1. Leveraging Social Media in the
Government Travel Sector
Susan Black Susan Black, Presentation to:
Society of Government Travel Professionals
Susan Black Associates, Inc.
Sept. 10, 2009

2. SOCIAL MEDIA
is an “umbrella term” for…
Social News
Social Networking
Social Bookmarking
Photo by waynejackson

3. • It’s A New Way Of Marketing
– Honesty
– Transparency
p y
– Responsiveness
–C
Conversation
ti

4. WHAT
is
i your goal?
l?

5. R E A C H
$$ REVENUE $$
Engagement

6. Ownership
Ambassador/Evangelist
A b d /E li t
Word of Mouth
Repeat Customers
Satisfaction in Engagement

7. “It h never
has
been about me.
It has always
been about you.”
y

8. People like doing business with
people they know …
… and love doing business with
people they trust.
Edelman Trust Barometer 2009

9. Government should be TRANSPARENT
PARTICIPATORY
COLLABORATIVE
man
Flickr: Steve Furm
www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment

10. Flickr: kamshots|Ka
l amyar Adl
Each personal interaction between a company and a customer or
between you and a member of your community presents an
opportunity to gain an advocate for your brand – Seth Simonds

11. Don’t see YouTube is
the purpose a time Accessing to
of social waster more sites
media creates security
We need to
issues
review all
content
We can’t
agree to the
terms of
service
Don’t like
advertisements
d ti t
Flickr: jeannatheodd|J Bizz
d
. . . obstacles . . .

12. www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/other_tech.shtml

13. • Banking
• Pharmaceuticals
• Health Care
• Insurance
• P bli l Traded Companies
Publicly T d d C i

14. • Truth In Lending
• Truth In Savings & Overdraft Protection
• Full Disclosures
• All Communications Pre-Approved

15. • Cannot Promote Ancillary Benefits
– Consumer comments on corporate website
still responsibility of company
– Off-site discussions involving company
officials can be construed as corporate
communications as well
i ti ll

16. • Government Mandated Review & Approval
• Privacy Laws
• M di l Advice Given Exposes Liability
Medical Ad i Gi E Li bilit

17. • Individual State Regulations (U.S.)
• No Advice Unless Licensed In Specific State
•C t
Customers Will Ask For Advice
A k F Ad i

18. • Regulation Fair Disclosure
• Blogger Relations Challenge
•O
Open Discussions Open Opportunity For
Di i O O t it F
Leaks

19. • R l Are There For A Reason
Rules A Th F R
• Not The Rules, But The Policing
• We Cannot Circumvent Them

20. • User-Generated Content
– Must Comply With Policy
– On Our Website, Our Responsibility
• Immediacy Of Conversation

21. Government Travel
• Security issues – who can access social
media sites at work
• Military – security once again
security,
• Data collection from social media sites

22. 284 million bloggers
83% of active online users have read a blog
300 Million Facebook Members
67% have joined a social network
55 Million Monthly Twitter Visits
83% have watched video clips
43% subscribe to an RSS feed
36 Million Linked In Members
Source: Universal McCann Comparative Study on Social Media Trends April 2009

23. COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA
Space defined by Media Owner Space defined by Consumer
Organization in control Consumer in control
One way / Delivering a message Two way / Conversational
Repeating the message Adapting the message/ beta
Organization-focused
g Consumer-focused / Adding value
g
Entertaining Influencing, involving
Organization created content User created content / Co-creation

24. SO HOW CAN I BUILD A
TRAVEL COMMUNITY ON
TRAVEL COMMUNITY ON
MY SITE ?
MY SITE ?
WRONG
WRONG
QUESTION

25. “Communities already exist. Instead, think about how you can help
that community do what it wants to do.”
Mark Zuckerberg

26. Building
relationship
online:
How do you cut
through the
clutter?

27. BLOGS can help...
• Give you something to SHARE
• Show people you re ready to ENGAGE
you’re
• Introduce your organization’s PEOPLE
• Find ways to CONNECT

28. www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/News/blog.shtml

29. Can you blog to U.S. Government employees?
BUT . . .

30. Plan your strategy to
• Who is the AUDIENCE?
• Who is the VOICE?
• Who can WRITE?
• Enough CONTENT?
g
• Who will REVIEW?
• Who will MAINTAIN?
• User COMMENTS?

31. Plan your strategy to
ALTERNATE MODEL:
Leverage Existing
BLOGGERS
blog.usa.gov

32. Can you Tweet to U.S. Government employees?
AND . . .

33. In 140 characters,
you can
LET
TRAVELERS
KNOW:
KNOW
• Promos and Last-Minute Specials
• Direct links to government travel on your site
• Best Government Travel Rates
•NNews and Policy changes (including links)
d P li h (i l di li k )

34. WHY
do it though?
• To BUILD CREDIBILITY by being a resource
• To CONNECT to like minded people
like-minded
• To REACH INFLUENTIALS
• To SPREAD your message
• To LEARN by listening
•To ENGAGE in a dialogue

35. Following
Followers
F ll
Friends
Your initial target audience may not be
your only, nor your best target audience

36. Plan your Twitter strategy
• PERSONAL or CORPORATE?
• Tweet CONTENT?
• WHO will tweet?
• HOW to tweet?
• Who to FOLLOW?

37. Can U.S. Government employees use
TWITTER
???

39. Can U.S. Government
SOCIAL
NETWORK?
AND . . .

41. Facebook: Profile, Groups, Pages

42. And What About Facebook Groups?

43. Groups or Pages?
Image from *Jason Falls

44. Can U.S. Government employees use
SOCIAL
NETWORKS?
AND . . .

45. Plan your strategy to
SOCIAL
NETWORK
• Who is the AUDIENCE?
• Networking PURPOSE?
• Which SOCIAL NETWORK?
• User PARTICIPATION?
• User INTERACTION?

46. Can U S Government
U.S.
YOUTUBE
FLICKR
PODCAST?

47. MEDIA = Multimedia for All

48. my.barackobama.com/page/s/pressconference

49. www.youtube.com/user/househub
www.youtube.com/user/senatehub

50. YOUTUBE
FLICKR
PODCAST OBSTACLES:
• Time waster
• Security issues
• Bandwidth
• Advertising
• Terms of service

51. Plan your strategy:
YOUTUBE
FLICKR
PODCAST • Who is the AUDIENCE?
• Who will CONTRIBUTE?
• What CONTENT?
• What EQUIPMENT?
• What SKILLS?
• Who will MAINTAIN?

52. How To Succeed
Get Buy-in From Above
Work Closely With Legal/Compliance Team
y g p
Educate, Educate, Educate
Approach Content & Moderation As A Team
Develop Agreed Upon Response Timelines With Definitive
Develop
Outcomes

53. Don t Forget!
Don’t Forget!
Government Travel Presents Opportunities To Innovate
Your Legal/Compliance Teams Are On Your Side
Bureaucratic Systems Can Be Nimble With C
B ti S t C B Ni bl Consensus
You Can Market Using Social Media Within The Rules
You

54. Let s Connect
Let’s Connect
susan@sblackconsulting.com
@ bl k lti
Twitter: @SusanTravels
@
+1.201-476-1414 (Direct)
+1.201-286-2767
+1 201-286-2767 (Mobile)
www.linkedin.com/in/susanblackassociates
Susan Black
Principal
Susan Black Associates