spotlight on social media best practices for tourism destinations
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for EyeforTravel Social Media Strategies 2011 conference on social media best practices for tourism destinations.TRANSCRIPT
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