Solved: Finding the Right SMM Agency for Luxury Travel

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on what you've told me. It sounds like you're in a really interesting position – a luxury travel company with a decent ad budget and a massive opportunity to grow. You're right to be cautious about finding the right agency, it's a bit of a minefield out there and getting it wrong can be a costly mistake.

Your concerns are completely valid. The "one-size-fits-all" approach just doesn't work, especially in a nuanced market like luxury travel. And the old bait-and-switch where you get sold by the owner and then handed off to a junior is a classic problem. Finding a real partner who understands your niche is definitly the most important thing.

So, instead of a sales pitch, I've just put together some of my thoughts on how I'd approach a challenge like yours. Hopefully it gives you a clearer picture of what to look for and what a proper, tailored startegy could look like.

You're right to be cautious about the agencies you speak to...

First off, lets talk about finding the right people. You've hit the nail on the head with your concerns. A lot of agencies will apply the same template to every client, whether they're selling cheap widgets or once-in-a-lifetime luxury experiences. That just won't cut it for you.

When you're vetting an agency, the first thing to do is have a proper look at their case studies. Don't just glance at the headlines. See if they have any experiance in the luxury sector, or at least with high-ticket B2C products or services. Travel experience is a bonus, but understanding the mindset of a luxury consumer is more important. For instance, I remember one campaign we ran for a luxury brand. It was all about building hype and desire, and we ended up getting over 10 million views on the ads using Meta Ads. The mechanics of that campaign – focusing on stunning visuals, elite targeting, and creating an exclusive feel – are very transferable to luxury travel. The goal wasn't just clicks; it was to make people crave the product. That's the sort of thing you should be looking for. Do their past projects show they understand aspiration, or are they just focused on shifting volume?

You also need to be realistic about results. Just because an agency achieved a 10x return for an eCommerce brand doesn't mean they can replicate that exactly for you. Your sales cycle is longer, the decision is more considered. But they should be able to talk you through a realistic forecast and what the key milestones would be. If they just promise you the world without any substance, that's a big red flag.

The next step, which you're already doing, is to get on a call with them. This is where you can really test their expertise. Don't let them just run through a standard presentation. Ask them hard questions. Ask them what they'd do for you in the first 30 days. See what advice they give you right there on the spot. A good expert should be able to give you a few valuable ideas straight away. We offer a free initial consultation where we actually go through a potential client's ad account and strategy with them. It gives them a real taste of the expertise they'd be getting. If the person you're talking to can't think on their feet and give you bespoke advice, they're probably not the strategist you need. They're just a salesperson.

And your point about being pawned off to a junior is a big one. You need to ask who will actually be working on your account. Who is building the strategy, and who is doing the day-to-day implementation? There's nothing wrong with having junior staff support an account, but the core strategy and oversight needs to come from an experienced head. Don't be afraid to ask to meet the team member who would be your main point of contact.

Honestly, it all comes down to trust. After you've seen their case studies, had a consultation, and checked their reviews, you should have a gut feeling. We've found that if a potential client has gone through all that and still asks for references to call up our other clients, it's usually a sign that the trust isn't there, and it probably won't be a good partnership. You need to feel confident that they have the expertise to deliver, not just hope they do.

We'll need to look at your actual goals, not just 'growth'...

Right, so let's move on from finding an agency to what that agency should actually do. You mentioned you want to "grow on social media," which is a great starting point, but we need to break that down into something we can actually build a campaign around. What does 'growth' mean to you and your business?

Is it...

-> Brand Awareness: Getting your company name and brand in front of as many affluent, travel-loving people as possible? Making your brand synonymous with luxury travel in your target market? This is about playing the long game, building an audience and creating that 'desire' I mentioned earlier.

-> Lead Generation: Getting high-quality enquiries from people who are actively planning a luxury trip? This is about filling your pipeline with potential customers you can then nurture and convert through your sales process.

-> Direct Bookings: Getting people to book a trip or package directly through your website? This is the most direct measure of ROI, but also often the hardest to acheive straight away for a high-ticket item like luxury travel.

The answer is probably a mix of all three, but you have to decide what the main priority is, because the objective you choose will dictate the entire strategy. If your main goal is direct bookings, I’d definitely optimise the campaigns for conversions. But for luxury travel, you might find that optimising for high-quality leads (enquiries) is more effective. The ad platform's algorithm will then go and find peole who are most likely to take that specific action.

A "one-size-fits-all" funnel won't work here. You're not selling a £20 t-shirt. The journey from someone first seeing a stunning photo of one of your destinations to them actually handing over thousands of pounds is a long and complex one. It's not a funnel, it's more like a relationship. You need multiple touchpoints over time.

