B A L LY W H O I N T E R A C T I V E
Social Media in the Tourism Industry
Average Person + Social Media + Travel
How do people make use of social media when planning a trip or traveling? Sharing advice/promotions for travel
Researching the experience of others
Describing travel plans to friends and family
Strategies for Engaging with Your Audience
Need exposure? A few options to consider: Informative website
Strong social presence
Interaction on review sites
Email newsletters
Coupons and promotions
Photo and Video Sharing
Informative Website
Continuously updated with fresh content A blog is a great way to share information to those looking
for details about your business
SEO-friendly Using competitive keywords makes finding you a lot
easier--consider creating an SEO strategy
Google Adwords Try placing ads on Google to encourage visitors to your
site
Strong Social Presence
Great platforms to consider: Twitter & Facebook Great ways to share promotions, update inquiring minds
about improvements, and interact with current and potential customers.
Interaction on Review Sites
Make sure to claim your business on review sites This will allow you to receive notifications when new
reviews are submitted so that you can respond quickly
Also allows you to interact with reviewers as your business
Interaction on Review Sites
Promote positive guest feedback by telling your patrons where to leave friendly comments Let them know which review site to leave their comments
on, especially if they’ve had a good stay
Thank those who leave positive comments on the review site by responding to them directly
Interaction on Review Sites
Turn a negative review into a positive one Respond by:
Addressing the issue and taking responsibility
Clearing up any misunderstandings without getting defensive
Inviting the reviewer back at a discount and impressing them
End goal: inspire them to leave a more favorable review
Email Newsletters
Create relevant email newsletters Ask them to sign up for the newsletter
Offer promotions to retain past customers
Offer promotions to bring in new customers
Promote amenities that differentiate you from your competition
Coupons and Promotions
Consider offering incentives Groupon deals
Living Social deals
Promotions listed on your website encouraging visitors to book their accommodations with you
Photo and Video Sharing
In addition to your own professionally done videos and photos, encourage visitors to post theirs as well
Feature them on your site, your YouTube account of Flickr
Monitoring What People Say
Free ways to monitor what’s being said about your brand:
http://www.socialmention.com/
http://www.blogpulse.com/
http://www.google.com/alerts
http://search.twitter.com
Monitoring Competition
Check commonly used review sites for your industry and search for your competition Learn what they are doing that gives them an advantage
Find out what people like and dislike about them, and use these observations to improve your business
Nitsa DeVore
End Results
Make your brand easier to find
Get feedback that can help improve your business
Build trust by making your business more familiar
Grow your reputation
Reduce traditional marketing cost
Recommended