We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Bisack. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.
Amanda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?
Social media has been an integral part of growing my business, both in gaining new clients and in bringing on new advisors to my team. As the founder of The Chica Travelista travel blog and owner of the travel agency Travelista Travels. Understanding the tools needed to utilize social media marketing to generate solid travel leads has been instrumental to our growth. I tend to stick with 4 social media platforms, which are my favorites and have proven to be the most beneficial for my business. Of course, I am happy to share more on these platforms with other business owners!
First Up is Instagram! Instagram is all about sharing photos and videos! What better place for a Travel Advisor!? I love this platform the most because travel is so visual and as travel advisors who are often traveling to amazing destinations and taking part in incredible travel itineraries we can use instagram to bring our audience on our trips right along with us.
Instagram is also a great place for branding yourself as an expert and really getting some solid audience engagement, on Instagram you can develop a strong professional presence and through your photos and videos can inspire your audience to book the very trips you are sharing and posting.
Next Up is YouTube! Youtube can give professionals the opportunity to create our very own channel. In my industry, creating an immersive and captivating travel video gives viewers a taste of exactly what they can expect from the destinations and experiences that I am sharing making it an awesome place to gain leads!
Of course we have Facebook! Facebook is THE place to connect with people. Friends, family , old classmates , different groups of people and plenty of people looking for experts just like you.. this is a place for friendly connections that can absolutely turn into leads.. and because of the friendly and personal connections these can be some of the most solid leads!
And finally a platform I don’t think we use nearly enough.. LinkedIN! I like to think of LinkedIN as Facebook for Business Professionals. One of the big advantages and perks for all professionals, including us Travel Advisors is that LinkedIn has a very specific user base. Where Facebook is a place for friends to share photos of their vacation and get a little more personal and relaxed , LinkedIn is a place where the professionals of any industry connect! This can be an instrumental place to connect with thousands of people looking for an established travel expert.
So there you have My Top Four social media platforms that have massively helped me in growing my business and I hope can help you as well!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After I took an epic honeymoon to Bora Bora I knew I wanted to share all of her travel experiences with others so that they too could have amazing and memorable getaways. In 2013 I combined my love of travel, marketing and writing and created the Travel Blog “The Chica Travelista”. The Chica Travelista a down to earth, informative blog was created to entertain my audience with my adventurous travels while sharing my amazing tales and tips on destinations from exotic to next door.
As The Chica Travelista, I have worked with tourism boards, hotels, resorts, tour companies and restaurants all over the world to create content and market some of the worlds most amazing destinations. Some of my top clients have been Elite Island Resorts, Nevis Tourism, South Korea Tourism, Viva Belize, Auberge Resorts, Blue Sky Cabo Tours and more.
A few years ago after creating the travel blog many travelers started contacting “The Chica Travelista” for travel planning advice.. as this kept growing more frequent it soon it became an obvious next step to step into the Travel Agency world and thus “Travelista Travels ” was born!!
Fast forward to today and my agency has already grown to an agency of 17 amazing Travel Advisors who book all kinds of trips for all kinds of clients!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
COVID. Our industry took the hardest hit of any and it was completely devastating to all of us. I had to write checks back to clients and tour operators. I always did right by my clients even if it meant I financially suffered. I love this industry with every ounce of my being so giving up wasn’t an option. The second travel was up and running again I was ready for my clients!
Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?
After college I started a company called Magical Memories Events. Magical Memories Events was a party service designed for Princesses and Superheros of all ages. This company was a traveling entertainment service that catered to Long Island & NYC specializing in princess parties, superhero events and more! This company offered a variety of themed parties such as Fairytale Princess Parties, Ballerina Parties, Dynamic Diva Parties, Magical Tea Parties, Hip-Hop Dance parties and more! The parties consisted of dancing, make-up, dress– up, games, crafts, story telling, and appearances.
As this business was growing, I was seeing the fast rise and growth with “The Chica Travelista” and “Travelista Travels”. I eventually had to make the decision to sell Magical Memories Events and focus solely on the travel industry.
My advice would be to not spread yourself too thin! When you put all your focus and energy into a business that’s when it grows to new heights.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thechicatravelista.com , www.travelistatravels.com
- Instagram: @thechicatravelista
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChicaTravelista/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/amandabisack
- Twitter: @chicatravelista
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechicatravelista
Image Credits
These are all my photos, I have the write to all of them.