IF:2.463 ISSN: 2278-9111

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Management 8(2); i; 12 I 18

© Dept. of Business Administration,

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SITJM

Aims and Scopes

To comprehend and deal with multi-disciplinary subjects and issues, academicians and

students need to be knowledgeable about interrelated disciplines of management. To

encourage and promote research across a wide breadth of management topics, this

journal has articles pertaining to various fields of management. SIT Journal of

Management, SITJM, is a bi-annual journal published with the aim to provide an online

publishing platform for the academia, management researchers, and students to publish

their original works. SITJM seeks original manuscripts that identify, extend, unify, test

or apply scientific and multi-disciplinary knowledge concerned to the management

field.

IF:2.463

ISSN: 2278-9111

SIT Journal

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Management 8(2); ii; 12 I 18

© Dept. of Business Administration,

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SITJM Vol. 8(2); December 2018

EDITORIAL BOARD

Mentor

Mr. Satyam Roychowdhury, Hon'ble Managing Director, Techno India Group

Prof. D. Nandi, Head, Dept. of Business Administration,

Siliguri Institute of Technology

Prof. D. Nandi, Head, Dept. of Business Administration,

Siliguri Institute of Technology

Managing Editor

Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya, Associate Professor, Dept. of Commerce, University of North Bengal

Executive Editors

Dr. Dipak Saha, Asst. Prof. Dept. of Business Administration, Siliguri Institute of Technology

Dr. Shuvendu Dey, Asst. Prof. Dept. of Business Administration,

Siliguri Institute of Technology

Associate Editors

Prof.(Dr.) Debabrata Matra, Dept. of Commerce, University of North, Bengal

Prof.(Dr.) Nitish Datta, Professor, Dept. of Economices,

University of Kalyani

Prof. (Dr.) P.K.Jain, Professor, FMS, Udaipur (M.L.Sukhadia University),Udaipur, Rajasthan

Prof.(Dr.) Madhumita Mohanty, Professor, IISWBM, Kolkata

Prof.(Dr.) Tanmay Dasgupta, Professor, Dept. of Management

University of Burdwan, India

Prof.(Dr.) Isita Lahiri, Professor, Dept. of Management, Universityof Kalyani, India

Prof.(Dr.) S.N. Dhar, Professor, Dept. of Commerce,

University of North Bengal

Dr. Madhusudan Karmakar, Associate Professor, IIM Lucknow

Dr. Sajal Das, Associate Professor, Dept. of Commerce, University of Calcutta

Dr. Partha Sarathi Choudhuri, Dept. of Business Administration,

University of Burdwan

Dr. Mrinal Kanti Das, Department of Commerce, Kanchrapara College (Affiliated to University of Kalyani)

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Editorial Message From the Desk of Editor-In-Chief

There are a lot of challenges organizations are facing in the globalised era. Innovative

management strategies can play a very distinctive role in bringing about effective changes in the

field of Marketing, Finance, Human Resource, and General Management practices so that

organizations can successfully cope with these challenges. One of the key objectives of

management research should be its usability and application. The SIT Journal of Management

has been very productive as authors from diverse backgrounds have contributed articles that

glimmer a debate on the research focused on innovative management practices. We are really

overwhelmed by the enthusiasm with which the contributors from across the length and

breadth of the country have expressed their desire to submit papers on various contemporary

issues from different fields of management. In recent years, research on management related

fields has augmented, and it has become a basic prerequisite for academicians and practitioners

to suggest ways through contemporary research to suggest proactive strategies to cope up with

the changes in both micro and macro environment. This is the age of performance.

Organizations are becoming very careful in enhancing their performance in all spheres - may be

customer satisfaction or their responsibilities towards the society. Numerous studies are being

conducted to receive feedbacks from customers on the services and products offered by the

organizations. Such information enables them to enhance their performance in improving their

product and service quality.

Prof. (Dr.) Dwarika Prasad Uniyal

Editor-In-Chief

SIT Journal of Management

IF:2.463

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CONTENTS

Sl. No. Title of the paper & Author/(s) Page No.

1. A Study on the Role of Social Media and its Implications 1-9

with Special Reference to Tourism Marketing Dr. Venugopal C.K

IF:2.463

A Study on the Role of Social Media ISSN : 2278-9111

and its Implications with Special Reference to SIT Journal

Tourism Marketing of

Management

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Dr. Venugopal C.K Assistant Professor Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) Thycaud, Trivandrum Email: ckvenu@gmail.com

Abstract

Social media plays a vital role in shaping the thoughts and makes decision making easier.

