In this presentation we look at the challenges, opportunities, and key take aways for the 4 major categories of social media sites; blogs, wikis, review sites, and social networks.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA IN TRAVEL Where are we today - Challenges & Opportunities Stephen Joyce CEO Sentias Software Corp.

2. do ! social media LET'S

3. BLOGS REVIEW SITES WIKIS SOCIAL NETWORKS

4. BLOGS Challenges Finding blogs that are well written and have a strong readership.

5. BLOGS Challenges If writing your own blog, defining the subject matter and theme of the blog.

6. BLOGS Challenges Content is generally not owned, so there is little control.

7. BLOGS Challenges Keeping the contributions consistent and relevant to the theme and brand.

8. BLOGS Opportunity Tell stories about your destination in an engaging and authentic way.

9. BLOGS Opportunity The stories are written by people who are passionate about the destination.

10. BLOGS Opportunity The stories are unique and are usually specific, for example culinary, art, or sports.

11. BLOGS Opportunity Identify & represent niche products within your destination. Highlight new opportunities.

12. BLOGS Key Take-away Identify individual(s) within the organization who will become your blog team.

13. BLOGS Key Take-away Find out who is blogging about your destination or region by searching sites like Google, Technorati, Blogcatalog, MyBlogLog.

15. BLOGS Key Take-away Identify the theme of each blog and begin a regular commenting schedule.

16. BLOGS IMPORTANT ! Be authentic, do not hide who you are or who you represent. Add a human voice to the organization.

17. Gainesviller Blog: entertainment & events around Gainesville. Young demographic i.e. college crowd.

18. Gainesville B&B Blog: Things to do in Gainesville, B&Bs, Upcoming events, more sophisticated audience.

19. BLOGS Key Take-away Catalog your existing marketing content and determine what can be re-used.

20. BLOGS Key Take-away Begin writing content that can be re-purposed for the blog. Casual style, authentic voice.

21. BLOGS Key Take-away Once you have established a relationship with the blog author, ask to contribute.

22. BLOGS Key Take-away Once your blog team is comfortable with contributing, consider starting your own blog.

23. BLOGS Key Take-away Once your blog team is comfortable with contributing, consider starting your own blog.

24. BLOGS Key Take-away Contribute regularly and use tools like Google Alerts and Google reader to identify stories of interest.

25. BLOGS Google Reader checks your subscriptions for new posts and aggregates them for you.

26. BLOGS You can have your news feeds published to your iGoogle homepage or to your Outlook.

27. BLOGS REVIEW SITES WIKIS SOCIAL NETWORKS 

28. REVIEW SITES Challenges You have NO control over what people write about your destination. DEAL WITH IT.

29. REVIEW SITES TripAdvisor relies on over 10,000,000 users to update ratings & reviews. Lots of hotels but not a lot of destination info.

30. REVIEW SITES Challenges Reviews are archived and may be out of date.

31. REVIEW SITES One review for Gainesville: “ Terrible want to be mexican Restaurant “

32. REVIEW SITES Challenges Most review sites focus heavily on accommodations and NOT destinations.

33. REVIEW SITES 46 results for Gainesville on TripReviews.com. All are hotels.

34. REVIEW SITES Challenges You cannot control the quality of service provided by stakeholders.

35. REVIEW SITES This hotel has a 4.5 (out of 5) rating with guests. How many encourage guests to leave reviews.

36. REVIEW SITES Opportunity Establish your destination as a great place to visit and stay.

37. REVIEW SITES TripAdvisor wants you to add photos, videos, and content.

38. REVIEW SITES Opportunity Encourage stakeholders to participate.

39. REVIEW SITES TripReviews.com allows destinations to add detailed descriptions for their country, state, city, and even neigbourhoods.

40. REVIEW SITES Opportunity Provide timely and accurate information by contributing regularly.

41. REVIEW SITES Opportunity Build traveller confidence and credibility by being proactive.

42. REVIEW SITES Key Take-away Encourage your stakeholders to participate in review sites. There is no need to fear reviews.

43. REVIEW SITES Key Take-away Contact the review site about becoming the owner of the destination content.

44. REVIEW SITES Key Take-away Regularly monitor review sites for information regarding your destination and stakeholders.

45. BLOGS REVIEW SITES WIKIS SOCIAL NETWORKS  

46. WIKIS Challenges You can participate but you cannot control the content.

47. WIKIS Challenges Information may be outdated or irrelevant.

48. WIKIS This wiki for Mombasa Kenya was last update in June 2007.

49. WIKIS Challenges Tend to be more information and less marketing oriented.

50. WIKIS Opportunity Take ownership of your destination or region.

51. WIKIS Opportunity Contribute to the community by becoming the authority.

52. WIKIS Opportunity Maintain the accuracy and relevancy of the information provided.

53. WIKIS Key Take-away Visit Wikitravel.org, wikipedia.com, & World66.com. Create user accounts.

54. WIKIS Wikipedia covers history, geography, ecoonomy, vital statistics, transportation and more...

55. WIKIS Wikitravel is more focused on destination info, how to get there, where to eat, and where to sleep.

56. WIKIS World66 is more consumer focused. Nicely designed with more emphasis on things to do.

57. WIKIS Key Take-away Review your destinations & edit the information accordingly.

58. WIKIS Key Take-away Monitor these sites weekly to ensure the information is maintained and accurate.

59. BLOGS REVIEW SITES WIKIS SOCIAL NETWORKS   

60. SOCIAL NETWORKS Challenges Like review sites, you cannot control what people are saying about your brand. DEAL WITH IT.

61. SOCIAL NETWORKS Challenges Are based around individuals and not organizations. Some one has to represent your brand.

62. SOCIAL NETWORKS Challenges Require a higher level of engagement.

63. SOCIAL NETWORKS Opportunity Engage directly with your audience.

64. SOCIAL NETWORKS Opportunity Ask questions and receive answers on subjects specific to your destination.

65. SOCIAL NETWORKS Opportunity Provide a human element to your on-line brand.

66. SOCIAL NETWORKS Key Take-away Find out who in your organization currently uses a social network, such as Facebook or MySpace.

67. SOCIAL NETWORKS Key Take-away Find out who is using these networks and what they are interested in.

70. SOCIAL NETWORKS Key Take-away Offer up a service that re-enforces the brand but that may not be directly related.

72. SOCIAL NETWORKS STA Australia has created their own profile on Facebook. You can add them as a friend.

73. BLOGS REVIEW SITES WIKIS SOCIAL NETWORKS    

74. OTHER SOCIAL SITES Youtube, Vimeo, Viddler Flickr, Photobucket

75. YOUTUBE If you don't produce the videos, someone else will.

76. YOUTUBE Re-use your existing video collateral by making it available on Youtube.

77. FLICKR Make your photos available on Flickr. Re-use what is available. Over 30,000 photos for “Gainesville Florida”.

78. SOCIAL MEDIA MANTRA

79. GIVE & YE SHALL RECEIVE

80. NICE RSS

81. Q & A

82. tourismtechnology.rezgo.com www.tipsfromthetlist.com www.rezgo.com