Trying to reach the youth market in your local area can have its challenges, so Team Contiki have put together a handy guide to help you run successful co-op campaigns with your local sales executives.

From Facebook to email marketing, local radio and even cinema, there are cost-efficient ways to drive sales in your local area that could be worth trialling to reach younger travellers in your area.

Gen Y is the generation that travels the most, with 81 per cent of 18-to-35-year-olds planning a trip overseas in the next 12 months, according to Contiki.

Millennials are also the founders of the social media movement, with research by Contiki finding that 63 per cent of them stay updated on brands through social networks. So, it makes sense to promote to them where they are spending the bulk of their time.

There is a range of social media channels that they are spending time on, but the biggest players are Facebook and Instagram, reaching over 6.9 million Millennials in Australia every month, according to Contiki.

Here are five valuable pointers on using social media to capture Gen Y customers and boost sales, courtesy of Contiki:

1. Create a page for your store

This will be an essential ingredient to your success. Being on social media will

make it easy to keep in touch with your customers, plus they can easily recommend your store to friends in your area, to help grow your business.

Don’t forget to invite friends and customers to your page and link to your website to help build your following and drive customers somewhere to buy.

2. Use images and videos

Using beautiful destination imagery and videos with valuable information is excellent for attracting attention and standing out in someone’s feed.

Short and snappy visual content does better on Instagram, and leave the longer posts to Facebook. Using Instagram stories for video content is also a great way to engage followers.

3. Post when your customers are scrolling

The best time to post to attract customers in your area is when they are most likely to be online, during lunch, on the way to work and on the way home. Posts during these times

typically see the highest response.

4. Engage, engage, engage

Create strong relationships with your audience by liking and replying to comments and direct messages.

Just like in-store, the more you speak to them and understand what they’re looking for, the easier it will be to get a sale.

Experimenting with different types of content will help you get a better understanding of what your audience likes! Here’s an example of content that creates conversation.

5. #Hashtags

This one is just for Instagram. Hashtags summarise the topics or a mood you mention in your posts and can attract a new and engaged audience. You can also search by hashtag #winning!

When posting a value deal, we recommend using a hashtag for the trip name. Check out this example.

The larger your following, the larger your chance of being discovered by potential clients.