iVisitorGuide

Why Use Facebook for Business?

2012-01-26T14:21:00.003Z

Should your business be on Facebook? As part of American Express's Social Media Show + Tell series, Facebook employee Neha Kulkarni explains how the world's largest social networking site can help you attract and connect with customers.

If you need some help making the most of the opportunities now available to you through Social Media please drop me an email and I'll get back to you straightaway.

2012 is going to be “the Year of SoLoMo” for travel marketers – Social, Local and Mobile

2012-01-24T23:49:00.000Z

Social, local, and mobile are lending a new dimension to plans of travel marketers.

To get started, travel brands must have a mobile website optimised with fresh, local content and location-based offers; accurate and optimised listings on local mobile directories; and mobile engagement via SMS and social platforms.

HeBS Digital believes that 2012 is going to be The Year of SoLoMo (Social, local, and mobile). In travel marketing, there is a major convergence of channels, and social, local, and mobile will work as part of an integrated initiative.

These three initiatives speak to key components of a travel consumer's behaviour. Social speaks to what we do as human beings and how we share our travel experiences, mobile speaks to our "always on-the-go" nature, and local speaks to the need for information from our immediate environment. The power of these initiatives combined, fills an inherent need for consumers and allows the hyper-interactive travel consumer to stay hyper-connected with brands.

The future of SoLoMo looks promising. Local data drives better engagement and conversions and 1 in 3 mobile searches has local intent. As for future trends, SoLoMo is changing the way consumers access information. Instead of researching attractions during a hotel stay, mobile applications will detect a traveller's location, what they are looking for, provide directions, push specials based on geo location, and even allow guests to share their experiences in real time. SoLoMo will ultimately provide more customer service solutions to enhance the travel experience.

Mobile applications such as Foursquare, will be more deeply integrated into a mobile strategy and a key touchpoint in the mobile brand experience. SMS marketing and geo-location offers will become key in how hoteliers target travellers not after but during their travel experience. Hoteliers and travel brands need to begin thinking local and immediate. (eyefortravel, January 2012)

Article source: NewMediaTrendWatch

7 Steps To Creating a Social Media Strategy

2012-01-24T15:47:00.002Z

Nice and simple. Short and to the point.

Here are 7 tips on how to create a Social Media strategy for your hotel.

1. Identify Objectives – What is your main goal?

Set objectives based on a clear understanding of how Social Media changes the communication loop between your hotels and your guests. Social Media is not about reaching a mass audience and blasting out discounts or advertising. Social Media is about reaching influencers and key decision makers, developing relationships, having conversations, building an online community and gaining insight into your prospect’s needs.

2. Identify Your Audience – Who are you trying to reach to meet your main objective?

There are several Social Media platforms, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Trip Advisor, Foursquare, You Tube, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Blogging, etc. In order to most effectively reach your target audience you must first find out what Social Media channels they use. The best way to do this is to ask! Ask your guests, your customers, your prospects, etc. Then focus your time and attention on those platforms.

3. Training – It’s important to identify an individual who has the interest and desire to start and maintain the hotel’s Social Media presence.

Do not assign Social Media to someone who is not eager and enthusiastic! Once you have identified the Social Media channels you want to use, training on those platforms can begin.

4. Property Culture – Once a strategy is in place get your team members to embrace it by making it fun!

It is important to involve your team members who interact with your guests in your Social Media discussions. Give them the ability to participate, provide content and communicate/promote your pages and accounts with your guests.

5. Integration – How will your Social Media plan integrate into your hotel’s on-line presence?

All Social Media pages/accounts should point your customers to your hotel’s web site for ease of booking reservations through the lowest cost distribution channel.

6. Measurement - How will you measure success?

Begin with a simple baseline measurement. Goals will change as your Social Media efforts evolve. Continual review of progress is needed for success.

7. Nike – Just do it!

If number 7 is proving difficult you can always call me :)

Great article, thanks to Toni Jacaruso

Pinterest and Exotic #FriFotos

2012-01-24T09:51:00.001Z

Do we really need another social network to waste hours of our lives?

Better yet, how has a network that is still invitation-only managed to get 2.7 million users (and that is just those who are signing in with Facebook)?

Pinterest is a social bookmarking tool used to “pin” images found around the Web into categorized collections, or boards. Think of it like an interactive, shareable scrapbook. Like any good social network, you can follow other users, share their content, make comments, and tag users. Similar to a Twitter stream, you get real-time updates of what the people you follow are pinning. You can also easily share your pins on Facebook and Twitter.

Why People Are Obsessed

Pinterest combines two of the most compelling elements of social media: visual content and sharing who you are. Oh, and everything looks really pretty…

Here's one I made earlier - Exotic #FriFotos

This collection of images were all contributed by Twitter fans of #FriFotos. Founded by Jonathan Epstein aka @EpsteinTravels and co-hosted by such other travel luminaries as Annie Fitzimmons (@anniefitz), Christine Kirk @LuxuryPRGal, Charles Yap (@HotelPRGuy) and Stephanie Diehl (@TravelDesigned) this weekly event attracts a host of people all contributing images based on a new subject. Last week (Jan 20th) the theme was #Exotic.

Pinterest enabled me to 'pin' all of these images and add them all to one on-line notice board - so you can see all of them in one place. Simple. And it takes seconds to add a new image to the story board. In the days since literally hundred of Pinterest users have viewed, liked, pinned and commented on many of these images indicating that that this is a great platform to market your brand through image collections and engage with new audiences.

While there aren’t a lot of brands using Pinterest yet, I expect that to change very soon. The audience on Pinterest is different from the major social networks because most people use it to find inspiration, whether they are hosting a party, getting married, remodeling their bathroom, or looking for a recipe for dinner. In other words, many are using Pinterest to help guide their buying decisions. If a user finds something they like on Pinterest, there is a good chance they will at least click the source link and, at most, make a purchase.

It has the potential to be a wonderfully compelling marketing tool for business - especially in travel and tourism.

Benefits for Brands

On the surface, Pinterest may seem too niche to benefit a wide range of brands. As with any network, once Pinterest grows there will most likely be features added specifically for businesses (promoted pins? sponsored boards?). For now, there are 3 main benefitsfor brands using this network….

