Tips, Tactics, & Best Practices

What is Social Media Taking the First Bite

How Did We Get Here

Perspective

The Sociology of Social Media

Social Media’s Big 3

Identifying Social Media Platforms

Social Channel Facts

Google Places

Time to Plan

Starting Point

12 Months or Bust

90 Day Rule

Ask, Ask, Ask

Stop- Look- Listen

Cross Promote

Social Media Goal Setting

Plan of Action

Publishing Guidelines

Food for thought regarding Social Media

How does Social Media and its elements fit into your Marketing Plan?

Do you have a plan for Social Media, or are you just Facebooking and Tweeting as you go?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.

Richism - ”Social Media is Virtual Word of Mouth”

It is sill the best & most powerful form of advertising.

Any form of electronic communication that starts, maintains and perpetuates a conversation, with one or multiple individuals & interactions.

Social Media is “VIRTUAL WORD of MOUTH”.

Social Media Marketing is like eating an Elephant.

How do you eat an Elephant?

One bite at a time!

Bite off only what you can effectively manage. As time goes on and you become proficient, add new bites.

Most people & companies have a Facebook page, it might be time to look at taking that next bite.

Great Ad Concepts -copied by- Bad Advertisers

Have caused customers to change how they search for and how they receive information.

George Louis is “Mr. Big Idea.” George is one of the advertising industry MEGA leaders. He launched the “I Want My MTV!” campaign in the early 1980’s. He also launched the little known TOMMY HILFIGER clothing line, which soared to the top seemingly overnight.

In Advertising & Marketing, there are a few Big Idea’s or great concepts. These concepts tend to set the industry standard.

Soon the market becomes flooded with copycat ideas. More often than not the copycat promotion lacks the substance and the passion of the original Big Idea.

Thus they fall short of expectation, take up space & just make noise.

We Create ads, buy placement, insert & hope for results?.... When that fails!

We buy BIGGER ads, RAISE our Voice, & make the Phone Number Bigger!

We are throwing our products at the consumer with the tact of a Carnival Barker!

People have Tuned Us Out!

Do not let history repeat itself! As you move in to the world of Social Media, don’t make the same mistakes as we did in advertising.

SOCIAL MEDIA is

People Connecting with People

Your company can & should have a personality. Be transparent, let your fans, friends & followers know who you are, and what you believe in.

To be successful in the emerging world of Websites & Social Media … You must make your fans, friends & followers FEEL SOMETHING. Invite them to follow you & when they do, be sure include them in conversations & thank them.

Websites and social media can be very cold and devoid of emotion … As human beings we have a hunger for socialization we have a need to be involved and accepted as part of a group.

In order to find customers online you MUST learn to THINK like an online customer.

Shift your thought process, for a moment become a stranger to your product.

Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never been to your area, never seen your hotel, never experienced your attraction or product.

NOW YOU CAN BEGIN TO LEAD THEM WHERE YOU WANT THEM TO GO!

Communication methods have changed drastically, therefore our sociology and behavior patterns have also been changed drastically.

John Antonios, marketing consultant has created a WONDERFUL graphic depiction of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs and how they relate to Social Media. http://johnantonios.com/2010/02/06/the-social-media-

hierarchy-of-needs/

The Internet = Entertainment! It is 24-7/365

It’s gone Mobile, which makes decision making and information gathering instantaneous.

Social Media sites are the Hounds.

Your Website is the Hunter.

The Hounds purpose is to drive traffic/business to the Hunter.

The Hunter, then in turn takes

care of business.

Think of Social Media & Websites as Hounds & Hunters.

1. Content- Topic what you are saying.

2. Conversation- Engaging the guest, what you are speaking about usually becomes a running dialogue that can last minutes to months.

3. Credibility- Ranking, Comments & Social Bookmarks- Who is endorsing you & what they are saying about you and your product.

Content is the information or text that is on your website, blog, and or your social conversations, it is…

“The Topic or… What you are Saying”

It can and should include

images, pictures, graphs…

anything that is relevant

and can help catch the

eye of a potential client.

Content is one of the many factors that the search engines use when assigning a value to or the ranking of your website.

Content/Keyword strategy is a must, it should be well thought out & planned.

(TIP) Build it in your Social Media Marketing plan!

The Organic Search - Google looks at many factors when page rank and search relevance are concerned:

Page Title

Meta Data

Content & Keywords

Photos with Alt tags

Search Engine Friendly URL’s

A conversation is a two or more sided exchange of information.

In most cases it is a running conversation between a company and several guests or followers simultaneously.

