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5 Tools for Managing Social Media in the Travel & Tourism Sector

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Who am I?

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Kim Higdon Off Madison Ave

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Why does social media feel so overwhelming?

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Because it is overwhelming.

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Facebook stores 600 terabytes of data, daily.

Source: Facebook

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That’s a lot of cat videos. In fact,

that’s roughly 629,145,600 cat videos. Every. Single. Day.

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People are exposed to anywhere from 1,500 to 15,000 pieces of content on Facebook every day.

Source: TechCrunch

9Source: Qmee

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So yeah, it’s a little overwhelming.

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But there’s still a huge opportunity for the travel and tourism sector to benefit.

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Travel is the #1 shared topic on Facebook.

Source: Ampush

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How do you compete for attention?

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Facebook Algorithms• Not meant to annoy you, strictly

meant to help users navigate the overcrowded platform

• It’s a matter of volume. The more people that join, the more difficult it becomes to communicate to your audience.

• Paid efforts can help to combat this, but there is still a great opportunity for organic efforts to be hugely effective

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There are 5 core tools at your disposal for managing this overwhelming world.

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Tool #1Network selection.

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1.) Network selection.• You don’t have to be everywhere. • Don’t just have a presence, but be

present.• It’s better to have a solid presence

on fewer networks than a scattered, abandoned or misused presence on many.

• Scale up as you become more efficient.

• Some networks are active, some are passive but all require some amount of time to manage.

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1.) Network selection.• Basic uses of each of the top networks:

• Facebook – Visual, links, contests, voting, groups, custom applications• Twitter – Flat environment, transparent, fast-paced, links and images.• LinkedIn – Recruiting, networking with other professionals, thought

leadership, blogging and content marketing.• Pinterest – Brand-focused, products, lifestyle for sharing images.• YouTube – Video only for showcasing products, events or interviews.• Instagram – Behind-the-scenes, visual medium with younger

demographic.• SlideShare – Thought leadership and information sharing with media-

rich presentations and documents.

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1.) Network selection.• Basic demographics of each of the top networks:

• Facebook – 71% of adults use Facebook• Twitter – 19% of adults use Twitter, predominantly men, 18-49• LinkedIn – 22% of adults use LinkedIn, college graduates and higher

income earners• Pinterest – 21% of adults use Pinterest, predominantly female• YouTube – Evenly split between male and female, 18-29 age range• Instagram – 17% of adults use Instagram, younger demographic, urban

dwellers

Source: Pew Research

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1.) Network selection.Ask yourself three questions.

1. Is this right for our audience?

2. Can I legitimately support this effort with content? (Do I have or can I gain access to enough content to play in this sandbox for all eternity?)

3. Do I know what success looks like for this channel?

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Tool #2Content calendar.

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2.) Content calendar.• Spend a couple of hours mapping

out the types of content to be shared throughout a specific time period.

• Tie in events calendars, promotions calendars, email newsletter sends, etc.

• These calendars help to uncover gaps, opportunities and give you a global view of the information being shared across platforms.

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2.) Content calendar.• Content types can include:

• Promotions• Questions or surveys• Inspirational quotes• Videos• Images• Trivia• Facts• Infographics

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Tool #3Automation.

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3.) Automation.• Understand when to automate and when to engage• Choose your tools for automation• Find your ideal automation schedule• Create ways to stay tuned in to the conversation• Be aware of what’s been automated for “just in case” scenarios

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3.) Automation.• Planned or regular content can be scheduled out to save time• Publishing and scheduling tools

• Automatic feeds• The more you automate, the more you sacrifice quality or functionality

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Tool #4Curation and sourcing.

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4.) Curation and sourcing.• Content should come from a variety

of sources to help build credibility• Find 5 influencers who you can

regularly share content from• News outlets• Members’ companies• People

• Follow their Page and use the Pages Feed on Facebook to stay on top of their content

• Use Klout to help identify the types of content your networks want to be seeing from you

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4.) Curation and sourcing.• Spread the responsibility for content creation amongst members, chapters,

departments, locations, etc. • Create a richer experience for the audience by sourcing content ideas from

a broader pool within your organizations.

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Tool #5Measuring, monitoring and optimizing.

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5.) Measuring, monitoring and optimizing.

• Understand your objectives and align with what you can expect to see from social media efforts.

• Example: Generate engaged website traffic. • Set benchmark KPIs so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time.

• Example: Visitors with time on site of 1:00 or more• Understand where you can pull these numbers to create effectiveness

reports, modify strategy if needed or better optimize your efforts.• Facebook Insights• Google Analytics• Wordpress analytics plugins• Hootsuite• ReviewTrackers

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Questions?

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Kim Higdon

Social Media and Content Marketing Manager

Off Madison Ave

Kim.higdon@offmadisonave.com

Twitter.com/Kim_Higdon

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Resourceshttp://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/social-media-update-2013/

http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/

http://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/why-it-works.html

https://code.facebook.com/posts/229861827208629/scaling-the-facebook-data-warehouse-to-300-pb/

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/03/the-filtered-feed-problem/

http://allfacebook.com/infographic-reaching-travelers-facebook_b133324