Social media is changing constantly, empowering consumers with travel tools that influence their destination, accommodation and activity decisions. Platforms like Facebook and Pinterest are bringing the experiences of other consumers to the forefront, while mobile and location-based technologies are enabling travelers to make more spontaneous, well-informed plans with minimal hassle.
Join us for an overview of the latest trends in social media, a conversation about opportunities for marketers, and a deep dive into social media’s relevancy to the travel industry.
3. scott chapin | senior vice president, strategic services | @scottchapin
With his 10+ years of experience in business, technology and marketing, Scott supports Marcus Thomas’ efforts to explore new
marketing platforms. Scott is a former partner and strategist with DigiKnow and the founder of Circle44 Mobile. As part of the
Marcus Thomas team, Scott oversees digital strategy development and leads the agency’s analytics group.
jessica folger | audience insights strategist | @JFolgerMT
Jessica leads the development of audience insights and participates in crafting their application to communication strategy and
ideation. She utilizes a strong understanding of qualitative and quantitative research, digital best practices, consumer
psychology, social engagement, and market and audience trends to develop in-depth personas and rich insights that drive
brand/campaign strategies and big ideas.
heidi modarelli-frank, apr | vice president, public relations | @heidimfrank
A 20-year public relations veteran, Heidi has spent much of the last decade navigating brands through the world of digital and social
communications. At Marcus Thomas, she leads public relations and social strategy for a variety of consumer-facing brands. She also
has led training initiatives on a variety of topics, including social media crisis management and social influencer relations.
3
5. Overview
• Introduction: Social trends impacting travel
• Social – A look at the competition
• Social and mobile as integrated platforms
• Developing a social strategy
• Measurement
5
24. 47%
expect to use their
mobile device for
their travel needs
at their destination
27%
will use a mobile
device for
attraction research
31%
plan to use travel apps on
the mobile device or
smartphone in 2012
TripAdvisor 2012 24
33. Key Value Exchange Components
What’s going on with our
consumer? What
interests, excites and
attracts them?
What’s going on in the Where are we taking the
digital arena? What’s Brand? What is our vision?
working? What’s hot? What are the prerequisites
What are others doing for success?
that we can learn from? 33
34. Consumer
Variable
Value
Exchanges
Environmental
Brand Variable
Variable
Integrate these insights to define a digital strategy
based on value exchange.
34
35. What Might Consumers Find Valuable?
• Free stuff
• Discounts
• “Insider” exclusives
• Bragging rights
• Ideas
• Advice
• Resolution
• Entertainment
Notice we didn’t mention engaging with your Brand
35
36. What Might Consumers Offer in Return?
• Amplification/sharing
• Purchase consideration
• Trial/purchase
• Loyalty and usage
• Recommendation/advocacy
• Brand preference
In other words, they will help us achieve our
Brand vision and strategic objectives.
36
40. Guidelines for Successful Value Exchanges
• Understand what consumers value
• Think about how and when your consumers
are using social media
• Recognize that what you communicate
(signal) is only noise if it’s unwanted
• Think more about content and less about
marketing messages
• Shape, rather than try to dictate your
Brand’s image
• Embrace and amplify supportive consumers
40
44. Facebook
• Facebook Insights provides
both top-line and detailed
measures of activity on your
Brand page
• Use the export feature to go
beyond the provided graphs
and charts
• Key measurements for
Facebook include:
> Reach
> Talking About This
(Likes, Shares, Comments)
> Tab activity
44
45. Twitter
• Thousands of tools exist to
measure Twitter activity
• Key measurements for
Twitter include
> Reach
> Retweets
> URL clicks
> Share of voice
45
46. Google Analytics
• Google Analytics provides
robust website
metrics, including social
source traffic metrics
> Social Value – see how social
contributes directly and
indirectly to goals
> Social Visitor Flow – visual
narrative of site interactions
from social
> Activity Stream – currently
limited to Google Data Hub
partners
> Social Plugins – shows pages
that were shared to social
networks
46
47. Pinterest
• Curalate provides Pinterest
analytics using a visual search
engine
• Key measurements for
Pinterest include:
> Repins
> Impressions
> Competitor monitoring
> User Influence
47
48. Social Influence
• Social influence
measurement allows you to
find partners who can create
buzz around your destination
• As with all ranking
systems, they can be
gamed, requiring a look
beyond the top-line numbers
48
The I’ll-have-what-she’s-having Effect is gaining traction as more travel and hospitality consumers turn to firsthand narratives and real customer experiences as legitimate travel resources.TripBirds, brought to our attention by Mashable, aggregates information from your friends’ social media posts from Instagram, FourSquare and Facebook in order to create a personalized travel guide to your intended destination.Basically, any information that’s geotagged (i.e.”checking in” at Westminster Abbey via FourSquare) will be pulled from your friend’s feeds, with their permission, and compiled into a personally-recommended guide to London … or Paris. Or Rome. Or Barcelona.TripBirds will also make it easy to identify friends who have already visited your city or country of choice, narrowing down the pool of people who receive your desperate “What on earth can I do in Laos?” emails.Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-21/news/31218330_1_new-website-facebook-foursquare#ixzz27mTRB6LB
The I’ll-have-what-she’s-having Effect is gaining traction as more travel and hospitality consumers turn to firsthand narratives and real customer experiences as legitimate travel resources.