In my opinion the next GREAT metric to influence web rankings is the credibility factor. Search engines are beginning to pay very close attention to Social Media Sharing.

o Shared Social Links

o Social Bookmarks

o Comments & Rankings

This is Google’s latest solution to the Social Media question. Google is a search engine that organizes and ranks web content.

Google realizes the web is changing, “Virtual Word of Mouth” sharing of information in social circles is growing at an inconceivable rate.

To stay on top of the

information game,

Google has to have a

piece of the social action.

Blog- = Self Publishing

Facebook- = Online Branding

Twitter- = Short Quick Publications

YouTube- = Control Product Depiction

Linked In- = Global Ideas/Corp. Research

TRIPADVISOR- = Reputation Management

Blog- is a self-publish platform which allows relevant content and information regarding your business to be digitally uploaded or broadcast on the web.

(Tactic)–Great place to insert

a link to another website

or package partner.

Blogging is a KEY element in any Social Media Strategy, it can be used to

1. Add relevant Keyword-Rich content to a site.

2. Link relevant information from site to site.

3. It is Content, it is Conversation & with the proper social widgets, adds Credibility to your overall web presence.

Facebook- (Best Practice)

Use it for online branding; Facebook’s strength lies in it’s ability to convey passion & elicit emotion. Leverage your contacts friends list. “Share the Love” well-planned commentary can excite peripheral clientele as never before.

Make your Fan’s Friends - Your NEW Fans

Be who you are, be transparent… people fall in love with people, not companies & soulless creatures.

o Receives More Traffic than Google Each Day.

o 500 Million Active Users, 50% Logging in Each Day

o 700 Billion Minutes of Time Per Month

o 69% of Users are a Fan of One or More Business Pages

o 46 Years of YouTube Video are Watched Each Day

o Women are Likely to Visit Multiple Times per Day

o280 Million Registered Users

o460,000 New Accounts Created per Day

o1 Billion Tweets per Week

o182% Increase in Twitter Mobile Users in One Year

o75% of Twitter Traffic Comes from Other Collaborating Social Networks

oTwitter’s Search Engine Receives 600 Million Search Queries per Day

o400 Tweets per Minute Contain a YouTube Link

o490 Million Unique Users Worldwide per Month with 92 Billion Page Views.

oRegular Visitors Spend 15-25 minutes per day.

oAuto Tweets result in approximately 6 new sessions.

oVideo Consumption Across Social Networks Equals 46.2 Years per day.

o50 Million Monthly Visitors across 18 Travel Brands

oHosts 6 Million Candid Photos

oProperties with More Than 20 Photos Get 150% More Engagement

oVast Majority of Traveler Comments are Positive

o65% of People Surveyed State a Management Response would Sway Travel Decisions

http://blog.miraiespana.com/tripadvisor-business-listing-analysis/

If a social media platform is not bringing in business but still carries weight and has value, (Tactic) - utilize it as a tool.

Remember- 65% of People Surveyed Stated

“A management response would sway travel decisions”

In the overall scheme, TripAdvisor provides businesses with a great venue to show off their public relations & customer service skills.

Bad online comments are like my golf game, I have a tendency to slice. IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN!

I had better come up with a way to cope with it.

(Best Practice) Come up with a simple solution where you can encourage “Happy Guests” to comment on their experience. Fight Fire with Fire!

WHY?

1. Free Local Platform from Google to help local search results.

2. Easy to use page display with map & location.

3. Allows for customer reviews and management responses.

4. Google Places is Google’s answer to Trip Advisor and Yelp.

For the purposes of Tourism Marketing, I suggest

the use of these 4 tools to publish and broadcast your information.

1. Blog- Ties to your website / Home to your content.

2. Facebook- Leverage fans relationships.

3. Twitter/In- Broadcast message in short form.

4. YouTube – Visual representation for the guest.

Build a blog, make it the solid foundation of your information/ content creation.

(Best Practice) Host your Blog on the same server as your website.

Just because it’s Social doesn't mean that there are no SEO benefits.

I believe in a 12 month planning cycle, September is a great time to lay out your plan of action.

It is deep enough into your season that you have solid statistical data to use as a reflection. It is also close to the end of the year, if there is a need to adjust plan for an emergency campaign it can be accomplished.

If you are not comfortable planning 12 months out, I suggest at least a 6 month planning cycle.

Are designed to feature relevant/targeted information, delivered with strategic timing.

(TIP) Acquire event calendar from your city or chamber of commerce, publish engaging info.

(TIP) Feature your destination, write unique relevant content that will position your destination and your facility as a “MUST Do!” Guests are HUNGRY for information they want

you to be their Online Concierge.