Tourism marketing is greatly influenced by comments and recommendations made through

this media. With cheaper and faster internet access, the tech savvy generation uses social

media as a travel aid and advisor. This study examines the different ways in which tourism

marketing and promotion are influenced by social media. In spite of its advantages, social

media could be used to send wrong messages and can even degrade a reputed business. In

spite of the fact that internet is available throughout the world to a great extent, for the

common man travelling to plum destinations remain a distant dream. Word-of-Mouth (WOM)

communication plays a vital role in the way social media shapes the mind set of society. The

study presents the findings and concludes with suggestions for betterment of social media

support to people from the lower rungs of the society.

Keywords: Social media, WOM, Online Marketing, Millennials, DMOs

1. Introduction

Role of social media as an aid to new age businesses that employs online marketing strategies

to increase efficiency and profit is evident. Tourism is an industry that has gained immensely

from this tool. In this internet era travel executives as well as travellers use social media

related online tools extensively. This paper tries to examine the various facets of social media

in Tourism marketing. The growth of Information technology related tools has been

tremendous over the last decade especially in online marketing. Word-of-Mouth (WOM)

communication assumes even more importance in the travel sector. Travelers in search of

new destinations use social media to gain a first-hand opinion about the destination. The three

leaders in social networking namely, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the most used to

share thoughts and opinions about a destination.

2. Objective of the study

To examine the various facets of social marketing in tourism

To suggest ways to improve online tourism marketing

3. Social Media and Marketing – A Review

The specific nature of services provided by hospitality and travel firms has been a fertile

terrain for the rapid and widespread use of social media by tourism operators. Even though

many tourism firms have started to develop social media actions, the industry has not fully

exploited the potential of this emergent data and communication resource (Nonne et al, 2011)

especially toward the potential of customer engagement. (Minazzi, 2015) offers insights into

the impacts social media exert on tourism demand and supply sides. The relationship between

traditional marketing communication and WOM communication is also examined

here.Business strategies, tactics and instruments for communicating with customers and other

stakeholders have been transformed significantly with the emergence of the phenomenon

known as social media, a variety of new sources of online information, mainly based on

customers‟ content contribution, but to a certain extent also firm driven. In this regard

(Mangold &Fauld, 2009) underline that social media may be consistent with the use of

traditional integrated marketing communications (IMC) tools. They argue that social media

could be a hybrid element of the promotion mix that combines some of the characteristics of

traditional IMC tools with a highly magnified form of WOM communications. In other

words, social media enabling customers to talk to one another can be considered an extension

of the traditional WOM communication.

The role of social media appears to be exalted in business where WOM has a greater impact:

especially in the services industry (high risk and intangible-dominant products). Since some

decades ago, literature has already affirmed that WOM is a more important input to the

decision process where purchasing services, rather than goods (Murray, 1991). By means of

web 2.0 and social media, individuals can make their thoughts, opinions and personal feelings

easily accessible to the global community of internet users (Dellarocas, 2003). Some scholars

argue that electronic WOM (eWOM) represents a form of communication that provides a

mechanism to shift power from companies to consumers (Henning-Thurau et al., 2004).

According to some opinions WOM (and particularly eWOM) may be a substitute for

advertising. In fact, web users who employ online worm as a source of information during

purchase decision making do not identify advertising as playing a significant role. This result

supports the approach that considers the increasing participation in WOM a cause of decrease

in television advertisements (Awad et al, 2004). In a study (Itami& Roehl, 1991) suggested

that successful corporate strategies depended significantly on the foundation of invisible

assets – resources such as technical know-how, brand name and customer base. Through the

analysis of intangible market based assets it is possible to achieve a better understanding of

business performance, reconciling short and long term performance as well as bridging

marketing and shareholder value.The advent of the internet has brought about a revolution,

highlighting the role of WOM.

Companies can acquire customers through costly but fast-acting marketing investments or

through slower but through costly but fast-acting marketing investments or through slower

but cheaper WOM processes (Villanneva et.al, 2008). WOM referrals have been

demonstrated to have a strong impact on new customer acquisition (Trusov et al., 2009).

Some studies have shown that WOM and advertising have different effects on demand

(Bruce et al., 2012). It is also seen that if combined WOM often complements and extents the

effects of advertising (Hogan et al., 2004). (Mauri &Minazzi, 2013) in their study have stated

that social, media, customer satisfaction and guests‟ opinions and reviews may have a crucial

impact on purchasing decisions. Successful corporate strategies depend significantly on the

foundation of invisible assets such as technical know-how, brand name and customer base

(Itami&Rohel, 1991). Through the analysis of intangible market based assets it is possible to

achieve a better understanding of business performance, reconciling short and long term

performance as well as bridging marketing and shareholder value (Christodoulides& De

Chernatony, 2010). (Raggio& Leone, 2007) distinguish between brand equity and brand

value. Brand equity is conceived as an interpersonal construct that moderates the impact of

marketing activities while brand value is defined as the sale or replacement value of a brand.

