Why DMs are Tourism and Travel Brands’ Secret to Driving Travel from Social Media

The social landscape in the last year has CHANGED, some of the changes are the result of the volume of content being produced and some changes are behavioral shifts from consumers. People “like” posts less, follower growth has plateaued, and shares are rapidly outpacing other metrics.  But people are also living in the DMs. Which is very good news for DMOs and travel brands looking to drive travel, move people to owned marketing channels, and build one-to-one relationships.

1. Travelers Want – And Expect – Direct Messaging

It builds connection and trust. 

Unlike public posts or ads, DMs create an intimate, one-to-one conversation that feels personal. This human touch helps brands build trust with their audiences. In fact, 77% of adults feel more connected to businesses they can message directly, and 63% prefer DMs over email or phone for communication. It’s a powerful shift from talking at people to talking with people.  

DMs are becoming the new frontline for travel questions.  

A whopping 89% of consumers want to message your brand, and 150 million already do via Instagram.

Gen Z lives in the DMs.  

72% of Gen–Zers prefer Instagram for customer care over any other channel (sproutsocial.com). They expect fast, authentic conversations that feel more like texting a friend than dealing with customer support.

2. DMs Drive Travel

Curious what impact your social presence is making on driving travel to your destination? If you’re using Steller Connect, you’ll know exactly how many trips are being planned, but for those who aren’t tracking website visits and email list growth from DMs is a good starting point. 

Travel Conversions Through Conversations.

Most of the time posting is talking at people instead of talking with people. We all want to create a community around our brand or destination, but if you’re not conversing with them, it’s unlikely to happen. DMs take communication from one-to-many to one-to-one. Your followers want to know that they matter enough to get a response. According to Sprout Social, 50% of the most memorable brands respond to followers in the DMs and comments. If you want to be top of mind the next time they are planning a vacation, showing up in the DMs and comment section will go a long way.

You can move people from the comment section on a post to a DM in seconds.

DM automation has been around for a few years, but right now it’s exploding for its ability to drive conversion. Set up DM automation on your posts so you can continue the conversation in the DMs. People are more likely to comment to receive a DM from your brand than visit your link in bio. One requires leaving the feed, one does not. More on setting this up below.

DMs can help you move people to owned marketing channels so you can stay top of mind.

Once you’ve started a conversation through a direct message, you can easily ask for an email to send them more information or your destination’s visitor guide. If there is one thing you can be sure of on social media, it’s that the algorithm changes constantly. Use DMs to build your owned marketing channels and drive people to your website.

If you’re thinking all of this sounds amazing but you don’t have the headcount to dedicate to DM strategy, management, and responses, we’ve got you covered.

1. Make a list of the most common asks.

Most DMOs get a lot of the same questions in their DMs. Make a list of the recurring questions in your DMs and then bucket them into categories. Here is an example of what your buckets might look like.

Trip Planning & Recommendations

This is where you would bucket common requests for recommendations such as: What are the must-see attractions for a weekend trip?, Can you recommend unique experiences or hidden gems?,  Where are the best spots for photos?, Any recommendations for family-friendly / LGBTQ+ / pet-friendly activities?

Events & Seasonal Information

Here you should add seasonal questions about events or season–specific activities: Are there any festivals happening next month?, When is the best time to see fall colors/wildflowers /northern lights?, Do you have a holiday events calendar?

Logistics & Travel Details

Group all navigation and logistical information here: What’s the easiest way to get from the airport to downtown?,  Do I need a car or is public transportation good?, Where can I find visitor guides or maps?

Accommodation & Dining

This is similar to the planning and recommendations bucket, but separate it out because it will make automating responses easier. Add any asks for stays or dining options here: Any recommendations for boutique hotels?, Where are the best spots for local food or craft beer?, Do you have a list of camping spots or resorts? 

Accessibility & Safety

Gather your most common accessibility questions here: Are there wheelchair-accessible trails?, Does the museum have any sensory hotspots?, Any COVID or travel restriction updates?

Outreach from creators, influencers, or other content offers

DMOs and CVBs are pitched by influencers or asked to share creator content often, group those DMs here: Can you share my photos on your page?, Do you work with influencers or photographers?, How can I tag you so you’ll repost my content?

Anything New

Launching a new event or have new exhibit opening soon? Don’t forget to add possible questions.

2.  Know your goal.

Like all marketing activities, your strategy should have a goal. Are you implementing a DM strategy to get more people to your website, grow your email list, grow your followers, or move more people to trip planning? Knowing the end goal will help you develop the right strategy and responses to commonly asked questions.