1. Get Seen

Pinterest levels the playing field for smaller retail businesses that don’t have the budget or resources to compete in search results. If I search for jeans on Google Shopping, I’m going to see Levi’s and a bunch of other brands I already know sell jeans. “Discoverability” is a word I’ve seen thrown around a lot regarding Pinterest. Meaning, Pinterest helps people find new products/brands/styles they would normally not come across by plugging keywords into a search engine. Chances are, the people I choose to follow on Pinterest have similar taste to me. I know I can check out their pin boards and probably see pins of jeans that would suit my taste. If I do a search for jeans on Pinterest, I know I’ll find trendy options and smaller brands I don’t know about, or even a DIY project for turning an old pair of jeans into a mini skirt. If I search for jeans tomorrow, I will see something new since results change as new pins are added.

2. Building Links

Anytime someone pins something from your site, it automatically pulls in not just the image from your site, but also a link. There is a chance for that pin to be repinned multiple times (even hundreds of times, in some cases), building up a healthy amount of backlinks. Here’s a great post that makes the case for linkbuilding on Pinterest.

3. Brand Advocacy

If people love your products and they’re on Pinterest, they will not only pin your stuff, but they might dedicate an entire pin board to your brand!

Article source: BlueGlass.com

7 Video Best Practices in the Era of Social Media

2012-01-23T12:16:00.000Z

If a picture is worth a thousand words, you could say that a video is priceless.

We live in a time when a single video can tell your story, tip your brand — or change our world.

Over two billion videos are downloaded every day on YouTube. That is roughly equivalent to the programming that the three major television networks put out. In one year. And, in my estimation: user-generated videos are just getting started. As these tools (such as smartphones) become more pervasive — and they are — an increasing number of people will produce video content.

Predicting the success of a video is next to impossible. However, there are some guiding principles to help you produce winning videos, whether they’re for your personal brand, your business — or your cause. Here they are:

1. Keep it Short & Sweet.

People, particularly in social media, have shorter attention spans. Studies show that attrition rate after 30 seconds is roughly 82% (unless the video is compelling or celebrity-driven).

2. Start Strong.

A Jupiter research study found that people decide — in the first two seconds — whether or not they will watch the remainder of a video. It’s important to capture their attention in those two seconds, but not necessarily with stagecraft. Strive to be compelling and give them a reason to keep watching. Have you ever watched thoroughbred horses break out of the gates? It’s so jaw-dropping that we cannot help but keep watching! Break out of the gates in your videos!

3. Make One Point (and No More Than Three).

Nielsen reports that humans can only process, and retain, three simple messages in a short span of time. Do not overload the viewer with granular facts and minutiae. You needn’t make them an expert. Just pique their interest. Pick 1-3 concepts you want to convey and use anecdote, humor and color to bring texture your videos.

4. Entertain, Inspire, Inform—or, Ideally, Do All Three.

Frame messages in the interest of the viewer. The fact is that people care less about your product, brand or cause than they do about how it improves their lives. Stay viewer-centric and seek to leave them informed, inspired, entertained—or all three. Humor is powerful, engaging and effective—if you can pull it off.

5. Produce Share-Worthy Content.

This relates to the point above, but it warrants its own coverage, because it’s essential to understand in this “word of mouth economy”: in a single click, people can share your content farther and faster than ever before. Here’s a litmus test: Produce content you’d be compelled to share with your family.

6. Speak From the Heart.

People have sensitive antennae in social media. These channels were created as a very refuge away from corporate marketing. People know contrived when they see it, and it can do more harm than good. Speak in a “human voice.” Mean what you say. If you’re interviewing someone, ask them to be honest (even if it means they aren’t uniformly positive; it will be more credible.). If you try to message people, you will never reach a wide audience. If you win people’s hearts, you can reach the world.

7. Have a Clear Call to Action.

Ask yourself: “What do I want the viewer to do?” You need to move people to action, otherwise you may achieve non-financial outcomes (video views) in lieu of financial outcomes (conversions/revenue). Tell viewers what you want them to do.

A single video that resonates in the hearts of enough people can achieve breathtaking results for you, your business or your cause. You have never been more empowered.

Full article: SocialMediaToday

Social Media ROI Metrics Still Chaotic

2012-01-20T10:02:00.000Z

Brand marketers continue to struggle with determining return on investment for social media campaigns. Eighty-eight percent admit to gaining positive ROI on campaigns, but a study released Wednesday from Wildfire, a social media platform company, shows that the metrics remain all over the map.

While inconsistencies make it difficult to create and follow industry standards, Wildfire CEO Victoria Ransom said 75% of survey participants said they still plan to increase their social media budgets this year.

Gaining positive ROI is great, but what do marketers measure?

Thirty-eight percent monitor increased fans, likes, comments and interactions, which means the marketers put a value on the fan; 24% point to an increase in revenue as a metric; and 15% look toward increased brand awareness. Less than 5% of all respondents defined positive ROI as revenue less cost -- a more traditional metric.

When asked the top three reasons for valuing a Facebook Fan when applying traditional definitions of ROI, forty-four percent said they use that metric as a way to get new consumers, 18% sought higher conversion rates, and another 18% said more frequent purchases.

Survey respondents were explicit about how they judged effectiveness: fan or follower growth, fan engagement, ad cost reduction, increased sales, and increased leads.

Ransom views social media marketing as a process composed of three steps. First, marketers must look at broadening the fan base. When it comes to building a network in Twitter for brand pages, companies need to acquire followers. Ninety-seven percent of those surveyed believe social media benefits their business.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/165982/social-media-roi-metrics-still-chaotic.html#ixzz1jzVkKQfl

President Obama's new National Travel & Tourism Strategy

2012-01-20T01:21:00.003Z

Speaking at Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida on Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced a national strategy to boost international arrivals in the United States.

The number of travelers from emerging economies with growing middle classes in China, Brazil, and India are projected to grow by 135%, 274% and 50% respectively by 2016 (compared to 2010).

