By Emily Assender
I’m a bit of a latecomer I admit, but I’ve recently become a
Twitter fanatic and can’t get enough of the tool. I was thinking though - would Twitter influence
my decision to purchase a holiday? Would
Facebook carry more weight? What about
other social channels?
Travel Reviews on Social Media sites have been proven to
create a direct increase in bookings for travel brands. But how significant is the role of Social
Media in the research process? I decided
to do some reading around the topic.
EyeforTravel’s Travel Consumer Report 2012-2013 shows that
social networks are more valuable for reviews (rather than selling products)
and that when it comes to actually making the booking, “respondents currently
do not use social networks to research travel products or destinations”.
To look at the US, the report asked 3,044 correspondents and
here’s what they said:
·
57% said they never use SM to research travel
products
·
53% never use SM to research destinations
·
53% of consumers said that they never use SM to
keep updated on travel company news or deals
 |
So, actually how
important is Social Media to your overall brand? Do we over-hype it in the wrong areas and what
is the best way to integrate it perfectly into our marketing strategy?
Edward Perry, Global Senior Director of Social Media
Projects at World Hotels says,
“In terms of Social Media, you need to focus on the
intent. If the intent is solely to generate
bookings, then social media may not necessarily be the best vehicle to do this
on. Travel companies, hotels and
airlines should be focussing on Social Media because of the long term effect. Social Media should be used to complement
branding and marketing and should be used not as a completely different
marketing channel, but should be weaved into the current marketing efforts as a
means of communicating back and forth with the (potential) consumer.”
To learn more about the value of Social Media and how to use
it in the most effective way for your brand, make sure you check out the 9th
Annual Travel Distribution Summit, Asia (28-29th May, Singapore)
where Twitter, World Hotels, Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flight Centre,
Emirates, Japan Airlines, Starwood Hotels, Malaysia Airlines, Groupon and more
- will all be presenting their views on this theme.
For more info on the event, visit: http://bit.ly/ZkoSQP
