On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Adrienne Currie, Community & Marketing Manager at TAP, and Brittany Lynn, Senior Account Manager at TAP for the third installment of a special four-part series exploring the PESO Model—a framework designed by Gini Dietrich for creating integrated marketing plans that drive results in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry.

Our conversation shines a spotlight on the “S”—shared media, and Adrienne and Brittany dive into the strategies behind creating impactful social media campaigns, from identifying your target audience to understanding the value of different platforms and building trust through authentic connections.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

How Brittany and Adrienne use the PESO Model to build integrated marketing plans for travel, tourism, and hospitality clients
Why knowing your target audience and campaign goals is crucial before choosing the right shared media tactics
What goes into developing an effective social media strategy, including content planning, engagement, and the use of hashtags and tagging partners
How to select and evaluate the best shared media platforms based on audience demographics, campaign objectives, and available resources
Why content pillars matter for organizing and delivering valuable, engaging, and brand-aligned social content
What emerging tactics Adrienne and Brittany are watching, such as leveraging organic posts as paid media and the value of platforms like Pinterest, YouTube, and other social channels
How measurement and analytics inform ongoing social strategy and why continual reassessment and adjustment lead to stronger results

Integrating Shared Media into the PESO Model for Travel Marketing

The PESO Model, Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media, is an integrated framework for crafting holistic marketing strategies. Shared media focuses on channels where content is disseminated and interacted with through social platforms and other collaborative online spaces.

Brittany Lynn describes the shared portion as “the how”, where strategy and messaging meet real-world execution. It’s all about knowing your audience, setting campaign goals, and determining communication tactics such as content cadence, use of hashtags, partner tagging, and the kind of engagement you want to inspire. The foundation, according to Brittany, is investing the time upfront to truly define who you’re speaking to and what you want to achieve long before you begin posting.

Adrienne Currie adds that, especially within smaller or mid-sized organizations with limited bandwidth, it’s crucial to focus on one platform and really master it before expanding. Knowing which platform best reaches your audience and aligns with your objectives (think Pinterest and YouTube for evergreen content, or Instagram for visual storytelling) is key.

Building a Strategic Shared Media Plan

Rather than chasing every trending platform, Brittany and Adrienne advise starting by auditing current channels. Understand which platforms your target audience uses, what types of content perform best, and how those channels are furthering your goals. If you inherit a client’s existing channels, Brittany recommends a critical evaluation: Are you amplifying the right messages, at the right frequency, and in the right tone? Is your existing presence consistent with your brand strategy?

Adrienne details TAP’s use of content pillars—groupings like education, industry news, community updates, and promotion—to ensure content isn’t just promotional but genuinely provides value. She cautions against making every post a sales pitch: “You want to be offering some value and building that relationship with your followers.” This approach keeps your audience engaged and fosters trust, especially important in the travel and tourism business.

How to Know If Your Shared Media Works

Brittany loves digging into analytics, suggesting a focus on metrics like engagement, clicks, views, comments, and shares. She sees data points not just as numbers, but as storytelling devices, as each metric helps paint the picture of how your audiences are responding to your content. Regularly revisit your foundational goals, if engagement lags, experiment with content format, tone, or posting frequency.

Social strategies should be living documents, adaptable as feedback and metrics roll in. Adjust as needed. Don’t be afraid to tweak or pivot entirely if something isn’t working.

Resources:

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