Backstory:
@PrincessCruises invited a number of well known travel bloggers on a Caribbean Cruise. The folks at Princess Cruises must have been excited about all the social media they were going to generate. While the captain of the ship had his eye on the weather, (even changing the cruise route to avoid the worst of a seasonal tropical storm ) a hurricane was brewing online under the twitter hash tag used for the event #followmeatsea by cruise industry opponents.
For an overview read Pam Mandel’s recap of the brouhaha or Nellie Huang‘s post that also captures the discussion on the ethics of complimentary travel for bloggers. See the #twethics tag for more on the ethics of host-paid travel blogging.
Three stories seem to be at the centre of this storm:
- the ethics of complimentary travel
- the environmental impact of cruise ships
- travel writer in-fighting
But the real story is about the openness of social networks and the Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media
The Story behind the Seven Deadly Sins
For Princess Cruises, no one was at the helm as cruise industry opponents (one in particular) from beyond the ship hijacked the hashtag and stormed the ship with challenges on the ethics of the cruise travel industry. Interestingly, the target of the attacks wasn’t Princess Cruises, but the travel writers on board.
Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media
Deadly Sin #1. Thinking you can control social media.
Social Media is beyond anyones control. You can create a hashtag, but anyone can post to it. Expect it. Influential bloggers and microbloggers can control a conversation from inside or outside your event
Deadly Sin #2. Being unprepared for negative social media.
Know your foe. Know the arguments others will make against your business or event and be prepared to defend your position. Public relations damage control needs to be in place before your event begins. Think about what issues could be raised and plan the best way to respond.
Bloggers were taken behind the scenes on a five hour ship tour that revealed many impressive facts about the cruise ships environmental practices.
As Kim Mance tweeted:
@PrincessCruises could have tweeted weeks before the cruise:
PrincessCruises: We look forward to showcasing our environmental efforts with an extensive behind the scenes tour for bloggers!
If your tourism product, service, or experience has shortcomings, address them. Astoundingly: 85 % of hotels DO NOT have guidelines for Social Media (Market Metrix / TripAdvisor).
Deadly Sin #3. Expecting others to protect your brand.
You can invite a blogger to blog, a twitter to tweet, but they cannot defend your brand in the social media space against those whose mission is to devalue your brand. In the absence of a brand manager on this cruise, the bloggers became targets for direct abuse, and in some cases their emotional responses may tarnish whatever media they ultimately produce.
I had communications with one of the bloggers (prior to the ships departure) about her desire to report on the environmental impacts of the cruise and her concerns about sustainable tourism. Unfortunately bloggers who now report on the environmental, ethical, responsible practices of Princess Cruises will look like shills for their hosts; responding to a conversation that was driven by a cruise industry foe, particularly in light of the paid-for nature of the trip.
Deadly Sin #4. Being deaf to the conversation:
Ignorance of the Tweet is no excuse. Numerous tools permit listening and filtering social media. As this cruise event was going on I used Twitter to voice displeasure with @disqus blog commenting system in a tweet. @Disqus was listening. Customer service response was immediate.
They fixed my problem, I became a fan. Was @PrincessCruises listening to the conversation as the tempest was brewing?
Deadly Sin #5. Taking Time to Respond
Respond immediately to criticism. Responding, can resolve issues before they grow into a huge wave of consumer defection and can transform your foes into fans. In the best case, you can know when your guest is unhappy before they leave. Address their concerns before they have the time to share them with the world.
@PrincessCruises waited more than 48 hours after the peak of the online storm before posting a link to their environmental policy (copyright 2008). Why the delay? A significant amount of mis-information was passed off as fact in micro-blog posts by cruise opponents in the intervening two days.
According to TripAdvisor only 4% of negative reviews get a response. Negative social media is the biggest missed opportunity for most businesses. To consumers, a company responding is cast in a favorable light (Compete Inc., 2007).
Deadly Sin #6. Responding in Public to a Passionate Foe
In many cases it might be best to take an emotionally charged conversation out of the public channel. Direct communication can be less emotional and more constructive than dealing with a passionate foe reacting with emotion in a public space. During this event I exchanged direct twitter messages with people on and off the ship in order to understand and appreciate the issues and the best way for all parties to achieve desired outcomes. Engage with your foes by listening and responding to concerns directly.
