, you should have quality stationery available for the appropriate opportunity.

Your Website and Blog

Your Logo, UVP tagline, stationery and capabilities brochure all shout your business brand. You should have your website and / or blog custom designed to continue with this branding. Avoid using a packaged theme and simply dropping your logo into it. Your website is your opportunity to show how unique your UVP is and should add to solidify your brand.

Social Media Pages

Again, a professionally designed page presenting your unique brand is the way to go. When folks visit your social media page it should replicate your unique brand so that there is no question what it is that you represent and your UVP is strongly stated. Here are some excellent ways to create your brand on social media.

Have a Plan

You should have a carefully thought out plan for your social media branding that deals with your objective for engaging social media, as well as the results that you are seeking. There are many different results social media can provide, such as increasing sign-ups for your newsletter, increase brand awareness, drive traffic, produce leads, engage a community and overall develop a strong brand identity on your focused market.

Focus Your Efforts

What social media platform is right for your target audience? Constantly evaluate which platform is delivering the best results and then focus on developing that platform. Drop the platforms that are the lowest producing ones and focus on the best ones for your business.

Use Your Logo

Your social media handles should be your business name and your pages should always include your logo and tagline. When developing memes, infographics, cartoons, comic strips, QR codes and other viral media for your social media pages, always make sure that the branding is consistent with your overall brand.

Have a Robust Content Strategy

Building a wealth of unique, engaging and knowledgeable content is the key to social media success. Only post when you have high quality content to share.

Influencers and Affiliates

Look for influencers and affiliates that are important within your niche. Collaboration could potentially increase everyone’s brand and traffic.

Personal Appearance

Nothing can promote your unique brand faster than your personal appearance. I know a cruise agent that always wears a Captain’s hat, a Hawaii agent that is always tan and wears aloha shirts exclusively. There was an agent in San Diego that specialized in African safaris that dressed in safari jackets 100% of the time and at trade shows wore a pith helmet. Think about how you might take advantage of your unique brand by dressing, or expressing a unique look to compliment your brand. The more you reinforce your unique brand the more credibility and acceptance you will gain from potential clients

How To Create Your Travel Business Brand

There are dozens of other elements that create your unique brand, but these will give you a good start.