How to Market Your Eco-friendly Travel Retreat
More and more people– especially travelers– are choosing the green lifestyle. These vacationers are constantly looking for eco-friendly options wherever they go– from energy-efficient homes to recycling options and even green cleaning supplies. Travelers who love nature have deeper motivation and inclination to protect it, and as long as you know how and where to find these people, you can market your eco-friendly travel retreat effortlessly.
Here are some tips to advertise your nature-friendly getaway!
1. Highlight all sustainable practices
You have gone out of your way to make sure that your travel retreat is as eco-friendly as possible. Make sure to list and showcase each detail– be it your natural construction materials, solar-powered accommodation, water conservation practice, recycling options, and so on. All your efforts will naturally attract the eco-conscious traveler.
2. Showcase the beauty of the natural surroundings
If your accommodation has access to nature like the view of mountains or sea; forest or lake; or even just a dainty garden, capture all those and showcase them on your social media pages, website, or page listing. You can consider hiring expert photographers to make sure that your photos really stand out.
3. Create opportunities to connect to nature
If you’re a vacation rental with or close to hiking trails, you can add that to your selling points. If you do organic farming or offer wildlife viewing, make sure to emphasize those as well. If you’re looking to renovate your property or ideate/revamp its scope, you can be creative and ensure that there are opportunities for these earth-loving travelers to feel close to nature. If you’re running an eco-friendly travel retreat in the middle of the city, the closest thing could be doing outdoor yoga or guided city walks.
4. Collaborate with other like-minded brands and businesses
You can consider creating travel packages and work with other eco-friendly businesses in your area. Together, you can create synergy in the community as well as mutual benefit driven by a bigger cause. Diverse offerings can still promote a cohesive message, and this will help attract eco-conscious travelers all the more.
5. Promote organic and local food
Travel and food usually go together. As an eco-friendly establishment, you should support all the needs of your target customers including vegan travelers. You should serve or promote food that is local and organic. Doing this not only allows them to have a smoother travel experience with your retreat, but your support will also mean a lot to them. They are likely to make you their go-to accommodation in the area or even sing praises about you with their family and friends or even on social media.
6. Maximize social media
Speaking of social media, nature is one of the most captivating things to post on these platforms. People are naturally drawn to beautiful travel pictures and the more beautiful your shots are, the more you can grab the attention of existing and prospective followers. Make your images stand out to attract more engagements and even shares. Besides images, maximize videos and reels as well.
7. Run ads
This is one of the fastest, easiest, and most effective ways to grow your audience and attract the right ones. All social media platforms allow you to customize your ads and set the demographics, interests, and behaviors of your target audience. Find your unicorn content (the one that is most successful so far) and create ads around it. It requires upfront investment, but in terms of engagement and conversions, it can be very effective, especially in the travel niche.
8. Be engaged in the community
On top of being known online, you should also strive to make your presence felt in your local community. Join events or even create ones that can further your cause. Not only will you become an authority in your space, but this also gives you more chances of building your own network of support and attracting like-minded partners that can benefit your business.
9. Do traditional marketing as well
Many people consider outdoor marketing a bit outdated, but as long as you’re using them strategically and distributing them in the right places, they can still go a long way. For example, you can create and print travel poster templates and distribute your flyers in travel-related exhibits, seminars, events, and activities. Once you’ve built enough connections and mutual collaboration with other local businesses, you can store your flyers in local restaurants, gift shops, and other places travelers usually frequent. It’s all about being resourceful, creative, and consistent with your marketing efforts online and beyond.
As an eco-friendly travel retreat, you’re not only selling an accommodation.You’re advocating the greater good, and that itself is a powerful and meaningful value proposition you should flaunt in front of the world. Just keep at it, and for sure, you’ll naturally gather both new and loyal customers who keep on coming back for more.
