social media and travel
DESCRIPTION
This presentation was given at the Travel and Tourism Research Association meeting in San Antonio,TX in June 2010TRANSCRIPT
SOCIAL MEDIA AND TRAVEL ORGANIZATIONS
Fran Stephenson Step In Communication
WHERE IS YOUR ORGANIZATION IN SOCIAL MEDIA?
• Facebook/Twitter• Flickr ~ Picasa ~ Snapfish• YouTube• Podcasting• Foursquare/Gowalla• LinkedIN ~ SlideShare • ITunes• Groupon • Digg ~ Delicious
96 percent of teens use social networking tools. (NSBA, Aug 2007).
Facebook is #2 most visited site on the Internet….after Google.
44% of social sharing on Web is driven by Facebook
Age groups 25-54 represent HALF of all new Facebook users in the past year.
WHO IS USING SOCIAL MEDIA?
WHAT ARE TRAVELERS LOOKING FOR? Inspiration Aspiration Real experiences Accurate information Special experiences Opportunity to tell others
HOW IS SOCIAL MEDIA HELPING?
Access to more content Can pull from multiple sources Word of mouth on steroids Real-time
SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT NEW
Blogging platforms are 10+ years old Speed of adoption is high and will
continue Smart Phones! SaaS and web-based programs have
built-in analytics
HOW ORGANIZATIONS ADOPT SOCIAL MEDIA PRACTICES
SOCIAL MEDIA PRACTICE
Exploration
Selection
IntegrationComfortability
Capability
THE ISSUES…..
Safety Privacy The IT Department and “Cyber Security” Loss of Message Control Crisis Communications Staffing Training Sustainability ROI
BEST PRACTICES FOR ADOPTION
Set objectives for your plan Create guardrails or guidelines Establish listening posts/monitoring Become an informed advocate Look for resources in unusual places Build your profile Create sustainability Create two-way conversations Analyze and measure against objectives
SOME TIPS
Share your expertise. Focused communities can get in-depth
Share your opinion Communicate regularly Be brief Link to resources and other experts Respond to questions and comments Find a balance bet. seeding conversations
and letting the community lead
SOME TIPS…
Don’t be afraid of negativity Start with the goal, not the tool Embrace niche communities Empower people to speak for the
organization Give to get Listen
The Conversation Prism
Source: http://www.briansolis.com/2009/03/conversation-prism-v20/
ObserveListenParticipateEngageGive/GetEvaluateLather, Rinse, Repeat
TRAVEL CASE STUDIES
ENGAGEMENT
GEOLOCATION
Foursquare Gowalla Go places, earn
stuff Leave tips, get
recommendations
TOURISM APPLICATIONS
140 characters Headline news Customer service
engine
MOBILE MARKETING
Interaction Engagement Promotions Contests Customer Service
TIP OF THE ICEBERG
IMAGINE THE NEXT STEP
Trip Planner of today
Aspiration delivered Integrate real +
virtual Targeted Individual Measurable
INTEGRATED TRAVEL PLANNERS
TX Route Builder
Integrate w/geolocation
game
Layer on biz offers
ENRICH EXPERIENCE
Download to IPhone
Poll as you Go Feedback + Enter
Community
Spontaneous offers based on choices in
Plan phase
PARADIGM SHIFT IN MARKETING
Acquire real-time data Targeted offers No more mass coupons Can tweak and revise campaigns
ANALYTICS SHIFTING
SaaS and web-based social networking have built-in analytics
Polls/research more accessible
Instant feedback Shorter term trends
PARTING THOUGHTS
Think IntegrationThink Mobile Think Niche Envision Success
RESOURCES
Cluetrain Manifesto www.cluetrain.com
Naked Conversations Robert Scoble and Shel Israel
New Rules of Marketing and PR David Meerman Scott
Twitter Power o Joel Comm
THINGS TO READ
Now is Gone Geoff Livingston
Groundswell Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
Personality Not Included Rohit Bagarva
The Secrets of Social Media Marketingo Paul Gillen
THINGS TO READ
http://delicious.com/franstep Search for “casestudy” and “tourism”
Mobile Marketing Assn. http://
mmaglobal.com/resources/content_category/study/9/339
Social media groups in all cities
OTHER RESOURCES
E-Mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @fransteps Find me on:
Facebook LinkedIn Foursquare
CONNECT WITH ME!
Questions?
Thank you!