Marketing your credentials

Your Certified Travel Counsellor / Certified Travel Manager credential defines your personal brand and enhances your professional qualifications.  Your credential distinguishes you from your competition in an industry which clients have trouble judging the difference between good agents and not so good agents.  Your  professional certification confirms that you have completed the  process that proves that you have the knowledge, experience, and skills needed to perform your job. The proof comes in the form of a certificate earned by passing an exam and meeting the criteria that is accredited by ACTA, the association that monitors and upholds prescribed standards for the Canadian Travel Industry.

Are you marketing your CTC and CTM credential?

  • Is your CTC/CTM credential on your business card?
  • Is your CTC/CTM credential showing on all of your correspondence including your email signature?
  • Does your voice mail message mention the fact that you are a “Certified Travel Counsellor”?
  • Is your credential on your LinkedIn profile?  On your Facebook page?

Suggestions for marketing your Professional Designation

  • Build a Facebook personal page.  Fill your personal page with your interests in a consistent style. To create the image of yourself as a marketable brand, your profile page needs to exude a focused idea. This means essentially creating a persona. For example, if you love to travel include information in your profile  that reflects your love of adventure, photo albums of where you have been, links to upcoming music festivals,  your favorite airlines – hotel chains.  “like” related Facebook pages. To further create reliability, upload pictures of yourself doing the things you claim to be interested in.  Keep your contact information and job history up to date. Make it easy for people to find out how to get in touch with you and what your experience looks like so they don't have to go digging for details. Create a Facebook group for your brand or services to build a community where your clients can interact. Facebook groups come with specific boards for posting discussion topics, photos, and videos that allow you to quickly send updates to your group members.  Utilize Facebook's "Events" function to spread the word about specific promotional or marketing events for your brand or services. Get your clients to be fans and to post reviews of your services.   Engage them with insights and tips.
  • LinkedIn now has a “Certifications” section for your profile. You also can add special certifications to the “Specialties” section on your LinkedIn profile summary.
  • Get clients to write you endorsements on LinkedIn.
  • Write a travel blog. When you write a blog you become a trustworthy and unbiased source of information. You may not even realize how much knowledge you have until you start blogging about it. The best thing about a blog is that your readers can contact you and ask for a recommendation or for some reassurance – promote your professional designation on your blog!
  • Create a custom name tag with your designation on it to wear to all industry events.
  • Frame and proudly display your certification certificate.
  • Include the CTC logo on every piece of marketing material you produce - Take a look at your marketing materials... and your web site... and the letters you write... and the presentations you make, do all of these communicate your designation.
  • Master your pitch - Have you perfected your pitch if clients ask: “Tell me about yourself ” or “What makes you different from other agents?”  Your professional designation should be one of the top  messages in your pitch!
  • When discussing what you do for a living, be sure to mention that you are a certified professional.
  • Be a role model for the next generation of young agents. Recruit, inspire, and mentor them – encourage them to become certified!  This industry desperately needs new blood and young talent will only join when they see successful role models.

Written by Christine Chilton CTC, CTM