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Social media lessons from travel marketers

August 08, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

The 900 million hearts and minds of Facebook users are increasingly welcoming social media-inspired travel recommendations. For consumers this will mean more perks and contests online, and for travel marketers, that our industry is well suited to continue to lead the social media curve.

Though it may seem hard to believe that such a high percentage of people would book travel plans based on what they're viewing on Facebook, this behavior indeed jives with recent trends in social media data. Look no further than the explosive success of Pinterest. Pinterest has proven the "power of the picture" to engage users for hours on its site. The average Pinterest user spends over an hour a month on the site -- way behind Facebook at six and a half hours a month -- but still impressive. No site approaches Facebook in terms of hours spent -- Americans spend over 100,000 years each month on Facebook, with a majority of that time flipping through photos. Why? Image-based social media can connect with us in a powerfully emotional way that text simply can't. As the old saying goes, "a picture is worth 1,000 words" (Or, in the case of Instagram, $1 billion.)

But, it's more than just beautiful images of, let's say, the Cayman Islands that is driving us to book a trip to a particular destination. While striking photos are often core to getting us to choose a destination on social media, recommendations from other consumers usually play a critical role. The travel industry recognized the potential of user recommendations years ago with Trip Advisor being the most obvious example. Certainly, many of us have checked that site to gauge what other travelers have said about a particular destination or hotel before making a purchase decision.

And yet, while websites catering to the "wisdom of the crowds" have shaped travel decisions online for well over a decade, social media sites such as Facebook represent much more powerful opportunities for marketers to reach and engage with new travelers. In fact, today it's often trusted recommendations from our Facebook friends (via their Facebook news feed) that make us aware of a destination in the first place. And, when it comes to sharing stories about one's favorite vacation spot, "like" often turns to "love" (i.e., purchasing airplane tickets and booking hotel rooms).

Get the full story at iMedia Connection

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