The content curation phenomenon is impactING travel planning … and storytelling during and afterSites like Pinterest are the new travel brochure (“photo planning”)Apps like Instagram are allowing consumers to easily capture memories and broadcast storiesFor as long as travel brochures have existed, people have been clipping out images and tacking them to bulletin boards. Pinterest amps the process for the digital age, creating vast banks of images that tourists can use to curate trips.Consumers are quickly becoming curators of visually stimulating content That phenomenon is increasing travelers expectations to experience their destinations vicariously through digital platforms before hitting the road
It’s “my trip”, not a replica of someone else’s experienceControl based on budget and time
As a research tool for travel, mobile is growing rapidlyBooking and/or transactions aren’t quite there
https://twitter.com/VermontTourism
https://www.facebook.com/VisitConnecticut
http://pinterest.com/visitsavannah/
http://www.jetsetter.com/promo/pinterestAbout the contestWe want to thank you for helping us to reach 1 million followers and become the #1 travel brand on Pinterest by giving you a chance to pin your way to paradise and win a trip to Bali! Check us out on PinterestUsing Facebook, check for daily clues and hashtagsExplore Jetsetter.com for photos that match the daily Facebook cluesPin qualifying photos to your Pinboard using the correct hashtagsHow to enter1 Like us on Facebook so you don't miss a daily clue 2 Follow Jetsetter on Pinterest New to Pinterest? You can join here3 Create your "Jetsetter Pin Your Way to Paradise" pinboard Select “+Add” > Create a Board at the top-right hand corner of our Pinterest page4 Check our Facebook Page for the Daily Clue and hashtag Find photos on jetsetter.com that match the daily clue, add them to your board by clicking the “Pin It” button next to the photosDon’t forget to include the daily hashtag in your pin’s description5 Share your board with your friends to increase your chance of winning the Top Followed Board prize.
http://withart.visitphilly.com/
http://juanotero.es/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/top_travel_ground_iphone.jpg44% of US travelers plan on using their mobile phone or smartphone more as a travel resource during trips in 201247% expect to use their mobile device for their travel needs at their destination27% will use a mobile device for attraction research31% plan to use travel apps on the mobile device or smartphone in 2012Source: TripAdvisor 2012 travel trends forecast, Nov 8, 2011
WHAT'S HAPPENINGl Trover burst on the travel app scene in 2011, taking just two weeks to be namedan iTunes App of the Week. A year later, the friend-to-friend recommendationtool, launched with practical travel planning in mind, is evolving to meet themore aspirational twists of its user base.l Trover enables users to share photos of places and things, with automatic geotags.It was conceived to let friends share out-of-the-way discoveries (street art,for example) with friends. But Trover staff watched and listened as peoplestarted using it more like Pinterest, to make aspirational wishbooks sourced andshared with anyone in the wider Trover community.l Tweaks to Trover started showing up in July 2012, including an improved searchfunction, a hand-curated homepage and fewer clicks when viewing pictures(GigaOm.com, 9 August 2012).WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESSl Consumer behavior with mobile and social apps is still a Wild West, andresistance is futile. Trover has wisely and quietly adapted to clear the path theirusers have chosen. The lesson for any app builder: Set a course but be ready tothrow out the road map if users figure out a better destination.l Envisioning new places and experiences is a huge part of travel's appeal. Andwhile consumers may only plan sporadically, they dream continually. Practicaltools with an aspirational layer give travel consumers the best of both worlds.
