Laser targeting on social media is the key to success in selling holidays- a case study that filled 88 per cent of a tour
- thesocialspiders
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
A successful social media campaign that filled 88 per cent of places on a new Scandinavian cruise tour run by a Victorian travel agent highlighted the power of laser targeting on Facebook, according to Australia’s first digital marketing agency dedicated to the travel sector, The Social Spider, which was behind the fruitful campaign.
Melbourne-based Exclusively Cruising, owned by seasoned cruise industry expert, Julie O’Grady, contracted The Social Spider, to promote her first ever, self-hosted tour holiday – a comprehensive, 17-day ‘Winter Wonderland’ cruise tour through Norway and Finland with Havila Voyages in November, 2025, for 16 guests.
Curated by Julie and to hosted by her this November, the tour from Oslo to Helsinki will include the Flam Railway, fjord cruise, a six-night Norwegian cruise from Bergen to Kirkenes at the top of Norway with Havila Voyages, a husky safari tour, a visit to Santa Claus Village in Norway and a railway trip to Helsinki to finish the tour, with 10 nights’ accommodation and 36 meals included along the way.
Launched last October by social media professional, Sam Patton, The Social Spider organised a tour flyer for the package as well as content, a blog, detailed tour map and a focused Facebook campaign for Exclusively Cruising which ran from November, 2024, to early March, 2025, when the Facebook campaign alone managed to fill 14 of the 16 available tour spots, with the remaining two places sold by Julie separately, filling the group.
“I was ecstatic the tour sold out so quickly,”
remarked Julie. “Anyone can do social media but Sam from The Social Spider is a master at it and the point of difference,” she said.
“I work from home and not clued up on how to target and boost via Facebook but Sam did it all and got the results. “I’m delighted and will use The Social Spider again for new cruise tour groups I’m planning to Antarctica and Africa. It’s clear social media, when done well, is a huge priority in holiday marketing.”
Sam from The Social Spider said the campaign she ran for Exclusively Cruising was low in budget, short and targeted but very productive. “Julie’s tour was unique and compelling and offered great value and she knew exactly the types of people she wanted to reach,” Sam explained. “It’s not all about likes – it’s about seeking targeted people who will react and book. The vivid tour map we organised along with the flyer, images and content were also visually important but we boosted the Facebook posts just three times to a tailored audience and it did the trick. You don’t have to spend a lot but your promotion needs to be highly targeted to yield the desired results.
“We’re delighted our social media campaign worked for Julie so well,. She had a vision, she was skilled in converting the inquiries we generated for her and she believed in me - and I believed in her.”
Backed by more than three decades of experience in the Australian travel industry as a travel agent, product manager, marketer and social media professional, Sam Patton, and her journalism graduate son, Noah, 24, launched The Social Spider in October, 2024, to assist travel agents and other travel, cruise, hospitality and MICE companies who need help with their social media management and digital marketing, especially smaller travel agents and businesses.
The Social Spider’s services include social media set up and management, online marketing, blogs, creative content, press releases and digital campaigns with packages starting from just $95.
The Social Spider - Ph 0438 768 561 or www.thesocialspider.com.au
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