Last November I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the Trablin International Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. I’m grateful to have been included in an important dialog surrounding influencer and brand partnerships, travel blogging, story-telling, and building communities. Not only was it a rewarding experience to share my own views about the travel and influencer industries, but I was able to learn so much from other attendees and the impressive line-up of speakers at the two-day conference.

Why attend a Travel Influencer Marketing Conference?

Because influencer marketing is a relatively new concept, trends are still forming and standards have yet to be established. Statistics regarding performance within the industry are not always consistent in the way they are recorded, and are definitely not consistent in the way they are understood. For example- some platforms and agencies calculate an engagement rate as likes divided by followers, others calculate it as reach/followers, and others calculate it as likes/reach. These differences in calculation and understanding can create misalignment within the industry and make it more confusing for brands considering influencer outreach and expecting a return on their investments.

“Statistics regarding performance within the [influencer marketing] industry are not always consistent in the way they are recorded, and are definitely not consistent in the way they are understood.”

Influencer partnerships are still considered “the wild west” of the marketing industry, and a platform where brands, influencers, and agencies can come together to set expectations and share best practices is needed to manage expectations from all sides. And that’s where Trablin comes in: the TIS conference supports that dialog and gives speakers and attendees the opportunity to share their own experiences and learn from others.

One of the biggest takeaways I received from the conference was that success comes to creators who can find the balance between consistency and flexibility. Consistency in the quality of content that you create, and consistency in the timing and delivery of that content. Having flexibility is an important quality that allows you to experiment, adapt, and anticipate change in a constantly-evolving industry.  

My experience at Trablin International Summit (TIS)

My favorite aspect of the conference was the amount of time I was able to spend with other attendees. Because the Trablin International Summit is focused on travel, all attendees are invited and encouraged to select their preferred activities in the days prior to the conference. The pre-conference activities of TIS Marrakech were designed by its sponsors: the Moroccan Tourism Board and various local partners including desert camps, hammams, cooking classes, food tours, and more. The time I spent on the pre-conference tours was valuable for me to be able to experience the beauty and culture of Marrakech while also learning from other attendees what they were hoping to take away from the conference so that I could tailor my speech and provide the most value for them.

What I spoke about at TIS Marrakech

The topic of my presentation focused on Influencer Marketing through Community Growth, in which I gave advice on building an audience that values and trusts your perspective, finding your purpose as a travel influencer, creating sponsored content that speaks to users in various stages of a sales funnel, and positive reminders that there is a space and a market for everyone in the travel influencer industry.  

To learn more about my personal story, what I do professionally, and how I started She is Not Lost, click here.

My favorite speakers at Trablin International Summit (TIS)

My favorite speakers were Raresh & Irina of @me_and_mango and @irinahp, who spoke about how innovation and creativity sparked their own success stories. Their originality and imagination shows through in the viral content they create, and their story demonstrates how good intentions and ingenuity will attract an engaged audience that proves rewarding for brand partnerships.

As a travel influencer, learning about expectations of tourism boards directly from their representatives and consultants is a valuable opportunity, and TIS Marrakech offered speaking sessions from Siham Fettouhi from the Moroccan Tourism Board, and Isabel Mosk, Destination Marketing Strategist. Attending TIS opens a line of communication to travel industry professionals that otherwise may not be easy to reach or even identify.

I also loved hearing from Alejandro Porras of Alohas Sandals, who shared his experiences of building a brand and successfully executing profitable influencer campaigns. His insight into the key performance indicators (KPI’s) and other measurements of success he focuses on provided useful advice both for brands who want to run influencer campaigns and influencers who want to participate in brand partnerships.

Other influencers I was fortunate to meet and learn from during the conference were Jonathan Kubben Quiñones from Mom I’m Fine who spoke about leveraging traditional press coverage to grow a social media following and how he now uses his platform for good; Visual storyteller and poet Dakota Adan (@dakotaadan) who led a masterclass on creating inspiring and emotional content; and Gloria Atanmo of The Blog Abroad whose glowing personality, clever writing style, and steadfast determination built a blog and a personal brand that earn her over six-figures year after year.

Last but not least, I was fortunate to meet and work with the organizer of the conference, Carola Valls. As the Marketing Executive at Visit Benidorm in Spain, Carola has made a career of travel, tourism, and influencer relations and has built Trablin with the mission of professionalizing the travel influencer industry.

Overall, my experience at Trablin International Summit was positive and I look forward to attending the next one, wherever it may be! The location of the conference is always different, and Trablin partners with tourism boards and partners local to the region. TIS Marrakech was well-organized and the schedule was well-structured, offering full days of speakers and a variety of master classes. I was impressed not only by the line-up, but by the professionalism of the conference itself.

Have any questions about attending or speaking at Trablin International Summit? Leave a comment below! Don’t forget to subscribe to Trablin’s email list to find out about the next conference, and hopefully I will see you there!