Businesses have a choice about social media. They can either take on the responsibility for engaging with their ideal client or they can watch their business evaporate.  This week I read how people use their phones more for social media than for making phone calls.  It may be time to think about how to save your business with social media.

Here’s how I think about the Web today:

• there is an ethos that sharing media is good / protecting copyright is not,
• a growing emphasis on video (on demand and live!),
• location matters, and accessing content on handheld devices is becoming the norm,
• what others have to say about your business matters more than what you have to say,
• interesting content is contagious: real time communication helps spread messages faster than ever,
• six degrees of separation have become 3!  (Your ideal clients are more connected than ever to people who are a lot like them).

Six Social Media Tips to Save your Business

Businesses who are the most successful two years from now will:

• use creative commons and sharing to help spread the word;
• hire for media production skills (every business will become a media business – at least in part),
• geotag every type of content they produce and take the time to accurately tag / locate their content on media sharing websites,
• understand that story-telling matters now more than ever and encourage their clients to review their business, and recruit those who can tell stories (from inside and outside the company) using all four principle types of media: video, audio, photo, text,
• look at intermittent time spent on Facebook and Twitter and using handheld apps as not a waste of time, but good for productive, healthy customer relationships and productive, healthy team members,
• focus on meeting the needs of their ideal client – instead of trying to sell to the masses.

Still need to change some thinking about social media in your organization to save your business?

As much as things have changed, some people apparently thought the world would stay the way it was in 1990?  Do yourself a favour and catch up on why this all matters in the updated video below.  This time, the numbers and data points presented match up really well with the research I’ve seen on adoption of social media.  It may be just the medicine you need to start taking action to save your business with social media.

Help write the followup post:

In 140 characters, share your ideas on saving business with social media. #savebiz

As the summer tourism season gets nearer, and marketing campaigns move into high gear, we’re investing in online multimedia to carry our message to our ideal guests.  Maybe your DMO should be too!

This month, we’ve been purchasing studio equipment to put polish on our video and audio and produce our own in-house video. Not only that, but because we know how important it is to tourism industry, we’re helping tourism businesses in our region get the media they need to sell tourism on the Social, Mobile, Media Rich, Here and Now Internet before another Internet buying season moves into full swing.

Getting Great Media

Great Video, audio and photography doesn’t just happen, it takes planning and execution with the tools (hardware and software) and investment (time and money) to get it right.

Sadly, most tourism operators don’t have the money, knowledge or time to create top notch audio and video to promote their business. For those in the CVB, DMO or Meetings and Convention partnership business, now is the time to invest in media production capacity to help your members make the most of the Web.

Don’t have the knowledge to be able to pull it off yourselves, grow relationships with professional production organizations and help make it cost effective for operators to get the photography, videography and audio they need to make the most of the media opportunities they have on the Web.

A Membership Boost

Small businesses are counting on their membership organizations to help them make an impact with their marketing.  By investing in a social media studio and associated services you could help your regional members get a leg up and in the process make your organization more relevant and boost membership.

Note to DMO’s. CVB’s, and other associations. Keep an eye out for new media projects to be streaming forth from South River, Ontario, Canada real soon.  We’ll explain our whole crazy idea and the components necessary to make such a project come to life!

These 60 bullet points are the highlights from my 60 minute keynote presentation at the BC Hospitality Industry Conference in Vancouver, November 24, 2009.

1. You don’t need to be a techie to accomplish a lot.
2. Know your customer and meet their needs.
3. 2/3 of Travelers use the Web exclusively to plan travel.  Not focused online? Don’t worry, you still have 30% of travelers who will see your stuff (as well as Internet content).
4. Is it time to consider budgetary priorities based one where the income is coming from?  For most of us, YES.
5. Consider the best measures for success in all your marketing.  Then measure it.  For most of us measure results like phone calls, emails, visa receipts, etc. (NOT Web hits).
6. Your Website is stale, media and social Web can make it better.
7. Webmasters should never control your access to posting content.  If you are a Webmaster, start thinking of a different way to do what you do best and change your name for goodness sake, tourism industry doesn’t need masters, we need teachers and facilitators.
   