(I think we'd like a similar policy for the UK please Mr Cameron! - Editor)

With the goal of bringing more of these potential tourists to the U.S., Obama said he will sign an executive order and charge several government agencies to take part in efforts and new initiatives to increase travel. Some of the initiatives include: a new pilot program and rule change for visa processing in China and Brazil, a final rule to expand and make the Global Entry program permanent, the appointment of new members to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and the nomination of Taiwan to the Visa Waiver Program.

Obama has also directed the Department of Commerce to create a task force to develop a “National Travel & Tourism Strategy.” The task force will coordinate cross-departmental efforts and ensure private sector participation.

“Every year, tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America. And the more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work,” said Obama.

The plan is endorsed by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, which sees it as having potential to “recapture America’s historic share of international travel.” The association touts that the measure could create 1.3 million new U.S. jobs by 2020 and produce US$859 billion in cumulative additional economic output.

The U.S. Travel Association also supports the proposal. "This is the first time our country has had a national strategy and set goals for the amount of visitors we want to welcome to our country. Not only will this increase traffic to America's wonderful destinations and attractions, but nearly half of the travelers will come to attend conferences and tradeshows," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

Original Article: HotelsMag

How travel marketers calculate ROI on social media and why the future is mobile

2012-01-19T14:27:00.000Z

Via SimpliFlying – Helping airlines and airports engage travelers profitably | Grab the code to embed this infographic on your site.

How “Fresh” is Your Hotel Website?

2012-01-18T17:35:00.001Z

Every year, Google makes more than 500 updates to its search algorithm. The most significant update in 2011 was the Google Panda Update, now in version 2.5, which made most hotel websites obsolete by introducing very strict requirements for content, interactivity, and page download speeds.

This required sites to generate engaging and unique website content (as opposed to bland, old and tired content) that would intrigue users and increase the site’s “stickiness.”

After frustrating hospitality digital marketers with the seemingly never-ending Panda update saga, Google went a step further by releasing the broadest, most-impactful algorithmic change to date, just to keep us all on our toes. Last week Google announced that they had rolled out an update now known as the “Freshness” update, which was said to affect 35% of total searches and would allow for more relevant, current information to be displayed for a bevy of high-volume search queries.

Why are these updates important for the hospitality industry? Between 50%-70% of hotel website visitors and website bookings originate as leads from the major search engines.

The update, essentially, is an amendment to the “Caffeine” update Google rolled out in 2010, whose sole purpose was to make general search queries 50 percent “fresher.” So when you were searching for a sports score or who won last night’s election, for example, you would be delivered the most up-to-date articles and commentary. Problem is, in only a year’s time search queries have risen in number and the amount of online media continues to grow. Each story – each topical event – is being discussed, reported on, and dissected hundreds and thousands of times over, simply because the platform is available and the medium, the Internet, is effective. This is what spawned the rise of this new “freshness” update that has set off alarms from Palo Alto to the burgeoning tech hub that is New York.

So who does this new “Freshness” Update affect?

Every online entity. No longer can we truly separate a blog, a news site and a content site that offers up-to-date “local news” in the form of local events, happenings or promotions such as a hotel website.

Read the rest of this article at: HebsDigital

BBVA and Google team up for tourism data - FT.com

2012-01-17T13:47:00.000Z

BBVA, Spain’s second-largest bank by assets, is teaming up with Google to use its search engine results to provide advanced forecasts of hotel and tourism demand in the country, part of a plan to market real-time economic indicators to its clients.

BBVA and Google team up for tourism data - FT.com:

What hotels should do with Google+ and why it matters

2012-01-17T13:17:00.000Z

Hotels already have trouble finding the time and manpower to manage Facebook or Twitter, and these two outlets still win out over Google+ in the “Great Social Battle.”

So, what is a hotel to do, when Google is suggesting that its newest venture is a key factor in search engine performance?

TIG Global is skeptical on how much Google+ will truly affect an individual hotel given the current Google+ landscape. Leveraging Google+ to positively impact your rankings requires an active user base. Therefore the company suggests, only spend your time here if yours proves large and engaged enough to make efforts worthwhile. If you find yourself in that lucky and unusual situation, the strategy to leverage this social channel will sound familiar:

1. Optimize your posts: But do be careful. Keyword-stuffed posts sound unnatural, and users won’t gravitate to them. Remember, the idea is not only to get users interested enough to read your posts, but to make them entertaining enough to pass on to friends and colleagues. Weave keywords in naturally, and be sure to provide useful and interesting information.

2. Create content worth sharing: Funny, exciting, controversial, etc. The more people who share information about your business, the greater the likelihood of that content showing in SERPs.

3. Don’t rely on users to correctly tag your photos: Photos are one of the easiest ways to engage users on social networks. Uploading a photo named “beachshot1.jpeg” might be fine for a user, but it’s not going to help you in search results. The lesson? As a best practice, learn to name your photos with descriptive keywords – “hotel-xyz-miami-beach.jpeg” will let Google know how to classify the image.

Article Sources: HotelMarketing & TIG Global

The Luxury Consumer in the New Digital World

2012-01-17T12:20:00.004Z

As we start a brand new year, the social media universe is full of predictions about what’s next for digital media. No wonder.

Digital media has been used to influence public opinion, organize protests, unveil new products and ideas, and broadcast events in real-time.

This article is Four Season's own Luxury Trend Report

Though the world is now more complex, it somehow seems smaller and more united, and digital innovation and social media is what has enabled this global interconnection. This, in particular, makes travelling more exhilarating than ever before, something we’re very excited about at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Throughout our 50 year history, Four Seasons has always placed a high priority on staying connected with our global guests. In 1996, we were just beginning to create strategies around digital innovation with the launch of the firstFour Seasons website, an effort representing a small fraction of our total marketing spend. Fast forward to 2009, when digital marketing efforts represented more than half of our total marketing budget. Today, that figure continues to increase, and the investment is no more apparent than in the launch of the new Four Seasons website. Representing an $18 million investment, the new www.fourseasons.com fully leverages all of today’s leading-edge digital media tools, and furthers our leadership in digital innovation.

As we look ahead to what the next 50 years might bring, we bring you the first issue of the Four Seasons Luxury Trend Report, the first of a quarterly publication on a wide range of topics. In this inaugural issue, we explore the digital habits and desires of today’s luxury consumer, both in the travel sector and across other categories, that draws upon the latest research as well as results from the Luxury Traveller Technology Survey3.

