NBTA Webinar For Net Smart Series

Friend, Follow or Connect: Should a Travel Manager Give a Tweet?

NBTA Webinar- NetSmart Series

Thursday, April 22, 2010

by Rana Walker, PR/Marketing/AirPlus International, Inc.

[email protected] , www.airplus.com , www.airpluscommunity.com

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.airplus.com/

http://www.airpluscommunity.com/

AIRPLUS. WHAT TRAVEL PAYMENT IS ALL ABOUT.

2005 – YouTube launches as a venture technology startup with early headquarters above a pizzeria in San Mateo, California

2006 - Facebook invented in a Harvard dorm room, explodes in growth by allowing anyone over the age of 13 to have a profile

2007 – Twitter was the result of a podcast company brainstorming session and it becomes a separate entity. By end of 2007, there were approximately 5,000 tweets a day

It’s happened fast – its viral growth is exponential!

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The Social Media success story…

Then… YouTube- watching hundreds of millions

of videos a day. In fact, every minute a total of 24 hours of video is loaded for viewing

Facebook- More than 70 translations available on the site, more than 400 million active users & more than 60 million status updates posted each day

Twitter- By 2008, there were 300,000 tweets a day. Beginning 2009, it grew to 2.5 million and continued to grow 1,400% in the year to 35 million per day. Today, there are 50 million tweets per day— an average of 600 tweets per second

Now…

Note: All stats found on the respective websites


Past (1.0): talking, selling, marketing

Now (2.0): listening, sharing, participating

The goal is a new circuitous routing for communication:

Content - Conversation - Experience - Relationship

Social media platforms are also commonly referred to as Web 2.0

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What is social media?

It’s a viral and inter-connected network that removes barriers and provides an outlet for results-orientated, deep, quality interactions – all virtually and in real-time.

AIRPLUS. WHAT TRAVEL PAYMENT IS ALL ABOUT. P. 4 Stats from Insights Consulting Study, 2010Conversation Prism by Brian Solis & JESS3

Our interconnected conversations are evolving how we communicate & to whom

Most users login twice a day & 26% use mobile apps to do so – this number will continue to rise!

4 main types of users – voyeurs, passive users, addicts & special occasion participants

28% of Internet users are not yet active on social media sites – but 31% of them will be this year.

Social Media Today…


Your staff is talking, about their personal & professional lives – make sure you are listening to yield greater transparency! You have the means to hear them, anticipate needs, help solve problems and find efficiencies in advance

You have a voice! Know what your partners/suppliers are up to in real-time! Strengthen your relationship through shared knowledge, increased communication & cooperative collaboration

Participate in industry associations, as a supplement to the face-to-face events. Use association event pages to see who will be at the events, too!

Raise your internal profile with knowledge sharing – know where to glean the knowledge and how to share it openly with success.

Conduct real-time analysis and view trending topics within the industry

Awareness – know what is being said about your company online. This could possibly aid other departments (example: customer service or marketing)

The conversation is occurring whether you are listening…or not!

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Why should a Corporate Travel Manager care?


Linkedin

Tripit

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Communities, Blogs & Industry association platforms

Common sites with business applications for the travel industry:

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Social Media for Business Travel – Web 2.0 platforms for our discussion today

These platforms provide greater opportunity for collaboration, connection, information sharing, real-time interaction and assessments on travel

AIRPLUS. WHAT TRAVEL PAYMENT IS ALL ABOUT. P. 7

“Corporate Travel Manager” on Linkedin yields 118,787!


Linkedin- a profile page is more than a resume!

Update your status with useful info

Share presentations via slideshare

List your website, twitter or blog


Get connected on Linkedin by importing contacts, using suggestions, and asking to be introduced


Get involved in “Groups” & their discussions

Direct comms with colleagues & upper mgmt.


NBTA group – connect and network beyond the national conference & regional events with over 1,900 members!


Regional BTAs on Linkedin – Chicago is a great example!


View the Events page to see which events your connections are attending – and add your own Events!


“Company Page” & “Company Buzz” on Linkedin – research company’s news for RFPs & on your partners


Update your status frequently, often pointing to another social media or online platforms, links to news – keep the conversation loop round!

In your pre or post meeting e-mail exchanges, invite to connect via Linkedin

Download your outlook contacts & other e-mail contacts to invite to connect

During RFP process, ask within industry groups for information, research, contacts, etc…

Search & ask for introductions when considering a partnership opportunity – narrow your searches through the filters

View the business under “company” searches before you next appointment for background info on the organization, demographics, to view other colleagues and activities, etc…

Link it to your twitter account for easy reciprocal updates

Try using Linkedin in the following ways:

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Social Media Tips – Linkedin (1)


Join industry groups, view/visit groups of your travelers/staff, customers and partners. Within the groups remember to listen, learn and share/contribute!

Contribute to your groups by adding links to interesting articles you’ve read under the “news” section

Share your own knowledge to others’ questions in the group

Incite a conversation by writing your own comment on timely industry topics

Ask a question in your groups to solicit ideas & gain engagement

Make a comment in current group conversation to promote knowledge sharing

Add the Tripit feature to your profile – it allows you to see who amongst your contacts is where & when – this will aid you in filling empty slots/cancellations while on the road. As well as gain another resource to know where your travelers are at a given moment

Try using Linkedin in the following ways:

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Social Media Tips – Linkedin (2)


Tripit is a great site for business travelers and those keeping track of business travelers!