Deadly Sin #7. Charging folks for Internet Access
Bloggers on this cruise have access to social media with complimentary WiFi. Make it easy for your fans to share their stories using social media by giving away the WiFi! Sure having guests pay for WiFi generates revenue, but instant uploads from twittering bloggers can deliver more long term value in form of customers. Since 1/3 of travelers have posted comments or blog posts on trips, it makes sense to allow your guests to access the Web so they can influence their family, friends and followers while they are visiting. Move the cost of WiFi from your infrastructure costs to your marketing/public relations budget. Then encourage your guests to use it.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Well put, Todd. And some good takeaways from the brouhaha.
I really enjoyed this post.
Excellent points, Todd. This has been a learning experience for those involved as well as for those reading or participating in the Twitter conversation.
totally agree – especially with #7. I can't understand at all why the cruise lines don't see the marketing opportunity of making the internet service on board free. Of course, it would also be great if it wasn't so slow…
I see #7 as a large marketing opportunity lost. Many cruise lines are teaching computer classes to their passengers, can any one say “How to make a travel blog: 101″? They could create a basic platform for guests to post pictures and share experiences while cruising. This would generate tons of content that would be shared with friends and family alike, and giving additional brand exposure.
Great points Todd! Too bad you missed Madador Networks post on this topic, “Should travel writers care about their environmental impact?”
I think it was the most honest of ALL the posts on this topic and looks at the deeper issues of integrity, comped travel for writers, social media, and environmental issues.
THAT …”Should travel writers care about their environmental impact?” is THE most important question and surprisingly few are willing to answer it.
Should travel writers who say they care about the environment do freebie press trips tweeting fluffy travel porn that help Billion dollar corporations promote the least sustainable method of travel on the planet?
As Julie wisely asks:
*Is a 5.5 hour tour of the cruise ship led by people who clearly have a stake in presenting the ship in the best light really going to produce compelling evidence about the “REAL environmental impact” of cruising?
It's great that Princess cruises does not have the worst record of Mega-cruise companies and works hard at their “greenwash” spin, but even if it was the greenest Mega-cruise company around (which it is not), that does not change the FACT that Mega-cruise ships do great harm to the environment and are the least sustainable travel method.
We have seen the damage first hand and even my child at six could see this obvious fact. When will travel writers start educating the public in honest ways? I can understand your average 50 something Mega-cruise lover raving about their cruise and being blind to the facts, just as I understand many cigarette smokers who love to smoke and think any thing written against smoking is nonsense. To each his own.
Just as writers have tried to educate the public about the harm of smoking, don't travel writers have an obligation to educate the public about what are the least sustainable travel methods that are destroying many fabulous travel destinations?
This interesting post brought me from twitter. I missed all the brouhaha, but its opened my eyes to the benefits (and downfalls) of social media
totally agree – especially with #7. I can't understand at all why the cruise lines don't see the marketing opportunity of making the internet service on board free. Of course, it would also be great if it wasn't so slow…
Great post. A key step for protecting your brand and listening to what's being said about you in all channels is to make sure you have a monitoring tool. Biz360's Community Insights will help point you to the things you may need to respond to. Here's more information on how to do this – http://snurl.com/smtravel
Imagine a social media session that is part of every cruise.
“Hey folks, I'm your social media director Todd, today we're going to talk about how to get photos from your phone to family and friends. OK, how many people here have an iPhone – you go over there and Jamie will help you get it together. Mac Laptops – go see Sarah, PC – Jonah, other handheld media, you'll stay here with me.”
40 Minutes later, they'll have a swat team of media sharing ninjas helping create and share the content they need to build their brand.
Imagine a social media session that is part of every cruise.
“Hey folks, I'm your social media director Todd, today we're going to talk about how to get photos from your phone to family and friends. OK, how many people here have an iPhone – you go over there and Jamie will help you get it together. Mac Laptops – go see Sarah, PC – Jonah, other handheld media, you'll stay here with me.”
40 Minutes later, they'll have a swat team of media sharing ninjas helping create and share the content they need to build their brand.
Hi Jeanne, thanks for stopping by. I did catch the blog post you mentioned, didn't feel it added anything to the story I wrote.
Just completed a “This Week in Travel” podcast w/ some of my fellow #FollowMeAtSea travel bloggers in case you'd like to hear the inside scoop.
Our segment will be available via iTunes on Wednesday, November 18
http://thisweekintravel.com/
As always Todd, you are right on the money with this post. I think your deadly sin #1 Thinking you can control Social Media, goes hand in hand with the expectation that a company can control its brand in the social web. The sooner organizations understand that they are the subject but only part of the action, the sooner organizations will appreciate the benefits that they miss by trying to avoid or control the conversations that are happening about and around them.
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