Digital images are great, but they don't capture the feeling you get when you hold a real photo in your hands. Imagine snapping a photo with your iPhone and instantly sending it as an actual postcard to friends or family - a real keepsake they can hold close to their heart, put up on the fridge or display at work. Now it's easy - no buying stamps, printing, or searching for a mailbox. Just snap, tap and send. WHAT'S HAPPENING The Postcard on the Run app lets people who appreciate a friendly greeting turn their smartphone photos into tangible mailbox treasures. To make a personalized snail-mail postcard, users take a new pic or choose an old one, type a short note, add a signature and select the recipient from their contacts list. They can also add a GPS-tagged location or a scratch-n-sniff sticker (LAWeekly.com, 12 January 2012).Postcard on the Run uses a West Coast printer and will ship the cards anywhere in the world ($1.50 for the US and $1.70 for international). Nomadic friends are no problem: The app texts the recipient to confirm their address and allows 48 hours to make a change. WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS With smartphones always at their side, hobby photogs are ever ready to snap new memories.But, sometimes, sharing a virtual image just doesn't carry the sentimental weight of a tangible picture. So tools that easily and affordably turn vacation shots or Tweetable moments into tangible mementos help consumers make lasting impressions.Don't get us wrong, digital is great; but the virtual version of correspondences and photos don't always cut it for nostalgic consumers. Putting a high-tech twist on the old-school format gives them the best of both worlds.
Utility – maybe via curration tools?ContextHistoricalAuthentic
WHAT'S HAPPENING The New Mexico Tourism Department ropes tourists and locals alike into a Kidhunt. Catch The Kid is a cyber-aided game encouraging families/posses to visit infamous Billy The Kid haunts statewide, collecting clues and scoring deals along the way.Participants create a profile online and download the Billy The Kid app to their smartphone. The app checks them in to every Kid point they visit. Those without a smartphone can check in by uploading a photo.The first group to gather enough clues to find Billy The Kid wins $10,000. Billy-come-too-lates can nonetheless get vacation packages and giveaways.WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS Consumers are increasingly mixing gaming and fun in their travel experiences, courtesy of smart travel apps. Travelers and families are finding that discovery and adventure are closer than they thought. Learning history through a new, exciting lens is a bonus.
http://www.visitlasvegas.com/knowthecode/The Las Vegas Tourism and Convention Authority have stood by Harry and created a social media campaign “shaming” those responsible for taking the nude pictures of the Prince and reminding everyone of its famous motto: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." #knowthecode quickly rallied support on Twitter and by early Friday, after the ad was launched in USA Today, thousands had tweeted in support of Harry. (thedrum.co.uk 27 August 2012)WHAT'S HAPPENING "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." Or at least it did until photos of Prince Harry cavorting in the buff breached Sin City's time-honored code. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority quickly cried "foul!" and launched a cheeky "Know the Code" campaign to ward off violators."Protect the Code: It's your responsibility" warns the movement's homepage, which boasts 92,670 and counting Facebook followers. Fans pledge their allegiance by submitting an oath to swear off TMI tweets and tags of Vegas hijinks.A crack-the-code video deconstructs smartphone etiquette and encourages vigilantes to report Vegas violators to the Facebook patrol.WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS There's no such thing as bad publicity, and those clever Vegas marketers sure know how to turn a cause celebre to their advantage. Shaming people who overshare is a smart way to remind consumers that celebrating adult freedom is the Vegas way of life.Touting all the ways in which smartphones are kosher — DO post pics of your Stratosphere thrill ride and tweet about the Blue Man Group — whets visitors' appetite for Vegas attractions.
The game let consumers "kidnap" their friends and "hide" them in their favorite hideout city using a variety of methods. To escape and kidnap their own friends, kidnap victims were required to answer travel trivia questions, with a cheat sheet set up on TravelChannel.com for reference. "We wanted to create a fun user experience so they didn't think that they were being sold to," says Patrick Lafferty, CMO of the Travel Channel. The Travel Channel's game led to an average of seven page views per person. Those kidnapped invariably visited the site seeking the cheat sheet which was located on one page. However, once there, users tended to click around on their own accord. "The audience isn't looking around for a brand to interact with — they are looking for entertainment," says Whalen. "We provided an entertainment value and an educational value with the Kidnap game, and I think that's what made it work so well."