spotlight on social media best practices for tourism destinations

Social Media Strategies for Travel North America 2011

Spotlight on Social MediaBest Practices for Destinations

Who Am I?

Director of Social Media and Web Analytics at MMG Worldwide

social media clients include Colorado Tourism Office, Barbados Tourism Authority, Branson and Myrtle Beach CVB

over 10 years of digital marketing experience in the travel industry

background in public relations, marketing communications and search marketing

Follow Me on Twitter @RobertPatterson

Tweet the presentation using #smtravel11

MMG Worldwide

offices in New York, Kansas City, Denver and South Florida

fully integrated advertising firm specializing exclusively in travel

branding + design

web + mobile development

on + offline media

social media + pr

eCRM + field marketing

strategic approach

listen + evaluate

monitor what is being said about your destination

track volume of mentions

qualify mentions by travel and tourism for relevancy

monitor sentiment around your online conversations

identify influencers and advocates

review web analytics to see how social media is impacting your website

select what metrics your organization will track

create baseline metrics to measure against

listen + evaluate

strategy + creative

determine your destination’s objectives and goals

identify the voice of your destination

segment your communications by consumer interests

plan your communication frequency

structure your communications and editorial calendars

stay true to your brand in communications and creative

strategically name your social media profiles

include calls-to-action in your creative

strategy + creative

engage

use your “voice” to speak to your audience

ask for feedback from your audience

crowd source your marketing initiatives

respond to comments and communications

empower your destination’s residence as advocates

encourage destination industry partners to participate

include calls-to-action to convert passive audience into actively inspired travelers

engage

measure results

social media growth

referral visits to website

website visitor engagement

goal conversion and leads generated

online buzz generated

consumer sentiment

competitive analysis

ROI (return on influence)

return on influence (ROI)

ROI = (Calculated Investment Gain - Investment Cost)/Investment Cost

calculated gains

website referrals

leads generated

social media leads generated

ad equivalency of communications

research value

share of voice

content shared

competitive analysis

be innovative

innovate

stay up-to-date with social media channel changes

focus on “test and learn” approach to achieve maximum response and ROI

embrace new technologies and platforms that make sense for you

integrate social media efforts to leverage maximum exposure

continually measure, monitor and optimize all channels based on goals and objectives

try new ideas…some will fail, others will not

innovation opportunities

harness the power of “local”

integrate web, mobile and tablet with social media

test QR codes to send offline ads to social media

incorporate social media into rich media ads

create social media co-op opportunities with industry partners

understand the power of video and branded entertainment

think big for big results

be resourceful

find efficiencies

plan out your editorial calendar in advance

provide industry partners with access to your messaging strategy

rely on in-destination residents and past visitors as advocates

schedule your targeted communications and focus your day-to-day efforts on becoming an invaluable travel resource

find the tools that help you get the job done more efficiently

conduct a semi-annual audit…can you be more efficient?

empower advocates

build ambassadors

start with your office, industry partners and local advocates

empower your advocates

find local photographers willing to share their work for recognition

use local experts who specialize in niche activities and attractions

use monitoring tools to find word-of-mouth testimonials and share them

integrate social media sharing across web, mobile, social, emails and media

boost seo

search engine optimization

use relevant and highly utilized keywords in your communications

search for those looking for travel inspiration through keywords

use keywords in your photo/video titles, descriptions and tags

create in-bound links to your website to increase link popularity

integrate social media feeds and develop connect pages

use PPC to drive visitors to your connect page

link to your YouTube videos on your website using keywords

search engine optimization

presentation takeaways

top 5 dos

plan, strategize and create goals

innovate, test and optimize

create efficiencies, then allocate financial and labor resources

empower advocates

work closely with your SEO professional

top 5 don’t

let your intern be your social media strategic lead

speak at your audience…create a conversation with them

forget the importance of branding

overlook justifying your social media expenditures

think short term…think long term

discussion