From our findings, the future for luxury and digital looks bright:

1. LUXURY IS BACK
2011 was the year of luxury’s rebound. Almost all regions saw at least six percent year-over-year growth in the luxury travel sector – a key indicator of luxury in general. This surge is projected to continue; industry experts project 10 percent growth in luxury overall in 201311. At Four Seasons, revenues will grow more than 9% in 2012.

2. BRANDING MOVES TO THE SOCIAL SPHERE
Seventy-eight percent of the affluent participate in social networking sites, with more than half using social media to connect with a brand9.

3. E-COMMERCE IS KING

The luxury consumer is increasingly going online to research and make purchases. Four Seasons online bookings rose 10 percent from 2010 to 2011.

4. THE RISE OF THE IPAD
One-third of wealthy consumers own a tablet or e-Reader7. Four Seasons revenue generated from the iPad and other tablets has grown 200 percent from 2010 to 2011. This will continue to grow significantly in 2012.

It’s clear that our guests are not only embracing, but engaging with, new technologies in ways that are changing the face of travel. No matter what the technology or trend, Four Seasons will continue to be at the forefront of digital innovation, engaging our guests in the ways that are most meaningful to them. By blending the very best of high tech with signature high-touch Four Seasons service, we’re committed to creating exciting guest experiences that are second to none.

Original Article: FourSeasons.com

Social media 'a revolution' for the hotel business

2012-01-16T15:08:00.000Z

The benefits offered by social media — from short lead times to total transparency, and two-way to communication to powerful guest engagement — mean hotel bosses are expected to place increased emphasis on the medium in 2012.

According to Sofitel VP Middle East, Africa and Indian Ocean Sami Nasser, social media “is a revolution for the hotel industry”.

“Social media creates opportunities never envisioned before,” said Nasser. “It influences how you are positioned on Google, your reputation can be damaged or enhanced within a blink of an eye, social commerce is coming, and all this is going mobile. It is a revolution for the hotel industry, and it is just the beginning”.

Fairmont regional vice president and general manager at Fairmont Hotels and Resorts UAE Henning Fries said social media offered a range of benefits hotels could capitalise on.

“Social media affords the opportunity to instantaneously reach to guests with a very short lead time that does rival traditional communication vehicles such as advertising and public relations. It also lends itself very well with guest recovery on sites such as TripAdvisor, where we have the opportunity to directly address issues and concerns on a public platform,” said Fries.

He continued: “And the numbers definitely point to the prevalence of social media today. One report stated that approximately seven billion mobile apps were downloaded in 2009, with forecasts that this will increase to almost 50 billion by 2012”.

Hospitality Management Holdings president and CEO Michel Noblet agreed that social media provided a powerful way to interact with customers.

He asserted that it has “the potential to significantly change the way we do business”.

However, all three hoteliers were keen to qualify that great care must be taken to use social media properly.

Fries said social media must be “couched within the communications role” and combined with marketing and PR.

Noblet said the challenge was ensuring hoteliers understood that using social media effectively comes down the engaging more with customers.

“It can be used as an effective and strategic marketing tool provided hotels understand that it only enables mass collaboration and is not just another channel of communication which most people have mistaken it to be. The frustration today is that companies do not know how to engage with customers,” said Noblet.

He advised recruiting younger staff that use social technology and understand these platforms to “help leverage the power of social technology and expand its impact.”

Deciding how much to invest in social media was also a concern.

“As a company you have to wonder how to invest and how much,” said Nasser. “The ROI is still not clear, and there is a risk on spending too much.”

Rotana president and CEO Selim El Zyr added: “A recent Travel Industry Question Time run by TravelMole in London looked at the issue of social media and its use to the travel and tourism industry.

“There was some feeling that the industry is still doubtful about return on investment (ROI) but, in fact, there is more confusion about the best way to use the ever-developing technology.

“The question here is how far can brands push the social media interaction without losing the personal connection with customers? Or maybe social media can become another way of enhancing the personal experience,” suggested El Zyr.

“It could be argued that technology is in danger of isolating us from our customers, but, at the end of the day, people are our business and we must translate the online presence into the guest experience when they actually arrive at the hotel. There is so much that we can know about our customers through social media, which consequently should give us more tools and information to tailor make services for them,” he said.

El Zyr acknowledged that it was difficult to gauge the effectiveness of these platforms, however.

He recommended that the focal point for hoteliers should be determining “just how many of our customers are actually using social media, how much interaction they want from us at this level and how we can best encourage it to serve both our guests and our own brand values”.

Original Article: HotelierMiddleEast

Luxury hotel chain hopes to please its tech-savvy customers

2012-01-13T09:23:00.000Z

Luxury hotel chain Four Seasons has given its website a $15 million makeover adding social media features which it hopes will bring a smile to its tech-savvy customers.

Users browsing the site will now be able to see what people are saying about the hotels in real time on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, and also travel website TripAdvisor. When users click on the 'Reviews at a Glance' box on the new site, they can land directly on The Four Seasons' Facebook page, Twitter account or TripAdvisor reviews.

The new site will send recommendations to the user based on preferences indicated in their profile. Other new features include guests' photos, information on local experiences and 'why you'll love it' features. The site, which is fully optimised for mobile devices, will soon launch on Google+.

Susan Helstab, marketing chief for the hotel chain, told USA Today: 'You take your chance with the good and the bad [reviews]...It really does require that incredible sense of confidence that says we deliver our promise', adding: 'There's no room for smoke and mirrors in today's socially networked world.'

A recent survey conducted on behalf of Four Seasons found that 33 per cent of guests rate TripAdvisor as 'very to extremely influential' in their selection of a luxury hotel.

Original article: CorpCommsMagazine

How to manage your hospitality business’s online reputation: Review websites

2012-01-12T11:22:00.000Z

Review websites can be a double-edged sword for businesses. When used successfully, they can turn you into an overnight success. But they can just as easily destroy your reputation, with negative reviews able to spread like wildfire if left unchecked.

Read more at BigHospitality

Tourism Australia turns marketing focus to social media

2012-01-12T10:47:00.001Z

Tourism Australia's Facebook page has claimed the title of the most popular tourism page in the world and the nation's travel authority has vowed to increase its spending on social media after this success.