Your online efforts/plan should be ready 90 days out.

Broadcast information with enough advance notice that you give your clients, followers & fans enough time to plan and be able to forward information to their friends.

Whether you are posting a daily chat, planned post, or scheduled E-newsletter ALWAYS make it easy for your fans, friends & followers to Share your information.

(Tactic) Meet with your Website administrator, have them create a “Share or Add this” account. Use these widgets on all website pages, blog pages & E-newsletters.

Both Share & Add this widgets have analytic reports. Be sure to sign up for these reports.

◦Ask to be “Followed”.

◦Ask them to “Like” video or post.

◦Ask them to “SHARE” information with their friends.

◦Ask for their “Thoughts & Opinions”

◦STOP - LOOK - LISTEN

Stop -Yelling at your Customers!

Social Media is

not about the

“Hard Sale”

If your standard post is “Buy Now”

I guarantee most people have tuned you out!

Look -Find out what is important to the

guest by read their reviews & comments.

(Best Practice) Learn from the client. The more you study them as a group, the more likely you are to find that they share common points of interest.

Listen - To your co-workers, many of them

have their finger on the pulse of the consumer.

If you are a hotel– go see the concierge or front desk staff, find out what guests are asking for?

If you are an attraction – go spend some time with admissions staff. They hear the good, the bad, and the ugly from the guests.

• Cross promote all Videos on Blog- by linking videos from YouTube Channel to Blog.

• Each time you produce a new video, send a message to fans & followers on Twitter, Linked-In & Facebook.

Not any more, Animoto.com is a tremendous resource for creating cost effective presentations.

Turn digital stills into great video.

Once you produce your video, upload it directly to your YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/therichestweb?feature=mhee#p/u/4/SOfKQR4iKI4

http://www.youtube.com/user/therichestweb?feature=mhee#p/u/0/5tIk1VRNlZw

Richism” Analytics are your Social/Web P&L Statement”

Be sure that your company is using some kind of analytics program on both its web site and its blog. I.e. Google Analytics, Webstats, Urchin.

Get used to measuring traffic, know what information generates the greatest traffic.

(Feed the visitor more of what they like,

keep engaging the visitors.)

2011 Actual Facebook -Likes Insert Present # of Likes

2012 Goal Facebook -Likes Insert Goal #

2011 Actual YouTube Views Insert Present # of Videos viewed

2012 Goal YouTube Views Insert Goal #

2011 Actual Tweets & Followers Insert Present # of T & F

2012 Goal Tweets & Followers Insert Goal #

2011 Actual Blog Followers Insert Present # of Blog Followers

2012 Goal Blog Followers Insert Goal #

2011 Actual E-News Subscribers Insert Present # of Subscribers

2012 Goal E-News Subscribers Insert Goal #

Acquire local event calendar from City or

Chamber of Commerce.

Look in house at events or special occasions that

your property is involved in.

9-01-11

9-01-11

DOM- Writer

DOM - Writer

9-06-11

9- 06-11

Interview Front line workers to verify guest’s

wants and needs, incorporate into 12 month blog

posting plan.

9-7-11

DOM –GM-

Frontline- writer

9-15-11

Create 12 month blog posting outline

Decide how many times a month you will post.

Again only bite off what you can manage..1x -2x-

4x ???

9-17-11 DOM - writer 9-24-11

By topic decide where you are going to distribute,

Facebook, Twitter …

What video will you produce if any and when will

it drop

Action Start Date Responsible End Date

When writing always remember to address the Who, What, Where, When & Why of the topic.

Keyword research, find 5 great terms that help promote your property and event.

Create a twelve-month plan around special events or a series of “How-to” posts.

Publish upcoming events 90 days out in blog posts and in e-newsletters.

Send E-mail to subscription list, this is where you can push the “Hard Sale” include Share Button.

Blog

Company Facebook Page

Company Twitter Page

Company YouTube Channel

Google Places Account

Add this or Share Widgets

Social Bookmark Widgets

Develop 12 month Blog Post-Plan of Action

Analytics-Web/Social P&L Statement

Cross Promote

Commitment

• Social media is a Commitment If you decide to utilize social media as part of your online marketing, realize that you can not start and stop this activity. You must:

• Post on a regular basis

• Reply to all guests

• Keep it Professional & Personable (Don’t whine online)

• Keep it Pertinent (Answer their questions & comments)

• Keep it Passionate (Always write with a smile)

• Keep Business site & Personal sites SEPARATE at all times

rich@therichestweb.com (865) 242-1700

Download this presentation at http://therichestweb.com/downloads/