8. Consider your Website as the centre of all your media.
9. Media - Good news, there will only ever be four types of media – text, photos, video, audio.  Anyone can post any of these for FREE.
10. When distribution is free, reallocate distribution expenses to production of stories using all kinds of media and distribute content across multiple Web 2.0 Websites (online applications).
11. Anyone can create MEDIA and upload it to the Web.  You too!
12. Blogging with Wordpress could replace most traditional Websites.
13. Mobile uploads to youtube up 400% since introduction of iPhone 3gs.
14. Youtube . . . Over 1 Billion views per day worldwide – Oct 9, 09.
15. Travelers want your photos and their own.
16. Photos: 2 Billion uploads/ month  on Facebook.  Flickr: 90 million/month – less than 1/20th size of Facebook. (September 09)
17. Basics of getting great photos:
    the right model,
    the right location,
    cues of activity,
    mood/emotion.
18. Hire the pros if you have money… DMO’s consider investing in photographers that are vetted and offer packages to operators.
19. Post your stuff under Creative Commons. Your best stuff will get seen.  With CC attribution, users will link back to your site. Come on, drop the Copyright.
20. Facebook is adding Half a Million New Users Every Day.  Don’tcha think some of them are your ideal guests?
21. Over 44% of all Internet users are active in social media.
    Travelers are especially social:
    19% visit blogs
    1/3 have written a review
    42% Youtube
    33% Facebook
    27% Trip Advisor
    73% search for photos
22. Facebook fan boxes…. Embed one on your site.  Your fans will love you for it and join.
23. IT’s OK for work to be fun.
24. Twitter: 60 Million users, 1171% Growth Rate. Worth getting in?
25. 19% of people update status daily – ie: Facebook status, Twitter, others.  That’s way up from just 9% in October of 2008.
26. Tweets now featured in search engine results. Bing and Google deals  in October, 2009.
27. Real Time Search is the next big thing.
28. Position your social media contact points in obvious places in print media: ie – receipts, business cards, posters, brochures.
29. Position your real world contact points in obvious places online.  ie: Phone number on every page.  Hey, handheld users can click it and dial you up.  This is a good thing.
30. Everyone has an audience.
31. 59% think customer reviews are more important than professional reviews.
32. 63% are more likely to purchase if a company has reviews.
33. Social Media is not optional.  Your business is naked.
34. Social sites like Facebook aren’t Websites, they are online applications.
35. Fans can make a difference
36. 7 deadly sins of Social media
    thinking you can control it,
    being unprepared for negatives,
    taking time to respond,
    expecting others to protect your brand,
    thinking your reputation rests with management,
    being deaf to conversation that includes your brand, region, your services,
    charging for Internet access.
37. Give Away WiFi access and never stop banging on the door for faster wired & handheld Internet access in your community.
38. High speed Internet access can double the revenue generating capacity across all industries in communities without it.  Faster speeds will likely increase revenue.
39. The real goal of your business isn’t to make sales, it is to Create FANS.
40. Check your listing on Google Maps.
41. Ask your Fans to tell their story on TripAdvisor – Embed a link in emails, tag lines, Websites, business cards.
42. The right business card and the right messagel can increase revenue 20%.
43. Current’cy is the new Currency.
44. The Here and Now Web means all your digital assets can be linked to location.  Do it.
45. 60% of the people in world have cell phone contract (3.1 billion). Phones are replaced every 18 months.  Most new phones are smartphones.
46. Over 90% of cell phone users have their phone with them 24/7.  This will be the Web marketing channel that matters most in travel.  Get started now.
47. 39% of N.A. now have smart phones.  Double from 2008.
48. 35% of 8 year olds in the U.K. have cell phones.
49. QR Codes: in Japan readers on 70% of new phones and can hyperlink any place, time or object to the Web. Apps can do the same in N.A.
50. Shop and pay with your phone?  It’s here.
51. Your next Website might not be a Website.  Think app!
52. Your app could:
    provide links to all your social media,
    allow fans to purchase directly from their phone or handheld device,
    allow your fans to upload and share their stories across all media types.
53. Hilton watched handheld revenue only double from mobile site year over year 2008-2009.  Then in May, month to month handheld sales started soaring!  Up 400% month over month from May to October.  Yes, we’ve hit the tipping point for mobile.  What are you waiting for?  Maybe you need to shift some of your print advertising budget.
54. Thinking app: Think iPhone, Blackberry, Android… in that order.
55. Collaborate with others in your community.
56. Engage your team.
57. Hire the skills of production and distribution.  Think beyond traditional job descriptions and application forms. Add some social media questions like: Which Web sites do you use?
58. The biggest shift in investment needed to succeed in social media is from money to time.  Where are you going to find the time to do the most important things?
59. It’s not too late to get started.
60. Augmented Reality . . . don’t even get me started about what the future holds.

Got any bullet points to add?  What’s your favourite?

BTW, these points are all published here under creative commons license.  Feel free to use and attribute the ideas to this blog with a link back.

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.

Yesterday’s post, Mastering Four types of Social Communications on the Web introduced listening, responding, communicating and engaging as the four types of social communications on the Web.

Take a good look at the success your organization is having with each type of social media. If you are not doing a good job in one or more of these areas, you may need to distribute the task of social media marketing across a number of business units or staff.

DMO’s and larger tourism organizations may require dedicated teams for managing different types of social communications

Content Monitoring team:

• listeners and responders who know where your content is and can have personal relationships with guests and potential guests. This team is aware of the conversations taking place and is dedicated to enhancing the visibility of your organization in places where relevant conversations are taking place.

Production and Distribution team:

• communicating and engaging with fans and guests, this team’s core responsibility is producing original content featuring your host team, facility and even your guests. Engaging with your fans and guests means taking advantage of opportunities for entertainment, education, enticement producing blog posts, images, audio and video and distributing this content in blog posts, photolibraries, podcasts, and making the content available across social networks.

Success in the social Web demands giving equal attention to all four types of social media. Think about how to give your team unique areas of responsibility to maximize the ROI of your social marketing efforts. Bring your team together regularly to bring all members up to speed with the successes and challenges being faced within your organization.