The page (Facebook.com/seeaustralia) passed the 2 million-fans mark following the success of a short film shown via the page on New Year's Day.

The Tourism Australia executive general manager of marketing, Nick Baker, said 85,000 people became fans of the page in the three days after the film showing people celebrating New Year's Eve in Sydney was posted.

He said digital accounted for about 30 per cent of the group's total marketing budget but this would be increased ''quite significantly'' this year, with social media expected to get the biggest boost in funding.

''It's always better to have other people telling your story. The whole traveller to traveller conversation online is growing and it carries a lot of weight because people see it as unbiased.''

About 70 per cent of Tourism Australia's annual $130 million budget is spent on marketing. The increased spending on social media will not be limited to Facebook but will include popular websites such as tripadvisor.com.

Mr Baker said the Facebook page also acted as a planning tool, with links to attractions that people had recommended as well as to people's reviews of those sites and events.

Tourism Australia also closely monitored social media to check what people were saying about various attractions and experiences.

''Social media has a lot of power that we can leverage,'' Mr Baker said. ''There's new ways to look at the value of the customer, for example trip echo, where once someone leaves, whether or not they come back, we look at what they tweet or blog or whatever about us.''

However, he warned that social media should not be used to push out marketing messages, as people would quickly become disinterested. ''It's not a golden bullet, it takes hard work and a lot of understanding about what people are interested in.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/tourism-australia-turns-marketing-focus-to-social-media-20120111-1pvao.html#ixzz1jEiRiFZK

The Achilles Heel Of The Social Media Budget

2012-01-10T09:20:00.002Z

In perusing the travel marketing prognostications for 2012, it’s pretty clear that this year will be a big one for the bucket labeled “social media.” According to Frommer’s Unlimited’s 2011 Digital Marketing and B2B Content Survey, travel organizations in 2012 plan to invest:

65% more in social media
55% more in content marketing
54% more in mobile and apps, and
52% more in natural search optimization.

The increased investment in social media is certainly understandable due to the unprecedented growth of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other sites that connect and amplify individual consumer voices like never before. However, one has to wonder what an increased investment in social media by travel companies really means.

For most companies, it probably means increased spending on social media tools, campaigns, and tactics such as social listening (i.e., brand monitoring), tweeting, community engagement, social gaming, advertising on social networks, and location-based campaigns. A bit of the budget may go to hire a social media consultant or two, but for the most part, the increased social media budget is spent on things rather than people.

And that may be the problem.

The “media” in “social media” are people—people empowered by the mobile Internet to share their activities, interactions, and opinions with their circle of friends (Facebook, Google+, Foursquare, etc.) and the entire world (Twitter, blogs, travel reviews). What we all want from these people—the social media—is vocal, engaged loyalty. We want them to tell the world why they should fly, ride, and stay with us. We want them to share their vacation pictures with friends—preferably with the location prominently displayed. And we want them to come to our defense should some disgruntled, non-believer attack our brand in a public forum.

Now ask yourself, does your expanded social media budget deliver that kind of vocal, engaged loyalty? My guess is that it doesn’t. Why? Because brand loyalty isn’t generated online through a single “like,” tweet or check-in. True brand loyalty—true fans—are created by first-hand experiences in the real world. They develop over time when they fly, ride or stay with you and walk away consistently satisfied. They spring forth from human interactions that exceed expectations so much so that you want to talk about them with people who aren’t even there.

The Achilles Heel of the social media budget is that it assumes that this amazing brand experience has already been delivered. It assumes that your customer-facing employees fully appreciate their role as brand stewards and understand that they can make, break or blow up your social media efforts with a single, negative, retweeted experience. It also assumes that your front-line employees understand how today’s mobile technology grants such powers to seemingly ordinary customers.

If we’re to “do social media right,” then we have to roll up our sleeves and get involved in parts of the organization that marketing may have once avoided, including:

New employee training, including:

- A primer on the brand and its relation to customer service

- A primer on social media channels and consumer uses
- An overview of mobile technology fueling social media creation and consumption

- A review of corporate social media policies

- Social media scenarios and role-playing

Customer service
Customer retention
Crisis communications
Executive briefings

The new reality is that each employee’s interaction with a customer has the potential to create “social media”—both good and bad. If you want to avoid seeing your social media efforts undermined by the uninitiated, it’s time to rethink the social media budget. Amidst the tools, tactics, and campaigns, there must be a commitment to ongoing, organizational training and education around the ever-evolving world of social media.

And while you may never be able to fully guard against the actions of a rogue employee, you can certainly create an environment where each and every employees understands the shared responsibility they have to the brand in today’s society where every customer is a potential media source.

Achieving Social Media ROI For The Hospitality Industry

2012-01-09T14:18:00.000Z

The buzz surrounding social media marketing hasn’t gone unnoticed by the hotel industry and hoteliers are seeking to make inroads by engaging with the leading social networks in new and innovative ways.

Choice Hotels however has indicated that "hotels have been slow or very conservative in the adaptation of social media." This is further compounded by the fact that running a hotel for many owners and managers is a 24/7 role, with little left time for managing social media marketing initiatives.
While hoteliers now include Facebook and Twitter share buttons on their websites and have become more familiar with the return on engagement (ROE) tools available today, the ability to convert these fans and followers into customers generating actual room reservations is still an elusive goal for many.

Consequently, they continue to search for marketing services that can truly measure success and garner a lucrative return on investment (ROI).

Social Media on the Rise

Worldwide social media revenues are expected to rise to more than $10 billion in 2012, reflecting a 41.4 percent rise from 2010, according to research company Gartner.

“Marketers will begin to transition from ‘onetime placement and click of ads’ toward ‘ongoing engagement’ with the Internet user and will therefore allocate a higher percentage of their advertising budget to social networking sites,” said Neha Gupta, senior research analyst at Gartner.

“This is mainly because social networking sites, with the help of social analytics firms, are able to unlock the interconnected data structures of users — mapping lists of friends, their comments and messages, photos and all their social connections, contact information and associated media.”

Another report by global consulting company McKinsey concluded that companies needed to take a relook at the entire business model in order to succeed in the digital space. According to McKinsey, this will involve establishing new structures, metrics and processes to ensure that marketing and sales are adequately linked with all the areas of the business that could contribute to the company’s ability to understand and engage with consumers.

Hotels on the Sidelines

Hotels have watched this trend with growing interest. While boutique hotels were the early adopters of social media marketing, the majority of larger hotel chains were more cautious in moving from traditional to digital marketing. That, however, seems to be changing. A recent poll conducted by TravelClick indicates that hotels are significantly increasing 2012 marketing budgets for social campaigns.

The study shows that half of the hotels surveyed plan to invest more marketing dollars in their mobile websites and social marketing. These hotels are utilizing these new digital tools to approach potential customers in a more personalized manner in order to boost loyalty programs, improve customer service and, most importantly, to increase bookings.

And while this is a move in the right direction, it’s apparent that hotels are still unclear as to how to measure online activities and, more importantly, how to convert their customers’ online engagement into revenue.

Engage with your guests

With social media as the distribution channel, today’s hoteliers require a comprehensive marketing plan that will permit them to adapt and broaden their communication channels to align with guests changing interests and preferences. It’s been proven that brands which communicate with their visitors and motivate them to share their vacation plans with their friends and followers are the most successful. In essence, hoteliers are learning how to make their customers their most engaged advocates.

Hotels that wish to gain from the benefits of social media marketing should first explore what the market has to offer and then draft a marketing strategy that has clear goals and well-defined targets that can yield a significant ROI which is both trackable and scalable.

Full article: InventorSpot.com

Tourism: Huge impact hardly noticed

2012-01-06T13:42:00.001Z

Despite the value of tourism to the economy, public funding keeps plummeting.

This article looks at the argument put forward by Rob Gialloreto, the president and CEO of Tourism Victoria. The points he make are relevant wherever in the world there is a visitor economy.

Travel and tourism have a dramatic economic impact in Greater Victoria. Recent research shows the impact here at $1.89 billion in 2010 - a weak tourism year. But reports like this, while valuable, don't tell the whole story.

In today's tough political climate, many different sectors in B.C. continue to put forward remarkable economic impact numbers which, if ever combined, would likely triple our provincial gross domestic product - on paper, at least.

Tourism is different from all of the others. It is a sector made up of sectors. "Tourism" can mean accommodation, transportation, restaurant, retail, museum, outdoor adventure, car rental, taxi, performing arts, heritage, culture, meetings, conference, sports, festivals, events, wine and beer tasting, golf, spa, and other sectors! No other industry touches so many, in so many ways.

Public funding for tourism continues to plummet even though the return on investment includes things like job creation, support for small business, and stimulation of foreign spending in B.C.

Tourism is an export business. Our product, the "Victoria Experience," may be intangible, but people pay real dollars for it.

The only difference is that rather than exporting our product, we import our consumers. Foreign investment in Greater Victoria stimulates our economy, flows taxes to various levels of government and creates jobs. None of this is on the backs of taxpayers like you and me.

Yet, like a stock no one seems to know about, many ignore the investment opportunity and treat tourism like a test we didn't study for; we cross our fingers and hope.

We hope that the airport runway will be extended to bring in direct flights from the United Kingdom; we hope money and political will appear to replace the embarrassment that is the Belleville Terminal; we hope that marketing will be enough to bring visitors here despite rising ferry fares, border issues and economic hardship in the United States and Europe.

Those who work in the tourism industry have never relied on hope. We work diligently through our national advocacy entity, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, to make our border more amenable to travel while keeping it safe. We also try to find a way to reduce the massive fees on air travel that make Canada an expensive country to fly to.

We partner and leverage funds to run creative campaigns in our nearby markets in B.C., Washington state, Alberta and California.

Victorians might not see these campaigns, but the industry has judged them to be award-winners. We work with meeting and conference planners to convince them that Victoria is a great place to hold their gatherings.

We work with travel writers, bloggers and electronic journalists to ensure we garner as much targeted coverage abroad in the media as possible.

We work with tour operators and travel agents all over the world to ensure Victoria is part of their itineraries.

We work with community groups to bring and nurture sports events and festivals for residents and travellers alike. Tourism Victoria has more than 800 members and there are certainly thousands of other tourismrelated professionals here as well.

We together share the responsibility and the privilege of making tourism healthy for our collective future.

Tourism is multi-faceted and complicated, and yet so very important to the present and future of the capital region.

No one organization has the responsibility for our industry: we all do. From the person giving directions on Government Street and the server at a busy restaurant, to the taxi driver from the airport, to our elected officials, we all own a part of every tourist's experience.

Tourism continues to be what it has been for years - a vital economic driver that needs support, understanding and, most importantly, action.

Original Article: TimesColonist

Plans to secure £3 million of council funding for tourism

2012-01-05T16:58:00.000Z

The Isle of Wight Council has announced its intention to consult with the tourism industry on its plans to create a new private sector-led organisation to promote and develop the Island as a world class visitor destination.

The development of the organisation will secure £3 million of council funding for the industry over the next nine years.

The plans are consistent with the government’s new policy on tourism, published in March this year which proposes new tourism organisations that are partnerships between local businesses, attractions and the public sector, but essentially industry-led.
A report recommending consultation into the principles of setting up a new ‘destination management organisation’ (DMO) for theIsland, is before the council’s cabinet member for the economy and the environment, Councillor George Brown, for a delegated decision. If approved, consultations could begin with those involved in the tourism industry on the Island, early in 2012.

Councillor Brown said: “We believe that this is an ideal vehicle for the tourism industry to have more of a say in how the Island is developed and marketed as the major visitor destination it is. At these most difficult of financial times it is an important commitment of the council to consider allocating a significant sum of its discretionary spending to tourism for the next nine years.”

The council has put together a discussion document which sets out its proposals for setting up a company to act as the new DMO for the Island. The company would comprise the council and the private sector, but is not designed to be in competition with other membership-based organisations such as the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce, Tourism and Industry, or the Federation of Small Businesses. Both are seen as having an important role to play in the new organisation.

It is intended full consultation will take place with those involved in the tourism industry on the Island to ensure the final form of the new company is shaped by their views.

