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Get the responses you need to become a TrovaTrip Host and find out exactly where your community wants to go
Sure there are platforms that are younger and flashier, where trends rule and stardom is only a viral clip away. But when it comes to building a community for the long haul and engaging with them in a substantive way, sometimes the OG of social media (all due respect to MySpace, RIP king 👑) is still one of the very best. And if Facebook Groups is where you are, congrats, it’s a great place to run your TrovaTrip survey.
To help make it a success, we’ve put together a timeline and tips for getting your followers involved and unlocking the awesome power of a truly active, connected community. After all, while other platforms may push your content to millions of strangers, Facebook audiences are one of the most coveted demographics in all of travel: old enough to have real disposable income, but young enough to want to spend it on trips…and loyal enough to choose yours.
For those who haven’t checked out our blogs on the importance of surveying and how to do it yet, the survey has 2 purposes:
- First, it allows you to become a TrovaTrip Host once you reach 50 qualified responses, or QRs. These are defined as a person over 18 years old, with a travel budget of at least $2,000. And, in case you’re wondering, 50 responses is just the minimum; the more QRs you collect, the greater your chances of confirming a trip will be.
- Secondly, it tells you where your community wants to go and how much they’re willing to spend, along with a ton of other data to help you offer the perfect group trips your followers want. So without further ado, let’s take a look at how to make that happen!
Key Takeaways
- Survey promotion is a weeklong process, and TrovaTrip has developed a schedule that’s easy to follow and effective.
- Make your community feel like they’re truly part of the process with content that keeps them up to date and direct responses to their questions.
- Take advantage of Facebook’s naturally organized feel to make sure your community sees everything from the announcement post to a scheduled live event.
- Creating travel content with a cohesive look and feel – this can be as simple as repeating a background or font – gives your brand a professional edge and helps your audience follow along even if they miss something.
Welcome to Survey Week (Facebook Groups edition)
Over the past 6 years, we’ve experimented with different posting cadences to develop the most effective baseline schedule possible. It unfolds over a weeklong period and looks like this:
- Day 1: Record a video telling @everyone about why you want to host a trip, what Trova is, and what excites you about bringing them along. Hit on the fact that this is a group experience and their feedback about destinations, budget, activities, etc. will actually determine what the trip looks like. Speak directly to your audience — we’ve found that a combination of your beautiful face on screen mixed with voiceover-narrated travel footage works wonders! Haven’t actually been to a destination yet? No problem! We recommend checking out sites like Unsplash or Pexels for free, quality stock footage that can really elevate your content. And don’t forget to issue a clear call to action in the video for folks to participate via a link in the post to your Host Profile Page, where the survey lives.
- 💡 Trova Tip: Putting text on your video makes for a more dynamic viewing experience and ensures that everyone will get the message, regardless of how they watch.
- Day 2: Make another Post or Story to keep the momentum going and remind your followers that this trip won’t be possible without their input. Not everyone will have watched the original video, and others may need the extra encouragement to take action.
- 💡 Trova Tip: Keep an eye out on your comments and messages! People may have questions you can help answer, or just want to join in on the excitement around traveling together!
- Day 4: Take Day 3 to keep track of incoming responses in your TrovaTrip Host portal, while continuing to post and interact as you normally would. Then, on Day 4, start a Q&A by calling for questions in a Story, Post, or by going live. You’ll also want to update your community by sharing the leading destination picks and favorite activity categories. This is a chance to collaborate, geek out about travel, and shape the vision of the trip. It’s also an opportunity to alleviate any FUD (fears, uncertainty, or doubts) folks may have.
- Day 6: After another day of continuing to engage and respond to comments or questions, make a Story or Post revealing the top 2 or 3 destinations. Talk about what excites you about each, then give one final call to action for those who haven’t responded yet with a reminder of where to find the Host Profile Page link.
- Day 7: Finally, wrap it all up by thanking your community for participating and let them know more details will be coming soon as you craft an experience based on their input.
Facebook Groups feature breakdown
Now that we’ve covered when to post, it’s time to talk about how. One of the reasons Facebook Groups work so well for surveys is their variety of ways to reach every part of your already-loyal audience. Utilizing all these features can help engage your entire community and trigger more responses, especially when deployed at the right time in the promotion cycle.
- Posts – Sometimes the old ways are the best. A video post right at the top of your feed along with a Host Profile link is guaranteed to get your community’s attention (and comments).
- Stories – Not everything needs to be permanent content. For things like Q&A, travel inspo, or a quick reminder for stragglers to fill out the survey, a Story is perfect. With the ability to add interactive elements, Stories can help keep the energy and engagement up all week long.
- Live – Not everyone feels comfortable going live but if you do, Day 4 for a Q&A session or Day 6 for a top destination discussion/final call to respond are prime opportunities..
- Events – One of Facebook’s strengths is how structured and organized it feels. Going live on other platforms can feel a little more chaotic but with Groups, scheduling it as an event can help make sure everyone’s in the loop.
- Messenger – A lively comment section is great, but some questions are more sensitive in nature and require 1:1 attention. Additionally, interactive story elements will give you plenty to respond to, even if it’s just dropping an emoji. You may also want to be proactive about DMing towards the end of the week if you notice that some people who have commented, DM’d, or reacted to your Stories still haven’t filled out the survey. In these cases, it’s worthwhile reaching out personally to see if they might be interested.
- 💡 Trova Tip: Responding to DMs with a recorded voice memo feels so much more personal and can go a long way toward making a potential Traveler feel important! Give it a try and see how your community members react.
The magic of branding
As you’ve probably gathered, survey week involves a lot of posting and communication. Unfortunately, no matter how engaged your community is, not everyone will see everything. To someone who misses the announcement, for instance, Day 4 Q&A can feel like walking into the middle of a movie. To help people piece together what the survey is all about and why they should do it, we recommend a little marketing magic. Nothing too complicated, just giving some of your survey content a unified look and feel. Keeping a consistent visual style when applicable makes for cohesive storytelling, as opposed to a bunch of random pieces that don’t fit together in a clear and obvious way (Ex: using the same font and colors when comparing destinations or talking about activities). As a bonus, it gives your brand a professional edge by showing folks you’re organized and intentional – qualities Travelers look for in a Trova Host!
Something for everyone
There you have it: the complete guide to rocking your survey week on Facebook Groups, one post, video, and message at a time. If you have any questions about the process or anything else Trova-related, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Trova rep or host@trovatrip.com. Otherwise, grab your Host Profile Page link from the portal and get ready to find out where your community really wants to go!
Prefer a different platform? No problem! Check out these blogs on survey tips and see how to qualify as a TrovaTrip Host no matter which platform you call home: