Photos from NYC Travel Massive exclusive rooftop event with Nomadic Matt, Selina

Travel Massive NYC recently partnered with new digital marketing agency Wildebeest and hospitality brand Selina for a fabulous evening of networking and engaging content.

This event recap is by Jared Alster, co-lead of the NYC Travel Massive chapter. Jared is Chief Strategy Officer at Wildebeest, a digital and brand strategy agency, focused on travel. He was formerly Head of Marketing at Intrepid Travel, co-founder / VP Marketing at startup StrideTravel, and VP Marketing at Cox & Kings. 

The event took place at Selina’s fabulous Chelsea rooftop, with stunning views of the Empire State Building and some of the new architecture in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards.

Selina has beautiful properties worldwide, that are popular with digital nomads. But this is their first property in the US and Travel Massive was excited to help with their trade launch.

Attendees enjoyed signature Paloma cocktails and delicious bites. Later in the evening, Travel Massive NYC co-chapter leader Jared Alster sat down with prolific travel writer and blogger Nomadic Matt.

Influencer marketing with Nomadic Matt

During the event, Nomadic Matt discussed his new book, Ten Years a Nomad, and also shared some tips for brands looking to work with influencers. He mentioned that influencers and brands should set clear campaign KPIs from the start. “You’re not going to get 15% conversion rates,” said Matt. “Not even Taylor Swift gets that!”

Matt also commented that brands need to always look beyond vanity metrics on social media. Followers are one thing but engagement is entirely different and it’s the latter that matters when it comes to ROI.

Further, brands looking to work with influencers should invest the time to actually read through post comments on platforms like Instagram, to ensure they are relevant and not driven by automated tech, like robots.

According to industry leading ad tech platform Adara, brands can expect to see anywhere between 2-6% conversion rates on influencer campaigns, depending on the specific campaign, influencer, and product mix. This exceeds channels like Google Ads, where the average conversion rates across travel are only 3.55%.

Games and Prizes

A HUGE thank you to our event sponsors who organized some stellar prizes and congratulations to all the winners:

• Amy Hamblen from JetBlue won a 2-night stay at the Selina, Chelsea
• Ravi Roth, from Ravi Around the World, won a delegate pass to TravelCon in May, courtesy of Nomadic Matt
• Jenny Burbank from Oxford University Press, won a signed copy of Ten Years a Nomad
• Priscila Silva from B&H Photo, won a signed copy of 101 Things to Do in New York Before You Die, by travel writer Evelyn Kanter.

Thank you everyone for coming out to our January event and stay tuned for more great events this winter.

📸 Here are some more photos from the NYC event: 

Thanks Jared and the NYC team for sharing!