I caught up with Grant Lawrence (@grantlcbcr3) at the Canadian Blast opening night at SxSW.

After chatting about CBC Radio 3’s contest to determine the best live performance venue in Canada and the role that social media played in the strategy of the winning venue – Phog Lounge in Windsor, Ontario (owned by my brother Tom!), I interviewed Grant about the value of social media.

Shout out out out out is playing live so it’s a loud podcast, but if you can handle the tunes, you’ll garner a few good insights on the value of social media.

The Importance of Social Media for Canadian Artists

• hooking fans with your personality
• personal connections with the artists – giving the public the inside track.
• reach more and more people who will be curious about your music
• its not about giving up privacy, its about marketing
• three keys to Twitter according to Grant: personal, connection, inside
• focusing a lot of information in just a few characters.

Today I chatted with Alli Lindsey (@allilindsey), a Public Relations and Advertising student at Loyola University, Chicago. Her questions on social media prompted really great discussion about some great opportunities that most tourism businesses and regions are missing out on.

Travel and Tourism Social Media – Missed Opportunities

Download podcast

This Internet Marketing podcast has some great insights for enhancing the marketing of tourism regions, including answers to questions like:

1. What are some of the key Internet developments/opportunities that the tourism industry is likely to face this year?
2. Besides the economy, what do you think is the biggest challenge facing the tourism industry?
3. What types of careers are available regarding the tourism industry and the Internet (in terms of social media and marketing)? What types of skills sets should the ideal candidate posses?
4. What are some best/worst practices companies in the tourism industry regarding social media?
5. If a company is using social media what are some important rules and guidelines they should follow?

Links:

• Tracking your Brand

Public Service Announcement: If you get the Tourism Keys blog delivered by email or in a feed reader, you might want to know that lately I’ve been putting quite a few video snippets into the blog posts.  Any time I post video, it doesn’t appear on the home page of the blog or in the email version.

If you want to see the video or hear the audio from podcasts, please click through on the title of the post to visit the site.  Most times, the text version has all the info you need, but the Web page is the best way to listen or view the multimedia components.

Today I’d like to share a few quick thoughts from the social marketing world.

1. Always try to reduce the noise and bring more attention to your content and comments.

2. Why do we call it Social Media? I prefer the terms Social Marketing or Communications and Relationship Marketing to clearly describe why and how businesses are using social media.

3. Unique niche market focused travel experiences have a better chance at resisting fire sale pricing pressures.

Links mentioned:

• Eight Questions to ask your Social Media Expert by @DaveFleet
  
• Fire Sale Pricing at the Tourism Café suggested by @AuthenticCoast

According to the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study released last week, almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media website, and one in four interact more than once per week.

Key findings:

• 93% of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media, while
• 85% believe a company should not only be present, but should also interact with its consumers on social sites.
• 56% of consumers feel both a stronger connection with, and better served by, companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment.

What types of interactions to people want?

• 41% want companies to solicit their feedback
• 33% of men and 17% of women interact frequently (one or more times per week) with companies socially.

33% of younger people (ages 18-34) as well as a third of the wealthiest hoseholds, believe companies should actively market to them via social networks. Both Facebook and MySpace offer advertisers the opportunity to target marketing to users based on their social profile.

Retailers most frequently use the following social media sites:

• Facebook: 32%
• MySpace: 27%
• Youtube: 26%
• Flickr: 5%

Use of Social Media sites by all Internet users continues to rise dramatically.

Twitter use has grown four fold over the past year and now boasts over 2 Million users. Facebook has over 29 Million users and growing.

Big promise, but social media can deliver on it.  Today, dip your toe into social media and benefit a business in your community.  In the process, you’ll see how social media is the most powerful internet marketing tool available.

If you are in the tourism business, it’s in your best interest to spend 5 minutes today increasing the exposure of your community online by trying on of the following social media suggestions.  If you can recruit others in your community to spend even a minute or two a day, implimenting one or more of these tips, you’ll see your community grow in online exposure and earn Web site visits, inquiries, and visits to your community.

You don’t need to do them all.  If one or more of these appeal to you, make a commitment to spending time using your favourite social media tools on a regular basis.

If you are interested in growing visitation to your community,  share your voice by reviewing the businesses in your community.

• Get a google account and search for local businesses on Google Local / Google Maps and comment and rate other businesses in your community.
• Get an account at Youtube and search for local businesses, place names and rate and comment on their videos.
• Get an account at Stumbleupon and use the free toolbar to vote up the Web sites of local businesses.
• Use your facebook account (what? you don’t have one?  why not?  stop reading and get an account now!).  Use the facebook to post links to the local businesses in your community.  Join local groups and become a fan of local businesses.
• Bookmark the Web sites of local businesses on Delicious.  Tell others what you like about them.
• Visit the blogs of local businesses and leave comments (go ahead start here by sharing how you share social media!)

Upcoming Events:

1. Ontario’s Digital Economy
2. Edge of the Wedge
3. My Manitoulin Experience