Instagram Messenger API for travel communication ensures flawless customer support. In this post, we look at how travel agenices benefit from the new update.  

Instagram has made its place in the heart of travellers. Thanks to its easy-to-use interface and attractive images, users spend almost half an hour a day on Instagram. Because of multiple ways a brand can interact with customers, travel businesses use it to boost engagement and bookings. 

The competition is rising in the travel business. However, a travel agency can set itself apart by employing innovative advancements that are available today. With features such as Instagram messaging, brands can deliver a robust customer experience to visitors.

In this post, we will cover:

1. Why should travel companies use Instagram?
2. Messenger API for travel Instagram to automate support
3. Benefits of Messenger API for travel companies
4. Conclusion

Why should travel companies use Instagram?

Instagram aids travel companies to deliver the best customer satisfaction and engagement. Below are some interesting statistics on Instagram:

• Over 1 billion people use Instagram every month.
• 81% of users research a product or service on Instagram.
• 67% of users check Instagram to explore new places.
• Instagram has 0.98% engagement rate, which is higher than Facebook.

Below we discuss how you can promote your travel page on Instagram.

Instagram Ads

If you are running a travel business on the Instagram app, you can use its service to sponsor your business profile through adverts that Instagram offers to all its business accounts.

Instagram ads have the potential to reach 1.16 billion users. Instagram promotes your business accounts through sponsored videos/photos posts or story ads.

Ads bring more visibility to your travel business and boosts your followers. The CTA attached with such adverts allows visitors to connect with brands directly.

Social proof

You can feature your customers’ content on your feed (if they permit you) to give social proof of your company’s authenticity. This will let your visitors know that your company is trustworthy. With more transparency, customers will feel confident to engage more with you.

They will feel free to discuss their queries with the company’s customer support. The customer service staff of your travel agency can then interact with each customer personally using the Messenger API for Instagram.

Increase interactions

Hire a skilled professional photographer and a video editor with a strong command of the best video editing software to create unique and attractive posts for your travel company. Regularly share captivating content on your stories and feed, showcasing the beauty and excitement of the destinations you offer. This dynamic combination of stunning visuals and expert editing will not only engage your audience but also enhance the overall appeal of your brand.

Attractive visuals are known to lure anyone; it will make more people check out your account and travel website. Instagram statistics show that 58% of people have shown interest in a brand after seeing it in stories. You can further enable the story reply feature so that interested customers can directly ask queries and hopefully book services through your site. 

Need more reasons?

Per a recent Facebook study, nearly 67% of travel lovers used Instagram to search for new places to visit.

In another 2017 study by Schofield (A holiday rental home insurance provider based in the UK), Instagram was the most visited platform for millennials while choosing a place for their next trip.

One can find around 108 million results for #trip posts and 575 million results for #travel on Instagram. By the time you read this article, it would have increased by another 80-100 million. 

Messenger API for travel Instagram to automate support for quick resolutions and smooth experience

With the rapid increase in the volume of customer queries, it is impossible to check and give suitable replies to each and every question.

Moreover, a travel company tends to receive international queries in several different languages as well as from different channels. In such a scenario, the Messenger API for Instagram for travel communication can be utilised by travel companies. 

With the help of specific existing tools provided by Instagram, the Messenger API can detect various languages. Hence, travel companies can respond to customers from all around the world even if they have sent their queries in different languages.

With conversational AI, they can also organise the queries and assign them to appropriate support staff. 

By embedding Instagram API on messaging platforms in business accounts, travel companies can achieve advanced workflows. The automated messenger feature provided by Instagram Messaging API facilitates a smoothly organised customer care system.

Suggested Reading: Instagram Messaging API: Automate Support the Right Way

Labelling and prioritising different consumer queries helps travel companies understand their customers’ needs and adjust their services to offer maximum customer satisfaction. 

Benefits of Messenger API for travel companies

The benefits of the application of Messenger API for Instagram concerning effective travel communications between customers and companies are remarkable. Let us have a look at some examples:

1. Awareness and education

It is one of the best ways to expand brand awareness and educate existing and potential customers about its services through in-built data resources and personal recommendations.

Customers are always interacting with businesses in private chats. With Messenger API for Instagram, travel agencies can automate follow-up and talk to potential leads to share different itineraries and offers. Companies have seen up to a 20% increase in sales conversion because of the Instagram chatbot.

2. Scale customer support and improve customer satisfaction

Sprout Social reported that 46% of customers connect with brands on social media, and 55% expect a quick response. 

The feature of automated customer support using Messenger API reduces the response time taken by the travel company’s customer support team to resolve customers’ issues. Companies that provide quick responses will always hold a competitive advantage. 

Instagram said that H&M used the Messenger API for customer support during its beta stage and saw a 9 point increase in customer satisfaction and a 31% improvement in agent efficiency.

Given the importance of time in the travel domain, this could boost your CSAT and customer retention exponentially.

3. Increase transparency and trust

Companies can detect if some user has mentioned them in their stories or posts regarding their experience with the services, good or bad; this data is helpful for the travel agencies to improve their business practices further. They can also directly address the user’s issue by the Instagram messaging feature as soon as they get notified about the mention.

In the below example, Skyscanner, a popular flight booking service, replied to a customer complaint on one of their posts. When other visitors see this, they get this information and also are assured that they will get a response from the company. With Messenger API for Travel Instagram, a lot of this can be automated to improve customer experience and satisfaction. 

When the conversational AI is not able to resolve the query on its own, it can hand it over to a live agent, who can resolve the query for the customer.

4. Increase CSAT and customer retention

73% of customers say that one of the deciding factors in falling in love with a brand is friendly customer service. With Instagram’s Messenger API, travel companies can integrate the right set of tools to personalise messages.

Seamless interaction with any travel company would encourage visitors to check out the other services offered by that company and visit its official website. When visitors are impressed by the arrangement, the likelihood of them turning into customers increases.

5. Get word-of-mouth marketing

Per data collected in 2020, around 200 million Instagram users visit a travel business account at least once a day; over 75% of users get engaged with their profiles by visiting their websites.

The robust customer care given by Messenger API would help promote the travel business as satisfied customers tend to share the good experiences they had with their friends, family or colleagues.

Suggested Reading: 4 ways Voice AI is reimagining CX in travel, tourism, and hospitality

Conclusion

Instagram provides an opportunity to increase customer engagement and satisfaction. With the Messenger API, your travel business can ensure a delightful experience for your customer and a solid reason to choose you over your competitors.

Verloop.io offers businesses to build Instagram bots using Messenger API to support the needs of a growing business, considering all the required strategic tools that an efficient messaging API must acquire. Instagram messenger API is one of the best approaches for flawless customer support.