3. Write down your responses for each bucket and the links you would share to provide more information.

You likely already have many of these responses because you’ve already been answering them and you likely have resources to send people. Make a spreadsheet for each bucket, include responses and links where you would direct people for more information.

4. Use a tool to do the work.

You’re busy, and likely don’t have someone to dedicate to this full–time. Even if you do have someone to devote to this, there are tools, such as ManyChat, that allow you to automate 90% of your DM responses and collect emails at the same time. Your social media management platform may also have a DM automation tool – we know Hey Orca does. The great news is that these tools are not expensive and will pay for themselves many times over.  Once you’ve set it up, DMs will automatically be answered in your brand’s voice. If this still sounds like too much work, DM automation setup is one of Steller’s Services.

5. Set up DM flows to answer questions for each bucket.

Flows are often triggered by a word or a phrase. At a very basic level you can respond to each question bucket as a whole, by directing them to the appropriate page on your website. For more advanced set up you can answer each question individually, collect their email to send them a guide, and follow up with them to make sure you answered their question and stay top of mind.

Picture this. You’re scrolling through social, and you see a video with an itinerary for a relaxing weekend in the next state over. You think that looks amazing and save it or maybe share it with your family or friends. And then…you move on with your life.  
 
Now picture this. You’re scrolling through social, and you see a video with an itinerary for a relaxing weekend in the next state over. At the end of the video, and at the top of the caption, it says, “Comment RELAX to get all the itinerary, tips, and deals messaged to you”.  

• You comment RELAX.
• A message instantly appears in your inbox with a message button that says send me the itinerary and deals. 
• You click and are sent a link to the itinerary.  
• Another message appears and asks if you’d like a copy of the itinerary and exclusive deals sent to your email. 
• You enter your email and receive an email full of information and pictures in your inbox. 
  

Which of these scenarios do you think will drive more travel to your destination? If an email flow follows the second scenario, it will absolutely guide more visitors to your destination. We see it happen every day!  

How to Set Up DMs on Individual Posts

1. Start Small

If you’re new to DM automation, setting it up on individual posts is the easiest place to start — and it requires far less work than building account-wide flows. Begin with just one or two posts per week and track the results before scaling. 

2. Choose a Trigger Word 

Most DM automation platforms, like ManyChat, let you choose a specific post and assign a trigger word or phrase. For example, you might post a Reel about fall events and ask followers to comment “Guide” to receive a DM with your seasonal itinerary. Once you assign that trigger word inside the software, anyone who comments “Guide” on that post will automatically receive your pre-written message in their inbox. 

3. Schedule Ahead 

You can also schedule this ahead of time. ManyChat and similar tools offer a “Next Post” option, which allows you to set up automation for a post you’re planning in your content calendar. That way, you don’t have to go back and manually connect each post after publishing. 

4. Test and Track 

Keep the setup simple at first. Test one trigger word, track how many DMs it generates, and monitor response rates. As you get comfortable, you can expand to multiple posts, multiple triggers, and even layered responses that link to guides, itineraries, or email sign-ups. 

Best Practices for Setting Up DM Automations on Individual Posts

You have to train your audience to take action. 

DM automations are becoming more common, but if they’re not used to commenting to receive information, you’re going to have to train them through repetition and tweak your content to drive action. This could take a few weeks. Be consistent and tweak as you learn things.  

The first DM should be an opening DM (if using Many Chat).

Opening DMs boost engagement in Comment for a DM automations. When someone clicks the button in your Opening DM, it starts a two-way chat so you can do way more than just send a link.

The Opening DM allows you to:

• Send a follow up: Re-engage every lead that didn’t click on your link yet.
• Grow your followers: Automatically ask them to follow you before sending a link.
• Collect emails: Collect emails today and use them to drive sales in the future.

Not every post needs it.

This is part of your strategy, not the strategy. Don’t force it on posts that don’t make sense. You should absolutely use it on all posts targeted to your unconnected audience. It will help you expand your audience. You can even ask them in the messaging flow to follow you! 

 
Use it for local events.  

You likely get a ton of questions around events and this is an easy way to answer them and grow your list at the same time.  

Connect your users to something actionable. 

Sending someone to your website?  Good 
Subscribing them to your email lists? Great 
Connecting them directly to a planning tool and marketing automation? Guaranteed to drive travel. 

Providing a clear path to action is the best advice for any marketing channel you need to drive conversions from. Steller Connect allows you to connect people from a social media DM directly to trip planning tools, automated marketing flows designed to guide them through the trip planning process, and booking opportunities. See how other tourism and travel brands are using it here. 

This is part 2 of a 4 part series: What’s Working for Travel Brands on Social Media in 2025. You can view Part 1 here and be sure to subscribe below to receive the next post!