Original article: iWight.com

5 Social Media Resolutions for Hoteliers

2012-01-05T14:16:00.001Z

Treating social media like the Wild Wild West might have worked in the past, but future success will require a more strategic approach as both platforms and users get more sophisticated, hoteliers interviewed for this special report said

That’s why setting a strategy tops the list of social-media resolutions for 2012.

1. Define a Strategy
“The focus No. 1 should be to define a strategy. What are you doing in terms of social-media activity? What’s the purpose? And what’s the outcome you want?” said Jason Ewell, senior VP of e-commerce at New York-based TravelClick.

No longer can hoteliers just throw stuff against a wall to see if it sticks, said Kelly Poling, VP of marketing and distribution for Silver Spring, Maryland-based Choice Hotels International, which franchises more than 6,100 properties representing more than 490,000 hotels globally.

“‘What are our objectives in utilizing social media? What are some of the strategies and tactics that we can employ to best accomplish those objectives? How are we going to prioritize them? … and how do we measure those things on an ongoing basis?’ (Asking those questions is) critically important,” she said.

Rounding out the list of five social-media resolutions for 2012 are:

2. Commit the time and resources
“The second focus should be to commit to it; it’s here to stay,” Ewell said.

Making that commitment is easier said than done, however. It often involves asking the hard questions about priorities and existing responsibilities. Ewell advised comparing the value added by existing activities to the value that would be added by a committed focus on social media. That often requires sacrifices, he said.

“It’s challenging, but I think social media warrants the investment,” Ewell said.

Maury Lundahl, senior director of electronic communication for Choice, advises her franchisees to seriously reflect on existing priorities.

“You need to make sure you have the bandwidth and the availability to be able to participate effectively in the social place. It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it type endeavor,” she said.

Customers expect constant, almost-instantaneous engagement, so having a stale social-media presence often can do more harm than good, Lundahl said.

There are resources to help with the process. Third parties will maintain and monitor a company’s social-media presence for a charge, while brands often offer best practices and support.

Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, for example, has more than 80 local Facebook and Twitter accounts for individual properties with a dedicated task force to monitor them 24/7, said Felicia Yukich, the chain’s manager of social media marketing.

“That local extension is absolutely necessary,” she said, adding it allows each property to respond to customer queries and complaints more quickly.

And if nothing else, companies should at least monitor review sites, Lundahl said.

“Tread carefully and very strategically. … It’s about prioritizing,” she said.

3. Monitor, monitor, monitor
“Social media is first about listening,” TravelClick’s Ewell said. “… You should spend the time paying attention to it to see what customers are saying about your product.”

Even if a property is not on social media, it’s crucial hoteliers monitor what customers are saying. Managing online reputation is a necessity in the year ahead, sources interview for this article agreed.

Fortunately, there are easy and free solutions to help hoteliers, such as:

• Google Alerts
• Social Mention
• CoTweet
• Trackur

4. Take online feedback seriously
Because social-media commentary often is framed as an opinion, it’s easier for hoteliers to dismiss it as one-off ramblings. But they should resist the urge to dismiss any guest feedback, said Ashish Gambhir, founder and strategic marketing for newBrandAnalytics, a Washington, D.C.-based provider of social-media intelligence.

Instead, hoteliers should think of every online comment and review as a guest verbally expressing those sentiments at the front desk, he said.

“You’ll react differently and think of it as an operations issue,” he said.

Four Seasons’ Yukich said social media is an extension of a hotel’s service model.

That typically means approaching the comment with some degree of transparency, Choice’s Lundahl said. Hoteliers should first reach out to the commenter first to show they care and second to understand what needs to be done behind the scenes to resolve the underlying problem.

Following through on that second step is perhaps the most important, Ewell said.

“If people keep saying you have a bad breakfast, saying your breakfast is good on Facebook is not going to change it,” he said. “You need to go fix your breakfast.”

5. Speak business, not social
“If I’m responsible for social media at my hotel, I might go back to my team and say, ‘It’s great because we have 50 new followers,’ or ‘We got a bunch of new ‘likes’ this weekend,’” newBrandAnalytics’ Gambhir said.

But those metrics lack the “so what?” that will foster buy-in throughout the hotel, he said.

Instead, social-media champions should translate “likes” and “followers” and other metrics into tangible data points that can effect change and drive revenue.

“Instead of speaking about those social metrics, speak about what your team cares about. Speak about guest feedback. Speak about the check-in process, the ambiance or the quality of the beds in the rooms,” Gambhir said. “All of that is there in the source commentary. …

“Instead of saying this is how our star rating has evolved, we can say this is how service has evolved or check-in/check-out has evolved,” he added. “Read the feedback, don’t just read the summary metrics.”

Original article: HotelNewsNow

Changes to tourism body at odds with independent report

2012-01-04T10:04:00.003Z

The recent announcement by Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar that Fáilte Ireland is taking over the promotion of tourism in Dublin runs counter to one of the principal recommendations of an independent report, one of its authors has said.

The report, commissioned by Dublin City Business Association, recommends that Ireland follow the example of other countries by vesting responsibility for tourism with the local tourism sector and the wider community.

But Mr Varadkar has disbanded the board of Dublin Tourism and its staff are moving to Fáilte Ireland, which he said “has considerable experience and expertise in the promotion of Dublin as a tourism destination”.

Felim O’Rourke, lecturer in economics at Sligo Institute of Technology and co-author of the report, said: “We have a centralised State tourism structure that is dominated by insiders, protects the interests of insiders and fails to meet the needs of the tourism industry.”

The report, Rejuvenating Dublin’s Tourism Product, says one of the main advantages of vesting tourism promotion with the local tourism sector and community was that such locally based companies were able to attract “enormous volunteer support”.

Mr O’Rourke cited a report by the World Tourism Organisation which found that Ireland spent much more on international marketing per visitor than any other European country and “there appears to be very little correlation” between this spend and international arrivals.

“In other words, most advertising and marketing by national tourism organisations is a waste of money – and Ireland wastes more than any other country in Europe,” he said, adding that Ireland’s share of world tourism had “fallen sharply” over the past decade.

