Connect with Gen Z travelers in a disruptive world

Technology delivers a world of travel options right to a traveler's fingertips. They go online to find inspiration on social media, choose the right vacation, compare deals, book trips and enhance their experience during their trip.

As we know, they also share their highlights after the trip to inspire other travelers.

Their digital behavior speaks volumes about what they want from travel brands.

Research shows that winning their loyalty means delivering:

• Friction-free booking and purchase experiences: 61% of US 18–34-year-old travelers surveyed were more likely to stay loyal to a travel brand that has an easy-to-use website or mobile app. They also want to research and book on mobile, move seamlessly across sites and apps without restarting their planning, and have a quick and easy booking experience on apps and sites.
• The fundamental appeal of quality, choice and price: The top two reasons indicated by UK respondents for staying loyal to a travel company are quality and choice, outranking the rewards available on a loyalty program. And almost half of travelers (48%) who changed brands in the last year said they did so because of price.
• An authentic presence in their extended social network: Younger customers say travel recommendations from family and friends are important, and they are also likely to pick travel brands that are already on their radar. Social media has become an important place for brands to build awareness in communities that are relevant to travel customers - so their brand is top of mind when someone begins planning a trip.

It’s clear that travel companies need to meet customers where they are—on mobile and social platforms—with experiences that fit seamlessly into their lives. But where should brands start? A great place to start is by understanding your most digitally engaged, and in some ways, most demanding customers: Gen Z.

Everyone knows Gen Zers are tech-savvy, want seamless experiences and are disrupting traditional media behaviors.

Though, truly connecting with them means doing so in a way that syncs with their values.

Inclusive, curious and community-oriented, Gen Zers are growing in population and spending power. Understanding their expectations will be key to winning tomorrow. So what do they care about?

• Many Gen Zers would rather spend money on experiences than physical goods. For travel brands, it’s not just about getting them to their destination, but helping enhance their experience when they get there.
• They care about inspiring, one-of-a-kind travel experiences. This is partially the reason that  travel is in Gen Z’s top 3 interests on Instagram.
• Gen Z thrives on reciprocity—in their lives and within their communities on social media. This extends to brands too, which Gen Z welcomes into their communities as long as brands offer a genuine value exchange when they post.
• 61% of Gen Zers say they consider themselves global citizens. They rally around causes that benefit the greater good - which adds value to their own lives and to others. They value brands that promote ethical products, diversity and gender equality.

Gen Z is the future, and travel brands that start to organize around their behaviors now will win with tomorrow’s most valuable customers.

Getting there will take some disruptive thinking. Learn more about how Gen Z with Facebook IQ’s recent research .

Leading travel companies are already delivering on disruption

Keeping pace with Gen Z audiences is no easy task. There’s no single answer to make it happen. However, there are travel companies out there that are making the right moves.

They are adapting quickly, testing, iterating and measuring. These brands embrace best practices that leading disruptor brands have successfully embraced to drive incredible growth. Some key strategies to help you adapt to the upcoming Gen Z audience include:

• Stay ahead of the customer landscape: Disruption isn’t just about businesses. People are disruptors, too. They continually disrupt conventional behaviors and adapt their media use in response to the convenience of disruptors. Studying Gen Z is a great place to start because they are all about 3 things that travel brands can act on: technology, speed and convenience.
• Explore mission-driven marketing: People feel empowered to stand up for their beliefs. Many disruptor brands have learned the importance of speaking out about social, cultural and political issues that align with their values to strengthen their bond with consumers. 62% of consumers surveyed globally want companies to stand up for issues they’re passionate about, such as sustainability, transparency and fair employment practices—according to an Accenture study.
• Build a brand community: Some of the most successful disruptors are the ones that build an active, vocal community around their brand online. A recent global survey revealed that 72% of people surveyed see community existing online as much as offline. For travel brands, connecting with these communities is a powerful way to drive loyalty, new ideas, better products and business growth.
• Leverage machine learning: While granular targeting is great, it can sometimes leave brands oversaturating the same audience. Travel brands can use signal-based machine learning to identify new growth opportunities across audiences and ad placements. Leading brands are using machine learning to optimize campaign performance and free up marketing teams for more strategic and creative efforts.
• Move toward better measurement: Many advertisers are still relying on last-click attribution, which misses the bigger picture and results in inefficient marketing spend and less clarity around which channels are most effective. Brands must improve the accuracy of their marketing channels and move toward true cross-channel measurement.
• Break through with creative: Brands should look beyond the funnel, and see that at the end of the day it’s all about content. The most important thing is conveying ideas that create real value for people, in ways that capture attention and drive action. Travel brands should consider using mixed creative assets to enable customers to choose their own journey. And they should measure and iterate constantly to see what resonates most.

The next move: See where you can disrupt

As we’ve seen, it takes a forward-looking mindset to keep pace with complex audiences like Gen Z.

Travel brands, from traditional airlines to online booking agencies, can make great progress by exploring leading disruptors’ best practices and applying the right ones for their businesses.

Learn more disruptive recommendations in our annual disruptor report.