A potential customer might first see a breathtaking video ad of the Maldives on their Instagram feed (Awareness). They might not click, but they'll remember the name of your brand. A week later, we could retarget them with a carousel ad showcasing a specific resort there (Consideration). They might click through to your website, browse a bit, but then get distracted. A few days after that, we could show them an ad with a testimonial from a happy client who went on that exact trip (Trust & Validation). Finally, when they are actively thinking about booking, they might search on Google for "luxury Maldives holiday packages" and see your search ad at the top of the page, which finally prompts them to make an enquiry (Conversion).

This multi-stage approach is essential. A single campaign trying to do everything at once will likely fail. You need a full-service strategy that covers every stage of that journey, and that's what a good agency should be building for you.

You'll need to be on the right platforms for the job...

Once we know what we're trying to achieve, we can decide where to go looking for your customers. The best ad platform is simply the one where your target audience can be reached most effectively. Getting this wrong means you're just shouting into the void.

For a luxury travel brand, your main battlegrounds will likely be:

1. Meta (Facebook & Instagram): This is probably your most powerful tool for the awareness and consideration stages. It's a visual-first platform. People are there to dream, to be inspired, and to discover things they didn't know they wanted. This is where you can use stunning, high-quality video and imagery to stop people scrolling and make them imagine themselves on one of your holidays. The targeting options, which we'll get to next, are incredibly powerful for finding affluent individuals with an interest in travel. I remember we used Meta ads to launch a luxury product and got over 10 million views, as I mentioned. The core principle is the same: use amazing creative to capture attention and then use sophisticated targeting to make sure the right people see it.

2. Google Ads (Specifically Search Ads): This is your tool for the conversion stage. While Meta is for creating demand, Google Search is for capturing it. When someone is ready to book, they don't just browse Instagram hoping for an ad. They go to Google and type in exactly what they're looking for, like "five-star all-inclusive resort in Santorini" or "private yacht charter in the Caribbean". You absolutely need to be there at that moment. This is about bidding on the right keywords to catch people with high commercial intent. For service-based businesses, this is often the most direct route to qualified leads. We run campaigns for service companies where getting these keywords right is the difference between success and failure. You could even enable phone extensions so people can call you directly from the ad, which is great for high-touch sales.

3. Pinterest: This is another highly visual platform, often overlooked but very powerful for travel. It functions like a visual search engine where people go to plan and gather ideas for future purchases and trips. Users create 'boards' for their dream holidays, and your content could be the centrepiece of those boards. I remember we saw great success with Pinterest for a women's apparel client, achieving a 691% return on ad spend, and the same logic applies to travel. It's a fantastic platform for the early-stage inspiration part of the journey.

A "full-service" approach, which you're looking for, means using a combination of these platforms in a coordinated way. The Instagram ad plants the seed, and the Google Search ad harvests the crop. They work together, not in isolation. Anyone who tells you to just focus on one platform without a good reason probably doesn't have the breadth of expertise you need.

I'd say you need to get your targeting spot on...

This is where the real magic happens. Having stunning ads is pointless if they're being shown to the wrong people. For luxury travel, precision targeting is everything. You can't afford to waste your "big ad spend" on people who could never afford your trips. An agency's ability to get this right is a huge indicator of their skill.

I would structure your Meta ads account based on the different stages of the customer journey we talked about. This is a structure we use for pretty much every client, from software to eCommerce, because it just works. It allows you to tailor your message and budget to how familiar someone is with your brand.

Here’s a simplified version of how I'd prioritise your audiences on Meta:

Top of Funnel (ToFu) - Cold Audiences, Building Awareness:
This is about reaching new people who fit your ideal customer profile but have never heard of you before. We would test various audience types here.

-> Detailed Targeting: This is your bread and butter to start with. We'd create audience groups based on themes. For you, this would look something like this:

• Competitor & Publication Interests: People who like pages such as Four Seasons, Aman Resorts, Belmond, Condé Nast Traveller, Travel + Leisure.
• Luxury Goods Interests: People interested in brands like Rolex, Hermès, Chanel, high-end cars. This signals disposable income.
• Behavioural Targeting: Targeting people classified as 'frequent international travellers' or those who have shown interest in 'first-class travel'.
• Demographics: Layering these interests with age (e.g., 35-65) and location (targeting affluent postcodes or cities).

-> Lookalike Audiences: Once you have some data, this becomes incredibly powerful. We can ask Meta to find new people who are statistically similar to your most valuable existing customers. We would build lookalikes of:

• Your past customer list (the highest value ones first).
• People who have submitted an enquiry form on your website.
• People who have spent the most time on your website.

Middle of Funnel (MoFu) - Warm Audiences, Nurturing Interest:
These are people who have shown some interest but aren't ready to buy. The goal here is to stay top of mind and pull them deeper into your world.

-> Retargeting Website Visitors: Anyone who has visited your site in the last 30-90 days but didn't enquire. We can even get more specific and target people who viewed a particular destination page.

