+Tourism Social Media 101

A presentation to complete the Tourism Marketing Professional Certification through the Southeast Tourism Society

+What is Social Media?

Free and easy way to get the word out about your business!

…Right?

+Why is Social Media important?

!  Great way to show the human side of your business

!  Great way to curate content to draw in visitors

!  Fastest way to create an interactive relationship with your visitor

!  Fastest way to show you aren’t concerned with visitor’s issues

+Why is Social Media important?

!  48.1% of travelers used social media for travel planning

!  45.5% of travelers used user-generated content to plan

!  Not just Millennials! GenX and Baby Boomer stats grow each year

Data from The State of the American Traveler published in July 2015

+Many different networks for different purposes

+But what to choose?!

+Today’s focus

+Facebook

!  71% of adult internet users / 58% of entire adult population*

!  Baby Boomers are primary audience

!  Be seen as a resource

!  Encourage shares, likes, & engagement

+Facebook

+Facebook – Status Updates

+Facebook - Links

+Facebook - Videos

+Facebook - Photos

Facebook screenshots & Data from Kentucky Tourism

+Instagram

!  26% of adult internet users / 21% of entire adult population*

!  Mainly millennials

!  Photo sharing

!  Great for finding new content

+Instagram

Notifications (Comments, Likes)

Your Profile

Search (Users, hashtags, locations)

Home / Feed

Upload a photo

+Instagram

You photos Tagged photos by others

Map

+Instagram

+Instagram

+Hashtags & tagging

!  Use @ and name to “Tag” someone: @visithopkinsville !  Be sure to tag and credit those who’s photo you share

!  Hashtags !  Be sure to check the hashtag first! Don’t jump on a popular tag

without checking the meaning or in use in a negative way

!  Proofread hashtag for misleading interpretation

!  Use relevant hashtags but don’t go overboard

!  Use partner hashtags (#visithopkinsville, #travelky)

+Twitter

!  23% of adult internet users / 19% of entire adult population

!  Mixed generation

!  140 character limit

!  Best for use “in the moment” for changes and live tweeting during events

+Other Platforms

!  TripAdvisor – Be sure to upload photos, respond to reviews & address any issues brought up in reviews; check message boards for opportunities to help visitors; keep data updated

!  YouTube – Top search engine behind Google; more hits on “behind the scenes” and of the moment videos versus professionally produced; Smartphones can make decent content

!  Pinterest – use to pin your content (blogposts, events, photos); interact with influencers

+Remember!

!  It is better to have fewer channels that are well done than trying to have an account on every network.

!  Your business page is separate from your personal page. Keep content appropriate and on-brand

!  Experiment with posting types and times

!  Watch what others are doing

!  Don’t be afraid to try new things!

+

Questions?

Thank you!