Original article: IrishTimes

How Big Brands Find Success Via Social Media

2011-12-30T16:06:00.000Z

How are the big brands finding success on the various social-media platforms?

An infographic on Mashable shows the impact the following eight brands are making online: Trump International Hotel & Tower, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Loews Hotels & Resorts, Hilton, Wyndham Hotel Group, Hyatt Hotels & Resort, La Quinta Inns & Suites and Choice Hotels & Resorts.

Some highlights:

• All eight brands are active on Facebook and use the platform as a way to announce promotions and deals to consumers. Of the eight brands, Wyndham Hotel Group has the most “likes” on its Facebook fan page with 321,000.
• Twitter is another great source for deals, according to the infographic, and all brands except for Choice utilize the platform to communicate with consumers. With 137,034 followers, Marriott has the most out of the brands on Twitter.
• Six of the brands are active on YouTube, which they use as a tool to distribute information about their properties. Hyatt has 1.9 million views, the most “views” on YouTube of the six brands on the network.
• Only four of the brands are on Foursquare and utilize the platform as a way to communicate deals to consumers. Starwood Hotels & Resorts has the most “check-ins” on Foursquare.

Read more: HotelNewsNow

Hand Picked Hotels Launch A Leap Year Twitter Competition

2011-12-29T16:50:00.002Z

In 2012, hundreds of women are expected to take matters into their own hands and make the most of the Leap Year tradition by proposing to their loved ones.

Hand Picked Hotels, a collection of 17 country house hotels which are all stunning rural wedding venues, has launched a twitter competition offering women with the most imaginative proposal in 140 characters the chance to win an overnight stay with their partner at one of the hotels.

The long-held tradition that women can propose to their boyfriends on 29 February each Leap Year dates back to the fifth century – and this year, women across the country simply need to tweet Hand Picked Hotels, @hp_hotels, and describe how they would propose to their partner at one of the hotels to win the perfect opportunity to make the proposal a reality. The most creative response will win an overnight stay in a signature ‘Leap Year’ suite, on 29 February 2012 at one of the 17 hotels in the collection, seven of which have spas.

Hand Picked Hotels (@hp_hotels) welcomes entries from women across the country from today (28 December) until 1 February 2012 when the competition will close. Hand Picked Hotels’ board members and wedding consultants will judge the entries and a winner will be announced on twitter on Monday 27 February 2012.

With stylish interiors, stunning architectural features, an excellent choice of facilities including ballrooms, marquees and gardens as well as wedding consultants, fine dining and partnerships with key wedding companies, Hand Picked Hotels were made for weddings. Plus, Hand Picked Hotels are licensed to conduct civil ceremonies, couples have a wide choice of venues and styles to find the perfect wedding venue in the UK

For more information on weddings at Hand Picked Hotels, visit www.handpickedhotels.co.uk/weddings.

Competition terms and conditions:

• Only entries that use the correct hash tag (#HPHproposal) will be considered

• All proposal ideas must take place at one of the 17 Hand Picked Hotels

• Entrants must be over 18 to win

• The prize is one overnight stay for two with dinner, a bottle of house nominated wine and breakfast included.

• The overnight stay must be taken on the 29 February 2012.

• Winners are asked to choose three hotels, in order of preference, for the overnight stay prize. Leap Year suites are subject to availability.

Original Article: FtnNews

Facebook: The New Face of the Hotel Concierge

2011-12-21T14:45:00.001Z

With all the changes Facebook has made this year, it's only natural that hotel business pages will change their appearance, too.

Today's Facebook brand profile pages now include booking engines, photo timelines and video capabilities that, if created correctly, can allow fans to feel as if they're part of the hotel without actually being on property.

Obviously, the purpose of optimizing these Facebook pages is to lure guests to the actual property, but there are other ways to engage besides just fancy photos and a savvy booking engine. Thanks to constant engagement, Facebook is fast becoming the new face of the hotel concierge.

Your hotel guests frequent the concierge desk during their stay looking for advice and opinion on where to go, what to do and what to see and eat in a particular destination. As more fans become a permanent state of your hotel's Facebook page, why not make the concierge desk a virtual feature to help guests plan their activities prior to arrival.

MediaPost recently wrote "Progressive brands are taking on the role of travel concierge, enhancing their Facebook pages to engage and serve fans without forcing them to leave the site." Read more: mediapost.com/publications/article/162826/at-your-service-facebook-takes-on-role-of-travel.html

Conversation is just the first step, but understanding your Facebook fans is equally as important to keeping them on the page, and potentially booking rooms for future stays. Here are a few guidelines for turning your Facebook page into your virtual concierge:

Listen and learn: Responding to questions, comments and complaints from your Facebook fans on your hotel's wall is common sense, but are you posting as much as you're listening? If your wall is filled with your posts and chatter, take a step back and look at how often your fans are actually posting directly to your wall.

Let your guests be heard via Facebook. You can set up a separate page within your wall for guest contributions or comments, and still keep your main wall focused on the brand. The point is to listen to what your fans and saying, and learn from their posts. By the time they arrive at your hotel, the concierge and hotel staff will have a good idea of what your guest is expecting and can set up the room or potential itineraries to serve as a nice welcome.

Provide Relevant Travel Information: MediaPost recommends that your Facebook page has enough information available to "satisfy visitors on the provided Info, Photos, and Events tabs" on your fan page. Building out applications like booking engines, itineraries and suggestions for where to eat and what to see in a particular destination help guests arrange their trip prior to arrival. "Anticipate what first-time visitors would want to know and deliver," writes MediaPost.

The Booking Engine: Adding the booking engine to the Facebook page has been a touchy topic for hotels this year. Most hotels would prefer the traffic go through their websites or travel agents, but as more people turn to Facebook and Twitter for travel ideas, creating a booking engine direct on your hotel's Facebook page can turn a potential guest into an instant one. The purpose is convenience. Why move from site to site when you book on one page?

Focus on Fans: Let your fans do the talking! Create a space for your fans to post photos, share likes (and dislikes) and post praise about their stay. Your Facebook manage will need to stay on top of this - particularly for those unsatisfied guests - but by showing fans that you're promoting their content shows you're dedicated to engaging with them throughout their travel experience.

Original Article: 4Hoteliers