Social Media and Tourism

Blogging, podcast, social networking sites How to generate ‘buzz’ about your brand Alex Gibson DIT - Dublin

what I’ll be talking about…

The context for the rise in social media

Charting the social media landscape

Some examples to share

Some tips on engaging in social media

You trust yourself….. and those like you…

First Media Turned To… *Europe = UK, France,, Germany, Italy and Spain ** Asia = Japan, China and S. Korea Global : TV is #1, but declined in favor of Internet; Newspapers – steady; Internet passes radio in creditability Europe : Newspapers turned to first Source: Edelman Annual Trust Barometer, Jan 06

First Media Turned…. Europe *Europe = UK, France,, Germany, Italy and Spain ** Asia = Japan, China and S. Korea Source: Edelman Annual Trust Barometer, Jan 06 Print key in France, Germany and Spain Radio important in Spain and UK TV important in UK and Germany Internet growing across all markets

Credible Spokespersons: “Person Like Yourself” at par with Third Party Experts for First Time

Credibility of “person like yourself” (similarly “regular employees” and “friends & family”) skyrocketed in last four years

Followed by independent experts like doctors and academics as most trusted

CEOs are not as credible; nor are PR people!

Source: Edelman Global Trust Barometer

“ Person Like Yourself” Since 2003 * Europe = UK, France, Germany Source: Edelman Annual Trust Barometer, Jan 06 56 53 51 33 Europe* 59 55 NA NA Canada 22 % 2003 51 % 2004 68 % 2006 56 US % 2005 TOP 4 BOX (6-9)

US Credibility of Key Information Sources: 2007 Reverses the the Upward Trend In general, how credible do you feel each of the following sources is for information about a company? Is information that you get from [SOURCE] extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? Top two boxes shown

UK/France/Germany Credible Sources: Reports Lead 43 55 52 47 58 News coverage on the radio 39 50 43 44 51 Friends and family (2003-2006)/Conversations with your friends and peers (2007) 25 36 27 30 32 Communications issued by companies such as press releases, annual reports, and newsletters 38 45 43 37 45 Television news coverage 22 N/A 38 44 52 % 2004 17 N/A 34 47 51 % 2005 23 15 45 60 60 % 2006 11 27 A company’s own website 13 N/A Weblogs or blogs 29 37 Articles in newspapers 49 42 Stock or industry analyst reports 49 52 Articles in business magazines % % 2007 2003 TOP 2 BOX

US: Person Like Me and Regular Employee Have Risen Well Ahead of CEO 2003-2006 wording: In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you received information from a/an [INSERT PERSON] about a company, how credible would the information be? Would it be extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? The next is … [READ LIST. RANDOMIZE. ACCEPT ONLY ONE RESPONSE] 2007 wording: In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you heard information about a company from a/an [INSERT PERSON], how credible would the information be? Would it be extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? The next is … [READ LIST. RANDOMIZE. ACCEPT ONLY ONE RESPONSE] Top two boxes shown

UK/France/Germany: CEO Trust at All Time Low; Largest Gap to Date with Person Like Yourself 2003-2006 wording: In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you received information from a/an [INSERT PERSON] about a company, how credible would the information be? Would it be extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? The next is … [READ LIST. RANDOMIZE. ACCEPT ONLY ONE RESPONSE] 2007 wording: In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you heard information about a company from a/an [INSERT PERSON], how credible would the information be? Would it be extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? The next is … [READ LIST. RANDOMIZE. ACCEPT ONLY ONE RESPONSE] Top two boxes shown

Social Responsibility is More Important than Corporate Brand or Financial Performance Which ONE of the following factors is most important to building your trust in a global company? Ranked on US

Social Networks, Buzz and the New Marketing

“ Social networks, which are segmented for special interest groups, hit at the essence of behavioural targeting.

Questions for tourism marketers?

How can brands participate in this highly engaging environment without disrupting the user experience?

How can brands be assured that the user-generated content they are associated with is clean?”

…… .travellers of tomorrow are looking for Up to date, Integrated, visual devices Frequently updated Highly personalised, … and relevant Recommended …by trusted sources Engagement

What we really want to look at…

What it really means and really encompasses and…

What marketers are supposed to do and not do with it

Social Media and user-generated content are catch-all descriptions for many different participatory online environments. How are they best segmented and understood?

Social Media - the new marketing paradigm

Creation: “ people” versus journalists, recognized experts, professional authors, screenwriters, etc.

Consumption: active participation, not passive reception

Process: unconstrained vs. editorial hierarchy and convention

Distribution: open vs. controlled

Motivation: Personal expression and interpersonal communication, not just information and entertainment

Dimensions to consider… Engagement Discovery Measurement Monitoring

Which parts of the Social Media and User-Generated Content landscape should marketers care about the most? When should marketers just stay away?

Wiki Consumer Review Multi-Player Game Blog Video Social Network Discussion Board The Social Media Landscape Interpersonal Communications Information Entertainment Personal Expression Virtual Worlds Podcasts Adapted from Cymfony

Facebook

No Fuel Day in UK on 19 November 2007

5000 messages

Over 145,000 outraged motorists plotting online

‘ Widgets’ are becoming a key feature of sites such as Facebook

…and it’s way ahead.. Source: Hitwise June 07

… seems like everyone wants to be a citizen journalist..

Total identified blogs worldwide= 67.3MILLION

Average 24 hour period

87,000 new blogs

619,000 postings

Source ( Blogpulse.com, Nov,07)

… and these bloggers ARE influencing consumer choice

The Travel Decision Process Information Search Alternative Evaluation Problem Recognition Choice Outcomes

Consumers are listening

About a third of American travelers who research trips via the Web read reviews written by fellow travelers, according to Forrester Research.

Of those who book hotels online

a third have changed plans based on other travelers' comments.

YouTube and Destination Choice

National Laboratory for Tourism and eCommerce, Philadelphia, US.

Examined 120 videos ‘tagged’ as New York

50% were destination centric

Information Sharing

Reminiscence

Perceived Attractions

Travel Stimuli

Some good examples

Tripadvisor

Yahoo Trip Planner

Virtual Tourist – discounts to social network members

Tripbase

Gusto – travel reviews etc.

VibeAgent

CoolAustria.com

Tourism Ireland

My Australia Travel Wiki

Boo.com

Marriott’s Blog

Starwood’s Blog

SixtySecondView

Marketing Communication Implications….?

…hearing a lot more of

Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Viral Marketing

Dove Evolution (5.7million views)

Cadbury ( 1.6million views)

Buzz Marketing

…hearing a lot more of

Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Viral Marketing

Dove Evolution

Buzz Marketing

Influencer Marketing

Buzz Paradise

Consumer Generated Media

Diesel Perfum

The World’s Longest Advertisement

Non-Stop Fernando

To Launch Dubai-Sao Paulo route

Fully integrated power of social media

Blogs, RSS, YouTube

What is business using? "The B2B Web 2.0 Tools Report" 2007 9.2% of Fortune 500 companies blogging as of 12th December, 2007 ( source : Fortune 500 business blogging wiki)

What works and When? Get Integrated!! What’s best?