-> Retargeting Video Viewers: Anyone who watched 50% or more of one of your beautiful destination videos. They are clearly engaged.

-> Retargeting Social Engagers: People who have liked, commented on, or saved one of your Instagram or Facebook posts.

Bottom of Funnel (BoFu) - Hot Audiences, Driving Conversion:
This is your lowest-hanging fruit. These people are very close to making a decision.

-> Retargeting "Initiated Checkout/Enquiry": Anyone who started filling out your enquiry form but didn't complete it. These are your hottest leads, and a simple, timely ad can often be all it takes to get them over the line.

An agency should be talking to you in these terms. They should have a clear, logical plan for how they're going to test and prioritise these audiences. If they just say "we'll target people who like travel," they dont have a clue what there doing. That's way too broad. The key is to test these different segments against each other, see which ones deliver the most cost-effective enquiries, and then shift the budget towards the winners. It's a constant process of optimisation, not a 'set and forget' job.

You probably should focus on top-notch creative...

For a luxury brand, your advertising creative isn't just a detail; it's everything. It's your digital shop window. If it looks cheap, your brand looks cheap. This is another area where a "one-size-fits-all" agency will fall down. They'll use stock photos and generic copy, which will completely undermine your premium positioning.

Your ads need to sell the dream, not the itinerary. They need to evoke a feeling. This means investing in absolutely world-class photography and videography. No exceptions. This is what will stop the scroll and create desire. I talked about that 10 million view campaign for the luxury brand earlier, and that was driven almost entirely by stunning video content that told a story.

We'd test different creative formats to see what resonates:

-> Video Ads: Short, breathtaking 15-30 second videos for Instagram Stories and Reels. These should be immersive and sensory. Think about the sound of waves, the clink of a glass, a sweeping drone shot of a private villa. This is your hero content.

-> Carousel Ads: Perfect for the consideration (MoFu) stage. You can use a carousel to tell a story about a specific trip. The first card could be a stunning hero shot, followed by images of the hotel, unique experiences, and finally a card with a call-to-action to "Discover More".

-> Image Ads: A single, unbelievably beautiful photograph can sometimes be more powerful than a video. It needs to be a 'wow' moment that makes someone stop and say, "I want to be there."

The copy is just as important. It needs to be sophisticated, evocative, and benefit-driven. It shouldn't just list features. Here's a quick example of what I mean:

See the difference? The first one sells a commodity. The second one sells an experience, an emotion. A good agency, esspecialy one working in luxury, should have access to copywriters who understand this distinction. If their proposed ads look like they could be for a budget airline, they're the wrong agency.

We'll need to look at your website journey...

This is a part that many people forget. The most amazing, perfectly targeted ad campaign in the world will fail if it sends people to a website that doesn't deliver. The customer journey has to be seamless, from the ad to the final enquiry. The luxury experience must begin the second they land on your site.

Without having seen your website, I can tell you the common issues we see. Your agency should be auditing your site as one of the very first steps. They should be asking:

-> Does the design scream luxury? Does it use high-resolution images? Is the typography elegant? Does it feel exclusive and high-end, or does it look like a generic template? The design must match the price tag and the promise of the ads.

-> Is it fast and easy to navigate? Affluent customers are often time-poor. If your site is slow to load or confusing to use, they will simply leave. Pages must load instantly, and finding information about destinations and how to enquire must be completely intuitive.

-> Is it trustworthy? This is huge for a high-ticket purchase. Your site needs to build trust instantly. This means having clear contact information, professional "About Us" and team pages, testimonials from real clients (ideally with photos), and mentions of any press coverage or awards you've won. People need to feel completely comfortable that you are a legitimate, reputable company before they'll even think about sending an enquiry.

-> What is the call to action? What do you actually want people to do? Is it to "Request a Callback", "Build Your Trip", or "Enquire Now"? This needs to be crystal clear on every page. The process for making an enquiry should be as simple and frictionless as possible.

A good agency partner won't just run ads to your website; they'll work with you on your website to improve its conversion rate. Even a small increase in the percentage of visitors who make an enquiry can have a massive impact on your overall return on ad spend. They should be making recommendations for improvements as part of their service.

This is the main advice I have for you:

I know that's a lot of information to take in. The main takeaway is that you need a bespoke, multi-faceted strategy, not a simple, single-channel campaign. Based on our conversation and my experience with similar challenges, here is a summary of the approach I would recommend you look for. Any agency you consider should be able to build something like this for you.

Executing a strategy like this takes a lot of work. It involves constant testing, analysing data, and making adjustments. It's why you are right to be looking for a specialist partner. It's not something you can do effectively with just a few hours a week on the side of running your business.

I hope this detailed breakdown has been helpful and gives you a solid framework for evaluating potential agencies. You have a huge opportunity, and with the right strategy and the right expert partner, you can definitely become the leader in your niche.

If you’d like to have a more detailed, no-obligation