(Keller & Lehmann, 2003) underline that the value of a brand ultimately resides with

customers.

4. Social media and its effectiveness in Tourism Marketing

The trend has shown a marked shift toward social media which has replaced advertisements.

Also branding is gaining importance in the new age marketing scenario since people buy

from brands they trust. Studies have shown that people are shifting towards social media to

plan their travel by seeking advice. It is also seen that travel photos and videos are the most

popular types of content shared online. Social media has transformed tourism marketing in

the following ways:

Travel research: Travellers are increasingly using online tools to search future

destinations and accommodations. 89% of the travellers plan travel activities based on

contents posted by their peers.

Rise in social sharing: Sharing photos and videos taken during travel is major

activity that is done in social media. Now with increased bandwidth and lower cost

involved in access, people are sharing more of these contents online. A study has

revealed that over 97% of travellers share photos and videos of their travels online,

building an influential web of peer-to-peer content that serves to inspire potential

guests.

Better customer service: Another impact of social media is enhanced customer

service and relationships. Many airlines use online media to provide a humane touch

to alleviate frustrating experiences experienced by travellers

Changing loyalty programs: Loyalty programs have become an essential component

of travel business model. Social media has made a great impact on the way hotel

loyalty programs are constructed. Many customers understand that the opinions that

they share with their individual networks have tremendous influence. As a result,

these guests feel entitled to compensation for the positive word-of-mouth marketing

that they are doing for a brand. More than 25% of millennials that participate in

loyalty programs are very likely to post about a brand in exchange for loyalty points.

Remoulding travel Agencies: Social media has a major impact on the travel agency

model. The availability of information and ease of self-service booking have forced

travel agencies to adapt from a brick-and-mortar model to a more digital one. Travel

agencies are not obsolete -- they are still responsible for 55% of all airline bookings,

77% of cruise bookings, and 73% of package bookings. But many agencies have

shifted their focus from in-person to online experiences as they adapt to new

technology and market trends. (Popesku, 2014)

5. DMOs and Social Marketing

Social media provide a great array of online venues for destination management

organizations (DMOs) to distribute information and communicate with others. Some of

the most important activities in which DMOs can engage on the social networks are:

Building and maintaining communities of interests: For DMOs the goal is to build

communities that have an interest in their specific destination. ◆ Collecting user-

generated content: People post their blogs, comments, videos and photographs of trips to

destinations ◆ Displaying photography and video: Some of the social media channels are

designed specifically for displaying visual materials, e.g. YouTube and Vimeo (for

videos) and Instagram, Pinterest or Flickr (for photographs). ◆ Distributing topical news

stories: Social networks are great place for DMOs to „push out‟ news stories about their

destinations, through distribution to communities of people that have indicated an interest

in the destination. ◆ Emphasizing current events and campaigns: The social networks are

very timely and people are constantly checking them. Placing upcoming events and new

promotional programs here gives a freshness to the information. ◆ Encouraging word-of-

mouth recommendations: The positive recommendations of past visitors may influence

others to go to the destinations. ◆ Getting feedback: Some DMOs conduct pools and

place research surveys on social networks.

6. Statistics and Figures

7. Findings from the study

1. Social media marketing is ideally suited to marketing tourism destinations

2. Social media applications Facebook, Twitter and Instagram occupy the top three

positions as social media marketing tools used in tourism marketing

3. Google maps are the most widely used vacation app

4. Mobile apps in tourism marketing are gaining popularity

5. More and more travellers are using social media to plan their trips

6. People find social media more reliable than advertisements

7. Millennials are using loyalty programs more to promote brands

8. Suggestions

1. Even though the study points to the fact that social media is gaining popularity

authenticity of data is not 100% ensured. Proper filtering mechanisms needs to be in

place

Figure 1: Social network users and Penetration

Source: www.emarketer.om

Figure 2: Apps Used During Vacation

Source: Text100 Digital Index: Travel &

Tourism study 2012

2. Internet penetration especially in rural areas of developing countries remains

unaddressed

3. Bring common man closer to social media needs to examined to create a greater

impact of social media in world tourism market

4. Developing countries can give more focus on popularising their destinations using

social media which will boost their economy

9. Conclusion

Social media marketing is the buzzword in marketing parlance today. It is found that

marketing tourism using social media is useful. However one should not forget that internet

enabled technologies can be effective only if the stakeholders too are tech savvy. The study

bring out the various facets of social marketing in tourism by highlighting the advantages of

this technology. However the authenticity of information needs to be validated even if it is

word-of-mouth. There is no doubt social media will pave way to better marketing of tourism

destinations worldwide.

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Websites

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/286408 accessed on 29/11/2018

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275344236_SOCIAL_MEDIA_AS_A_TOOL_OF_

DESTINATION_MARKETING_ORGANIZATIONS accessed on 30/11/2018