Useful Tripit Travel Apps for the Business Travel Industry


Add the Tripit App on Linkedin to see who is where!


Utilize the features of Tripit to see who is traveling where and when – this could help business travelers share taxis, meals, etc…

Start a company group - it also allows HQ staffers to know when a colleague is traveling in…thus can set up a meeting during the time frame internally, without the need for an additional trip

When an appointment cancels, Tripit adds value by allowing travelers to see who is nearby…and who else they could possibly meet with at the last minute

Apps are helpful! Promote the tracking features which help to provide real-time analysis of who is where should an emergency occur

Flight info apps provide useful cancelation and flight delay information

Update Tripit with your contacts in Linkedin and Plaxo

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Social Media Tips - Tripit


Another example of a “Professional” Network - Plaxo

Link your Twitter feed to provide updates!

Update your status with timely info!


Facebook- an increasingly hybrid platform for personal & professional users today!


Facebook is evolving like Google – to make it easier to share our likes, favorites with our online friends!

New article explaining recent changes: http://gigaom.com/2010/04/20/facebook-takes-over-the-web/


Facebook continues to evolve:Examples of “Fan” vs. “Like” - last week vs. this week


Business Travel Agencies Regional & Global pages-Used for promos, newsletters, awards, sales & incentives!


Use to promote your company’s CSR activities & view your suppliers contributions and philanthropic efforts!


NBTA’s pages are opportunities to connect -beyond the national conference & regional events


Privacy measures - You have control over who is allowed to see, post, tag, etc…on your profile. And who can search/find you!


Create “Lists” (grouping colleagues and/or friends separately) to control who sees what!


Facebook privacy features allows you to double check what you are showing to whom

View exactly how your profile looks to the public – you decide!

Check your privacy settings for a specific friend or colleague by typing in their name here!


Search for and “Like” of your own company’s page and invite your friends and colleagues to “Like” your corporate page by using the easy share feature

“Like” your suppliers and/or group association corporate pages - NBTA, AirPlus, GetThere, BCD, etc…

Click “Like” on comments and leave a remark on existing page posts

Add your own comment, with a link to a relevant article or share your thoughts – the suppliers are online to listen to you!

Group your “friends” into lists – examples are via staff, family, etc… Share with others only what you feel comfortable with!

Engage with internal staff more by commenting and liking their updates - this helps to create a stronger and more cohesive working relationship

Follow media for a stream of updated articles on industry happenings

Remember to use Facebook in the following ways:

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Social Media Tips – Facebook


Airlines on Facebook & Twitter-Used for customer service, contests, service updates!


Hotel chains also get into the social media action!


Dissection of a Twitter page

Share news articles

Converse with staff

Make lists & follow already pre-made lists

Promos, charities, prizes

Re-tweeting company leaders

Launch of new products/features

Follow, be followed and get listed!


NBTA on Twitter – and many regional chapters too! Follow the pre-defined list easily!


Tweet Deck – allows you to monitor Twitter companies lists groups topics of interest


Hootsuite – monitor all your social media accounts in one place! Set up tweets to automatically update throughout the day!


Sign up for an account – even if it’s just to be a voyeur in the beginning

Follow already created “Lists” by NBTA or others, these allow you to view who in the industry is tweeting, what they are saying & if you care to follow them personally

Follow industry media publications for news, re-tweet it if you like it

Follow partners for insight into their business, re-tweet it if you like it

Follow your suppliers for promotion ideas, tweet to them ideas of your own or your thoughts on the product – they are listening!

Use Tweetdeck or Hootsuite to keep an eye easily on staff tweets, anyone tweeting about your company, your suppliers, your partner (even your competitors) and the industry associations and especially their events!

Remember to use Twitter in the following ways:

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Social Media Tips - Twitter


Links to interesting online articles and industry resources you value

Links to your own blog or other social media pages

Comments on current events

Observations on travel industry happenings

Share your personality – always be genuine as a fraud is easy to spot online!

Ask questions, answer questions – share your expertise and knowledge!

Invite to events & activities where you/your company will be present

Share promotional activities, contests, CSR efforts

React to all statements about your company, by re-tweeting the positive and being proactive internally with the negative!

Suggestions for Twitter, Linkedin & Facebook include:

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What should you tweet/write to update your status?


NBTA has a YouTube channel! View at:http://www.youtube.com/user/NBTATV


Airline YouTube pages allow you a video insight into their products and promotions


NBTA sponsors & travel industry suppliers have Youtube sites to showcase capabilities & company spirit


Communities and Blogs are another great space to connect for news, opinions and for your comments too!


Utilize online industry resources-Find valuable research/whitepapers available for FREE!


1. Define your goals for participation and create a baseline for growth analysis

2. Find networks/platforms that meet your goals and look at pages, companies that are succeeding – and that you like to watch - to use as role models

3. Develop a social media strategy for your company and distribute to employees – develop rules for engagement and clearer understanding

4. Dip your toe in – get online & build a profile, even if you just “listen” at first

5. Manage Expectations!!! Yours & your colleagues

6. Promote your presence – don’t wait for something to happen! The Golden Rule in these platforms is you GET as much as you GIVE

Six tips to get started:

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Making Social Media work for you!

WHAT TRAVEL PAYMENT IS ALL ABOUT.

Thank you for participating!

Join us for Part 2 in this webinar series on Thursday, April 29th!

Contact today’s speaker at:

Rana Walker – [email protected]

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Documents

NBTA Webinar For Net Smart Series